
Delicious vegetable sides are easy to make, such as this simple Pan Fried Cabbage and Apple dish.
Green or red cabbage is gently cooked with apples in this simple, but delicious side dish. I find that when you are eating cabbage (or cauliflower) when they are freshly picked from the fields, they are especially sweet and flavorful. Here, I add some sliced apples to continue to sweeten and flavor the cabbage as it cooks. It is a lovely side to go with roasted meats or sausages.
This is an example of how easy it is to vegetables in a lovely way without much work!
I love this easy side dish and have made it several times in the last couple of weeks. I think I could eat the whole pan of it myself! I first tried it out because I was looking for a way to gently encourage my youngest (she just turned four) to eat more of her vegetables. While she wasn’t happy to see her small serving of cabbage on the plate at first, once we got her to try it, she seemed to happily eat the rest of it. I believe that is because of the magic of the apples, which give a delightful sweetness to the dish.
Two additions I am tempted to try is adding either caraway seeds, as they would add so much flavor, and are traditionally used with cabbage dishes, or, to take things in a different route, to add fresh ginger. I think that the cabbage, apples, and ginger together would make a lovely medley of flavors.
I’ve been making good use of my cast iron pans lately, and they served me well in this recipe as well. If using cast iron, I would cook at medium heat or below. If using stainless steel pans (try to use a thicker pan for better heat spread) use medium to medium-high heat.
Other Vegetable Side Dishes:
- Cabbage Okazu
- Asian Cabbage Salad ($10 main dish)
- Worlds Best Braised Cabbage
- Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Grandpa’s Long Simmered Green Beans
- Garlic Green Beans
- Simple Zucchini and Onions
- Pan Fried Buttery Carrots
- Quick Miso Stir Fry

- ½ head of large green or red cabbage
- 2 small, 1 large tart/sweet apple (green, Pink Lady etc.)
- 2 tablespoons fat/oil of choice
- Unrefined salt
- Core the cabbage, and very thinly slice it. Peel the apples, and very thinly slice it.
- In a large saucepan, heat fat/oil over medium heat if using cast iron, and medium-high heat if using stainless steel. Add one piece of cabbage to the pan. When it starts to sizzle a little, add the rest of the cabbage and apples, and sprinkle with a generous pinch or two of salt.
- Cook, stirring often, for about ten minutes, or until the cabbage and apples are soft to desired texture. If using a cast iron pan, you can also allow the soft cabbage and apples to brown slightly at the end for a lovely flavor.
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Love your site and it is nice to see someone using iron pans. I have had mine for 45 years and use them almost every day. Nothing browns as well as iron.
Thank you for all of your ideas!
Kay,
I just bought some large cast iron pans used, and love these ones the best, as they improve so much over time/use! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I have to try this. What a great way to mix up vegetable offerings. Have you ever put a splash of vinegar in?
Alicia,
I haven’t, but I was thinking that a splash of balsamic vinegar would be so good!
Sounds lovely I’m gonna try this, I wanted a simple recipe-the idea just came to me-as I usually cook from my own ideas & intuition. So glad to know this is an actual thing!