How To Make Fried Cabbage With Bacon In A Skillet (With Recipe)

Fried cabbage is a standard side dish in Southern cooking, or a great meal when served on its own. Learn how to make fried cabbage here.

Fried Cabbage with Bacon Recipe

There’s something amazing about the combination of cabbage in bacon grease.  The cabbage wilts down and becomes very tender, and crisp bacon bits give a little bite of texture.  This Southern Fried Cabbage recipe has the perfect amount of salt, pepper and a hint of sugar to perfectly complement the dish.

I’m not sure where this recipe originated, but I found it in Granny’s notebook where it had been cut out of a newspaper and paper-clipped to a page. I have several go-to cabbage recipes including Cheesy Cabbage Casserole, Creamed Cabbage and Sweet and Sour Coleslaw, but this is the first time I had found this classic fried bacon and cabbage as a true recipe.

One of the best parts of this recipe is that the leftovers taste even better.  Make some extra for your lunch the next day!

Fried Cabbage without Oil

You don’t need to put oil in your pan for this fried cabbage recipe since you are using bacon.

As bacon slowly cooks in the skillet, the bacon fat renders out into the pan, and then the bacon pieces get crispy.  The bacon grease is the oil in this recipe; no other oil needs to be added.

Use that delicious, flavor-packed bacon grease as the base of this fried cabbage without oil recipe.

You might actually have too much bacon grease in the pan.  If so, do as Grandma did, and save it in a dish in the refrigerator for later.  You can use it to flavor up so many recipes.

The bacon gives so much more flavor than you would have using vegetable oil or olive oil. Bacon grease is what makes this taste like you remember it tasting from Mom or Grandma.

Skillet Fried Cabbage with Bacon Ingredients

What do I need to make fried cabbage?

Green cabbage, chopped

Bacon, diced

Onion, chopped or sliced

Granulated Sugar

Salt

Black Pepper

Water

How do you make fried cabbage and bacon?

Step by Step Instructions

1. Fry bacon chunks in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
2. Chop cabbage and onions, and add with salt, pepper and sugar to the bacon drippings; sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Lower heat to medium low, and add water and bacon.
4. Cover the pan-fried cabbage with a lid; cook, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
5. For a tangy twist, stir in a dash of vinegar or apple cider vinegar at the end.

Storage Instructions

Let leftover cabbage cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to a week. Rewarm in the microwave.

For the full recipe steps and ingredient amounts for how do I make fried cabbage with bacon grease, scroll to the bottom of this post. 

Recipe FAQs

• Use 4-6 slices of bacon for this recipe; it’s up to you!
• If there’s an excessive amount of bacon grease, you can remove half before adding the cabbage.  Save it for another recipe.
• Use red or green cabbage, or try Savoy cabbage for an entirely different cabbage recipe.
• If there’s water left over in the bottom of the pan after 20 minutes, raise the heat again and cook off the liquid with the lid off.
• I like mine spicy, but if you don’t start with less black pepper!  If you like it really spicy, sprinkle the cabbage with cayenne pepper while cooking.
• Love a little heat? Try adding hot sauce to taste!
• Corned beef, sausage, turkey bacon or bits of ham would be great substitutions for the bacon.
• This German Red Cabbage Recipe is amazing too.

Recipe Variations

• Use turkey bacon or vegan bacon if desired.
• Add minced garlic or garlic powder for more flavor.
• For a bit of heat, add a few red pepper flakes.

Southern Vegetable Recipes

Mom’s Cucumbers and Onions

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Cheesy Zucchini Casserole

Kentucky Summer Squash Casserole

Grandma’s Special Deviled Eggs

Old Fashioned Pea Salad

Fresh Broccoli Casserole

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