Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe

Name: Cabbage Stir-Fry Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 11 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 small onion (thinly sliced); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tbsp ginger (minced); 1 carrot (cut into match sticks); 1/2 small head of cabbage (thinly sliced); 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 cup mung bean sprouts; sriracha or sambal hot sauce for serving

Jump to Recipe

This cabbage stir-fry recipe with carrots and bean sprouts is a healthy and delicious Asian-style side dish. Ready in less than 15 minutes, this vegetarian stir-fry is a delicious quick and easy recipe that you can add protein to make it the main dish.

Finished cabbage stir fry in a cast iron wok with tongs for serving.

Why Should You Make It?

There are lots of reasons to love this delicious cabbage stir fry!

Quick and easy: This whole recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make.
Healthy: Cabbage and the other vegetables in this great recipe are super nutritious. And cabbage has a natural sweetness, so no added sugar is required.
Budget friendly: Cabbage is inexpensive and you can often get more than one meal from a head of cabbage.
Great for meal prep: Make this sautéed cabbage recipe as a base for the week's lunches.

Cabbage stir fry being served from a wok onto a black plate, using tongs.

Ingredient Notes

Vegetables

Cabbage: For the main ingredient, I used green cabbage in this cabbage stir-fry recipe, and it works great. I also often use Napa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage). You can make this recipe with red cabbage or savoy cabbage, as well. Usually, all the different cabbage varieties can be used interchangeably in recipes.
Carrots You can shred the carrots or julienne them, or you can buy them already shredded to save time.
Onion This recipe has a yellow onion, but any onion variety will work. Slice the onion into thin strips.
Ginger and Garlic This simple stir fry has so few ingredients that you do want to use both fresh ginger and fresh garlic, not powders. I use this mini chopper to quickly mince garlic and ginger. You can also find pre minced garlic and pre minced ginger in jars, either in your grocery store or online.

Seasoning

Soy Sauce: Look for low sodium soy sauce to control the sodium levels in your stir fry. Use gluten-free soy sauce, like tamari, or coconut aminos to keep this cabbage stir fry recipe gluten-free.
Sesame Oil: Toasted sesame oil adds delicious sesame flavor.
Oil: For stir frying you need an oil with a high smoke point. I like peanut oil, but other good choices are grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or canola oil. Save your expensive extra virgin olive oil for other delicious uses.
Rice Vinegar: Also called rice wine vinegar. This vinegar is often used in Asian dishes and has a mild, slighty sweet flavor.
Chili Sauce: Chili sauce is optional so you can omit it if you aren't a fan of spice. I like a little hint of heat and use sambal oelek. Sriracha is also great. You can use red pepper flakes instead.

How to Make It, Step By Step

Step 1: Stir fry the onions and garlic

First, heat the vegetable oil in a wok or a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and stir fry until softened.

Onions and garlic being stir fried in a cast iron wok with metal tongs.

Step 2: Cook Veggies

Add all remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, until the cabbage starts to wilt (for about 2 more minutes).

The remaning vegetables and seasonings being stir fried in the wok.

Step 4: Add Bean Sprouts and Serve

Finally, remove from heat and add the bean sprouts, tossing to combine. Now it's time to serve your cabbage stir-fry recipe with hot sauce, or Honey Teriyaki Sauce on the side!

The finished stir fry topped with bean sprouts.

Variations

Use chili flakes. If you prefer, you can add red chili flakes to this cabbage stir-fry recipe during the cooking process, and skip the chili sauce.
Great with leftovers. Add previously cooked tofu, shrimp, chicken, or beef to your cabbage stir-fry recipe after stirring in the soy sauce to give it time to heat through.
Add a protein. Adding a protein to this recipe takes it from a side dish to a complete meal. Sauté tofu, shrimp, chicken, or beef before continuing with the recipe. Even ground beef or ground turkey are great additions to this easy recipe.
Other vegetables: I sometimes add thinly sliced red bell pepper to this vegetable stir fry, and you can you use bell peppers of any color. Other great additions are sliced mushrooms, baby bok choy, snow peas, or water chestnuts. Any veggies you would usually use in stir-fry recipes are perfect.
Finish: Sliced green onions and/or sesame seeds are nice additions to stir-fried cabbage.

Helpful Tips

Choose the right cabbage. Choose a cabbage that feels heavy for its size and has no spots or blemishes.. It should be bright green, with crisp looking, tightly packed leaves. Some cabbages are huge, so you may need to plan for more than one meal using cabbage. (Try my slow cooker cabbage rolls, or corned beef and cabbage.
Uniform slices: Try to slice cabbage so they pieces are the around the same size. Larger pieces of cabbage won't cook as quickly.
Don't overcook: You want to stir fry cabbage until softened but still retaining a slightly crisp texture.
Storage: Store leftover cabbage stir fry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
Reheat: Reheat in the microwave, or in a wok or skillet.

Serving Suggestions

Complete your stir fry dinner with ramen noodles, white rice, or brown rice. Cauliflower rice is great too!

Cabbage stir fry can be topped with crispy tofu, chicken, beef or shrimp. It also makes a delicious side dish for General Tso Shrimp, General Tso Cauliflower & Mushrooms, Air Fryer Orange Chicken, Asian Chicken Meatballs, or Baked Sweet & Sour Meatballs in particular. But really, this stir fry is a perfect side dish for just about any meal.

If you love homemade stir fry recipes, you may want to check out some of my other stir fries like Steak & Asparagus Stir Fry, Teriyaki Salmon Stir Fry, or Shrimp Chop Suey.

Cabbage Stir-Fry Recipe FAQs

Is cabbage good for you?

Cabbage is very nutritious. This cruciferous vegetable is part of the Brassica family, which includes broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Why is cabbage so nutritious? First, cabbage is high in fibre, both soluble fibre, and insoluble fibre, both of which help to keep your digestive system happy. Second, it contains powerful antioxidants to help fight chronic inflammation. Finally, cabbage is very high in Vitamin K, Vitamin C, and many important minerals. Here’s more in-depth information about why you should eat more cabbage: The Health Benefits of Cabbage.

How do you store cabbage?

Store your uncut cabbage in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Partial heads should be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Your cabbage will keep for up to 2 weeks. Uncooked shredded or sliced cabbage can be stored in a ziplock bag for up to a week.

Can you freeze raw cabbage?

Yes, you can! To freeze, cut the cabbage into wedges, then blanch the wedges by plunging them into boiling water for two minutes and immediately plunging them into ice water. When the wedges are cool, remove them from the water and shake off excess water, patting dry with paper towels. After that, flash freeze the wedges on a baking pan, then transfer the frozen wedges to freezer bags and seal. Finally, return to the freezer for up to 4 months.

Is cabbage stir-fry gluten-free?

Make this cabbage stir-fry recipe gluten-free by substituting gluten-free soy sauce, or tamari.

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Cabbage Stir Fry Recipe

Why Should You Make It?