This recipe for cabbage casserole is very close to my heart. Ever since my grandma first made it for the holidays, this was always my personal request for every holiday gathering, hands down. I never cared about the meat because they were always the same and never done up with tons of flavor. For me, the sides were the real spectacle at holidays.
A note on sides
Side dishes are the unsung heroes of the multi-dish gatherings. Your holidays, birthdays, pot-lucks, and tailgates. Yes the main course or focus, typically some large animal in the case of most gatherings, can be absolutely delicious. But for me, it’s the sides that show a meal. You can have a beautiful turkey and just have some very bland foods surrounding it and the meal just doesn’t work.
You need some supporting actors, a sidekick if you will. Those are the real heroes. The ones to swoop in and lend a hand. The main course doesn’t need to make some sides look okay, the sides need to be that assist for the endgame. To really help score the goal or cross the finish line in first place. They are your pit crew and you are managing it all.
So that was a lot of cliches mashed together but I just want to show you how passionate I really am about side dishes and how much they really matter. Because they do. Who doesn’t love a good mac and cheese next to their turkey or ham on a holiday? (By the way, I have a seriously addicting pimento mac-and-cheese recipe you need to try.)
All I’m trying to say is don’t look over the smaller roles. The little things are what make everything great. So in that, they aren’t so little. Are they?
Deliciously Odd: The cabbage casserole
This may seem like an odd recipe. It did to me as a child. Cabbage? In a casserole? Cabbage casserole doesn’t seem to click in my head as a real thing. That just did not compute to my child mind. And I know it doesn’t with a lot of older people as well. But it is good. I swear. And making it myself now, after all of these years of not having it, somehow it is still this super savory and delicious dish with a very heavy European American influence. And its super cheap to make too. So that’s a plus.
Cabbage Casserole
Preheat your oven to 350°f and make sure that your rack is in the center position in the oven.
Place a large stock pot filled 3/4 of the way with water on the stove at a high heat setting.
Cut your cabbage into quarters and remove the solid stem piece from each section. Slice each section into very skinny strands of cabbage. Almost like cabbage noodles.
Once the water is boiling, add a good amount of salt so that it tastes like a lightly salty sea water. Add the cabbage to the water and allow to cook until tender. Now drain thoroughly in a strainer.
In a large skillet, sauté your diced onions in 5 tablespoons of butter at medium heat until they are mostly translucent. Add the condensed mushroom soup and mix well. Reduce the heat to a medium low setting.
Now add the cheese. Stir until melted and fully mixed into the sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cabbage. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix until everything is evenly coated.
Transfer the mixture to an non-greased 2 quart or 9×13” baking dish.
In a small skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the breadcrumbs to the butter and stir frequently until they are lightly browned. Once finished, spread the breadcrumbs over the top of the cabbage.
Time to cook
Next place the dish uncovered into the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
Finally remove it from the oven and place on the stovetop or off to the side to cool down for 10 minutes.
Excerpt from my Grandma from her original typed up copy: “I have been making this dish the last five years or so and what a great way to serve ham and cabbage. You will find even those who do not care for cabbage will enjoy it made this way. It is also a good side dish with pork and a great dish to bring to a pot luck supper. You will be a big hit, and you will find it very easy to prepare. You can also use whatever cheese you like- still has a great taste” -Mary Boshea
Cabbage Casserole
Equipment
- 1 9×13 inch casserole dish
- 1 large saute pan
- 1 strainer
Ingredients
- 1 large Cabbage
- 2 12 oz Condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 Large Onion diced
- 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 8 oz Cheddar Cheese
- 1/4 cup Bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°f and make sure that your rack is in the center position in the oven.
- Place a large stock pot filled 3/4 of the way with water on the stove at a high heat setting.
- Cut your cabbage into quarters and remove the solid stem piece from each section. Slice each section into very skinny strands of cabbage. Almost like cabbage noodles.
- Once the water is boiling, add a good amount of salt so that it tastes like a lightly salty sea water. Add the cabbage to the water and allow to cook until tender. Now drain thoroughly in a strainer.
- In a large skillet, sauté your diced onions in 5 tablespoons of butter at medium heat until they are mostly translucent. Add the condensed mushroom soup and mix well. Reduce the heat to a medium low setting.
- Now add the cheese. Stir until melted and fully mixed into the sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cabbage. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Transfer the mixture to an non-greased 2 quart or 9×13” baking dish.
- In a small skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the breadcrumbs to the butter and stir frequently until they are lightly browned. Once finished, spread the breadcrumbs over the top of the cabbage.
- Next place the dish uncovered into the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
- Finally remove it from the oven and place on the stovetop or off to the side to cool down for 10 minutes.