This easy cheesy cabbage casserole with Ritz Crackers is an excellent vegetable side dish. Chopped cabbage is baked in a simple, creamy cheese sauce and topped with crushed Ritz crackers and cheddar cheese. Perfect for a large crowd. Ideal for a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal!
Use those extra Ritz crackers to make my Ritz Cracker Meatloaf! This tender and juicy meatloaf has a thick, sweet tomato topping and yummy Ritz crackers in the meatloaf that's irresistible!
When I told my husband I was making a cabbage casserole, he cringed. He isn't a fan of cabbage, which I honestly don't understand haha. I am a huge fan of this cruciferous superstar, and I love it whether it's smothered with bacon or in a dreamy casserole like this one!
Need an easy make-ahead chicken casserole? You should totally try my Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole! It also has a Ritz cracker topping that's out of this world!
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Why This Recipe Works
I love how simple this dish is to assemble; with just a little bit of chopping and mixing, it'll be in the oven in no time.
Cabbage is often an affordable ingredient, making cabbage casserole a cost-effective option. It's a great way to feed a family or a crowd without breaking the bank.
Southern cabbage casserole is versatile, comforting, and oh so homey. It's also make-ahead friendly so you can get a head start on the main attraction!
Since cabbage is always available at your grocery store or farmer's market, this is one of my staple casserole recipes. We love to eat it at church potlucks, for Sunday suppers, and it almost inevitably makes its way onto our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter spreads.
Best Way to Cut Cabbage
For those of us who have cut up a cabbage multiple times over the years, it seems easy enough to do. But it might be a daunting task for beginners. That large round, hard head of cabbage can look a little intimidating! But here are my best tips for cutting up a whole cabbage:
- First, remove the hard core. The easiest way to do this is to bang the head of cabbage onto your countertop. Be sure to slam the core end of the cabbage onto the counter (one or two tries should do it). This will release the core and you can easily remove it with a twist of your hand.
- Now you can easily slide your knife down the center of the cabbage, cutting it in two equal pieces.
- Slice one cabbage half lengthwise into 1-inch strips. Then slice the strips into 1-inch cubes. Repeat with the other cabbage half.
Of course there are other ways to chop cabbage, so I've added this handy video of How to Chop Cabbage.
Ingredients You'll Need
Basic ingredients are all that's needed to put together this southern cabbage casserole!
Cabbage - one small head of cabbage is all you need. Believe me, once chopped, it's a lot of cabbage! The cabbage will be crispy when you take the casserole out of the oven. If you want the cabbage to be softer, you can pan fry it first.
Canned cream of mushroom soup and mayonnaise - mixed together for a super creamy sauce that clings to all the cabbage pieces perfectly with almost no effort.
Chopped white onion - I prefer to finely mince the onion for this recipe; minced onion will soften as it cooks with the casserole. If you prefer larger bits of onion, that'll work, too. Consider cooking the chopped onions to soften them up before putting the casserole together.
Seasonings - salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper for a little kick!
Crushed Ritz crackers and grated cheese - mix these two together to add a wonderfully crunchy cheesy topping that's wildly familiar on any Southern casserole.
Ingredient Substitutions
- In a pinch, you can use a frozen vegetable blend that includes broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and other vegetables. Just make sure to thaw and drain them before adding them to the casserole.
- If you prefer a substitute with a more robust flavor, collard greens can be used. They are often used in Southern cooking and can provide a unique taste to your casserole.
- Try a different flavor of creamy condensed soup such as chicken or celery.
- Try adding ½ teaspoon of dry will deed to the soup-mayo mixture (a reader suggested this!).
- A reader told me that she like to add some shredded carrots for a little sweetness. Sounds fantastic!
- If you're feeling pressed for time, you can absolutely use a few bags of shredded cabbage and frozen chopped onions. Just know that the smaller pieces of cabbage will slightly change the consistency of the final dish and will cook more quickly than their chopped counterparts.
Variations
- Add 1 pound cooked and drained ground beef (or sausage) to the casserole before baking. You can also add cooked and cubed ham!
- Sprinkle some crumbled cooked bacon on top to add a smoky, savory flavor to your cabbage casserole.
- Chopped nuts like almonds, cashews, or pecans can provide a delightful crunch and a hint of nutty flavor. Scatter them on top before baking.
- For some heat and extra flavor, add some hot sauce or red pepper flakes to the soup-mayo mixture.
- Instead of Ritz crackers, a follower suggested using crushed corn flakes instead. I love the idea!
How to Make Cheesy Cabbage Casserole
For the full recipe instructions, see the Recipe Card!
(1) Place chopped cabbage and onion into a large casserole dish. Drizzle half a stick of melted butter over the cabbage and onion mixture. Mix well.
(2) In a bowl, mix the soup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
(3) Then pour the soup mixture into the casserole dish and mix well with the cabbage.
(4) In another bowl, mix the crushed crackers with the cheddar cheese, and spread evenly on top of the casserole.
(5) Pour the remaining melted butter on top of the cracker-cheese mixture. The cheesy cracker topping gives it that special final touch. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.
What to Serve with Cabbage Casserole
Lots of entrees pair well with this casserole! Mostly any meat that's served as the main entrée will be a great accompaniment, such as:
Frequently Asked Questions
Once you get the head of cabbage home from the store, keep it wrapped in the original plastic. Place in your crisper compartment in your fridge. It should stay fresh for a week (possibly 2 weeks but I recommend using it within a week of buying it).
There are many cabbage casserole recipes that call for cooked ground beef. So, if you're interested in a more hearty cabbage casserole that's also a meal, add 1 pound cooked and drained ground beef (or sausage) to the casserole before baking. I would also suggest adding ½ cup beef broth to ensure the casserole doesn't get dry from the beef. Bake as directed.
You sure can! If you are making this a day ahead of time, go ahead mix all the ingredients (steps 1-6 of the recipe card below). But be sure to reserve the cracker and cheese topping until you are ready to bake it.
Sausage is a great main entree to serve with cabbage. Try my easy Brats in the Oven recipe. Super easy sheet pan recipe! It also goes well with ham, turkey, and salmon!
Tips for Success
The cabbage will have a slight crunch after baking is complete. If you like a softer cabbage texture, pan fry the cabbage for 5-8 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
Store any leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I prefer to use BPA-free glass containers with locking lids. Check out this 18-piece set of glass food storage containers with locking lids from Bayco, available now on Amazon.
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Recipe
Cheesy Cabbage Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 head cabbage, chopped into 1-inch squares or strips See Recipe Note
- 1 stick butter, halved, melted
- 1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup) See Recipe Note
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- dash of cayenne, optional
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1 sleeve ritz crackers, roughly crushed (not too fine, you want bits and pieces of crackers)
Instructions
- For best results, please read the directions and notes before you begin making the recipe.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Rinse head of cabbage under cool water first then dry it. Remove and throw away the hard core. Chop the cabbage into 1-inch squares or strips. See recipe note (D).
- Place cabbage and chopped onion into a large casserole dish (9 x 13). Pour half a stick of melted butter over the cabbage. Mix well.
- Mix the soup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl. A whisk works well for this.
- Pour into the casserole dish and mix well with the cabbage.
- Mix the crushed crackers and cheese and pour on top of the soup mixture.
- Drizzle the remaining ½ stick melted butter on top of the cracker and cheese mixture. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until the cracker topping is crispy browned.
Notes
-
- The easiest way to do this is to bang the head of cabbage onto your countertop. Be sure to slam the core end of the cabbage onto the counter (one or two tries should do it). This will release the core and you can easily remove it with a twist of your hand.
-
- Now you can easily slide your knife down the center of the cabbage, cutting it in two equal pieces.
-
- Slice one cabbage half lengthwise into 1-inch strips. Then slice the strips into 1-inch cubes. Repeat with the other cabbage half.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in November 2020 and was updated in August 2023.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy to my readers. I'm not a nutritionist and I don't guarantee the accuracy of this data. The data may differ according to the brands I used versus the brands you use. To calculate the data yourself using your brands, try using an online nutrition calculator or app.
Donna Comstock
Great. Recipe, I pan fried onion and cabbage in small amount of butter till onion was translucent and cabbage soft, other that I followed exactly as written. It lasted 20 minutes and was gone. Thanks for the recipe.
Anne Clark
Hey Donna! Thanks for the tip! I’m glad everyone liked it. Sounds like it was gobbled up and that’s what we like 🙂
WINNIE Altman
Recipe sounds wonderful. Will be trying in the near future. Only
thing I would change is not using mushroom soup, allergic to mushrooms but
will use celery soup instead.
Suzie Henry
Yummy! Easy to make and so delicious. All ready has become a family favorite. ♥️