This caramelized cabbage with capellini is a super cozy and comforting meal! Thinly sliced cabbage is cooked down until caramelized and jammy then tossed with capellini, lemon, parsley, and white beans. If you weren’t a cabbage fan before, this gluten free and vegan recipe will definitely convert you!
If you’re not the biggest cabbage fan, or simply looking for a different way to enjoy it, I HIGHLY encourage you to try it cooked down and caramelized! It softens and takes on a beautiful umami quality. In order to make a proper cozy meal, the caramelized cabbage is tossed with cooked gluten free capellini, white beans, and some lemon and parsley to brighten everything up. While I love enjoying this vegan meal during the colder months, you can absolutely make it in any season!
Why You’ll Love This Caramelized Cabbage with Capellini
- It will blow your mind that something as unassuming as cabbage can taste this good!
- It’s the perfect way to cook down that head of cabbage that’s been tumbling around your produce drawer for a while. Though the recipe only calls for half a head, you can easily double it and enjoy this caramelized cabbage in other dishes!
- It’s gluten free and vegan and requires only 10 ingredients!
- It’s everything you want in a filling winter dish: savory, hearty, and balanced with a punch of brightness from the lemon and parsley.
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions
BUTTER – I used a vegan butter but you can use regular unsalted butter if you prefer! You can also used salted butter, just make sure to adjust the amount of salt you’re adding to the recipe.
CAPELLINI – If you can’t find capellini, you can use any long pasta such as spaghetti, linguine, fettucine, angel hair, or bucatini. Use gluten free if you need to (Jovial is my favorite brand!) or regular wheat pasta if you don’t.
THYME – Can’t find fresh thyme? Use 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme instead.
WHITE BEANS – Any of the following beans are delicious options: cannellini, navy, great northern, or butter/lima.
Tips for Caramelizing the Cabbage
The key to caramelizing your cabbage lies in finely chopping it and exercising patience! To prepare your cabbage, you’ll cut it in half. You only need one of the halves for this recipe. Remove and discard the core of the cabbage (you’ll see it down by the stem end). Then, you’ll cut the cabbage half into 4 wedges. From there you’ll finely chop each wedge.
Now that you’ve chopped your cabbage, you’ll heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add your butter (I know it seems like a lot but trust me!) and let it melt. Then you’ll add your shallots and cook until they’re translucent. Add your garlic and thyme and cook about 1-2 minutes more, then add your mountain of finely chopped cabbage. You’ll cook your cabbage, stirring every 2-3 minutes until it has vastly reduced in volume and has caramelized to a lovely golden brown color (see above). This will take anywhere from 25-30 minutes total. I highly recommend turning on a podcast you like to help pass the time!
I used this stunning Verza Moretta di Veronella cabbage variety that was locally grown. You can used any round storage cabbage here for equally delicious results!
Caramelized Cabbage with Capellini, White Beans, & Lemon (vegan & gluten free)
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This caramelized cabbage with capellini is a super cozy and comforting meal! Thinly sliced cabbage is cooked down until caramelized and jammy then tossed with capellini, lemon, parsley, and white beans.
Ingredients
- 1/2 large head cabbage
- 1 large shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- sea salt, to taste
- 8 ounces gluten free capellini (or similar pasta)
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
Heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. While the pot is heating up, prepare the cabbage, shallot, and garlic. Remove and discard the core of the cabbage half, than cut it into 4 wedges. Finely chop each wedge. Set the cabbage aside then finely chop your shallot and mince your garlic.
Once your pot has come to temperature, add the vegan butter. Once it melts, add the shallot. Cook, stirring regularly, until it is translucent (about 3-4 minutes). Add the garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about a minute, stirring regularly. Add the cabbage and a large pinch of salt and stir everything together. Cook the cabbage, stirring every 2-3 minutes, until it is caramelized and golden brown. If at any point it seems to be sticking to the bottom of your pot, add a splash or two of water. The caramelization process will take about 25-30 minutes total.
While the cabbage is cooking, cook your capellini according to the package instructions. Before you drain the pasta, make sure to reserve a cup of the pasta water.
Add the caramelized cabbage to the cooked and drained capellini along with 1/4 cup of the pasta water, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, the minced parsley, and the white beans. Toss everything together. If it seems too dry or too hard to bring together, add more pasta water as needed. Taste the pasta and add salt as needed.
Serve topped with minced parsley if you like and a lemon wedge on the side!
Notes
- You can use any variety of cabbage that you like. If you have a rather small head of cabbage, feel free to use the whole thing.
- I used a gluten free capellini because I prefer its thinner shape over spaghetti. You can use capellini, spaghetti, or even fettucine.
- I used cannellini beans but you can use any white beans you like such as navy beans, great Northern beans, or lima beans (butter beans).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Main
I was looking for a recipe to use the extra cabbage and leftover spaghetti in my refrigerator. This was perfect! I had to substitute yellow onion for the shallot, and I used broth in place of the pasta water as I was using leftover noodles. The meal was fantastic. Will definitely make this again.
I love that you were able to make some changes to use up what you already had! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂