Cabbage and sausage is one of the most delicious and satisfying combinations, IMHO. I’ve cooked cabbage and sausage together several ways in the past, but I wanted to test them out in the slow cooker to see if this easy, hands-off cooking method would work too. The verdict? It works! Cabbage and sausage cooked in a slow cooker turns out tender, brothy (almost like a cabbage and sausage soup), and totally delicious.
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What Kind of Sausage to Use
You’ll want to use a smoked sausage for this recipe. I suggest using something like kielbasa or andouille. This smoky flavor and spices in the sausage help flavor the entire pot during the long, slow simmer, which makes everything extra flavorful!
Potato Options
I used baby creamer potatoes because they’re easy and didn’t require me to do any chopping, but you could also use red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, chopped into 1 to 2-inch pieces. Russet potatoes would probably fall apart a little too much to be practical in this recipe.
How to Season Cabbage and Sausage
My goal for this recipe was to keep it as simple as possible, so I only added a couple of teaspoons of steak seasoning (a chunky mix of salt, pepper, garlic, and red pepper). You could also use something like Cajun seasoning, or you could do something simple like a little salt, pepper, paprika, and caraway seeds.
How to Serve Cabbage and Sausage
I spooned the cabbage, sausage, potatoes, and broth into a bowl and at it as sort of a brothy bowl (not quite a soup, but not quite dry), but you could use a slotted spoon to leave the broth behind if you prefer. Either way, some crusty bread and butter on the side really solidifies this as the ultimate comfort food. :)
Slow Cooker Cabbage and Sausage
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1.5 lb. baby potatoes ($2.99)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1/2 head chopped cabbage (5-6 cups) ($1.14)
- 2 tsp steak seasoning ($0.20)
- 14 oz. smoked sausage ($2.79)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional garnish) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Chop the onion into 1-inch pieces. Place the baby potatoes and onions in the bottom of a 5 quart or larger slow cooker.
- Chop the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Add the cabbage and steak seasoning to the slow cooker.
- Slice the sausage into ½-inch thick rounds. Add the sausage to the slow cooker along with the chicken broth. Stir slightly to nestle the sausage down into the cabbage. It's okay if the broth does not cover all the ingredients.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- After 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low, stir to combine the ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Top with chopped parsley, if desired, then serve hot.
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Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Chef’s Knife
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Nutrition
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How to Make Slow Cooker Cabbage and Sausage – Step by Step Photos
Chop one yellow onion into one-inch pieces. Place 1.5 lbs. baby potatoes and the chopped onion in the bottom of a 5 quart or larger slow cooker.
Chop ½ head of cabbage into one-inch pieces (about 5-6 cups once chopped). Add the chopped cabbage to the slow cooker along with 2 tsp steak seasoning.
Slice 14oz. smoked sausage into ½-inch thick rounds. Add the sliced sausage to the slow cooker along with 2 cups chicken broth.
Slightly stir the ingredients in the slow cooker just so the sausage gets nestled down into the cabbage a bit.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours. After cooking, it will look a little like this.
Stir everything together, top with chopped parsley (optional), and serve hot!
It is fine, but not as flavorful as I would have hoped–that might be related to the specific sausage used, and perhaps even the particular steak seasoning. Anyway, if making over, I would probably brown the sausage first. I’d also use the whole cabbage head, as it cooks down a lot. It was super easy, though, and very nice to be able to come home to a hot meal after a very long day at work!
Turned out great even with over cooking. (late nap almost ruined dinner) I did opt to brown my sausage first. Will definitely have again.
I made this exactly as written, although I lost track of time at work and it ended up cooking for 5 hours on High instead of 4. Maybe that was a factor, but it ended up more watery than I expected, and the flavor was pretty flat. It was edible, and everything was cooked through, but it was a bit boring. I’m hesitant to add any more of the steak seasoning because it has salt, and between the kielbasa, the broth, and the 2 tsp of steak seasoning, the salt level was fine. Maybe some salt-free Creole seasoning blend would help make this more interesting.
Would this work with beef broth?
That should be fine!
Simple and delicious! I used turkey keibasa and cooked it in the instant pot for for 25min. Came out perfect! Served with some French bread. Definitely a keeper!
I improvised on this recipe, a little I Used, Italian sausage meatballs, and added chopped carrots and celery, and added extra little bit of hickory smoked salt with the steak seasoning came out great
I liked this recipe because of the ease, and it is all things I already like. I did add carrot to try and get another veggie in, and I used mixed peppercorns and the usual seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, onion). If I did it again, I would sauté the garlic and onion, brown the sausage and add caraway seeds instead of peppercorn. They just didn’t have it at my store.
I actually really liked this recipe! If you like corned beef and cabbage, you’ll like this. Conversely, if you don’t like boiled cabbage, this isn’t the dish for you.
It’s simple, hearty, and reminds me of dinners my mom used to make. I used an instant pot, threw everything in as per the directions (+ 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp of butter, and some minced garlic) but set my instant pot for 20 min pressure cook and it turned out great. It is a little soupy, so reduce the liquid as desired. I wish I would have gone with 1 cup of chicken broth instead of two.
My husband and I both thought this was very good. I’ll be making it again. Thank you.
I was using my instant pot for this recipe, and for whatever reason, the slow cooker setting didn’t work – I noticed 2 hours later… So, I figured I’d try using the pressure cooker setting for 1 hour, and it turned out great!
Nice! Thanks for sharing those results!
So easy and so full of flavor. I think this is the second time I have made this in a month. We love it.
My family loves this recipe! Easy and so tasty. I just made it this week and my husband is already requesting I make it again. I honestly can’t believe there are people commenting that this is bland–I don’t know, season it!? Haha, anyway, when it’s done we serve it with a little sour cream, dill, sauerkraut, and Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt. SO good. Ultimate comfort food around here! Don’t listen to the haters, this one is a keeper.
Dice the onion, add two minced garlic cloves and sauté them in rendered bacon fat before adding them to the crockpot. I also sautéed the cabbage in the rendered bacon fat before the crockpot. Add 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the chicken broth once thrown all together in the pot and stir. These small changes made a huge flavor difference!
I have made this recipe 4 times. It’s good, not great. An easy, throw-together meal for a weeknight when you don’t need to impress. I double the spices and add a dollop of sour cream once it’s done cooking.
Amazing and easy!!! Our family loved it!!!
My husband LOVES this, and it’s so easy! It has become part of our regular rotation.
This tasted so good! I am making it again this weekend!
This is the recipe my mom made to feed 8 kids—3 girls and 5 huge and always hungry boys! I have been searching for this recipe and finally found it. It is my favorite comfort food and very healthy to boot. Thanks so much!
Should the sausage be pre-cooked?
Hi, Susannah! Smoked sausage is already pre-cooked — while you wouldn’t want to slice & eat it directly out of the package like a summer sausage, you just need to make sure it is heated to a safe temperature for eating (around 160*, like reheating leftovers). Four hours in the slow cooker is PLENTY of time to make that happen! — Best, Marion
Tastes like someone threw a bunch of random ingredients in a slow cooker and called it a meal. I would not recommend this to anyone. Please for the love of God do not try this recipe.
This recipe is one of the VERY few stinkers on this blog. Wouldn’t make again. I had to mess with it so much just to make it edible.
I added some chopped up bacon and a bit of red wine vinegar to up the acidity and flavor and it was perfect! Very flavorful and delicious!
This was okay out of the slowcooker but once i added some grainy mustard and smoky bacon mayo it elevated it to really delicious. I think adding some bacon grease and regular mayo would work as well but the creaminess of the mayo is really necessary. Sour cream and baon bits might work.
It was good but I felt like it could have been more flavorful. Maybe add some garlic or spices??
YUM! Loved this one. I used a basic steak seasoning recipe I found online (1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper), so I ended up with 3 tsp seasoning, but I had a little extra cabbage and sausage so it worked out perfectly. Had garlic bread on the side. This one will definitely be going in the regular rotation.
Any chance you have ever tried this in an instant pot? I love my slow cooker, but sometimes working all day doesn’t allow me to get the ingredients in there fast enough. If you recommend any adjustments for an instant pot I am excited to try this recipe!
Hi ! We haven’t tested this recipe in an Instant Pot, so we cannot tell you what will work for sure. However, if it were me, I’d brown the sausages in the Instant Pot using the saute function. Then I’d add the rest of the ingredients, making sure to reduce the amount of chicken stock to 1 cup. Then I would cook it on high pressure for three minutes and allow for a natural release. Again, this isn’t a tested method, but if you’re willing to experiment, it’s what I would do. XOXO -Monti
I tried the instant pot method out and it worked great! It took a little over 30 minutes to naturally release. In addition to the steak seasoning, I put in a tsp of creole seasoning (Tony Chachere’s) and about a 1/4 tsp – 1/2 tsp of salt. Super yummy!
This turned out fantastic!!! I skipped the onion because of the kids, used kielbasa, and only seasoned with pepper, onion powder and oregano and the flavor was amazing!!!
I love this. Only thing I do differently is use creole seasoning because that’s what I have on hand. I wanted to comment because I thought it was funny that someone commented that it was under seasoned- it says in the recipe to adjust to your liking. Just add more if you thought it wasn’t enough?
I am applauding this comment. XOXO -Monti
Just made this for my dinner. I couldn’t get smoked sausage so I panfried Lincolnshire sausages for a few minutes before adding to slow cooker. It was delicious. Perfect for meal prep as I can get 4 portions out of it and then add some fresh veg on the side.
I’m usually impressed with all Budget Byte recipes and this one missed the mark. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out incredibly bland. Skip this one and make another one of Beth’s great recipes instead. :)
Have not made this yet. What are your thoughts on using sauerkraut? Warming it and adding it while serving instead? Would the taste conflict with the seasonings you used?
Sauerkraut goes really well with the rest of the ingredients in this dish, although I’m not sure how it holds up to slow cooking, so I’d probably just warm it up and add it to my plate. :)
I tried this today. I’m curious to know if you used 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. The cabbage was a little soft for my taste, so I think I would add it later in the cooking process next time. I went with the 8 hours on low, but ended it after 6 hours as the cabbage was already very tender. I did enjoy adding the kraut and the vinegar was a nice contrast to the meat and steak seasoning flavor.
I did 4 hours on high, but slow cookers can certainly vary, so you may need to adjust for your particular machine. My cabbage was very soft, but I kind of like it that way. :)
I made this with non-smoked vegetarian sausage, and added smoked paprika and fennel seeds to the seasoning, along with a slug of sunflower oil to carry the flavours. It worked well and I enjoyed the unctuous, almost-caramelised texture of the cabbage after the long cooking. Next time I will try with smoked veggie sausage.
There is a sauerkraut and sausage recipe exactly like this.. w/o the cabbage and potatoes.. I tend to do 6-8h low
It is my third time making this recipe ! I really love it !!! I personally add salted smoked bacon also and i serve it with stiff polenta miam ! I just have a question, do you think i could freeze some ? Will it hold it self or become a mushy mess ? Tx again !
Hmm, I think this one would probably become pretty watery/mushy if frozen and thawed. :)
I loved this recipe and will make again and again. However, even after 6 hours on high it was only just beginning to get good. We ate and enjoyed some, but then I left the cooker on low overnight for the remainder and, wow, the next day it was perfect! Mind you, I nearly had the cooker on for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the sausage fats had completely broken down into the broth (I used 4 cups broth instead of 2; two seemed insufficient) and the potatoes were firm but fully cooked.
Very easy and very delicious. I made it a few days ago because I wanted something easy to throw together. I ate it with mustard on the side to dip the sausages. Will make again.
This one was just okay. The recipe was very similar to the sheet pan kielbasa with green beans and the sheet pan kielbasa and cabbage recipe. I’m underwhelmed with this recipe to be honest. I might make it again if I can find a higher quality sausage because this whole recipe was under 5 minutes of effort.
I am a big fan of this site and the recipes are always great. This one was…okay. It tasted nice right out of the slow-cooker, and the vegetables still tasted great as leftovers. But the sausage (I used a kielbasa from Trader Joe) was disappointing. I get it that the flavors meld into the cabbage and potatoes and onions, but the sausage itself was borderline gross after cooking, and I ended up tossing most of it after the first night. It became water-logged and lost almost all of its flavor, and I couldn’t stomach it.
This was delicious and easy. Due to time, I had to use my instant pot. I put it on high for 15 minutes and it came out perfectly. Great weeknight meal!
Could you use cole slaw mix in place of the chopped cabbage?
Thinly sliced cabbage like that might not hold up well to the long cook time. But I’m not sure without testing it first.
Ok. Thank you for responding. Love your site, I use it all the time 😸
Ridiculously simple. I can’t even begin to describe how fantastic it was to have a hot lunch that even I couldn’t make prep take an hour.
This was great! We often make your Sheet Pan version of this meal and so we had all of the ingredients ! I was able to whip it up over lunch so that we could go sledding after school and come home to a hot dinner ready to serve! We used Andouille sausage this time, I’m looking forward to trying with Kielbasa in the future.
Delicious! Albeit a little over seasoned, I would just use 1tsp of steak seasoning next time.
I cooked it in an Instant Pot on high for 15 minutes and it came out tasty for me! I’m guessing it would turn out fine with half the liquid but I kept everything the same just to see the outcome.
Can you make this vegan with sausage substitution
I think it would depend on whether or not the type of vegan sausage substitute holds up well to slow cooking, which might vary by brand.
Do you think I could use a plant-based sausage without a casing, like field roast? Or would it be too overcooked? Thanks!
I’m not sure, unfortunately, because I’ve never tried cooking field roast in a slow cooker, so I’m not sure how it would hold up.
I cook pretty regularly with plant-based sausage, and I think you could use something like the field roast, trader joe’s vegan italian sausage, or beyond meat. However, I’ve found veggie sausages in soups tend not to have the same nice, firm texture as they do cooked in other ways like roasted or pan-fried. I also think they don’t add layered flavor to a dish like this like a meat sausage would. What I tend to do is to cook the veggie portion of the soup/stew as recommended adding additional seasoning (maybe here something smoky like paprika? or trader joe’s mushroom umami seasoning, and then before serving, pan fry the veggie sausage in a little bit of oil. That way you get the best version of the flavors and textures, and it’s really minimal cooking still.
This recipe looks delicious! I’m definitely going to try it the next time I get my hands on some cabbage; probably with some field roast sausage ;-)
I’ve never cooked cabbage before, is this a certain type or will any work? I’ve only used cabbage in coleslaw!
Green cabbage is best for this recipe. :)
Making this tonight! The lady checking me out at the grocery store pulled the sausage and cabbage out and said “are you making these together? With potatoes?” and said this was one of her favorite meals growing up. Can’t wait!!!
I can’t wait!! I’m making this tonight! This looks like the perfect winter recipe. :)
Interesting. I never would have thought to put steak seasoning in something like this. I might have to try this next after we finish up the current bean soup.
My family has been making a recipe like this for years but we add broth to make it even more of a soup! We also cut the sausage into little cubes instead of rounds.
“After 4 hours on low or 8 hours on high” — I think you have that reversed
Thanks for the heads up! All fixed now. :)
If I don’t have slow cooker, can I put it in instant pot?
This would probably work in an IP, but I don’t know what setting or how long without testing first. :)
Any ideas on how to convert to instant pot?
I’d need to test it, honestly. But I’m sure it would convert pretty well because nothing fancy is going on here as far as the cooking method. :)
Have you tried using slow cooker liners and do you recommend them?
I don’t use them, personally. I never have a problem cleaning the slow cooker and something about cooking in a plastic bag is just kind of off-putting to me. 😅