Can You Freeze Cooked Cabbage? What to Consider

It’s cheap, abundant, nutritious and delicious, but can you freeze cooked cabbage? Yes, but there is a right way to maximize taste and texture. Read on for what you need to know.

Cabbage is versatile, being healthy and tasty on its own or in various dishes. Just one cabbage can last a long time, which means you may end up with leftovers you don’t know what to do with. Can you freeze cooked cabbage to make it last longer and avoid food waste? Absolutely — but there are a few crucial details to keep in mind.

There are many varieties of cabbage, and some freeze better than others. Green cabbage is the most common variety and is best when cooked, as it’s hard and difficult to eat raw. Savoy cabbage is a light green, patterned cabbage, mostly seasonal. Red cabbage is often eaten cooked or raw. White cabbage is often found in slaws. Bok Choy is abundant in oriental cuisine, known for its long leaves and tasty stems.

Cabbage should be cooked, ideally blanched, and dried before freezing. As with most leafy vegetables, cabbages have fibrous membranes with high water content, so they retain moisture well. So if you freeze cabbage raw, it is likely to be soggy and mushy when you defrost it.

Follow our step-by-step guide to freeze your cooked cabbage to retain its flavor and nutrients.

How to Freeze Cooked Cabbage

We have two favorite methods for freezing cooked cabbage. Both are easy and convenient, and won’t destroy any of the vegetable’s delicious flavor.

Freezing cooked or blanched cabbage

1. After cooking sliced, quartered or halved cabbage, strain it well, then lay it out on paper towels to dry. This is crucial, freezing it wet is just like freezing it raw — excess moisture will turn it to mush.
2. When dry, place it on a baking sheet, in single layers.
3. Freeze for around 30 minutes.
4. Remove and pop into a freezer bag, or portion it out, removing excess air before sealing.
5. Date the bag and put it back into the freezer.

The sauté method

1. Cut the cabbage into edible chunks.
2. Sauté it with seasoning.
3. Let it cool and dry.
4. Place into a freezer bag (or bags, as above) and remove excess air.
5. Freeze.

Your frozen cooked cabbage should keep for up to six months.

More Recipe Ideas

Freezing vegetables avoids food waste, saves money and keeps ingredients on hand for later meals. We love cabbage on its own or as a side. Why not add it to a Vegan Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe, Vegan Chop Suey or Dominican Root Stew?

Read more:

• Pickled Red Cabbage: Quick & Easy Recipe
• Can You Freeze Onions? Yes – And Here’s How
• Winter Squash Varieties and How to Use Them

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Tags: Food Food Waste Freezing Green Living Guide