Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Smoked Sausages
This recipe for Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Smoked Sausages is the kind of down home dish that’s filling and simple to prepare. In it, sweet green cabbage is braised on the stovetop in bacon drippings then cooked with slices of smoked sausage and tender Yukon Gold potatoes. This braised cabbage is just the kind of skillet meal you make not because it’s fancy, but because it’s just good eating.
Easy Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Smoked Sausages Recipe
This braised is the kind of comforting dish that I grew up on. It makes a great main dish accompaniment to a pan of cornbread and a bowl of pinto beans. Or both! To make Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Smoked Sausages this is what you do:
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp, then remove from the pan using a slotted spoon. Reserve 4 Tbsp drippings in pan. This is going to bring lot of flavor to the dish overall.
- Add the oil and sliced smoked sausages to the pan drippings. Cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until the sausage slices are beginning to brown.
- Add chopped green onions, minced garlic, pepper flakes, seasoned salt and fennel seed. Cook for around 1-2 minutes just until fragrant.
- Top the cooked sausage with cubed potatoes and chopped cabbage. Pour chicken stock and apple cider vinegar over the cabbage. Season with black pepper to your taste.
- Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and the cabbage is cooked through, stirring occasionally. If the cabbage chars a little, don’t panic, that will add loads of flavor!
- Uncover, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook uncovered until the pan juices have evaporated and the cabbage is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Stir well, taste and adjust salt and black pepper to your taste.
- Serve with a sprinkle of parsley and top with crumbled bacon.
How to Make the BEST Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Smoked Sausages Recipe
Cabbage is often overlooked when it comes to a great option for a main course meal. It’s inexpensive and filling, a terrific combination.
- Ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Sausages: Green cabbage, bacon, Yukon gold potatoes or similar, smoked sausage or kielbasa, onion, seasoned salt, black pepper, fennel seeds, chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, chopped parsley and garlic.
- Kitchen tools you’ll need: Large 12 inch skillet, sharp knife and cutting board, garlic press, vegetable peeler, slotted spoon, and various other kitchen utensils.
- Please note: This cabbage recipe uses green cabbage not Napa cabbage.
- When serving this braised cabbage with bacon the amount of servings can vary depending on the appetites of those you’re serving. As a rule of thumb, as a side dish you may yield 6 servings and as a main dish 3-4. It proves that food doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to be good.
- You may enjoy adding chopped braised red cabbage to the mix. I recommend around 1 cup chopped the same size as the green cabbage.
- You can use another variety of potatoes in this dish. Russet potatoes, red potatoes or white potatoes. Please note, they all have different starch content and therefore will cook differently. Adjust the cooking time depending on the variety you choose to use.
- Crushed red pepper flakes add a little heat to the skillet overall. You can adjust the amount or omit them altogether. You may also choose to serve hot sauce on the side.
- You may enjoy this braised cabbage with shredded carrots in place of potatoes.
- Serve braised cabbage with cornbread and pinto beans for a downhome meal.
- Store cooked simple Braised Cabbage with Potatoes and Smoked Sausages chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat in a non stick skillet or in single servings in the microwave.
- See how to make Braised Cabbage in the oven here.
More Cabbage Recipes to Make
We’re big fans of cabbage at our house and I make it often for our meals. More easy cabbage recipes you may like to try:
- Low Carb Oven Roasted Cabbage Steaks.
- Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls take the fuss out of rolling classic cabbage rolls.
- Southern Style Cole Slaw is a must make!
- Hearty Braised Pork Chops with Cabbage and Apples.
- Turn green cabbage into this Cheesy Cabbage Casserole.
- Homemade Southern Chow Chow a delicious condiment for pinto beans, hot dogs and more.
- Simple Southern Fried Cabbage.
- Light and flavor packed Cabbage Soup.
- Pickled Cabbage from Eating Well.
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Helpful Kitchen Items:
Braised Cabbage With Potatoes And Smoked Sausages
Ingredients
- 3 slices thick cut bacon cut into 1″ pieces
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 12 oz fully cooked smoked turkey or kielbasa sausage sliced
- 1 cup green onions thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes adjust to taste
- 1 tsp seasoned salt adjust to your taste
- 1/4 tsp fennel seed
- 2 cups 1″ cubed Yukon gold/red potatoes
- 1 3 lb head cabbage cut into 1″ pieces
- 2/3 cup chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp, then remove from the pan using a slotted spoon. Reserve 4 Tbsp drippings in pan.
- Add oil and sliced smoked sausages to the pan drippings. Cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until the sausage slices are beginning to brown.
- Add chopped green onions, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt and fennel seed. Cook for around 1-2 minutes just until fragrant.
- Top with potatoes and cabbage. Pour chicken stock and cider vinegar over cabbage. Season with black pepper to your taste.
- Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and the cabbage is cooked through, stir occasionally.
- Uncover, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook uncovered until the pan juices have evaporated and the cabbage is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Stir well, taste and adjust salt and black pepper to your taste.
- Serve with a sprinkle of parsley or cilantro and top with crumbled bacon.
This is delish! Made and tasted last night – tonight we feast!
We love this, too, thanks so much for letting me know!
This recipe is awesome! I made this for my girls last night and I barely had any to bring to work today! Great recipe and fan favorite!
I’m delighted you enjoyed this one, thanks David!
Made this tonight. Fantastic! I added a couple of chopped tart green apples, sliced carrots, and sweet potatoes. My husband and I are o full and happy right now!
Wonderful, I love your ideas yum!
This is the first review I have ever left on a website concerning a recipe. All I have to say is that this is so good that I won’t do it justice by trying to explain it in English. I had a frozen generic brand of smoked sausage, garden grown cabbage and everything else I snagged from the local grocer. I never follow recipes but I did this time. I have never had a concoction that was so simple and cheap. A little creamy horseradish or sour cream on the side and get ready to go on a long bike ride the next morning because you’ll probably eat all of it in one sitting. Thank you for this great post!!!!!!
Ben, what a wonderful comment thank you so much! I’m delighted you enjoyed this and I love the addition of horseradish cream on the side. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
FANTASTIC………I used Savoy Cabbage ..if you do you need to increase the amount of caabage by 50% much sweeter no need for sugar…
I made it tonight! Killer! I wanted to add some chopped green pepper, but it was too old so I added one jalapeño chopped, used regular onion and 2 c. chicken stock. I added about 1 1/2 tsps. sugar at the end because it tasted a little bitter. The jalapeño and the red pepper flakes gave it quite a bit of heat which I liked. I used Trader Joe’s Chicken smoked sausage with apple and Braggs cider vinegar. We didn’t have any bacon so I substituted ham. The fennel seeds gave it a nice flavor too!
Sounds terrific glad you enjoyed this!
Like you I have made this with and without potatoes, you can’t go wrong. Enjoy!
Making this now it smells so good…..I never added potato b4. So this will be interesting
Going to use collard greens instead of cabbage.
I love that you added brussel sprouts, great idea! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. ~ Melissa
I make this and added the pepper flakes. This is really good. Also added Brussle sprouts. So good!!!!
Yes, sorry that wasn’t more clear. It’s really up to the cook’s discretion to decide if they need additional fat to cook the cabbage.
The ingredient list lists olive oil but the olive oil is never mentioned in the preparation. Is this as a substitute to the bacon drippings if desired?
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t cook bacon since I keep bacon grease in the fridge. Used 3 tbls. and added maybe a tbls of olive oil when I added the cabbage and potatoes. It was awesome! Definitely a keeper.
You are one of the few people who keep bacon drippings, perfect. So happy you loved this one we do, too. Thanks for letting me know!
yes it did, add olive oil with sausage,ohure neo neo
Hi Connie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this simple meal. Thanks so much for visiting. ☺
I made this one tonight. We loved it! It was really good. You have some awesome recipes!
Just got done eatting for the first time,added a little butter,my grandaughter 7yrs old has ketchup.she loves it,I love it,husban loves it. thank you for sharing:)
Hi Val, I feel the same way, ♥ it! Thanks for stopping by ~ Melissa
What is it about fried cabbage!?! It is just sooo good! Can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks awesome!
Yes, it does work great with sauerkraut as well.
This would also be wonderful with sauerkrat (sans the vinegar).
Mercedes