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One of the easiest and most delicious ways to enjoy fried cabbage is to combine it with Kielbasa. This delicious combination is a classic in our household.
How to Make Fried Cabbage (with Crispy Kielbasa)
It's easy to combine things in a pan and fry them but what often happens when you take something that contains a high concentration of water (like cabbage) and fry it together with sausage is the sausage doesn't have a chance to crisp up properly. That's not to say it won't cook but I personally prefer mine with a bit of a browning to it and some crispy skin.
It's an easy problem (if you can call it that) to overcome and here's how you do it.
What You'll Need for this Recipe
- Half a head of cabbage, chopped
- Kielbasa (approximately 1 coil, maybe 1/2 depending on preference)
- Butter
- Skillet (non stick or spray with cooking spray before frying sausage)
- Salt & Pepper
Getting Started
Get your pan up to medium heat and spray it with cooking spray (if necessary). Chop up the sausage until it looks similar to what is pictured in these photos and fry on both sides until brown. Once it's browned, remove the sausage from the pan and add the chopped cabbage with 2 tbsp of butter and fry until it reaches your desired consistency and is cooked. Then add the sausage and fry for an additional couple of minutes to heat up the sausage. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper and serve.
Can it get any easier? I don't think so.
How Do You Pan Fry Cabbage?
Place a skillet on the stove at medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Let the butter melt and add the cabbage. Cook until lightly browned and tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
Mike's Tips & Tricks for Fried Cabbage and Kielbasa
- When chopping up the cabbage, try to keep it in small pieces about the same size as the slices of Kielbasa. This allows it to cook more evenly.
- For the Kielbasa, I have found that the ones from Costco tend to have a better flavor so I use those.
- I fry everything in salted butter because I think it tastes better, it also means you don't have to salt the food when it's done.
- Use a skillet that is nonstick and be sure to stir frequently as you want the cabbage to cook but not burn or stick to the pan.
This simple and easy recipe is a quick and delicious lunch and dinner. Enjoy!
Happy low carbing,
Mike
Pin this to your Low Carb, Keto, Dinner & Lunch Boards on Pinterest and don't forget to follow @TheKitchenMagpieLowCarb on Pinterest!
Ukrainian Style Fried Cabbage with Kielbasa
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Course
- Main Course
- Cuisines
- American, Keto, low carb
- Servings
- 4
- Author
- Karami Urbanoski
Ingredients
- 8 cups cabbage
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 coil Kielbasa ( half a coil if it's a really large one)
- 1 dash salt and pepper
Instructions
- Fry Kielbasa first in your skillet until crispy on both sides. DON'T overcook it as it will dry out, just crisp it up quickly!
- Remove the Kielbasa from skillet and keep separate.
- Add 2 tbsp of butter to skillet on medium heat.
- Add chopped cabbage to skillet and fry in the butter until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Add Kielbasa to skillet to heat it up a bit.
- Serve with salt and pepper (to taste).
Recipe Notes
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Made this recipe?
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Please rate this recipe in the comments below to help out your fellow cooks!
Sevola Cleveland says
I fry potatoes with mine…
Mike Johnston says
Good but definitely not low carb lol
Earlyne says
Add sauerkraut to the recipe…yum!
Lbram says
Added a southern twist because I had bacon. Diced 1/4 lb bacon and cooked it first making my own bacon bits. Removed the bacon and then followed recipe. Adding the bacon back in with the cooked sausage at the end. Bacon flavor was not over powering but did add a lot of flavor. You were right on with the timing of adding back the sausage at the end to keep it crispy. Best fried cabbage ever. Thank you for sharing. Cant wait to try your bacon wrapped wedges.
Two thumbs up!!
Nancy Perine says
I love cabbage. I love Kielbasa. I had a Kielbasa on hand and hadn’t thought of how to cook it when I found your recipe. This was a perfect time to use my cast iron skillet I followed it, except like Lbram above, I added my cooked bacon bits. It turned out so yummy and was a big hit for dinner. I served it in a white Corning Ware dish and let everyone help themselves. I’ll be back to try some of your other recipes. Aloha ,,, Nancy On Maui
Karami Urbanoski says
Welcome Nancy, Glad you enjoyed this as much as we have!
John King says
I’ve made this dish many times. Wonderful memories of my Ukrainian grandmother preparing it.
When preparing, it is okay to add about 1/2 chopped onion. Also, I usually add at least two fresh, chopped and seeded, jalapenos. Add them when sauteing the onions.
No need to fry the cabbage – just cook it down in a covered deep skillet or Dutch oven. Cuts calories this way. Also okay to use turkey sausage instead of the kielbasa. That also cuts calories and cholesterol.
David Drucker says
I add a thinly sliced onion initially, as well as some fresh thyme. This makes the house smell wonderful. I have no Ukrainian in my background, but makeing this dish certainly makes me feel like I ought to have.