Southwest Sautéed Red Cabbage is a creative and colorful side dish. If you love this vegetable, then this is a red cabbage recipe you definitely must try.
Hey there! Today, I’m sharing the most delicious red cabbage recipe. It’s the prefect side dish to accompany nearly any dinner.
How to Use Leftover Cabbage
A few weeks back, we shared our experience making Magic Stone Soup with our three-year-old based on a book we got at our local library. Magic Stone Soup was surprisingly tasty, purple and fun to make.
Unfortunately, that red cabbage recipe left half a head of cabbage sitting in the crisper drawer of our refrigerator. It was just begging to be turned into a tasty side dish of some sort. I pondered over the kind of red cabbage recipe to make with it for several days.
I finally decided that sautéing it with onion and a few basic spices would be a good use of the leftover cabbage. Sure enough, I was right. Our new red cabbage recipe was not only delicious, but it was also quick and easy to prepare too. It shall henceforth be known in our house as “Southwest Sautéed Red Cabbage” thanks to the sweet and savory flavor it gets from the spices.
Health Benefits of Red Cabbage
Eating red cabbage has many great health benefits too. Physician and best-selling author, Dr. Ann Kulze says “any form of cabbage is great for you, but red cabbage is simply stellar.” Watch her short video to find out why:
Red Cabbage & Weight Loss
Red cabbage is low in calories and high in fiber, which contributes to weight loss. It’s also a great source of vitamin C.
Red Cabbage Anticancer Properties
According to an article about cabbage in the Reader’s Digest, “Cabbage contains sulforaphane, which has potent anti-cancer properties. One study of women found that those who ate the most cabbage and its cruciferous cousins, like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, had a 45 percent lower breast cancer risk than women who ate the least. Cabbage may also help guard against lung cancer.”
How to Make Sauteed Southwest red cabbage
This is a very basic recipe that doesn’t require a ton of supplies or ingredients. Don’t you just love easy recipes like this?
Kitchen tools needed:
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need from the store. The exact amounts are in the printable card at the bottom of this post.
This list is pretty simple, you might already have most of these ingredients in your refrigerator.
- Red cabbage
- Onions
- Butter or margarine
- Garlic
- Sugar
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cumin
- Worcestershire Sauce
Sauteed Red Cabbage Recipe
Here is our super simple red cabbage recipe. Don’t forget to pin this post to your Pinterest board so you can find it later!
Southwest Sautéed Red Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1/2 head of red cabbage
- 2 medium onions
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Slice onion and red cabbage.
- Melt butter or margarine in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add onion to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add red cabbage and garlic.
- Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 15 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.
- Add sugar, salt, pepper, cumin and Worcestershire sauce.
- Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot as a side dish with your favorite meal.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions for this Red Cabbage Recipe:
Southwest Sautéed Red Cabbage is a creative and colorful side dish. It would be a great replacement for cole slaw or other cabbage based side dishes.
Serve With Hamburgers
My family enjoyed this red cabbage recipe with hamburgers and sweet potato fries for dinner one evening.
Add Cumin For a Taco Tuesday Side Dish
With the cumin, I think it would also taste wonderful with tacos, burritos, chicken verde enchiladas or other Mexican dishes as a replacement for black beans or refried beans.
If you love red cabbage, then this is a recipe you definitely must try. Please comment below and let us know what you paired it with or if you have any other creative ideas for how to use half a head of red cabbage.
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More Side Dish Recipes
While you’re here be sure to check out other side dish recipes on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® –
- Cucumber Greek Salad
- Classic Taco Salad
- Homemade Pico de Gallo.
- Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup recipe
- Crispy Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
If you enjoyed this Southwest Sautéed Red Cabbage recipe, please share this with your friends or pin it for later:
Originally published February 2014. Updated February 2018 and again February 2020.
I’ve never tried red cabbage before and I’m always looking for an easy side. I’m gonna try it this weekend!
Great! If you do, please stop back and let me know what you thought of it.
Wow. This looks and sounds delicious. I would never have thought to pair the cabbage with cumin and Worcestershire sauce. I am definitely making this as soon as I get some red cabbage, or green cabbage.
Thanks, Patti! If you try it, please stop back and let me know what you thought.
Hi Carrie! Thanks for thinking about me . I do love cabbage ! Red or green I can eat plates full all day! Your recipe looks delicious! I’m sharing it on pinterest! Thank for sharing it . Have a great Sunday!
Kim from This Ole Mom
You will love this recipe, Kim! Enjoy!
Sounds like a healthy treat! I use this to top tacos and in cole slaw, but I’ve never cooked it. Thanks for the idea.:)
I bet it would be delicious like this on top of tacos! Thanks for sharing.
This sounds really good – I like red cabbage and always looking to try a new recipe.
Thanks, Kimberlee! If you give it a try, come back and let us know what you thought!
What a creative recipe! I enjoy sweet and sour red cabbage and raw red cabbage in a salad, but this looks really interesting. I’m curious…have you tried it without the cumin?
Thanks, Carrie for sharing your recipe with us at Project Inspire{d}! Pinning!!
Diane, I haven’t actually tried it without the cumin. I’m sure it would still be delicious. It would just be missing the “southwest” flavor. Thanks for stopping by — and for pinning the recipe!
I did it without the cumin (was out and didn’t realize that till too late). It was good but a little bland. I’ll have to try it again with the cumin next time…
Hi Jay,
The cumin will definitely spice it up for you so it will be less bland next time. Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Carrie
Making tonight with balsamic roast and mashed potatoes
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Tina! You just made my night. I’m thrilled to hear you were planning to try Southwest Sauteed Red Cabbage. Thank you for letting me know. What did you think?
Hi,
I’ve just made this as a side dish and to be honest I’m probably gonna make some more tomorrow! It was lovely and bonus points for helping me use the little red cabbage that’s been rolling around my veg drawer for a couple of weeks!
Thanks for sharing
Chantelle
Oh yay! I’m so glad you tried the recipe and loved it, Chantelle. I’m thrilled you came by to let me know too. If you love red cabbage, did you see the Magic Stone Soup recipe on our blog? You can skip the stone of course and I know the color is a little odd for soup, but it’s super delicious especially if you put the sausage right in the soup!
I made this recipe and it is amazing. My 15 yr old doesnt eat any cabbage but loved this.
Oh yay! We’re so thrilled to hear you and your son loved this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to let us know.
Best wishes,
Carrie
This was fabulous! Had it with scrambled eggs and will definitely have it again.
Oh yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Amanda. I never thought to have it with scrambled eggs before – I bet it was delicious!
Best wishes,
Carrie
Ideas for the Home by Kenarry®
One word. DELICIOUS!!
OH YAY! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Ruth!
Best wishes,
Carrie
Ideas for the Home by Kenarry
Great recipe! I really like cabbage and usuallt just steam green cabbage and serve with butter salt and pepper but am not used to cooking red cabbage. I wanted something other than the sweet and sour. This was it and so simple to do. Thank you. Absolutely delicous!
Cheryl, I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for letting us know!
Great Recipe, I was trying to find a way to use some leftover cabbage and found this recipe. My wife loved it and its now a once a week item. I do add a bit of Red Wine Vinegar but other than that followed recipe. Thanks
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that you and your wife loved the recipe and have made it part of your regular weekly meal rotation. That makes my day! Next time I’ll have to try it with the red wine vinegar like you suggested.
Have a great day, Ray! Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed the Southwest Sauteed Red Cabbage.
Best wishes,
Carrie
Ideas for the Home by Kenarry
This recipe is delicious. My family will be including this in our frequently used side dishes. Thank you for this simple yet packed with flavors dish.
Hi Sierra,
I’m so thrilled to hear you and your family enjoyed it and will make it as part of your regular meal rotation. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Best wishes,
Carrie
Ideas for the Home by Kenarry