Roasting vegetables brings out their best flavors, and when you add a little garlic, you have the perfect side dish. These crispy roasted cabbage steaks are a perfect example.
Serve this as a side dish to a main entree, or have it for lunch topped with a soft poached egg. Or slice it up and add to a soup.
Updated April 11, 2022.
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With millions of recipes literally at our fingertips, it's tempting to think you need to complicate things with at least 15 ingredients to get a great tasting dish. And I've done it. But I'm trying to simplify my life, and cooking, by basing some meals around roasted vegetables like this Garlic Roasted Cabbage, Citrus Roasted Carrots and Roasted Peppers.
Table of contents
Favorite Cabbage Recipes
I'm a cabbage fan, I should acknowledge right up front. I like it shredded on a tostada, like this Black Bean and Avocado Tostada topped with Cabbage Salad. It's an easy lunch or dinner that comes together quickly.
This Best Ever Braised Cabbage is also a big favorite. Shredded cabbage is sautéed in vegetable stock with a little white wine, cream, mustard and caraway seeds.
And I make my own sauerkraut.
But this recipe for garlic roasted cabbage is by far my favorite. It's also the easiest of the bunch. (Yay!)
Is Cabbage Healthy?
I always associate the healthiest vegetable by the depth of their color. For example, dark green leafy vegetables like kale has more nutrients than iceberg lettuce. Carrots and winter squash are full of valuable nutrients. So I assumed cabbage wasn't all that powerful.
But I was wrong.
First of all, it belongs to the same family as broccoli, cauliflower and kale. These vegetables are among the healthiest with their strong mix of nutrients. So, like its cousins, cabbage is rich in B6 and folate, is high in fiber, and boasts some powerful antioxidants. Additionally it's packed with Vitamin C.
Because of all these nutrients, the mighty cabbage may help keep inflammation in check, improve digestion, lower blood pressure, and could help lower cholesterol levels.
*I should mention, while studies support this, there's no guarantee, and I'm not a nutritionist.
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Ingredients for Roasted Cabbage Steaks
- Cabbage - The best cabbage for this recipe is green cabbage. Napa cabbage is too frilly to hold together into steaks, and the red color in red cabbage can seep out. This can discolor other food next to it, and the cabbage can end up more blue than red. Savoy cabbage isn't very crisp.
- Herbs - I often use fennel seed, but many other dried herbs work just as well. For example thyme, caraway seed, and dill seed. After roasting, feather some coarsely chopped parsley on top for serving.
- Garlic - I recommend using a garlic paste. This makes it much easier to apply to the cabbage steaks. You can make your own, or do what I do. I always keep Gourmet Garden Garlic Paste on hand. I've tried several brands, and they've all been too watered down with muted flavors.
Top Tip
Make sure the cabbage steak slices are thick enough to flip. They should be between 1 inch and 1 ½ inches. If they're too thin, they fall apart more easily.
How to Get Roasted Cabbage Steaks Crispy
First of all, I should be clear that only the edges of the cabbage crisp up - the part that's in contact with the baking sheet. The remaining cabbage "meat" will be tender.
- The secret to getting a crisp outer surface is to not move them at all while they roast, except to flip them once.
- If your cabbage has a high water content, and you live in a humid area, it will be more difficult. (I live at a very dry 7100 ft in the mountains.) Pre-salting the cabbage slices may help. Arrange the cabbage steaks on the parchment paper, lightly salt, and let sit for 30 minutes. Use a paper towel to dab up any moisture on the cabbage, and then make the recipe as directed.
- Preheating the baking sheet can help crisp the cabbage steaks faster.
Recommended Equipment
Nordic Ware Commercial Bakers Half Sheet Baking Sheet - Best Reviews rated this baking sheet as the best baking sheet for everyday use.
What To Do With Any Leftovers
These garlic roasted cabbage steaks are best fresh from the oven, toasty warm. The flavors are fine the next day, but the crispy texture is completely wilted.
If you have leftovers, and the texture is important to you, I recommend sprinkling some grated Parmesan cheese on the top and reheat in the oven.
Alternatively, add any leftovers to casseroles and soups.
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Garlicky Roasted Cabbage Steaks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, or caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon black ground pepper, to taste
- parsley, for optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the cabbage head into 1" slices and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with half of the oil, garlic paste, fennel, salt, and pepper. Carefully flip and apply the remaining oil, garlic, and spices.
- Roast for 20 minutes, and flip back over. Roast for another 20 minutes, or until crispy around the edges.
- Serve warm, and garnished with coarsely chopped parsley.
- As a note, these 'steaks' aren't quite as good warmed up, as they lose their crispiness, but leftovers are great sliced and added to casseroles.
Liz
Sounds good and a little different. Thank you.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
The roasting really brought out the flavors! Thanks for stopping by!
Florian @ContentednessCooking
This looks fantastic, thanks for sharing!
Britiany Gaskins
It does not give me the option to post a picture. But I did make this and the flavor was amazing but my 'steaks' did not come out as steaks. I had a hard time with the 'root' of the cabbage while cutting..maybe I had a bad one. But my cabbage fell apart fairly quickly. I loved the char and the flavor! I can't complain! I made these with corned beef and roasted mini potatoes for st Patrick's day!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so glad you liked them! But I'm sorry for the trouble you had with the root, and it falling apart so quickly. I'm going to make them again and write some clearer instructions to avoid this, if I can. I love the feedback - thanks so much!!
Martha @ A Family Feast
You sound very much like my husband at our dinner parties and holiday gatherings - he's always afraid we'll either run out of food or some guests won't be happy with fewer choices. So we always have too many leftovers! I love this recipe - roasted cabbage is so simple to make and tastes fantastic!
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free
I love cabbage, but haven't tried it roasted yet - on the must make list now!
Kathy Hester
When can I come over for dinner? I hope you have these when I do 😉
Susan | LunaCafe
I love cabbage and this is such a novel treatment. Will definitely try it.
Amy Basso @ amysapron.net
What a fantastic idea! A nice change from shredded cabbage...
mjskitchen
This is a cabbage recipe that my husband would love. Cabbage isn't his favorite vegetable, but with lots of garlic, he'll eat this up. I know I certainly will. Clever recipe!
Norma Chang
Cabbage is one of my favorite veggies and I just love this recipe, definitely making when cabbages are ready for harvesting.
Lindsay Cotter
Such a delicious side! And so easy to make!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much! It really is! I make this all. the. time!!!
Toni | Boulder Locavore
I seriously need to give this a try! Looks SO good!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I think you'd love this, Toni!!! It's the most popular recipe on my blog by far!!
Suzy
This is the best way to prepare cabbage! It's so good and the flavor is amazing!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much!!! It's absolutely my favorite way of making cabbage 🙂
Andrea Metlika
I too am a cabbage fan. These steaks sound awesome and I have all the ingredients in my kitchen so I believe this will be tomorrow nights dinner.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
That's what I love about these - I almost always have all the ingredients on hand that I need to make them!
Jess
This is the yummiest looking cabbage I've ver seen! It looks and sounds delicious! Sign me up!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much!!! I hope you give them a try!
C
What a delicious and easy recipe to make. Quickly becoming a family favorite:)
The Wimpy Vegetarian
They're a family favorite here too!! Thanks so much!
Christy Atiles
F**cking delicious! I didn't have plain garlic only a garlic and ginger paste and it was amazing! I'm surprised how sweet the cabbage got when cooked. Great vegan side!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm sooooo happy you liked this!!!! I love that you added a little ginger paste to it! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
G.
Can you put them in an air fryer?
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I don't (yet) own an air fryer, so I haven't tried it. But I would think it would work great. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it works!
Kristine
What can I use in place of Fennel or Caraway seeds? I don't have either in my pantry and I'm trying to use up other spices instead. Thanks!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I think a good option is dried thyme. Do you have any in your pantry?
Kristine
That i have! Thanks!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Great! Yay team!!
Anthony Scudder
Sesame seeds work great. Black sesame seed is even better.
Liz
I wish I would have found this recipe sooner! I had so much cabbage from the garden this summer. What a great recipe!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much! It's super simple, and so rewarding!