Top Three Ideas to Use Up Excess Green Cabbage (2024)

FAQs

What to do with excess green cabbage? ›

Frozen cabbage is the best choice for raw uses of the vegetable, such as cookout favorites like coleslaw or a classic variation we love – South Carolina Slaw, but will work great if you plan on eventually cooking it. Frozen, shaved cabbage is great for adding to stir-fries and soups, no thawing needed.

Although you get different nutrients if you cook or ferment it, raw red cabbage in particular might give you the best nutritional boost per serving. Slice it very thinly and leave it for about 10 minutes to help bring out the fullest, most complex flavors. Then add it to salads or sandwiches or turn it into coleslaw.

Store cabbage in a plastic bag or wrap in the refrigerator at 41 °F or below. Cabbage will stay fresh for several weeks. Before using cabbage, cut out core of cabbage with a sharp knife and rinse leaves with cool running water. Drain thoroughly.

While cabbage offers lots of vitamins and minerals your body needs, there can be a downside to eating cabbage. Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. It's best to slowly introduce these vegetables into your diet and gradually increase your intake.

Though these recipes typically call for the softer inner leaves of cabbage, the outer leaves can be used as well, as they will have ample time to cook and soften. Remove any tough veins, chop the leaves finely, and toss them into the long-cooked dishes, where they'll tenderize nicely as they simmer on the stove.

But if you put a crisp raw cabbage directly in the freezer, it may come out soft and squishy with a generally unpleasant texture when you thaw it, and would not make for a good slaw or other dish that calls for crisp cabbage.

The longer an unblanched food is kept in the freezer, the lower its quality will be. Unblanched items should be used within 6 to 8 months of freezing.

You can easily preserve fresh cabbage without blanching or cooking. In fact, you can freeze it shredded, halved, quartered or even whole. Note that larger pieces of cabbage will take longer to defrost and won't have the same crunch as they did fresh.

Cabbage does double detox duty. Its diuretic properties help rid your body of excess liquid, carrying toxins along with it. Like other cruciferous veggies, cabbage is also sulfur-rich, helping your liver break down toxins so they can be more easily expelled.

What does eating cabbage everyday do to your body? ›

Packed with phytosterols (plant sterols) and insoluble fiber, cabbage can help keep your digestive system healthy and bowel movements regular. It fuels the good bacteria in your gut that protects your immune system and produces essential nutrients.

May Help with Better Gut Health

As a natural source of dietary fiber, cabbage aids digestion and promotes regular bowel movements, reducing the risk of constipation. Furthermore, cabbage is a natural source of prebiotics, an indigestible fiber that acts as “fuel” for live and beneficial probiotics.

There are many ways to turn an extra half a head of cabbage into your next meal — toss it into a frittata; add it into the soup pot; saute it with sausage for a one-pan dinner; braise it with bacon; or slow cook it into a gratin.

Using your cabbage:

Raw and fermented: Raw cabbage that's shredded finely makes a great crunchy salad or slaw. Mix it with other thinly sliced vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, nuts, and herbs, and toss with any number of dressings, from mayonnaise-based to ginger-soy to spicy, honey-lime.

Try to minimize any bruising of your cabbages. Any kind of cell damage makes the cabbage go by more quickly and degrades the vitamin C content. If cabbage is properly stored, it can last from 3 weeks to up to 2 months in your refrigerator. In optimum root cellar conditions, it can even last longer.

You want to cook until tender, but err on the side of caution—overcooked cabbage will turn limp and give off a less-than-pleasant smell.

Cooked cabbage (all types): Store cooked cabbage in the fridge in an airtight container and use it within three to five days. You can also freeze cooked cabbage in an airtight container for up to 10 months. TIP: Once thawed, cooked cabbage will keep in the fridge for three to four days. It's best used in cooked dishes.

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water. This also helps cut the pungent edge.