I know, I know, two cabbage recipes in a row? While I’m sure some of you are delighted, some might be totally “over” cabbage. But I’m all about reducing waste over here, so I needed to find a recipe to use up my leftover cabbage, carrot, and green onion from my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. I decided to try my hand at Okonomiyaki, or Japanese savory cabbage pancakes. And as per usual, this is my interpretation of Okonomiyaki, not a traditional representation of the dish. I love putting spins on classics to make them work for my pantry and taste buds.
What Else Can You Add to Cabbage Pancakes?
What attracted me to this dish is the extreme flexibility of ingredients, which makes it a great “sweep the kitchen” recipe. And you know how I love recipes that accept whatever leftovers you might happen to have in the fridge at the time!
I didn’t buy anything special ingredients for my cabbage pancakes. Instead, I used all the ingredients that I had on hand, and you can too. Other vegetables that would be great in these pancakes include:
- kale
- bean sprouts
- radish
- shredded broccoli or Brussels sprouts
- zucchini.
In addition to vegetables, you can toss all sorts of meat into your pancakes. Try:
- shrimp
- canned salmon
- shredded chicken
- pork
- bacon
Have Fun with Toppings!
And that’s just what you can put IN your cabbage pancakes. Don’t even get me started with what you can put ON your pancakes. Traditionally, Okonomiyaki has a special sauce that is kind of sweet-salty-tangy (here’s a great Okonomiyaki Sauce recipe from Just One Cookbook if you want to give it a try!). But since I was using what I had on hand today, I went a different route.
I kept it simple with a drizzle of sriracha mayo, sesame seeds, and sliced green onion, but you could do hoisin sauce, toasted seaweed snacks, a fried egg, bonito flakes, pickled ginger, kimchi, or anything else you like. Honestly, the toppings are where it’s at for this recipe. It’s like pizza (and sometimes called Japanese pizza). The toppings make it fun, unique, and just all around extra special.
So, what do you have in your fridge that you could put in or on a savory cabbage pancake?
Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)
Servings 6 6-inch pancakesIngredients
PANCAKES
- 2 extra large eggs ($0.53)
- 1/2 cup water ($0.00)
- 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.14)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.33)
- 3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.07)
- 4-5 cups shredded green cabbage ($1.78)
- 1 carrot ( $0.11)
- 3 green onions ($0.17)
- 2 Tbsp oil for frying ($0.04)
TOPPINGS
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise ($0.28)
- 2 Tbsp sriracha ($0.10)
- 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.04)
- 2 green onions ($0.11)
Instructions
- Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Thinly slice or shred half of the cabbage, or until you have 4-5 cups shredded cabbage. Peel the carrot and shred it using a large-holed cheese grater. Slice the green onions.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Begin whisking in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter (about 3/4 to1 cup total flour).
- Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter and stir until the vegetables are mixed and everything is evenly coated in batter.
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture. Press it down into the hot skillet to form a circle, about 6 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Place a cover on the skillet to hold in the steam, which will help the cabbage soften as it cooks. Cook the pancake until golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes), then flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Pile the cooked pancakes on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm until ready to eat. Add more oil to the skillet as needed as you cook the pancakes.
- To prepare the sriracha mayo, mix together 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp sriracha in a small bowl. Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the pancakes just before serving, followed with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced green onion.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Cabbage Pancakes – Step by Step Photos
Begin by shredding the vegetables. You can use a food processor, mandolin, or just a knife. Just remember, the thinner the better. Shred 1/2 of a small head of cabbage (4-5 cups once shredded), 1 carrot (about 1/2 cup), and slice three green onions.
In a large bowl, whisk together 2 extra large eggs, 1/2 cup water, 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil until smooth.
Begin whisking in flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter. You’ll need between 3/4 to 1 cup flour.
Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter, then stir until everything is well mixed and coated in batter.
Since eggs and flour both like to stick to surfaces when cooked, I highly suggest using some sort of non-stick surface in addition to the oil. I used a cast iron skillet. Heat about 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil in the skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place about 3/4 cup of the vegetable and batter mixture into the skillet. Press the mixture down to form a 6-inch circle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place a lid on the skillet to hold in the steam (this helps soften the cabbage) and cook until it is golden brown on the bottom (3-5 minutes). Flip the pancake and cook on the second side until golden brown as well. I could actually fit two pancakes in this skillet, but doing one at a time made for prettier pictures. :P
To make the sriracha mayo, stir together 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 2 Tbsp sriracha.
Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the savory cabbage pancake and then top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and more sliced onion. Dig in!
Great way to use up leftover cabbage!
Forgot to add the stars
This was delicious! My husband overbought bags of coleslaw mix and this was an excellent use for it.
Easy to make and the toppings added a lot of
flavour. Keeper recipe
Has anyone tried to freeze these?
Healthy, keto friendly, and yummy! I made a large single serving and simply estimated the ingredients, and it came out delicious. I used almond flour, added thinly sliced ham, chili pepper flakes, and served it with miso soup. Total time was 15 minutes for a quick meal with big flavor!
These are so tastey and versitile. I didn’t have soy sauce so used Korean BBQ sauce – yum. I added some shredded ginger and turnip. It seemed like there was too much veggies but after a really good stir, things came together nicely. Served with chicken marinated in tarragon mustard. Definitely a keeper!
Made these for lunch using a little canned salmon. Only change was we added bonito flakes and eel sauce left over from previous sushi prep. They were heavenly. Completely unexpected considering the simple ingredients. Will be adding them to our regular menu. Thank you.
Delicious! I loved these. I used whole wheat flour for about half and it worked well. It’s so versatile.
Not sure how it would work here with the ratios, but the liquid drained from canned chickpeas is often used as an egg substitute.
I’ve made these tons of times, and I usually add shrimp to the mixture. If your batter is too thin, just add more flour, even if you’ve already mixed everything together :)
Have I ever rated these before? I’ve made them about 100 times. They’re probably one of my top 3 or 5 favorites on this site. I had them for dinner again tonight and just kept thinking how tasty they are. I’ve made them in my mini waffle maker on occasion. I always make them with some sort of GF flour, usually Trader Joe’s all purpose gf. Tonight I used a Pamela’s whole grain pancake mix. I’ve made them without flour (used psyllium husks) when avoiding starch. They’re good every time.
Is there anything you can use instead of eggs?
We’ve only made them using egg as the binder, i’m afraid!
You can try ground flaxseed or chia seeds. If you don’t want to grind your own, buy the meal that is already ground for you. 1 ground tablespoon of either, plus 3 tablespoons of water equals 1 large egg. You mix the meal with the water and let it stand for 5-30 minutes to thicken and use it like you would an egg. This is a 1:1 replacement. It does, however, impart a slightly nutty taste to things, so you might want to replace the sesame seed oil for frying.
I have friends who use silken tofu. 1/4 cup of pureed silken tofu replaces 1 egg. I’m not sure I’d use this for this recipe though. I don’t think it would cook up nice and taste good. My friends use it for baking.
They also sell egg substitutes in the grocery store that would probably work well with this recipe. I would try those before I did the flax or chia egg substitutes.
I love your recipes! They have made cooking for my family so much more enjoyable and delicious! Do you think that this recipe would work with red cabbage, or only green cabbage? I have some leftover red cabbage and I’m trying to find creative ways to use it up!
Thank you! I wanted to use some leftover cabbage that I had from a salad I made at Christmas. Your recipe made it easy for me to make some delicious cabbage pancakes using what I already had. Cheers!
Curious if we think these would work in a waffle maker. I’ve got a 4 year old who loves using the waffle maker, but I’m running out of things to waffle.
One of my favorite go to recipes. Once I brought a ton of leftover coleslaw and pulled pork home from the office and made okonomiyaki out of that. Incredible! A little egg and flour is like magic.