Skip Creamed Spinach: Turn Cabbage Into A Comforting Side Dish

There's something deeply special about the fusion of cabbage and cream — just listen to our talk of adding Alfredo sauce to sautéed cabbage, for instance. So it's not at all surprising that you can take the nuts and bolts of creamed spinach and sub in sturdier shredded cabbage for a dish that's equally homey while putting a bit more oomph on your plate. Look, we'd argue that almost any savory food tastes good when you drown it in cream. But there's something particularly magical about creamed cabbage. Maybe it's the warming qualities of this side, which perfectly round out any hearty entrée. Maybe it's the strong dose of vitamin C, which some of us especially need in the wintertime (a prime season for cabbage in many climates) to help lessen the severity of cold-weather rhinovirus (per Harvard Health).

In a similar vein, a Foodie writer shared how cauliflower works as a small but significant upgrade to her family's creamed spinach. In its own way, creamed cabbage is an equal boost to the idea, because the thicker cabbage leaves can eliminate the possibility of stringy sliminess that some folks dislike in cooked spinach. There are a number of ways you can cook it, too. Consider sautéing your cabbage in butter and seasonings before stirring in cream and letting it thicken. Alternatively, you could make a roux-based cream sauce and simmer the trimmed, sliced cabbage shreds until they're fork-tender. There are not really many tricks to creaming cabbage; all it takes are dairy products (or dairy alternatives) and a bit of attention.

We didn't need to be sold on cabbage's versatility and knock-down deliciousness; we have, after all, tried the recipe for Jacques Pépin's hater-resistant sweet and sour cabbage. There are those, however, that look at this humble veggie as boring ... or, worse, stodgy. There's no better time to change folks' minds than at the dinner table with a steaming dish of beautiful, fragrant creamed cabbage.

The versatility of the cream sauce has us daydreaming about the tweaks we could make to transport our cabbage all the way to FlavorTown. A bit of grated ginger in the sauce would add serious zing. For a tamer (but no less yummy) take on kitchen spices, nutmeg — that longstanding complement to a good béchamel — layers a lovely depth of flavor atop all the cream. Some sour cream stirred into the sauce might be a great source of tang. Want to enrich the nutrition, color, and sweetness of your side? Soften a handful of shredded carrot in your cabbage as it cooks.

Keep in mind that, when subbing cabbage in a creamed spinach recipe that you love, it will take longer to get tender than spinach does. While spinach will quickly wilt down within a stir or two of a wooden spoon, you'll want to parcook your cabbage first (hence the previously mentioned sauté) or allow it around a quarter-hour or 20 minutes to cook down in the sauce. We think you'll find that a little extra wait pays off richly in taste!