How to Make the Best Southern Cabbage Recipe

This southern cabbage recipe is just one example of how Southerners can transform vegetables into delicious, crowd-pleasing side dishes. From fried okra and collard greens to cabbage with bacon, the cooks of the South have cracked the vegetable code.

Southern Fried Cabbage Recipe with Bacon

This recipe makes about 5 cups and takes 25 minutes, start to finish. If you end up with leftover raw cabbage, make this Quick Bean and Ham Soup or one of our crunchy coleslaw recipes.

Ingredients

• 4 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 6 cups coarsely chopped cabbage (half a large head)
• 1 tablespoon water

Lauren’s Tip: I prefer this recipe with 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, but start with 1/8 and season to your preferred spice level. Same goes for the sugar and black pepper. It’s important to season to your taste.

Directions

Step 1: Crisp the bacon

How to Make the Best Southern Cabbage Recipe

The first step is to cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Don’t be afraid to let your bacon get crispy! It should be deep golden brown and just on the verge of making you nervous it’s going to burn. This adds flavor and ensures it won’t get soggy too fast once mixed in with the fried cabbage.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer each strip to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the skillet and save the rest for a recipe that calls for leftover bacon grease.

Step 2: Cook the onion

Heat the reserved grease over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Then stir in the sugar, salt, pepper flakes and pepper.

Step 3: Add the cabbage

Add the cabbage and water and cook for 5-6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the cooked cabbage to a serving dish and sprinkle with bacon. If you’re making this dish ahead, leave the bacon out until right before serving to make sure it stays crisp.

Store any leftover cabbage in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat the cabbage in a skillet over low heat until it’s warmed through.

Tips for Making Our Southern Cabbage Recipe

• Use bacon that has no added flavors, like maple syrup. (See our Test Kitchen’s picks for the best bacon brands.) Keeping the ingredients simple allows the star of the show—cabbage—to shine.
• Use thick-sliced bacon. It’s important for two reasons. First, it renders more fat, which guarantees you’ll have enough for cooking the cabbage. And second, when you get a bite with bacon, it has a ton of meaty, salty flavor.
• If you’re not used to prepping cabbage, check out this guide on how to shred cabbage, which covers how to safely remove the tough core. You’ll be roughly chopping the cabbage for this southern cabbage recipe.
• If you’d prefer to skip the bacon, simply leave it out and use 2 tablespoons of butter in place of the bacon grease.

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