Cabbage with Bacon and Cream

Cabbage is always a roast side-show winner, but frying it with salty bacon and cream makes it next level delicious. You can serve it with any roast dinner, its my favourite side dish to have with roast beef but I also serve it with roast chicken or turkey sometimes too.

If you love to go all out for your roasts, or if you are cooking for a special occasion like Christmas or Thanksgiving - you need to jump on this Cabbage with Bacon and Cream side!

Prep Ahead

When you’re cooking a roast, you’re always juggling side dishes so anything you can prep in advance will take the pressure off at cook time. You can slice, wash and dry the cabbage in advance and store it in a sealed bag or food container. You can also dice up the bacon earlier in the day and refrigerate in a sealed food bag or container.

Making my Cabbage with Bacon and Cream for Christmas or Thanksgiving

If you are serving it for a special day like Christmas or Thanksgiving, you can even cook the entire dish In advance, cool it and refrigerate it or even freeze it. Then it just needs to be microwaved microwave until piping hot, around 3-4 minutes, stirring roughly halfway - saving you precious time and effort for the big day. If you freeze it, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge before microwaving.

Ingredients

I’ve said to use white cabbage here, but you can also use any cabbage if you can’t get that. It’s just worth bearing in mind that other cabbages tend to have less leaves and so will make a smaller amount. And if you use a cabbage like savoy, there will be a difference in the texture but the taste will be just as good. 

You’ll notice that I’ve not added any salt to the recipe, we’re going to let the bacon do all that salty work here.

My Cabbage with Bacon and Cream Pairs Perfectly With…

Feed a Crowd

You can double this recipe no problem, just be sure to cook it in an extra large saucepan as the cabbage will take up a ton of room to start with. After a short while of cooking, the cabbage will start to wilt, making it much easier to stir.

Storing My Cabbage with Bacon and Cream

You can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (2 + cook day). You can also freeze leftovers, just be sure to defrost them for 24 hours in the fridge before reheating and you might want to add a drop of water in before you microwave them and stir half-way through.

For more on safe food storage and reheating read here >

Diet Details

My Cabbage with Bacon and Cream is nut-free and gluten free. To make it diary-free, just leave out the cream, it’ll still be yummy.

Adapting my Cabbage with Bacon and Cream for Your Family

Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Creamy Bacon and Cabbage recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, to help make it easier for you to eat together as a family.

Keeping Picky Eaters Happy

Cabbage is a tricky one! Many even non-fussy eaters won’t like cabbage. Having said that though, you want to get to a place where your picky eater will eat pretty much anything so it’s worth a try. The salty bacon (as long as they are over 1 year old) might be enough to coax them into eating it. If it’s creamy sauces they don’t like, dish up their cabbage right before you add in the cream.

See more from me on fussy eaters here >

Make it Baby and Toddler Friendly

If you are serving to little ones, I recommend you take out some cabbage for them right before you add in the cream. Under 1’s shouldn’t have processed meat so leave behind any bacon pieces when you dish theirs up. For under 1’s I recommend frying the bacon in a separate pan so the salt from it doesn’t seep into the cabbage. Then just toss everything together after little ones portion has been removed.

How to Serve to Babies and Toddlers

For baby-led weaning, serve the cabbage strips as they are, baby can palm these.

SPOON FEEDING

If you are spoon-feeding, here’s how I recommend you prepare their serving:

6 months

Roughly chop the cabbage and add to your stick blender pot (or food chopper if you have one that purées), along with the rest of their meal and whizz until smooth. Add a little warm boiled water to loosen and a drop of gravy or some low-salt stock.

7-12 months

Add the cabbage along with the rest of baby’s meal to your food chopper and whizz until finely chopped for 7-9 month olds, or go for a more lumpy, chopped consistency for 10-12 month olds.  Add a little warm boiled water and a drop of gravy to loosen as needed.

1 year +

Using a sharp knife and fork, slice through the cabbage to make it more manageable.

I’ve also added these notes at the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook. 

See more on how I keep my family meals baby & toddler friendly here >

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CABBAGE WITH CREAM AND BACON

This simple, fried cabbage with bacon and cream side dish is the perfect, indulgent accompaniment to your favourite roast dinner.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, British

Servings 4

Equipment

• Chef’s knife + chopping board
• Measuring spoons + jug
• Salad spinner or large sieve / colander
• 1 mini prep bowl
• Large saucepan + cooking spoon

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 120 g smoked bacon diced ½ inch
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• 1 white cabbage
• 1 tablespoon water
• 15 g / 1 tablespoon butter slightly salted or salted
• 150 ml double cream
• Black pepper to taste see note 1

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Instructions

 

• Slice the cabbage in half and cut out the bottom core. Roughly slice into ½ inch strips. Submerge in a large bowl of cold water for a thorough wash and then drain using a large sieve or salad spinner.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan over a medium-low heat for around 2 minutes. Add the bacon and fry, stirring often for 3 minutes or until opaque, not browned. (See note 2)
• Add the butter and when bubbling add the cabbage and water. Reduce the heat to low and cover for 5 minutes. Then uncover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often and making sure nothing gets browned.
• Next, stir through the cream and black pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often, to thicken the cream.

Notes

Note 1: I haven’t included salt as the bacon and butter is salty enough.

Note 2: Be sure to cook on the lowest heat and to stir often. If anything browns, once you add the cream it will cast a brown tint to the whole dish (it will still taste good though!).

MAKING IT IN ADVANCE

The cabbage can be prepped the day before, as can the bacon, just store both in the fridge in airtight food bags/containers. You can cook the whole dish the day before and refrigerate, then microwave until piping hot, 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway. Or make it weeks in advance and freeze. Defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before microwaving.

STORAGE

You can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (2 + cook day). You can also freeze leftovers, just be sure to defrost them for 24 hours in the fridge before reheating and you might want to add a drop of water in before you microwave them and stir half-way through.

Baby & Toddler

Just before you add the cream, remove some cabbage strips only for your little one. For over 12 months - remove the bacon from their serving. For under 12 months - fry the bacon in a separate pan so the salt from it doesn’t seep into the cabbage. Then just toss everything together after little ones portion has been removed.

BABY-LED WEANING

Little one will be able to palm these strips as they are.

SPOON FEEDING

6 months roughly chop the cabbage and add to stick blender pot (or food chopper if it purées), along with the rest of their meal and whizz into a purée. Add a little warm boiled water and a drop of gravy or low-salt stock to loosen.

7-12 months add the cabbage along with the rest of baby’s meal to your food chopper and whizz until finely chopped for 7-9 month olds, or go for a more lumpy, chopped consistency for 10-12 month olds. Add a little warm boiled water and drop of gravy or low-salt stock to loosen as needed.

1  year + using a sharp knife and fork, slice through the cabbage to make it more manageable.

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 10gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 353mgPotassium: 518mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 867IUVitamin C: 83mgCalcium: 119mgIron: 1mg

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