Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Bacon- a combination of sugar, cider vinegar and crispy, salty bacon bits makes this one of the most delicious cabbage side dished ever.
I love any kind of sautéed cabbage, but this Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Bacon may be my favorite. When I make it, I find myself picking the last pieces out of the pan with my fingers. It’s that good.
With crunchy bacon, onion, sweetness from a hefty dose of sugar, tang from cider vinegar, and saltiness from soy sauce, this side dish will wake up every taste bud in your mouth. So much so that you might wish it was the main dish instead of just a side.
I love to serve it with Bratwurst and Knockwurst. I slice them in half horizontally, place them in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and brown them up a little bit. But you could slice them and cook them with the cabbage for a one dish meal. Easy peasy!
Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Bacon is a simple side dish, but it is big on flavor. Only a handful of ingredients are needed. It’s a German-style side dish that is popular in the south. The part of North Carolian I am from had a lot of German immigrants and you can see the influences in southern home cooking.
This amazing side dish goes great with a side of Buttermilk Cornbread.
Try These other Amazing Cabbage Recipes:
- Smothered Cabbage and Potatoes
- Crock Pot Cabbage Roll Casserole
- Cabbage Soup with Smoked Sausage
- Cabbage and Noodles
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is!
Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 medium green cabbage, cored and cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large, heavy pot (I use a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crisp, stirring frequently.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a plate. Add onion and cabbage to pot and cook, stirring often, until cabbage is wilted (about 10 minutes).
- Add vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce and cook until cabbage is crisp-tender, about 10 more minutes.
- Stir in bacon.
Nutrition
Recipe Source: Martha Stewart
Originally published Oct 29, 2013.
The only thing I did different was to thicken the liquid at the bottom of the pot a bit. It stuck to the cabbage instead of just laying at the bottom. It was wonderful! It’s funny how something as cheap as a head of cabbage makes me sooooo happy!
My son made this today after I told him my grandmother used to make sweet and sour cabbage. He found this recipe and I’m so glad he did. We had a very large cabbage, so we had to alter the other ingredients accordingly.
Additionally, he used avocado oil and some of the bacon drippings instead of vegetable oil. He also used maple syrup instead of sugar. It was very good and we must have eaten a 1/3 of a giant cabbage each. Soooooo delicious.
Thank you for your wonderful recipe and bringing back fond memories of my childhood. I recommend this to all cabbage connoisseurs. 🙂
This is an outstanding recipe exactly as is that we’ll be enjoying often! Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you!
Hi
I don’t see the video on your blog for this recipe. I’m using chrome.
I haven’t made this as of yet…but was wondering if I could use “sour cabbage” that is already soured by marinating?
If so, how long would it cook it for?
I have not tried that Beth.
Hi Cristin!
This looked so good and I love cabbage. Especially sauteed cabbage. The only thing I had a problem with was the cabbage didn’t want to wilt in 10 minutes! That was ok and I cooked it a little while longer. Now it’s ready for supper. Yippee. It had too much liquid so just used a slotted spoon. Taste tested, it was great!
I added quick fried thin sirloin steak strips and substituted brown sugar. Very good.
My entire family enjoyed this dish. It was a perfect pairing with Pork Schnitzel.
This recipe is super good. I added my own “twist” by putting in 1 large Granny Smith apple 1/2” diced.
Also good with noodles in place of rice. All cooked to gether.
There is no rice in this dish. And noodles won’t work either, Wrong recipe R.
Super easy Super yummy!
I don’t eat pork so i used a tiny bit of liquid smoke and butter to cook the cabbage and onion in. And served it with pasta and chicken sausage. Total comfort food all the way! !
Delicious…. Cut in half, otherwise followed as written. I will definitely make this again but won’t cut in half so I’ll have leftovers!! Thanks for sharing
My Grandmother and Mother made this dish.They used cream instead of soy sauce.They were German and this was their Hot slaw recipe.Very good twist on the old recipe..
Loved this recipe. Husband said he definitely would like to have it again. Thanks!
I never used the olive oil in this. Once I fried the bacon I had enough fat to cook with. This was one of the first side dishes. Learned to make in 7th grade home etc. still just as good today and the recipe is simple and fail Proof! 🤓
Por favor me pueden enviar las recetas a mi e-mail.
GRACIAS
i like this with cooked noodles , its good too . i like it also over boiled potatoes
I found your post,, an knew I would have to try it ,,, when I did, I found I didn’t have any soy sauce,, but I did have some Lime Ponzu (a citrus season dressing & sauce ),,,, was so good, I’m making it again soon,, thanks for putting this out there for us cabbage lovers,,
Nice substitution Jo! That sounds really good!
I’m making this for a family reunion and wanted to know if it is freezable or will it be too mushy once thawed.
You should cook it the same day. It’s so and fast to make. Don’t freeze it it’ll lose its texture and taste.
My motherlaw was polish she made this all the time. I have added polish sausage to mine. I precook the sausage by slicing it is helps Eliminate some grease from the sausage. Its a great side dish. There are lots of good ideas in the comments.
I have cooked this same dish for years. For a little extra flavor I have added a clove or two of garlic. I also salt and pepper to taste before serving.
It is delicious isn’t it Liz? Thanks for the suggestion to add garlic. 🙂
My fav, spice is simply SPG, salt, pepper, garlic powder. use on most anything.
I love cabbage any which way. I made this with great expectations, and somehow I felt it was lacking in taste. The only thing I did differently was to cook the bacon earlier. Do you leave the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven ? I did not keep them. Is the sugar, soy sauce and cider vinegar supposed to evaporate, or does it stay watery? Would appreciate hearing from you, as I am sure it was something I did and I would like to make it again.
Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance.
Yes, leave the bacon fat in the Dutch oven. That is where a lot of the flavor comes from. A good bit of the liquid should evaporate, but there will still be some. Maybe try slightly higher heat.
I am having a large crowd for corned beef dinner. Can I make this cabbage the day before and heat it in the oven the next day.
Yes, I think it should reheat pretty well.
I am making an Irish dinner for St. Patricks a Day but my family does not like boiled cabbage. Would this be ok to serve with corned beef ..
I think it would go well with corned beef Sharon.
That’s not an Irish dish, at all, Sharon. If you’d want a real Irish dish, just check online….there’s Dublin Coddle for one. Bubble and Squeak is another, but, I forget if you boil the cabbage for that. Then, there’s Boxty.
My mother and father were both from Ireland. I never had Corned Beef at home. We might have ham and cabbage but that’s not real Irish, either.
For something simple, I’d just make Shepherd’s Pie. That might be more an English dish but people kind of associate it with Ireland, too. I think it’s in all the Irish Cook books.
How about colcannon. I make every year for St. Pats. Don’t be fooled though. There are a lot of crazy recipes out there. I stick with cabbage, potatoes butter cream and salt and pepper
Hi Christin, Your sweet & sour cabbage with bacon looks delicious. I am looking forward to trying it. May I thank you for allowing us to have a copy of the picture with the recipe.
I am a visual person and will more likely try a recipe that I
can see what it looks like over just having a recipe. I
have started only keeping recipes that allow us to have a
picture. Saves me time and effort. Thanks again for sharing.
Happy cooking,
Ann
sweet nd sour cabbage is deliciouse
Added mushrooms and shrimp for a delicious complete meal!!!
absolutely delicious,
intense flavors yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad you like it 🙂
I can’t wait to try this with Ham & mashed potatoes.
Wow! My dear mother-in-law used to make a German potato salad (it’s still a traditional Christmas dish in our family) that tasted exactly like this………..only I think I like it better with cabbage!
I love Fried Cabbage (That’s Southern for Sauteed Cabbage.) but would never have thought of this combo. I can’t wait to try it.
Hope you love it Rosa!
This was awesome! I’ve never really been a fan of cabbage but I’ll definitely be making this again. The boyfriend loved it too 🙂 It was great served over rice.
So glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorite recipes ever. Cabbage is so good when it’s slow cooked. I will have to try it over rice!
Mmm, cabbage is one of my favorite veggies and I can practically eat a whole head myself! Love the way you’ve cooked it here 🙂
Yum! I love sautéed cabbage and this sweet and sour version sounds incredible! Can’t wait to try this, thanks for sharing Christin 🙂
Thank you Kelly!
Sauteed cabbage is one of my mom’s favorite dishes (and I love it too!) and she’s always asking me to make her some. I’m sure she’ll love the bacon addition too, yum!
Coming from an Irish family, we love our bacon and cabbage – this sounds like a delicious twist!
I love cabbage! And you certainly can’t go wrong with bacon here. Great recipe Christin!
I love cabbage too! Cooked cabbage + bacon sounds so appetizing – what a perfect stand-alone meal or a side-dish for just about anything: pork, grilled chicken, sausage, etc.
Ya know, I have never in my life made cooked cabbage, but this looks like the perfect excuse to give it a try! Love the flavors!
oh-my-goodness this is sooooo right up my alley! printing and posting to the weekly menu plan! thank you for sharing!
Thanks Angela!
I love cabbage too! I actually love sautéing it up and putting it in a wrap with feat cheese! I’m so happy to have another recipe to use yummy cabbage in! Pretty pics too!
That sounds wonderful! I bet it tastes great with feta!
It does, with FETA that is…not Feat whatever the heck that is! …..oops!