Roast

Whole Roasted Cabbage

by:
April 22, 2021
4.5
2 Ratings
Whole Roasted Cabbage
Photo by Ty Meacham
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Serves 2 as a main dish
Author Notes

Roasting a vegetable whole is one of those amazing dinner cheats that feels too good to be true. Somehow it looks fancy and exciting while actually taking very little active time. Cauliflower has been the go-to staple of the "large format vegetable" genre for many years, but there's an overlooked dish that's prime for taking the crown: whole roasted cabbage.

Even among passionate vegetable-eaters, cabbage is not first on the list. It's often maligned due to recipes that over-boil or slaws that over-dress. Mushy or liquid varieties can lead us away from the crunchy, flavorful meal powerhouse that is a cabbage. From kimchi to taco fillings to salads, cabbage is exceptionally versatile. But that versatility also applies to ease, and that’s where the whole roasting comes in. For those intimidated by cabbage, the easiest way to approach it is to just do almost nothing at all.

All you need is a hot oven, a pot, and a simple, flavorful sauce. By cooking it whole, you’ll get a caramelized exterior without an overly mushy interior. This recipe includes a miso lemon butter, but you could make this even with something as quick as olive oil and salt. Give whole roasted cabbage a chance, and you’ll have the easiest weekday dinner around. —Ali Rosen

Test Kitchen Notes

You can make this recipe with red cabbage as well, but keep in mind it will take longer to cook and as such, you may need to dilute the butter mixture a bit more so it doesn't start to burn. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 small to medium green cabbage
  • dash of salt
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Combine the butter, olive oil, miso paste, and lemon juice in a bowl.
  3. Put the cabbage in a pot and rub the miso lemon butter all around the cabbage. Add a generous dash of salt, cover the pot, and put the cabbage in the oven.
  4. After 30 minutes, remove the top from the pot and baste the cabbage as needed (you can even add a bit of water if needed as well).
  5. Let the cabbage cook for another 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your cabbage. The exterior should be heavily caramelized and the interior should have softened enough that a knife can easily go through it.
  6. Serve hot, cut into pieces, and baste on the remaining sauce as needed.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Fritz Seidel
    Fritz Seidel
  • Ali Rosen
    Ali Rosen
  • Kathryn Buckwalter
    Kathryn Buckwalter
  • Lynn Heron
    Lynn Heron

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8 Reviews

Kathryn B.
Kathryn B. February 18, 2023
Yes! I had the same problem. My sauce all slid off the cabbage like right away and then burned at the bottom for the rest of the time. I think next time I will try to do thick slices of cabbage with the sauce on top
 
Lynn H.
Lynn H. February 3, 2021
I wanted to love this. The topping was delicious before I put it on the cabbage. Left off the salt as others suggested. My topping slid off the cabbage right away. Tried basting in back on cabbage but slid back off and burnt in the first 30 minutes. Any suggestions?
 
Ali R.
Ali R. February 3, 2021
So sorry! The difference in pot material could affect this. You can always add some water to the base at the start and halfway through so you have something to baste!
 
Lynn H.
Lynn H. February 3, 2021
I’ll try the addition of water. I was using my Le Crueset Dutch oven. Thanks!
 
Sallye
Sallye February 3, 2021
Lynn I agree. It was not a winning dish. Salty with a burned sauce. Maybe with some tweaking it could work. Some chicken stock maybe to make it a bit thinner and not so intense.
 
Fritz S.
Fritz S. February 1, 2021
Agree on the salt issue, I load up on garlic too!
Soo yummy! Also fo a cabbage casserole like a cabbage roll with rice and tomato sauce!
 
Sallye
Sallye January 23, 2021
Two things. First, the sauce is very very salty because of the miso so added salt would make this too salty. Second, for the second 30 minutes, the recipe does not indicate whether this is covered or uncovered. The cabbage is just delicious!
 
Lee A.
Lee A. February 2, 2021
Step 4 says to remove the lid and continue to roast the cabbage.