Fried Cabbage with Bacon
Fried Cabbage with Bacon is loaded with flavor and when you need a quick and easy meal this can be on the table in no time! And if you like bacon and enjoy fried cabbage, I bet this is an easy dinner you’ll make over and over!
PIN Fried Cabbage with Bacon to try it later!
This popular Fried Cabbage with Bacon is one of the easiest and tastiest recipes I know to make with cabbage! And I always love to share recipes with cabbage during March when cabbage goes on sale. But I also think cabbage is great for a low-carb ingredient any time of year! So today I’m reminding you about this tasty dinner idea for Friday Favorites, and urging you to make it for an easy dinner!
And this cabbage fried with bacon is so quick and easy you barely need a recipe. Just fry some bacon (more or less, depending on how you feel about bacon.) Leave a little bacon fat in the pan and fry the chopped cabbage. Then add the bacon back in and cook a little more. Season the finished dish with salt and fresh-ground black pepper (and a pinch of red pepper flakes if desired).
Before you know it you’re eating a delicious dish of fried cabbage and tasty bacon! Just be sure to use a big pan so the cabbage isn’t crowded, because no one wants steamed cabbage when it’s supposed to be fried! And if you’re a fan of these ingredients I hope you make this soon.
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What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- thick sliced bacon
- green cabbage
- bacon grease (reserved from cooking the bacon)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- Red Pepper Flakes, optional (affiliate link)
Do you need thick-sliced bacon for Fried Cabbage with Bacon?
You can make this Fried Cabbage with Bacon with regular sliced bacon, but I do highly recommend using thick-sliced bacon if possible. The thick-sliced bacon releases more bacon fat, which flavors the cabbage. And thicker bacon stands up better in this dish.
Can you use less bacon for this Fried Cabbage recipe?
We used a whole pound of bacon to make this a main dish. If you’d like to serve this as a side dish you can use just less bacon and serve with another type of protein on the side.
What size frying pan do you need?
We used a 14 Inch Frying Pan (affiliate link) to make Fried Cabbage with Bacon! Use the biggest frying pan you have to first fry the bacon and then fry the cabbage.
Does leftover Fried Cabbage with Bacon keep and reheat well?
Like many fried dishes, this combination of bacon with cabbage will always taste best immediately after it’s cooked. But leftovers will keep in the fridge for several days. And it can be reheated in the microwave or a hot pan on the stove. And the leftovers are definitely still delicious!
Is Cabbage with Bacon an Irish dish?
Even though many Americans serve cabbage with Corned Beef for St. Patrick’s Day, bacon and cabbage is actually a more traditional Irish dish. So I hope you remember this during March while we’re celebrating all things Irish!
How low in carbs is the Fried Cabbage with Bacon?
This delicious main dish or side dish with cabbage has only 2 net carbs per serving with 26 grams of protein!
How to Make Fried Cabbage with Bacon:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- We cut the bacon into squares so there would be generous bites of bacon throughout the dish.
- Chop the cabbage into small bite-sized chunks.
- Fry the bacon until it’s crisp in a very large frying pan.
- When the bacon is crisp, drain on paper towels. Remove the fat from the pan, leaving just one or two tablespoons.
- Heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat until its’s shimmering, then add the cabbage and cook 5-6 minutes, turning a few times so the cabbage cooks evenly.
- Then add the crisped bacon pieces and cook about 5-6 minutes more, turning frequently.
- When cabbage is softened to your liking, turn off heat, season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes if desired.
- Serve hot.
- Fried Cabbage with Bacon will keep in the fridge a day or two and can be quickly reheated in a hot frying pan, but of course it’s best freshly made.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
This tasty combo of cabbage with bacon would taste great with any of these low-carb side dishes:
- Low-Carb High-Fiber Savory Muffins
- Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Pecorino-Romano Cheese
- Olive Bread
- Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan
- Savory Almond Flour Bread
Want more low-carb recipes with cabbage?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Recipes with Cabbage for more of my favorite recipes with cabbage. Or you can use the category for Cabbage Recipes to see all the recipes on this site that use cabbage.
Fried Cabbage with Bacon
Fried Cabbage with Bacon is loaded with flavor and can be on the table in no time when you need a quick and easy dinner or side dish! And everyone who likes cabbage and bacon is going to love this extra-easy way to cook them together.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. thick sliced bacon, cut into squares (Use more or less bacon to taste.)
- 1 large head green cabbage, cut into large bite-sized chunks
- 1 T bacon grease (reserved from cooking the bacon)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- pinch hot pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the bacon strips into squares.
- Cut the cabbage in half, cut out the core, and cut the cabbage in large bite-sized chunks.
- Heat a very large frying pan over medium high heat. (We used a 14 Inch Frying Pan (affiliate link); use the largest pan you have.
- Add the bacon and cook, stirring a few times, until all the bacon is browned and crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the bacon to a plate you've covered with a double layer of paper towels to drain.
- Remove all the bacon fat from the pan except about 1 tablespoon (more or less, according to your preference, but we thought this amount was perfect.) Heat the pan over medium-high heat until the bacon fat is shimmering.
- Add the cabbage into the pan and cook 5-6 minutes, turning a few times so the cabbage cooks on all sides.
- Add the crisp bacon back into the pan with the cabbage and cook 5-6 minutes more, turning frequently to get the bacon flavor throughout the cabbage and to get the cabbage nicely browned on all sides.
- When the cabbage is softened to your liking, season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste. If you'd like a bit of heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Serve the Fried Cabbage with Bacon hot. This will keep in the fridge for a day or two and can be reheated in a hot frying pan, but it's best freshly made.
Notes
Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 380Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 10gUnsaturated Fat 18gCholesterol 77mgSodium 1375mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 26g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Fried Cabbage with Bacon is a good side dish or main dish for any low-carb diet, especially Keto. You can adjust the amount of bacon depending on what kind of eating plan you’re following or your preferences. Bacon is not allowed for the original South Beach Diet, but you could make this with turkey bacon if you like, and that would be SBD approved.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Skillet Meals or Cabbage Recipes to find more recipe like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for cabbage fried with bacon was posted in 2017. It was last updated with more information in 2026.
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34 Comments on “Fried Cabbage with Bacon”
I use only 1/2 pound of bacon, or less and add 1# of pork sausage, a little garlic powder and onion powder and it’s a main dish. Such comfort food! Takes only 25 min or less to make a meal! Sooo yummy.
Oh I LOVE that idea of combining with pork sausage. I might have to try that myself!
This is wonderful! I love low-carb fried cabbage with bacon. i will try it.
The best fried cabbage with bacon recipe so healthy and easy. We love this recipe.
Hi Kalyn! Another wonderful recipe. I made this tonight, so easy, so good! I added some chopped green onions (2), about 1 1/2 tsp vinegar and topped it with parmesean cheese. Yum, this is one that I will crave again.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I wish there was an easy way for me to make that happen. This post talks about my efforts after I switched my blog from Blogger to WordPress and had to edit 2,000+ recipes. I am planning to add nutritional information, but not until the editing project is done.
If you look after the recipe itself, I give two links (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestions of two ways to get that information. That’s all I am able to do at this time.
This was delicious! I took some liberty and added caramelized onions, quinoa and soft boiled eggs to make it more breakfasty! Will totally be making this again, cabbage is so great! ❤️
Low Carb Fried Cabbage with Bacon is so good! I love cabbage and have stayed away from frying it because the aroma lingers long after the cabbage has disappeared. But…this recipe turned out to be pleasantly aromatic – no fried cab odor – even with turkey bacon. It is a keeper! So delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Janice, so glad you enjoyed it! Maybe you only smell the good smell of the bacon!
I made this last night for my family as a side dish with smoked pork chops. It was wonderful. My son ate 3 large helpings of it and it was wiped out very quickly. Everyone loved it! This is a wonderful recipe and very easy to make. Thank you Kalyn!
So glad to hear it was not only a hit, but kid-friendly too! So glad you enjoyed it!
I have explained many times why I am currently not able to add nutritional information to the site. More than a year ago I switched my site to WordPress, which created the need to edit by hand to add more than 2,000 recipes to the preferred format for google. I have been working on that (with three assistants) for more than a year, so there is no possibility of me being able to calculate nutritional information until that project is completed. And I know that once I start doing nutrition info on one recipe people will expect to see it on every recipe, which is why I have decided to keep these two projects completely separate.
If you look after the recipe itself, I give two links (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestions of two ways to get that information. That’s all I am able to do at this time.
No need to remove bacon or drain if eating keto. Simply toss your cabbage in on top when bacon almost crisp. And only way to accurately calculate the carb count is to weigh your cabbage before cooling
You are free to use more or less fat as desired of course.
For years I have sauteed (or fried cabbage) in a skillet as opposed to boiling it.
It is so much more succulent and I like the tender chew-ability.
If you want to make this dish special don’t forget to caramelize some onions and/or bell pepper in the bacon fat, adding it back to the dish with the bacon. Yum!
I often use fried cabbage as a basis for my vegetable stir fry adding: my choice of….
thin sliced celery…..bell pepper (any color)….mushrooms….water chestnut….thin sliced carrots… cubed chicken… in what ever combination I choose.
Flavor can be enhanced with a dash of soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, or coconut aminos
and don’t forget the celery salt!
All those suggestions sound delicious to me!
It looks so good and delicious and it so easy to make. I’ll definitely try this out!
Glad you like it!
I’m not able to provide nutritional information for the recipes for several reasons, including the additional time it takes, the difficulty in doing it accurately, and the sheer number of recipes on my site. If you look after the recipe itself, I give two links (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestions of two ways to get that information.
I have over 2000 recipes here and spend 6-8 hours most days working on the blog. I just can’t edit over 2,000 recipes to add that info, and I know once I do it on one recipe people will expect to see it on every recipe. That’s all I can do at this time. Thanks for understanding.
Just made it. Loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I have had this dish in a Polish restaurant, with the addition of sautéed onions and some butter. This was served atop egg noodles. The noodles make it non-low carb, but very delicious. I believe it was called “kapusta”..
Interesting, have not heard of that before.
This is absolutely magnificent, scrumptious, delicious, super yummy low carb fried cabbage bacon. Definitely I will prep it on the weekend for my family. Thx Kalyn!
Thanks Bella, so glad you like it!
Ann, i f you add the recipe to carb manager, it will figure it all up for you, just divide into your chosen number of servings.
I’m not able to provide nutritional information for the recipes for several reasons, including the additional time it takes, the difficulty in doing it accurately, and the sheer number of recipes on my site. If you look after the recipe itself, I give two links (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestions of two ways to get that information.
I have over 2000 recipes on the site and spend 6-8 hours most days working on the blog. I just can’t edit over 2,000 recipes to add that info, and I know once I do it on one recipe people will expect to see it on every recipe.
Can I use pork belly?
Is that the same as thick bacon?
Truthfully I haven’t ever cooked with pork belly or even eaten it so I’m not sure how it would work here. If it’s like thick bacon though, that might work fine. Is it flavorful like bacon?
Perfect weeknight dinner. Quick and easy and tasty.
So glad you like it!
Meg, right inside the box with the recipe (under the small photo) is a button that says PRINT RECIPE. (This is the newer format from when I changed my blog to WordPress. I am slowly (very slowly) switching all the recipes over to that format.
Hi Kalyn, I saw this recipe the other day but could not print it as there wasn’t a printer friendly button to click! I waited a few days, pulled it up & still no printer friendly button. Love & appreciate your fantastic recipes & you! Thanks.