Name: German Style Red Cabbage with Apples
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons butter; 1 medium red onion; 1 medium or 2 small heads red cabbage; 3 apples; 3 T apple cider vinegar; 1/2 cup water; 1 tsp salt; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; pinch cloves; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/3 cup raisins; 2 Tablespoons lemon

Jump to Recipe

Red cabbage braised with apples and spices. This side is a little sweet, a little sour and is perfect served with any kind of pork.

bowlful of braised red cabbage with apples and raisins

We have been getting a lot of delicious cabbage in our weekly produce boxes. Giant heads of green cabbage and smaller but oh so vibrant heads of red cabbage alike have been nestled in our treasure troves of veggies.

Now cabbage is a vegetable I’m not usually creative with. I buy a few heads a year to make Carlee’s cabbage, a family favorite that was names after me in my childhood. We also have cabbage in our corned beef feast around St. Patrick’s day.

I do enjoy a good creamy cole slaw or egg roll bowl occasionally too, but I normally cheat a bit and buy a bag of preshredded mix for that.

Add to that the fact that my husband really isn’t a cabbage fan and I’ve had my work cut out for me to stay ahead of the cabbage supply!

Luckily he was at least mildly impressed with the cheesy cabbage casserole and I loved it! So that helped use the green cabbage. While I’m sure it would taste good with red, can you imagine how it would look?! Eek!

So I thought a German style braised cabbage would be a good option. So I went to pinterest to find a recipe.

I ended up finding quite a few and pulling bits from each. I went light on the nutmeg and cloves because I wasn’t quite sure how I’d like it. Next time I think I would be braver and add a bit more.

A bit of vinegar is necessary to give it that tang and a bit of sweet is needed to balance it. Instead of using sugar, I grated in some apple. Then on a whim I tossed in some raisins as well.

I am so glad I did. They did offer some additional sweetness and a bit of texture as well. I didn’t see them in any of the recipes I was perusing, so I doubt it’s traditional, but sometimes you have to try new things!

We served this up with some bacon wrapped pork loin and some German style potato salad I’ll be sharing soon. It would also be great with wiener schnitzel, jaegerschitzel or sausages!

dinner plate with braised cabbage pork loin and german potato salad

Yield: 12 Servings

German Style Red Cabbage with Apples

Red cabbage braised with apples and spices. This side is a little sweet, a little sour and is perfect served with any kind of pork.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium red onion
1 medium or 2 small heads red cabbage
3 apples
3 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch cloves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons lemon

Instructions

Chop onion. In a large pot with cover, I used a dutch oven, melt the butter and add the onions. Saute over medium heat for a couple of minutes until the onions are translucent.
Quarter the cabbage and shred into small strips. Add to the pot with the onion. Saute, stirring occasionally for about 5 more minutes.
Grate in the apples and add the vinegar, water, salt, nutmeg, coves, pepper and raisins. Cover and cook over low heat for about an hour.
Remove lid and continue to cook until the cabbage is soft and the liquid is reduced to your liking.
Stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please view my disclosure page for more information.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 236mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 4gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Red cabbage braised with apples and spices. This side is a little sweet, a little sour and is perfect served with any kind of pork.

Joan

Sunday 18th of April 2021

This is one of the best recipes I ever made. It is so delicious, I am addicted to eating this! It’s low fat (I cut down the butter), healthy and so filling! I gave some to my neighbor who is a vegetarian and she fell I love with it as well, she even eats it for breakfast! Thank you Carlee for turning me on to this! I will definitely give your other recipes a try!

Carlee

That makes me so happy! I am so glad you enjoy it!

Anonymous

Wednesday 22nd of August 2018

Mmmm! This would be amazing beside a nice pork roast. Looks so fresh and delish! Thanks so much for sharing at the Whimsical Wednesdays Link Party! Have a wonderful week!

Jenny

Tuesday 14th of August 2018

The cabbage is a pretty color. This looks so good and makes a great side. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!

Saturday 25th of August 2018

Thank you so much!

Amy

How pretty is this!?! I like cabbage and this sounds delicious.

Thank you!

Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen

Monday 13th of August 2018

I LOVE cabbage! Maybe it's the German in me? This looks awesome; that vibrant color makes me love it even more :)

It must be! I love the vibrant color too!