Ethiopian Cabbage

Perfecting Cooked Cabbage

I seldom eat cabbage in restaurants because it tends to end up on my plate overcooked. Once it gets overly mushy (and pungent to boot!), I’m out. In my humble opinion, cabbage is best cooked briefly, leaving it tender but still a tad crunchy and not too smelly.

So that’s the key to this recipe! It can be tempting to toss all the veggies in the pan at once, but resist the urge! You’ll want to add the cabbage at the end, after the carrots and potatoes are tender. 

How to Make Ethiopian Cabbage

1. Saute – In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute them for a few minutes. Then, add the carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes.
2. Spices – Next, stir in all the spices: garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, curry, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt.
3. Simmer everything for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
4. Cook – Pour about 1 cup of water into the saucepan, adding more as needed. Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost tender.
5. Cabbage – Finally, add the cabbage and green peppers and stir. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Bought too much? Use it up in my tasty chicken cabbage soup.
6. Serve – Taste test and adjust the seasonings as needed. Serve hot.

Tips and Tricks

• If your veggies start sticking at any point while cooking, add a splash of water or vegetable broth as you saute. 💦
• You can, in fact, sub the water in this recipe for broth, which will add a little more flavor. Some people even like to double up on broth, turning this dish into more of a stew than just sauteed veggies. 
• Technically, you can freeze Ethiopian cabbage, but I prefer not to. I find the potatoes get mealy and the cabbage a little too mushy for my taste.
• Add a can of lentils with all the liquid instead of water for a vegan entree. Thanks, Ian.😍
• Toss in some leftover roasted chicken, beef, or pork for a non-vegetarian one-pot meal.

Make-Ahead Instructions

How can you save time even if you don’t want to freeze it? I like to make this a day ahead.

To do so, I cook everything except the cabbage. I chop the cabbage while the other veggies are cooking and then let them cool. I store the veggies and the cabbage separately in the fridge and simply heat the cooked veggies on the stovetop the next day. Add the cabbage and let it cook until just tender, which only takes a few minutes.  

Make Ethiopian Cabbage a Whole Meal

You can certainly pair this lovely dish with Ethiopian chicken stew as a side, but it can easily be your main course, too. I like to cook a side of steamy jasmine rice and homemade bread – injera is perfect – and call it dinner! Maybe some kashata for a dessert twist. 😋

More Recipes for Voracious Vegans

• Baked Stuffed Plantains with Black Beans
• Creamy Vegetable Soup
• Chakalaka
• Coconut Fried Rice
• Doubles (Curry Chickpeas and Spicy Flatbread)

By Imma

Watch How to Make It

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This blog post was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video