This easy recipe for slow cooker cabbage will teach you how to cook it in a crockpot, soaked in broth, apple cider vinegar, and butter, for a perfectly tender and flavorful result! It’s a great way to transform a tough, crunchy vegetable into a melt-in-your-mouth vegetarian side dish (in only a few hours). Make this winning recipe for St. Patrick’s Day, holiday meals, or any time you need a no fuss veggie.
In the past few years, cabbage has been making a comeback! This hearty, affordable, and abundant vegetable is often associated with slaws and salads, but I personally think it shines just as much when cooked.
Cooked cabbage has a wonderfully tender texture that’s almost buttery. It holds onto flavors very well and tastes even better if you cook it low and slow instead of a quick braise. That’s why this slow cooker cabbage is SO good!
Just like my Slow Cooker Collard Greens, this recipe is proof that the trusty crockpot is the perfect tool for taking the toughness out of leafy greens. The minimal prep and cleanup are a bonus, too! Try this one out if you want a simple, fiber-rich vegetable to add to the rotation.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cabbage: All types of cabbage work in this recipe. I like to use classic green cabbage, but you can try red, Napa, or Savoy. Check out my tutorial on How to Cut Cabbage for prep tips. If you don’t feel like cutting up a whole head, buy bagged shredded cabbage instead. It may take less time to cook though, since the pieces are probably smaller than what you would cut yourself.
- Broth: Use vegetable broth or sub chicken if you don’t need your slow cooker cabbage to be vegetarian.
- Apple cider vinegar: Lemon juice or white wine or red wine vinegar work as subs.
- Garlic powder and onion powder: Use minced fresh garlic or onion if you want.
- Butter: Sub vegan butter if you need the recipe to be fully plant-based.
- Possible additions: Chopped bacon or ham add smoky, salty flavor. You can also add some smoked paprika if you don’t want meat.
Instructions
The full recipe card for slow cooker cabbage is at the bottom of the post.
Put sliced cabbage, broth, vinegar, spices, and pats of butter in the slow cooker.
Cook for 2 to 4 hours on high until it’s as tender as you want!
Storage and Reheating
Keep slow cooker cabbage in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. You can store it with or without some of the excess broth from the slow cooker. If you store it in broth, it will get softer over time. Reheat in the microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between, until warmed through. You can also heat it in a saucepan with some broth.
Serving
This recipe is a great side dish for St. Patrick’s Day or Christmas and can be served with corned beef, chicken, fish, pork, pot roast, bratwursts, or sausage. It’s also a delicious addition to a BBQ spread. If you have a lot of leftovers, serve it with fried eggs for breakfast!
More Cabbage Recipes
Love this slower cooker cabbage? Check out these other recipes while you’re here:
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Cabbage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cabbage - about 1 medium head, 8 to 10 cups chopped
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Prep the cabbage. Slice the head into quarters. Slice off the core from the bottom center of each quarter and discard. Cut into thin strips about 2 inches long (or smaller pieces if desired).
- Place the cabbage in the slow cooker. In a measuring cup, whisk together the broth, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Pour over the cabbage. Stir.
- Slice the butter into pats and place them on top of the cabbage.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 to 4 hours (or low for 4 to 7 hours) until the cabbage is tender. Stir a couple of times throughout the cooking process for best results. I like to cook the cabbage for about 3.5 to 4 hours on high so that it gets very tender, but it's up to you! If you like it less tender, check at 2 hours and go from there.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the cabbage from the slow cooker to serve. You can also serve it with a little of the remaining broth if desired. Enjoy!
- Leave a rating or review by tapping the stars on this recipe card (above) or in the comments section (at the end of the post).
Notes
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. Feel free to add some of the broth left in the slow cooker to the container of leftovers if you want the cabbage to continue to soften overtime.
- If you didn’t store in broth, reheat in the microwave in 1-minute intervals until warmed through. If you kept some broth, you can reheat the cabbage in it in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through.
- Add bacon, ham, or smoked paprika if you’re looking for a smoky flavor. Use vegan butter to make vegan.
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