Quick & Easy Crispy Roasted Red Cabbage Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep cabbage crisp when cooking? ›

Once people started roasting them at a high heat, perhaps with a little extra salt and fat (like bacon), it was a game-changer. You can also try slicing cabbage thin and sautéing it to maintain some of its crunchy texture.

To work the magic of osmosis on your cabbage you'll need to shred all of it first. Then, put it in a bowl with a tablespoon of salt per head of cabbage used and let it rest for one to two hours. Then drain off the water, and dry your cabbage with a paper towel before continuing with your recipe.

Red and green cabbage can be used interchangeably in most recipes. The difference between cooking green cabbage and red cabbage is just one extra step. The compounds that give red cabbage its color, called anthocyanins, are water-soluble and will turn an unappetizing blue color when cooked.

Baking soda does help green vegetables retain color, but it causes undesirable color changes in red cabbage—it turned blue. The science can be distilled to this: Adding baking soda to cooking water makes it slightly alkaline, which stabilizes the green color of chlorophyll.

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water.

The central vein in each leaf is tough, particularly on the outer leaves, so you may wish to cut this away, too, especially if you want to cook the cabbage quickly as this part is very dense and will take a long time.

The salt pulls moisture out of the cabbage, seasons it, and leaves you with a super-crunchy texture that isn't raw or tough-tasting. Rinse! Rinse well to purge the salt. Get rid of the excess water.

You're not cooking the right kind of cabbage

If you do want to cook it, add a touch of acid like lemon juice or vinegar to lessen the effect. The Savoy cabbage can be used as a substitute for green cabbage, just keep in mind that its leaves are a bit more tender than that of other cabbages.

Slice the cabbage into 1-inch chunks. This is my favorite size for yielding pieces with contrasting crisp-and-tender textures. I've tried slicing cabbage into wedges, but it's nearly impossible to keep them intact when flipping and they don't bake evenly.

Go raw. Lock in nutrients by eating your cabbage uncooked in salads. Just make sure you slice it very finely.

Is red cabbage healthier than green cabbage? ›

But red cabbage has higher levels of some types of antioxidants than other types of cabbage. These nutrients are thought to help reduce the risk of health conditions such as cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease.

Your vegetables are about to get even crispier with this simple tip. The next time you roast vegetables, add some cornstarch. Yes, cornstarch—that box in your pantry is the secret to a super-crispy exterior on veggies, from potatoes to cauliflower.

What are some tips for cooking veggies so they aren't rubbery? I like to boil them for a few minutes, until they are ALMOST done, then take them out of the hot water, dump them into a big bowl of ice water, then return them to the boiling water for maybe one minute. Makes them crisp and not rubbery or floppy!

You don't salt your cabbage appropriately

So, if you're making a slaw, experts advise that you salt the cabbage before combining it with other vegetables. Let the cabbage then sit for one hour at room temp before squeezing the excess moisture out. This will prevent the cabbages from getting soggy.