December 6, 2023

Discover ways to minimize cabbage for slaws, stir fries, soups, and extra! This step-by-step information teaches you the way to slice it into wedges, shreds, and squares.


How to cut cabbage


Ever puzzled the way to minimize cabbage? You’re in the proper place! Right now, I’m breaking down my favourite straightforward strategies for the way to minimize cabbage for salads, slaws, soups, and extra.

This submit is a part of my mission to get everybody to eat cabbage extra usually. This humble vegetable is nutritious, scrumptious, and versatile (to not point out low cost!), however I’ll admit, from the surface, it may be intimidating. The place do you begin with a veggie that appears like a miniature globe?

I hope that the step-by-step directions and ideas beneath make making ready cabbage really feel easy. And for those who want an thought for the way to use it after you chop it up, discover a few of my favourite cabbage recipes on the backside of this submit!


Red cabbage next to three green cabbage wedges


Forms of Cabbage

Once you head to the produce part of your grocery retailer, you’ll probably see a number of of all these cabbage:

  • Inexperienced cabbage (pictured above) – Its crisp, pale leaves pack densely into heavy spherical heads. Left uncooked, inexperienced cabbage is ideal for traditional coleslaw, however it additionally cooks up properly into soups and sautés.
  • Pink cabbage (pictured above) – From the surface, it seems identical to inexperienced cabbage, besides it’s, properly…purple. Add it to a slaw or grain bowl, or roast it.
  • Napa cabbage – This number of Chinese language cabbage has a protracted, ovular form. Its leaves have crisp white stems and gentle, frilly pale inexperienced edges. I really like napa cabbage uncooked or cooked in dishes like stir fries and sautés.
  • Savoy cabbage – A complete Savoy cabbage and a complete inexperienced cabbage have so much in widespread. Each are spherical; each are inexperienced. However Savoy cabbage’s leaves are way more loosely packed, and so they have a softer, rufflier texture. Although this cabbage selection hails from the French Alps, its tender texture makes it an awesome sub for napa cabbage in lots of recipes.

Some of these cabbage all look completely different from the surface, however you possibly can discover ways to minimize any of them utilizing the information beneath!


Green cabbage wedges on cutting board next to pile of chopped cabbage


How you can Minimize Cabbage Into Wedges

Chopping cabbage into wedges might be your finish purpose OR step one in direction of slicing it into one other form, like shreds or squares. It breaks down a big, unwieldy head of cabbage into extra manageable items.

  1. Begin by eradicating any outer leaves which are robust, wilted, or discolored. Rinse the cabbage and blot it dry with paper towels or a kitchen towel.
  2. Then, find the stem or core. It is going to be on the backside of the cabbage the place the leaves be a part of collectively.
  3. Use a pointy chef’s knife to chop the cabbage in half lengthwise by the core.
  4. Minimize the halves in half, once more lengthwise by the core, to kind 4 wedges.

Are wedges your stopping level? Proceed to slice the cabbage items by the core till the wedges are your required thickness. I feel 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick is a superb measurement for searing or roasting.

Wish to discover ways to minimize cabbage into skinny slices or squares? Hold studying!


How to cut cabbage - shredded cabbage on cutting board with mandoline


How you can Minimize Shredded Cabbage

Very first thing’s first: see the part above to study the way to minimize a cabbage into wedges.

  1. Upon getting 4 wedges, place one wedge minimize aspect down in your slicing board.
  2. Minimize diagonally alongside the core to take away it from the wedge.
  3. Then, use a pointy chef’s knife to thinly slice the cabbage wedge crosswise, working down from the sharp tip in direction of the place you narrow out the core.
  4. Repeat with the remaining wedges!

That’s it! Use the shredded cabbage in coleslaw, tacos, and extra.

  • Variation 1: For longer shreds, minimize the cabbage lengthwise as a substitute of crosswise. Thinly slice it alongside one of many minimize edges of every wedge.
  • Variation 2: For very finely shredded cabbage, use a mandoline slicer. Maintain a cabbage wedge on the core finish and run the tip over the mandoline blade to slice it. Make sure to use the protection guard!
  • Variation 3: For chopped cabbage, like I exploit in my cabbage soup, minimize every wedge lengthwise into 1-inch uniform slices. Then, minimize 1-inch slices crosswise to kind a grid. The leaves will separate into squares.


How to cut a cabbage - partially shredded green cabbage on cutting board with chef's knife


Favourite Cabbage Recipes

So, you realized the way to minimize a cabbage. How are you going to cook dinner it? Should you want some inspo, strive making one in every of these recipes:


Simple Feel Good Food cookbook on marble


Yow will discover much more scrumptious cabbage recipes in my new cookbook, Love & Lemons Simple Feel Good Food.

In reality, it features a 3-day meal plan that’s designed to make use of a complete head of cabbage! The plan recipes—Seared Cabbage Wedges, Loaded Pita Nachos (pictured beneath), and Chickpea Tacos with Pickled Cabbage (pictured beneath)—are a few of my favorites within the ebook. Pre-order it now to get a free BONUS e-book!


Loaded pita nachos and chickpea tacos with pickled cabbage


How you can Minimize Cabbage

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Whole Time: 10 minutes

Serves 8

Discover ways to minimize cabbage for slaws, soups, and extra! All you want is a pointy knife and a slicing board.

  • Take away any outer leaves from the cabbage which are robust, discolored, or wilted. Rinse the cabbage and pat it dry. Place on a slicing board.

  • Find the stem or core on the backside of the cabbage the place the leaves be a part of collectively. Use a pointy chef’s knife to slice the cabbage in half vertically by the core. Minimize every half in half vertically by the core to kind 4 wedges.

  • To chop thinner wedges for roasting or searing, proceed to chop the cabbage wedges vertically by the core till they attain your required thickness.

  • To chop shredded cabbage for slaws or sautés, place one cabbage wedge minimize aspect down in your slicing board. Minimize diagonally alongside the core to take away it from the wedge. Working down from the sharp tip to the core finish, thinly slice the cabbage crosswise. Repeat with the remaining wedges.

  • To chop chopped cabbage for a stir fry or soup, minimize every wedge into 1-inch slices lengthwise, then minimize it into 1-inch slices crosswise to kind a grid. The leaves will separate into squares.

  • Discover recipe options within the submit above, or try these 17 Greatest Cabbage Recipes.