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.
Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Bacon Recipe
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.
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.
How To Serve
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!
This amazing side dish goes great with a side of Buttermilk Cornbread.
Recipe Tip
Red cabbage can be used instead of green cabbage.
Make it Spicy
If you want to make this cabbage recipe spicy, add crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days and can be reheated in a microwave.
Pin this now to find it later
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Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Bacon
Equipment
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
- black pepper
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.Add black pepper to taste and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: Martha Stewart
Originally published Oct 29, 2013.
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!