My Braised Cabbage with Bacon is a traditional Romanian dish consisting of braised cabbage and smoked meat! One of my favorite dishes growing up, this delicious braised cabbage is incredible easy to make requiring only a few simple ingredients.
Braised Cabbage
This braised cabbage with bacon is a traditional Romanian dish. Also known as “Varza calita”, this was one of my favorite dishes growing up! The beauty of this dish is its simplicity. Made with braised cabbage, bacon and a handful of other flavorful ingredients like onion, tomato paste, cardamom, cumin and dill. The cabbage hosts a nice smokey, rich flavor and makes for the perfect comfort food. If you’re not a huge fan of cabbage, this dish might just change your mind.
This dish is usually made with some kind of smoked meat such as smoked pork hock or smoked sausage, or with duck! I’m not a huge duck fan, so my favorite and easy way to make this is with thick cut bacon, because as we know, bacon usually makes everything better. It’s a dish my mom used to make all the time and I used to love it, especially when you come home, the house and the smell is incredible. My kind of comfort food.
Ingredient Notes
- Cabbage – A small green cabbage, shredded, about 6 to 8 cups.
- Bacon – Smoked bacon. As far as the bacon goes, I buy the one that is not sliced, and this way I can cut it up a bit thicker, but feel free to use what you have!
- Onion – White or yellow, chopped.
- Dill – You’ll definitely want fresh dill for this recipe!
- Tomato Paste – Make sure you get tomato PASTE. It has a more concentrated flavor and thicker consistency.
- Seasoning – I used a combination of cumin, cardamom and bay leaves.
How To Make Braised Cabbage
- Prep oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Prep the cabbage: Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt over it. Rub the cabbage between your clean hands then let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Cook onion and bacon: In a large oven safe skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until some of the fat from the bacon has rendered.
- Combine the rest of ingredients: To the skillet, add the cabbage, tomato paste, water, dill, bay leaves and spices. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer.
- Braise in the oven: Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Braise for 45 minutes covered. Uncover the skillet and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. The juices from the cabbage should be almost gone when it’s done.
- Serve: Serve warm.
FAQs
Besides bacon you can really use any smoked meat like smoked sausage or smoked pork hock which is more traditionally used in this dish than bacon.
Braised cabbage is a main dish and we serve this on its own with a good crusty bread.
Tips
- I know it may look like a lot of cabbage as you are shredding it, but trust me it will cook down. You need about 6 to 8 cups of shredded cabbage.
- Don’t over salt the cabbage! I tend to be careful with the salt, because for whatever reason this dish always seems saltier when it’s done cooking.
- Make sure you use a pot or a skillet that is oven proof.
Leftovers
Store leftover braised cabbage with bacon in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave, or on the stovetop over medium heat.
Freezing
Let the braised cabbage cool down fully before transferring to an airtight container and popping it in the freezer. It’ll last 3 months frozen! Thaw either in the microwave or let it thaw fully in the fridge for a day before reheating on the stove.
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Braised Cabbage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small green cabbage cabbage
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 large onion chopped
- 8 ounces smoked bacon cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2½ cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- ¼ cup fresh dill chopped
Instructions
- Prep oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Prep the cabbage: Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt over it. Rub the cabbage between your clean hands then let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Cook onion and bacon: In a large oven safe skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until some of the fat from the bacon has rendered.
- Combine the rest of ingredients: To the skillet, add the cabbage, tomato paste, water, dill, bay leaves and spices. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer.
- Braise in the oven: Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Braise for 45 minutes covered. Uncover the skillet and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. The juices from the cabbage should be almost gone when it's done.
- Serve: Serve warm.
Tips & Notes:
- I know it may look like a lot of cabbage as you are shredding it, but trust me it will cook down. You need about 6 to 8 cups of shredded cabbage.
- Don’t over salt the cabbage! I tend to be careful with the salt, because for whatever reason this dish always seems saltier when it’s done cooking.
- Make sure you use a pot or a skillet that is oven proof.
- Store leftover braised cabbage with bacon in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave, or on the stovetop over medium heat.
- Let the braised cabbage cool down fully before transferring to an airtight container and popping it in the freezer. It’ll last 3 months frozen! Thaw either in the microwave or let it thaw fully in the fridge for a day before reheating on the stove.
