Candied Red Cabbage Recipe (3 Ingredients, 25 Minutes)

I grow a lot of things in my garden that I don’t particularly enjoy: chard, spinach, and so much kale. Every time I start the seeds, I hope that I’ll grow to love the vegetable—that it will taste better, somehow, because I grew it. While I’ve accepted I’ll only ever tolerate StupidKale (TM pending, but I think it has a nice ring), I’ve genuinely grown to love the majestic heads of cabbage that unfurl every winter and spring in my garden beds.

Each head of red cabbage is a love letter to the kitchen, and while I love the crunch of raw cabbage in salads or fermented into kraut, the recipe I am now known for is a braised cabbage dish that turns each slice of red cabbage into candy.

This simple recipe requires little handholding, almost no prep, and is very hard to screw up. The results are a glossy, sweet and slightly sour cabbage that is always the most popular dish at the table. 

How to Enjoy Candied Red Cabbage

This cabbage recipe is a bright pop of color on the plate, and makes a wonderful bed for any protein. Slice up some roast chicken, pork, or beef and serve it atop a cup or so of the cooked cabbage for a fantastic presentation. However, I often find myself digging into a bowl of the cabbage all on its own—the taste is that satisfying.

A buttery orange roasted, halved squash piled high with this bright purple cabbage is also a beautiful vegetarian dish. 

Easy Tweaks

Although you can keep things simple with the olive oil and brown sugar in this recipe, there’s a lot of room to experiment, too:

• Swap the oil: I’ve often substituted coconut oil for the olive oil, which lends a slightly nuttier taste to the finished product that I enjoy. Any oil, from vegetable to avocado oil would work in this application, but unlike a lot of recipes, you’ll actually taste that oil in the end, so make sure it’s an oil you enjoy. 
• Use another sweetener: In the same vein, a lot of different ingredients can produce the sweet taste needed for the recipe, from honey and corn syrup to maple syrup. Even white sugar is fine instead of brown, or you can combine some of these options for the final result. 
• Play with the acid: The acid in this recipe helps to create a sweet and sour balance, but it doesn’t have to be champagne or white wine vinegar. Any citrus juice or vinegar would work, and playing around with these variables will allow you to make this a completely customized side dish.