Baked Cabbage with Cheese Casserole is our favourite British side dish to serve with a Sunday roast.
This easy Cabbage with Cheese Sauce recipe features tender green cabbage, potatoes and onions swimming in a velvety sauce that is flavoured with garlic and paprika. The traditional Cabbage Cheese Bake is topped with cheddar, parmesan and breadcrumbs, which forms a deliciously crunchy gratin when baked.
Once out of the oven, our luscious vegetarian casserole features a crispy and cheesy gratin topping. It’s a quick and delicious side dish best paired with roast chicken, turkey, beef or grilled vegetables.
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What Is Cabbage with Cheese Casserole?
Baked Cabbage with Cheese is a traditional British side dish.
Authentic Cabbage with Cheese Casserole is typically prepared by boiling green cabbage leaves and chopped potato until tender.
Olive oil and butter are melted together with either a cream based sauce or mornay (grated cheese mixed into a béchamel sauce).
You can make a simple Cabbage with Cheese Sauce recipe with just 4 or 5 ingredients or flavour the dish with mustard, nutmeg, Worcestershire Sauce and even a few glugs of your favourite wine or craft beer.
The best Baked Cabbage with Cheese recipe features a variety of high quality farmhouse cheeses. In our recipe we’ve included aged cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano but if you’re feeling extra decadent add a few tablespoons of Garlic Boursin Cream Cheese.
Once cooked through the tender cabbage and potatoes are placed in a casserole dish and topped with shredded parmesan and cheddar as well as a sprinkling of breadcrumbs, creating a bubbly and crunchy gratin topping once removed from the oven.
Travel to the Britain by Cooking Cabbage Cheese Bake at Home
I love traveling to Europe!
During my first visit to the continent I traveled for 5 months by train and plane. I had the opportunity to eat my way through Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey and Italy.
What I love most about traveling to the United Kingdom is the opportunity to sample unique dishes in each region and city. The dishes in London are unique to what you’d find in Belfast, Hampshire, Brighton, Southampton, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Skye or Islay.
If you’re visiting Britain on holiday you’ll find Baked Cabbage with Cheese on many restaurant menus, from large cities to small towns. Classic Cabbage Cheese Bake is commonly served with roast beef or roast chicken for Sunday night dinner.
Once back home from a British holiday you’ll have a newfound appreciation for the flavours of the United Kingdom and can impress friends and family by making our easy Cabbage with Cheese recipe at home.
Where To Eat Cabbage With Cheese
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local British restaurant or pub that serves traditional Baked Cabbage with Cheese.
Haven’t traveled to the United Kingdom before? It may be helpful to first sample Cabbage Cheese Bake at a local restaurant to better understand how the side dish is served. You’ll get an idea for the desired tenderness of the vegetables and the amount and type of cheese to sprinkle on top for the gratin. You’ll also find inspiration on what to pair with the side dish, such as roasted beet salad, roast chicken and Sticky Toffee Pudding.
In Toronto, popular British restaurants that may serve Cabbage with Cheese Sauce include The Queen and Beaver, The Oxley, Olde Yorke Fish & Chips, Caledonian, Scotland Yard, The Bishop and Belcher and The Artful Dodger.
My Family Loves Our Baked Cabbage with Cheese Recipe
My family has a tradition of eating soup and salad for lunch on Sunday’s after getting home from church. My dad would often serve warm bowls with grilled cheese sandwiches and pickles.
We’d have a light lunch in anticipation of a larger Sunday roast, often served with side dishes like broccoli and cauliflower gratin, spiced pumpkin and cheesy leeks.
Some of the fondest memories of my childhood spent in Toronto, Markham, Oakville and Muskoka are enjoying Thanksgiving and Christmas poultry feasts paired with this Baked Cabbage with Cheese Casserole.
The following day at lunch, we’d remove the leftovers from the fridge and warm them in the oven until the creamy sauce bubbled with glee. Leftover Cabbage Cheese Bake tastes great slathered on sourdough bread or spooned over rice or pasta.
During October in Ontario we’d often visit Fall Fairs in Norfolk County, Niagara and Prince Edward County to go on fun rides, run through corn mazes and purchase fresh local fruits and vegetables at the peak of harvest season.
Cabbage, potatoes, garlic, onions, milk and cheese are available in abundance year round in Canada but we especially love to serve this savoury side dish during the colder months of the year.
Our Baked Cabbage with Cheese recipe is the ultimate side dish for those who have a penchant for creamy cheese sauce.
Recipe Health Benefits
Our homemade Cabbage with Cheese recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
An excellent source of vitamins K and C, cabbage helps keep your bones, blood, and immune system healthy.
Potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Studies have linked potatoes to a variety of impressive health benefits, including improved blood sugar control, reduced heart disease risk and higher immunity.
Olive Oil is ranked as one of the healthiest fats and is a staple in the Mediterranean diet. It contains vitamins E and K and plenty of beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants.
Onions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Consuming dairy products (such as milk and cheese) provides health benefits — especially improved bone health. Dairy foods provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
Paprika is rich in vitamin A, capsaicin, and carotenoid antioxidants. These substances may help prevent inflammation and improve your cholesterol, eye health and blood sugar levels.
Recipe Tips
This quick and easy British side dish is easy to make at home. We’ve included a few tips and tricks to get you started in the kitchen:
- Use a large dutch oven to boil cabbage and potato until tender.
- We’ve used a standard green cabbage in this recipe but you can substitute for Savoy or Napa cabbage if you prefer.
- We suggest using a high quality rubber spatula spoon so you can easily stir and scrape down the side of the skillet when preparing the cheese sauce.
- Feel free to get creative with your Baked Cabbage with Cheese recipe by substituting Boursin with other cheeses that melt well such as brie, camembert, gorgonzola, Tomme de Grosse-Ile, Cabriole or Le Riopelle de I’Isle.
- You can also substitute aged cheeses like cheddar and parmesan for Gouda, Vache Maigre, Gruyere, Piave Stravecchio, Louis d’Or, Ossau-Iraty Brebis, Manchego, Beemster XO or Mimolette.
- You can also chose to flavour your cheesy cabbage casserole with a few glugs of wine, craft beer, sherry or vermouth. If you’re thinning out the sauce with the addition of alcohol, add a bit more whipping cream to achieve the desired consistency.
- We like to use Italian-style breadcrumbs for the gratin but you can substitute for Japanese panko or crushed Ritz crackers if you prefer.
What To Serve with Baked Cabbage with Cheese
If you’re hosting a large dinner party you might want to serve this Baked Cabbage with Cheese Gratin as a side dish paired with a meaty main. We love serving this cheesy casserole at special occasions with Christmas roast beef, Thanksgiving turkey and Easter ham.
Since the dish is meatless it can be served to vegetarian guests with grilled vegetables or roasted squash or sweet potato as a complete meal.
We suggest doubling the recipe so you can indulge in leftovers. You can enjoy Cabbage Cheese Bake the day after your feast as a cold side dish or warmed up and slathered on baguette. It pairs well with a bowl of soup, fresh salad, gourmet crackers, artisanal cheese board and homemade pickles.
You may also enjoy serving these British recipes:
- Spicy Masala Chips
- Peanut Butter Flapjacks
- Cheddar Welsh Rarebit Muffins
- Leeks in Cheese Sauce
- Old School Cheese and Onion Pie
- Sticky Toffee Banana and Date Muffins
You May Also Enjoy These Cheesy Recipes…
- Cheesy Meat Lovers Italian Stromboli Pizza
- Cheesy Egyptian Macarona Bechamel
- Creamy Cheesy Greek Spanakopita Dip
- Cheesy Savoury Vegetable Muffins
- Cheesy Vegetarian Cabbage with Rice
- Älplermagronen Cheesy Swiss Alpine Macaroni
- Peynirli Pide Cheesy Chorizo Turkish Pizza
- Cheesy Vegetarian Cheddar Broccoli Almond Soup
- Easy Cheesy Leek Casserole
- Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread
- Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Caprese Risotto
- Grilled Peach and Burrata Salad
Storage
If you have leftover Cabbage with Cheese Casserole you can store the dish in the fridge covered in plastic wrap. Or scoop out the leftovers and store them in an airtight container for up to a week. To reheat simply zap it in the microwave or crisp up in the oven or air fryer.
We love doubling our recipe so can store leftovers in the freezer and save time on cooking in the kitchen. We suggest storing leftovers in Pyrex freezer safe containers that have a snug lid so there’s not spilling.
Be sure to let the dish reach room temperature before storing it in the freezer. If you add a hot container to a cold freezer it will significantly reduce the interior temperature and potentially spoil your food.
How To Make Vegetarian Baked Cabbage with Cheese Casserole
Baked Cabbage with Cheese Gratin Casserole
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- cheese grater
- Colander
- Large Skillet
- Casserole dish
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients
- 1 Small Green Cabbage cut into 1/8 wedges
- 1 Large Yukon Gold Potato peeled, diced
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 Medium Spanish Onion chopped
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp Paprika
- Kosher Salt + Black Pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup Whipping Cream
- 1.5 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1.5 cups White Cheddar Cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Breadcrumbs
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook cabbage and diced potato in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender then drain in a colander.
- In a large skillet, add olive oil, minced garlic and chopped onions. Stir for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until garlic has browned and onions are translucent.
- Add butter and melt. Stir in flour, paprika, salt and pepper until smooth. Add whipping cream then gradually add milk. Bring to a simmer and cook while stirring until thickened, 5-6 minutes.
- Sprinkle in parmesan cheese and 1 cup of shredded white cheddar cheese. Stir for 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted into the sauce.
- In a greased casserole dish, add half of the cabbage and potato mixture. Pour over half of the cheese sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and finish with the remaining cheddar cheese.
- Bake uncovered at 350 F for 18-22 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Nutrition
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