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.
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!