Do you have a big, neglected cabbage in your fridge awaiting the right inspiration? I had a feeling you did. The way I figure it, the sidewalks are currently covered in pink and white petal confetti, the ramps are here, and the asparagus is close, thus I’m crossing my fingers that this can be our last hurrah with heavy winter vegetables until at least November. We’re going to make it a good one.
The origin of this recipe is, as you might have guessed, the godlike invention known as salt-and-vinegar potato chips. When developing this recipe, I first used this method to imbue thick potato slices with vinegar and salt. Later, on a whim, I added chunks of cabbage, just to see if they, too, appreciated a vinegar roast/braise, and what happened next was that we neglected all of the potatoes to eat the cabbage.
I, too, was flabbergasted. The potatoes were good! But the cabbage was better, way better. It stole the show. So I made it again with just cabbage, and, look, I am not going to try to convince you that you’re going to like chunks of charred-edged cabbage with some chiplike flakes braised in vinegar with soft cloves of garlic and pats of butter, if you are skeptical about these things. I know it’s not for everyone. But if it’s for you, and I bet you know already whether it is, you are in for one of my favorite ways to roast cabbage. It’s going to seem too charred, too vinegary, too vegetal when you first pull it from the oven, but the pan will not make it to the table intact.
Video
Charred Salt and Vinegar Cabbage
- 2 pounds (905 grams, or roughly 1 medium) green cabbage, halved, cored, then cut into 1-to-2-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) vegetable broth
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) white vinegar
- Sea salt, to finish
On a rimmed 9-by-13-inch baking sheet, toss the cabbage with the olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat evenly, but leaving any chunks intact-that is, there’s no need to separate the leafy layers. Dot the butter over the top — it will melt in the oven. Roast for 15 minutes, until the cabbage is black in spots.
Use a spatula to turn the cabbage over and scatter the garlic cloves in the pan.
Return to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes, until the cabbage looks worrisomely charred (but it will be perfect, I promise). Pour the broth and vinegar carefully into the pan, and return it to the oven a final time, to roast for yet another 15 minutes, or until the garlic cloves are tender and the liquids have been reduced to a thin (or nonexistent) puddle. Finish with a sprinkling of sea salt, and good luck not eating the crunchy bits right from the pan.
Previously
6 months ago: Roasted Carrots with Lentils and Yogurt
1 year ago: New York Crumb Cake, Spinach and Artichoke Pan Pizza, and Steamed Artichokes
2 years ago: Baby Wedge Salad with Avocado and Pickled Onions
3 years ago: Chicken Liver Pâté
4 years ago: Sheet Pan Chow Mein
5 years ago: Crispy Crumbled Potatoes
6 years ago: Essential French Onion Soup
7 years ago: Asparagus and Egg Salad with Walnuts and Mint
8 years ago: Cornbread Waffles and Mushroom Tartines
9 years ago: Sesame Soba and Ribboned Omelet Salad and Apricot Hazelnut Brown Butter Hamantaschen
10 years ago: The Consolation Prize (A Mocktail) and Baked Chickpeas with Pita Chips and Yogurt
11 years ago: Whole-Grain Cinnamon Swirl Bread
12 years ago: Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Feta and Tahini
13 years ago: Soft Eggs with Buttery Herb-Gruyere Toast Soldiers
14 years ago: Spaetzle
15 years ago: Irish Soda Bread Scones and Spinach and Chickpeas
16 years ago: Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Sauce and Bialys
17 years ago: Caramel Walnut Banana Upside Down Cake and Swiss Easter Rice Tart
18 years ago: Mixed Berry Pavlova
Yum
Confirming
Basically 475° for 30 minutes?
Before the broth & vinegar?
Yes. I know sometimes people skip the first flip at 15 minutes if you’re looking to reduce steps.
Was summarizing the amt of time at 475°before liquid was added. Thanks.
This is amazing! It was so hard to not eat the entire sheet tray myself. Flavor and texture was perfect and so easy to make….
My oven doesn’t go beyond 399, but I can use it on convection setting. Thoughts? Just add additional time? This looks too delicious and I have cabbage awaiting! Thank you!
With convection, it might even out or close. Just keep an eye on it and use these photos (charred! almost dangerously so!) as guidance.
This sounds so good! Do you think if I didn’t want to use vegetable broth I should just use water?
Yes, absolutely.
Did I just make half this recipe and eat it by myself? Yes, yes I did. 🥹
This recipe is definitely a winner. I have made it SO MANY times since Keepers came out! Since it’s just the two of us I usually only make half of a cabbage, but if I have an apple on hand I’ll add one (cored, sliced into eighths) after the 15-minute mark and use the full amount of vinegar. Salty, sweet, sour, what more could you ask for?
Oh my goodness what a good idea
This is brilliant, love to put an apple in here. What type? Granny Smith, Braeburn?
Thank you for the super idea.
When you made the version with potatoes, did you slice them or chucks? Do they need a head start in the oven before you add the cabbage? My son and I both love salt and vinegar but he’s not a cabbage fan and loves all potatoes so I think the mixed version would be great for us.
I started with chunks but you could do wedges too. Honestly you could try this same ingredient approach (vinegar, etc.) but with the melting potatoes recipe.
Deb, you’re my favorite cabbage-pusher. You fully converted me. 1) it’s good for my belly (any other stress-IBS girlies here?) 2) It’s also a recession-era vegetable DREAM. Aka cheap as hell. 3) delicious when I follow your lead.
I had to fight off my 11, 10, and 5 year old daughters to eat the rest of this! I now have a house full of cabbage converts!
So good!
I have a full forgotten head of red cabbage in my fridge. Willl it work as well?
It can char faster, so keep an eye on it.
I have made it with red cabbage and think green is much better, for what it’s worth.
I never expected to find te word ‘worrisomely’ in a recipe but it’s definitely intriguing, adding a new dimension to my cooking.
Wonderful!
;-)
If I don’t happen to have white vinegar on hand (yes this is silly, I don’t know why) would white wine vinegar work? Red? …rice wine? Erm, apple cider? (Yes I have nearly everything *but* white.
My next choice would be apple cider, then white wine. Rice is very mild, and red wine would stain to an ugly color
Pretty sure I’ve made this recipe using apple cider vinegar.
It will be sweeter and less acidic but could still work!
Would lemon juice work here as well?
Instead of vinegar? I think so… almost a lemon potatoes vibe.
Hi Deb,
Asking about “The Recipe with Kenji and Deb,” which I enjoy. Your newsletter for the past two weeks says the latest episode is on French Toast, but the website* shows an episode on hummus – that I’ve already heard. I’ve emailed
therecipewithkenjianddeb@gmail.com to report this, and it hasn’t been updated. We can’t listen if the site and links aren’t up to date – or is this the wrong site?
Thanks, Ellen
*https://www.therecipepodcast.com/episodes
Ah, sorry for the confusion. So the French Toast episode was intended for last Monday, but I suggested we hold it as it was still Passover and it felt poorly timed, but that probably led to the errors. We will drop it this coming Monday instead. I’ll be sure to update the links here and in the newsletter.
Thank you, Deb – look forward to listening!
This recipe has been a staple in my house since Smitten Kitchen Keepers came out!
Ours too. I make it with half malt vinegar and half white vinegar, as a nod to my British husband. And the crunch of Maldon salt is swoon-worthy in and of itself.
I definitely need to make this! We made a corned beef dinner this spring and instead of boiling the veggies, found a recipe with veggies roasted in a horseradish butter. And while the potatoes and carrots were delicious, the cabbage was a revelation! Now I want to eat all the roasted cabbage :)
I’m one of those just knowing it will be fantastic for me. Cabbage is worrisomely underrated. Just one question: what do you usually eat with it to make it a meal? Looking forward to making this :)
I came here hoping for an answer to the same question! Anyone have any tips? Is it enough of a meal on its own or does it need something else? Looking forward to making it this week!
I replied below, but I served this over wild rice, with pan fried tofu sliced on top (but i think flakely white fish would be perfect here as well). Topped with a sambel oelek/maple syrup sauce.
I make this all the time! Love it!
Love this recipe – just one little comment. I read “baking sheet” as something akin to a cookie sheet. That was a mistake – use something with sides, like a 1/4 sheet pan, otherwise the vinegar/broth addition will end up scorched onto the floor of your oven.
Yes, when a recipe says “rimmed” baking sheet as this one specifies, I think it means a sheet pan, not a flat cookie sheet. Honestly, I don’t bother owning both — just used the rimmed sheet. I imagine there are some kinds of cookies that would present an issue on a rimmed sheet, but I haven’t encountered any.
i only own rimmed, too! learned a trick from America’s Test Kitchen – for the delicate cookies that require a proper rimless cookie sheet, simply flip the rimmed sheet over and use the underside. i tried this with a delicate speculoos cookie recipe, and it worked beautifully.
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/11199-belgian-spice-cookies-speculoos (i believe the baking sheet tip is in the video)
Interesting! I’ve always understood that it could be both. I will try to remember to clarify. I honestly don’t own any rimless baking sheets.
I made this with my neglected cabbage when Keepers first came out, and could not believe how good it is. My six year old asks for cabbage. Magical stuff.
I love this recipe! One of the gems of Smitten Kitchen Keepers. I make it with chicken broth since I always have that on hand and add a few extra garlic cloves- they are so good roasted like this! It sometimes takes my oven a little bit longer to get it perfect but it’s worth the extra time. I also have learned that i like it better when I drizzle the vinegar/broth mixture all over the cabbage in the last step rather than just pouring it in one spot of the pan. Yum!
Thanks for this re chicken broth. That’s what I plan on using as well, assumed it’d be fine but nice to have confirmation.
I always think I’m the only person on earth who love cabbage! Like you ,Deb, I’m glad to be proven wrong. I can’t wait to make this!
Just made this and it’s absolutely delicious and pretty simple. I did have to reduce the last stage by about 7 minutes as everything would have turned to dust. Next time I will probably do 12 minutes x3.
This is a favorite in our house and my 5 year old regularly requests it.
Has anyone tried this with Napa? (I assume less cooking time, as a start.) I love basic green cabbage and this is on the list!, but I happen to have 1/2 a large Napa in the fridge, waiting to be cooked or tossed….
Anne, if you want a fantastic way to use your Napa cabbage, search this site for “caesar”. In her notes for ‘Napa Cabbage Wedge with Miso Dressing’, Deb gave the idea of using Napa for Caesar salad. Her recipe for ‘Chicken Caesar Salad’ works perfectly using Napa cabbage!
This was just amazing. I love cabbage, but my husband’s not a huge fan. This recipe made him a believer. I made a half portion for my husband and me, and immediately wished I had a full batch.
Just wondering if you can adapt this to include BOTH THE POTATOES, and the cabbage as well to make a wonderful serving of veggies and carbs in a happy marriage.
Yes, just swap out half the cabbage for wedges or thick slices of potato.
I was planning to make charred radicchio this week. Do you think that would work as a sub for the cabbage or would it be too bitter?
It depends but often I find it too bitter. It can help to soak radicchio in cold water before using it; it gets juicier and less bitter.
Can confirm- even my kids love this. It’s incredible.
I had 1/2 head of cabbage languishing so obv had to make this. I chuckled when I checked my copy of Keepers and saw the post was lifted from the book! So so good 🤤
Looks great. I can probably figure it out, but is there a nutritional breakdown?
Made it two meals in a row. Young and not so young greatly appreciated it! And thnaks for the detailed instructions, I was worried it was too charred
OMG I doooooooo have an old cabbage in my fridge! Making this tonight…
Sounds delicious! Cabbage is such a staple for us in the winter–always happy to learn about delicious new preparations!
This is SOOOO good but what could I do to keep the cabbage firmer?Thanks!!
So so good. I used much more garlic and a fancy small batch ginger/nettle/citrus vinegar instead of white. I would like to eat the whole batch myself!
Hi there – How critical is the butter? Can you leave it out or substitute more olive oil? Thanks!
You can use olive oil.
I liked this but I didn’t love it. I used apple cider vinegar (bc that’s what I had) so maybe that was it?
My favorite cabbage-y recipe from SK remains this one: https://allnestor.shop/2022/02/crispy-cabbage-and-cauliflower-salad/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
This has been a recipe that makes me so sad to hate vinegar since the moment I first saw it. That cabbage looks incredible! I once accidentally ate one of my partner’s salt and vinegar chips (his ended up on my sando plate, so I expected it to be a regular chip) and cried.
You could do the same roasting and skip the vinegar. Roasted cabbage, kale, etc., is so very delicious. (Go with a squeeze of lemon or orange or lime if you still want a tang, or skip it, or add herbs instead.)
While this recipe is great in chunks, I’ve done it with leaves — shorter time, crispier bits and more like chips (same way I do kale/collard chips).
Who knew that a cabbage serves 2? Around here it does now!
This was delicious! My husband loved it adn is making it again this weekend. Thanks for sharing!
added some baby carrots on the side to sub for a smaller head of cabbage. so in terms of sheet layout, it was carrots-> russet potato wedges -> cabbage, cabbage, cabbage. amazing. everything came out tender, roasty, and so tasty. picky midwestern elderly eater said “best carrots ive had in a long time!”
This is one of my favorite recipes from the cookbook! I’ve been raving about it to everyone and so glad I can just send them this link now.
I LOVE this recipe. It is my most-used recipe from your most recent cookbook, and it’s been excellent every time. I’m usually cooking it as a side dish to some kind of meat, and I usually go ahead and do potatoes with it too—then I don’t have to cook anything else starchy to go with the meal. It’s so easy, and so good!
I really enjoyed this! It was a great accompaniment to a pierogi and (veggie) sausage dinner. Somehow I didn’t put 2+2 together until I started eating it, but the flavor instantly reminded me of my family recipe for rødkål, which my Norwegian-American family calls “sweet and sour cabbage,” a staple at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners! The charred/roasted element works very well here.
I’ve made this sooo many times since SK keepers came out. We double the vinegar/broth and use a whole green cabbage, plus one large russet potato. Peel and cut the potato into large cubes/chunks, and boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Add the potato with the cabbage and follow the recipe as written. The cabbage is soooo good and the potatoes are also like, the best potatoes I’ve ever had?! Even better than Michael Caine’s potatoes (lol) which were our previous faves.
Mine came out so charred and burned, half of it is inedible. Definitely looks darker than the photo. I cut back by 1/3 on the time, and even took the temp down to 450 when I noticed the cabbage getting too charred. The flavor of the non-burned bits is good, but definitely I’d cut the time in 1/2 next time, and maybe roast the whole thing at 450 rather than 475.
Can I use Napa cabbage instead?
I’m not sure it’s the right cooking method for it. Make this salad instead!
I made it because I trust you and your recipes. I was not disappointed. Soooooo good!
This was definitely the best possible thing that could have happened to the cabbage half that was languishing in the back of my fridge. Thanks Deb!
I made this twice: once in a disposable (aluminum foil) 9×13 pan, and once in a (real, metal) rimmed half sheet pan. The metal pan was 100% the way to go—the cabbage cooked much more in line with the recipe instructions and it was noticeably more delicious.
I also didn’t have vegetable stock and used water, and if you do this, I recommend generously salting to taste at the end. We liked it very salty.
Also, we appreciated the advice to cook until “worrisomely charred.” It was just right.
I made this tonight and was all set to love it but…didn’t. I think the problem was cutting the cabbage chunks too small? I extended the cooking as I was waiting for the worrisomely charred look, and finally pulled it out when it was somewhat charred. The taste was good but not quite there, but maybe I’m one of the rare non-vinegar fans, too? I loved the garlic bits–next time will double up on the cloves–and definitely cook bigger chunks. I never know how to judge a 1-2″ chunk instruction. Does that mean 1 x 2, or somewhere betwn 1″ cubes and 2″ cubes? (Yes, I’m a total over thinker when cooking new things.) I do love cabbage, though, and I tasted hints of what this probably tastes like when someone knows what they’re doing!
My family loved this! Like homemade sauerkraut…yum! Can’t wait to make it again!
Mmm… this is a great recipe, anf healthy too! A great way to “elevate” the humble cabbage..
Maybe because I used only one-quarter of a cabbage (what I had left over) but my cabbage bits were completely burned. I had the oven at 475 “Convect Roast” and I didn’t cook it the whole time, but it’s still little burned bits. Not so tasty. This is the first time one of my SK recipes didn’t work out deliciously!
I have two big bunches of bok choy that need to be used. Gonna try this method, maybe with a dashi-soy broth instead of veggie broth….
I made this and liked it well enough but what I want to talk about here is my experiment with cauliflower, also neglected in the back of the fridge, and cooked at the same time with the same method in a separate pan. The cauliflower burnt almost to a crisp and was inedible. This recipe does not translate to cauliflower even though it’s also a cruciferous vegetable. Just in case you were curious…
If you ever want to combine the cabbage and cauliflower on one sheet pan, don’t miss this one: crispy cabbage and cauliflower salad
This was absolutely amazing! So simple. So delicious. My children balked at the browned side dish. The one who actually tried it loved it… Those who did not just left more for me!
In case anyone is trying to figure out what to serve with this.. I served this over wild rice, with pan fried tofu slices on top (I was cooking for vegans; I think cod or other flakey white fish would be perfect here). I made a quick sambal oelek/maple syrup sauce to drizzle on top (sweet/spicy to complement the salt and vinegar cabbage). Delicious!
Wow. Bless you for bringing this into my life! Who knew the sad cabbage (literally wasting away in the back of my fridge as foretold by you) would lead to the most unexpected, glorious, mid-week lunch party for one (me).
I am not a fan of charred vegetables, as it seems to me it could be carcinogenic, like charred meat. BUT….I love roasted vegetables. Golden brown or slightly more than that ok, but more? No. So i roast things until tender that way. My question is whether this is still good with a more gentle char??? Has anyone tried it?
Yes. And this way it doesn’t taste burnt, either. It just appears very dark.
Is this a dish that needs to be eaten in the now, or can it be saved for later date like kale chips. If so what’s the best way to store them? Thanks so much
It’s great to eat right away. You can reheat it but it’s not chips; there are crispy and soft parts.
This was good! I made it for myself, with a skeptical and highly cabbage-averse spouse looking askance at me (and making snide remarks about the aroma once the vinegar started simmering away in a very hot oven), and then I piled the whole lot on to a dinner plate and ate it as a meal. It was a touch too charred so next time I’ll turn the fan off and just bake it old school.
After making this twice in one week, I’m here to say: if you’ve ever thought “hmmm, I wonder if I could eat a whole head of cabbage by myself” then this is the recipe for you. Perfection.
Exactly as good as advertised! Made this for dinner with pierogis last night and it was delicious
Ever wonder what will happen to your body if you were to eat an entire head of cabbage by yourself? Well, make this and ponder no more. I made it for dinner tonight and it was fab. I also ate the entire pan. No regrets. The only change I would make is that I didn’t have white vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar and the fruity came thru. I didn’t want that. I would also up the vinegar a little bit. I will be experimenting, so this recipe will continue on in my repertoire. Thinking of what to pair it with. Grilled ribs! Grilled chicken thighs! I can’t wait. Excellent work, Deb.