30 Healthy Sunday Dinners with Cabbage

March 14, 2021

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Cabbage is the star of these Sunday dinner recipes. Not only does cabbage cook quickly, but it’s also packed with healthy nutrients like fiber, vitamin K and vitamin C. Use the vegetable in recipes like Quick “Corned” Beef & Cabbage and Cabbage Lo Mein for a filling and healthy meal that will start your week off on a delicious note.

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Quick "Corned" Beef & Cabbage

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Traditional corned beef & cabbage sure is tasty, but it's typically loaded with preservatives and sodium. In this healthy recipe makeover, we slash more than 2,300 mg of sodium with our quicker twist on the St. Patrick's Day classic. To get great flavor without the additives found in store-bought corned beef, we rub ground pickling spice onto steak instead.

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Cabbage Roll Chicken Enchiladas

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This 5-ingredient dinner recipe uses two genius hacks to make dinner healthy and get it on the table in under an hour. First, swap in cabbage leaves for tortillas to cut the carbs and get an extra serving of vegetables. Second, use prepared ingredients--spicy refried beans and enchilada sauce--to add tons of flavor without a long ingredient list.

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Kielbasa & Cabbage Soup

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This Eastern European soup (called kapusniak in Polish) is traditionally made with sauerkraut. To keep the sodium in check in this healthy recipe, we use fresh cabbage and save the sauerkraut for a deliciously salty-sour garnish.

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Steak with Cheddar Roasted Cabbage

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A mix of roasted cabbage and red onion is topped with melted cheese for a divine side to steak in this quick and healthy dinner recipe. Serve with a mixed green salad or toasted and lightly buttered bread.

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Lebanese Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Beef

Credit: Jacob Fox

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These cabbage rolls are stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, rice and warm spices and cooked in a savory tomato sauce seasoned with garlic and mint. Topping the rolls with lemon juice just before serving gives the dish a bright flavor. They would make a wonderful centerpiece for a Sunday supper.

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Cabbage Lo Mein

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Jam-packed with a colorful medley of vegetables, this classic noodle dish relies on a bold sesame-soy sauce to tie all the flavors and textures together.

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Slow-Cooker Korean Beef & Cabbage Stew

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Brown sugar makes this slow-cooker beef stew a tad sweet, which beautifully complements the spicy kimchi. You can make this soup ahead and refrigerate it until ready to eat. If you opt to make it ahead, wait until you reheat the soup to add the cabbage.

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Reuben Casserole

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This Reuben casserole recipe has all the delicious elements of a Reuben sandwich with much less sodium and calories. Thinly sliced angel hair cabbage cooked with a splash of vinegar stands in for the sauerkraut, and lower-sodium deli turkey adds a rich, meaty flavor in place of the traditional corned beef.

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Chicken Katsu with Creamy Slaw

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This crispy Japanese chicken recipe comes complete with a creamy warm slaw on the side. Serve with steamed brown rice or buckwheat soba noodles to round out the meal. We like to use chicken cutlets made with dark-meat chicken thighs--they have more than twice the immune-boosting zinc of white-meat chicken breasts.

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Pork Chops with Red Cabbage and Pears

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The sweet-and-sour cabbage pairs deliciously with braised chops and juicy pears in this German-inspired dish.

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Red Cabbage-Apple Cauliflower Gnocchi

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Tender cabbage and a vibrant applesauce-mustard pan sauce are the perfect pairing for pillowy low-carb cauliflower gnocchi. Add diced chicken-apple sausage for extra protein.

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Stuffed Cabbage Soup

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Like stuffed cabbage? You'll love this easy stuffed cabbage soup. It's got all of the classic flavors of stuffed cabbage without all the fuss of stuffing. Plus, you can make this warming soup ahead of time or freeze it for later for a quick dinner or lunch.

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Egg Roll-Inspired Cabbage Rolls

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Think of these cabbage rolls as a healthier riff on classic Chinese egg rolls! Cabbage leaves stand in for the traditional fried wonton wrappers, but we promise they won't be missed. It's worth it to make this better-than-takeout Chinese recipe at home. Feel free to substitute ground turkey or tofu crumbles for the pork in this recipe.

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Chipotle Tofu Tacos

Credit: Jason Donnelly

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Here, we tear the tofu instead of cutting it. That might sound odd, but it’s the best way to get crisp, crumbly edges reminiscent of fish tacos. Coating with a flavorful cornstarch mixture helps maximize the crunch.

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Chicken Sausage with Quick Sauerkraut

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This colorful cabbage sauté is the best of both sauerkraut and slaw--a mix of textures and bright, tangy flavor. Serve with assorted mustards and some toasted rye bread.

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Slow-Cooker "Corned Beef" & Cabbage

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This warming slow-cooker stew has all the flavors of corned beef and cabbage but with much less sodium, plus it's ready in half the time of traditional corned beef and cabbage. Rather than curing the beef in a salty brine for at least a day, we just throw the beef and veggies into a crock pot with pickling spice for that delicious briny flavor without the long soaking period.

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Sweet & Sour Beef-Cabbage Soup

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This wholesome sweet-and-sour soup combines beef, caraway seeds, sweet paprika and cabbage--ingredients that star in a number of German dishes. It is particularly nice served with crusty rye bread. For an even heartier soup, add diced cooked potatoes along with the cabbage. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Sausage with Cabbage & Apples

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The cabbage comes out tender without being mushy and gives the slow-cooker chicken sausage a slightly sweet flavor. A splash of vinegar at the end perks up the whole meal with a bit of acidic brightness. There are several varieties of smoked chicken sausage from which you can choose. We recommend using an apple-flavored smoked sausage to complement the apples and vinegar.

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Sweet & Sour Cabbage Rolls

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Lean ground turkey and brown rice seasoned with fresh dill and caraway seeds makes a moist filling for these stuffed cabbage rolls. They're baked in a combination of tomato sauce, lemon juice and honey for the familiar sweet-and-sour flavor typical of the dish.

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Crispy Baked Turkey Nuggets with Honey-Mustard Slaw

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The crispy coating on these baked turkey nuggets is a flavorful blend of Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. The nuggets pair nicely with the sweet and tangy slaw and honey-mustard dipping sauce.

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Peanut-Tofu Cabbage Wraps

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Cabbage is a tasty low-calorie stand-in for buns or bread in this healthy, gluten-free lettuce wrap recipe. Don't limit yourself to cabbage for this recipe--any fresh green sturdy enough to wrap around 1/2 cup of filling works.

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Chicken Tacos in Cabbage "Tortillas"

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Taco Tuesday goes low-carb with a tortilla made of veggies. Cabbage leaves are the perfect crispy taco shell alternative. Add your favorite taco toppings--pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado and jalapeño--and never miss the extra carbs and calories.

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Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pickled Cabbage & Polenta

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Peppery caraway seeds and spicy celery seeds combine to create an unforgettable dry rub for the pork tenderloin in this dinner recipe. Sides of garlicky polenta and homemade pickled cabbage round out the meal.

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Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

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Though traditional stuffed cabbage recipes are made with meat, here Savoy cabbage leaves are stuffed with a combination of rice, mushrooms, onions, garlic and herbs for a healthy vegetarian stuffed cabbage recipe. The stuffed cabbage leaves gently bake in a simple tomato sauce. This easy stuffed cabbage recipe can be made ahead of time and baked just before serving.

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Slow-Cooker Irish Sausage, Bean & Cabbage Stew

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The abundance of springy sausage, soft beans and tender cabbage packed into this slow-cooker recipe means that each bite is loaded with varied texture. To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free sausage. Serve with bread and Guinness, if desired.

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Cabbage Rolls with Spiced Lamb

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These cabbage rolls are stuffed with lamb and infused with the flavors of turmeric, ground ginger and allspice.

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Chicken Kebabs with Warm Cabbage-Apple Slaw

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Serve these easy grilled chicken kebabs with apple and cabbage slaw and potatoes for a healthy dinner that's great for summer cookouts. Leave yourself enough time to marinate the chicken for up to three hours in the simple orange-ginger marinade before threading it onto skewers and putting them on the grill.

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Sichuan Ramen Cup of Noodles with Cabbage & Tofu

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The Sichuan province in the southwestern corner of China is known for its fiery dishes. Here, the richness of tahini tempers the spicy chile paste in this cup-of-noodles-style mason jar soup recipe. You can grind the Sichuan peppercorns in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, or crush them with the bottom of a heavy skillet.

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Napa Cabbage & Pork Stir-Fry with Peanuts

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This quick and healthy pork stir-fry recipe is a great combination of textures and flavors. The only thing you need to leave time for is chilling the pork before slicing it. Serve with brown rice.

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Curried Chicken with Cabbage, Apple and Onion

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The aromatic flavor of curry powder brings out the best in the chicken and the cabbage-and-apple slaw.

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