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side view of simple dutch oven braised cabbage in blue and white serving bowl with silver serving spoon and blue white napkin with red apple and red cabbage in background
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4.93 from 14 votes

Sweet & Simple Braised Red Cabbage (Dutch Oven)

This is an amazing tasting and easy to make hot side dish for a holiday feast or just a special dinner. It's so worth the time. It makes about 3 cups of braised cabbage and may be refrigerated and reheated for about 5 days.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 55 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: European, German/American
Keyword: Cabbage, gluten free, hot side dish, Kid Friendly, vegetarian
Servings: 9
Calories: 186kcal
Author: Katia

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2-2.5 lb red cabbage finely shredded (1 small head or 1/2 a large head)
  • 1 large tart apple cored and quartered (I normally use a gala or pink lady which is slightly tart, yet juicy)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter 1 stick
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 sticks cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • drizzle lemon juice optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure you have oven racks placed with enough room to fit your pot or oven dish.
  • Heat dutch oven or oven safe casserole dish on medium low.
  • Once warm add butter, brown sugar and vinegar; stir till sugar is dissolved.
  • Then add apples, cinnamon sticks and remaining spices; cloves, salt and pepper.
  • Add shredded cabbage to the pot and stir to combine.
  • Grab a large sheet of parchment paper, enough to crumble a bit, wet it and crumble it and cover your pot fully as shown here.
    Crumbled and wet parchment paper placed over red cabbage dish before placing in the oven.
  • Place pot with cabbage into the oven for 1 hr 30 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. Also, dampen the parchment paper each time you stir and replace atop the cabbage.
  • Remove paper and braise another 15 minutes for extra caramelization. (If you're out of time, the initial 1.5 hrs is just fine and just as delicious)
  • Serve immediately or keep warm till ready to serve. I like to add a little squeeze of lemon juice just before serving as well. 

Notes

This recipe makes about 3 cups of braised red cabbage.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.33cup | Calories: 186kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 227mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1456IU | Vitamin C: 59mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1mg