This sautéed red cabbage recipe is an Oktoberfest tradition! Crisp red cabbage cooked until tender with sweet autumn apples, punchy garlic, German-style mustard, and whole caraway seeds.
Sautéed cabbage is a staple in our house. I regularly make it to go along with sliced chicken sausages and potatoes, or serve it in a bowl with rice and teriyaki meatballs. This sautéed red cabbage recipe is one I developed specifically for an Oktoberfest dinner, in which I served it alongside my Pretzel Crusted Chicken Schnitzel with Oktoberfest Beer Cheese 🍻
There certainly is no shortage of sautéed red cabbage recipes out there, but they usually turn out too crunchy for me. Don't get me wrong, I love a crisp and hearty vegetable! But alas, my weathered Crohn's belly isn't always so happy about the extra workload. So I developed this method of first sautéing the cabbage, and then braising it in chicken stock. It adds a uniquely savory flavor and also helps to soften the cabbage.
The result is an umami-rich, sweet n' sour side dish that has more of a caramelized onion-like tenderness instead of the usual crunchy coleslaw consistency. I bring in the flavors of bright mustard and pungent caraway seeds as a nod to German-style cabbage recipes in order to celebrate fest season in the best way I know how: with food! Próst!
ingredients for this sautéed red cabbage recipe
ingredient notes & swaps
- You can use your favorite type of apple for this red cabbage recipe, or whatever you already have on hand. I used an Envy apple here which is very sweet and crisp. Other good options would be Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, and Cortland. Apples with a crisper texture will hold their shape better through cooking while softer apples like Red Delicious and Macintosh will break down a lot more.
- I like the flavor of red cabbage sauteed in butter, plus it is more of a traditional ingredient in German cooking. You can certainly swap in olive oil or veg oil though!
- If you're using salted chicken stock, make sure to season the cabbage lightly with any additional salt until you taste it at the end. The chicken stock will reduce and concentrate, leaving the cabbage saltier than you might anticipate.
- I use coarse grain mustard as it gives great texture and appearance of the little mustard seeds. I love Kosciuszko mustard for its rustic texture and kick of horseradish! Spicy brown mustard or dijon are good choices too.
how to cut a red cabbage
First, remove any leathery or buggy outer leaves. Then slice off the very end of the stem like this.
Slice the cabbage in half.
Then slice each half in half again, creating 4 quarters.
Using your knife on an angle, slice the triangular shaped piece of core out from each cabbage quarter as shown.
From there, place each quarter cut side down and slice crosswise into strips. Keep slicing until you work your way through each quarter!
how to make sautéed red cabbage
sautéed red cabbage recipe
This sautéed red cabbage recipe is an Oktoberfest tradition! Crisp red cabbage cooked until tender with sweet autumn apples, punchy garlic, German-style mustard, and whole caraway seeds.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 red cabbage - enough to yield 8 cups sliced
- 1 medium apple - enough to yield 2 cups sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon mustard
Instructions
- Prep your veggies! Thinly slice the red cabbage (step by step instructions above), core and cut the apple into matchsticks, and mince the garlic.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat., then add the sliced red cabbage, apple matchsticks, and bay leaf.
- Toss lightly to get everybody coated in the butter. I know your skillet probably seems way overfull at this point but it will cook down and be easier to manage after a few minutes!
- Cook, stirring often for about 10-15 minutes, then season lightly with salt. The cabbage and apple will start to soften and smell nutty. Some roasty golden brown edges here are a good thing, but reduce the heat to medium if it starts cooking too harshly.
- Push the cabbage and apple mixture out to the sides of the skillet, creating an opening in the center. Add the garlic and caraway seeds to the center and let them cook there, stirring just the caraway and garlic mixture as you do so. The garlic and caraway will become toasty and fragrant after about 2 minutes, then stir the seeds and garlic into the whole cabbage mixture.
- Increase the heat to high and continue cooking for about 2 more minutes, letting some color develop on the cabbage. Pour in the apple cider vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan. Cook for a minute or two, just until the vinegar is absorbed, then stir in the chicken stock and reduce heat to medium-low.
- Let the red cabbage simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Keep it uncovered. If you notice the liquid disappearing and the cabbage is starting to stick to the pan, add a splash of water to keep it moist.
- Remove your sautéed cabbage from the heat and pull out the bay leaf. Stir in the brown sugar and mustard.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt, black pepper, or cider vinegar as desired. For extra richness, stir in a pat of butter just before serving. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: German
FAQs
how do you cook red cabbage without losing color?
Cooking red cabbage with an acid-in this case, apple cider vinegar-helps it to hold on to some of its red color. No matter what you do though, cooked red cabbage will always be more muted in color as compared to the shocking purple of its raw state!
dig in!
Enjoy & let me know what you think 🌙 💛
