Scalloped Cabbage
Elevate your side dish game with this delectable scalloped cabbage recipe. Delicious on its own or with additional flavors and toppings.
This simple scalloped cabbage is a blank canvas for customization with additional flavors and ingredients. It’s great as-is, but you might want to add a bit of cheese, top it with buttered breadcrumbs, or add some herbs or spices for flavor. I use 1 cup of white sauce for 4 to 5 cups of cooked, coarsely chopped cabbage. If you like more sauce, scale the white sauce up a bit using 2 cups of milk and 4 tablespoon each of butter and flour..
The cabbage is boiled, chopped, and then baked with a simple white sauce. It’s an excellent side dish to serve with a roast, corned beef, chicken, or steaks. Add it to a holiday or Sunday dinner menu.
Recipe Variations
- Breadcrumbs: Add a buttery breadcrumb topping. Combine 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs or panko crumbs with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake as directed.
- Herbs: Add about 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs to the white sauce, such as a combination of parsley, thyme, rosemary, and chives.
- Spicy: For a spicy kick, add a dash of heat with crushed red pepper flakes or the slightly milder Aleppo flakes.
- Cheese: Add a melty cheese to the sauce. Try cheddar, Gruyère, or Swiss for a lovely, gooey texture or add smoked cheddar for a burst of flavor.
- Garlic: When making the white sauce, sauté 1 teaspoon of minced garlic in the butter for 1 minute before adding the flour.
- Curry: Add an exotic flavor to the white sauce with a dash of curry powder.
- Bacon or Ham: For smoky flavor and extra protein, add diced ham or crumbled cooked bacon the the cabbage and sauce and bake as directed.
Scalloped Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 small head cabbage
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Dash freshly grated nutmeg, optional
- Breadcrumb Topping
- 3/4 cup panko crumbs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Butter a 2-quart baking dish and heat the oven to 375 F.
- Cut the cabbage into large chunks and cut out the core pieces. Put the cabbage in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and bring the cabbage to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook the cabbage for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Drain in a colander and set aside to cool.
- In the same saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter sizzles, add the flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and a dash of nutmeg; stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until thickened.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings.
- When the cabbage is cool enough to handle, chop it coarsely and transfer it to the buttered baking dish. You should have approximately 5 to 6 cups of cabbage.
- Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the cabbage and stir lightly.
- Combine the panko crumbs with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkle over the cabbage.
- Bake the scalloped cabbage for 25 minutes, until the topping is browned and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
