This easy cabbage casserole 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. This is a great holiday side dish for a large gathering.
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. 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 recipe!
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Why This Recipe Works
I love how simple this dish is to assemble, especially considering all of the little store-bought "cheats" that make it extra fast.
This cabbage casserole recipe is an easy throw-together simple vegetable side dish that promises to make any occasion special.
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.
Ingredients Needed for Cabbage Casserole
Cabbage - one small head of cabbage is all you need. Believe me, once chopped, it's a lot of cabbage!
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. If you prefer larger bits of onion, that'll work, too.
You likely already have some of the ingredients on hand such as salt, pepper, cayenne, and butter (butter is the most expensive ingredient for this recipe!).
Crushed Ritz crackers and grated cheese - add a wonderfully crunchy texture that is ubiquitous on any Southern casserole.
How to Make Cabbage Casserole
(1) Rinse the head of cabbage under cool water first. Chop the cabbage into 1-inch squares or strips. Discard the hard core and end piece. Read Expert Tips Below. Place cabbage and onion into a large casserole dish. Add the chopped onion. Pour half a stick of melted butter over the cabbage. Mix well.
(2) Mix the soup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl. The cream of mushroom soup mixed with mayonnaise creates a super smooth, velvety texture. Then pour into the casserole dish and mix well with the cabbage.
(3) Mix the crushed crackers with the cheese and spread them on top of the casserole.
(4) Pour remaining melted butter on top of the cracker-cheese mixture. The cheesy cracker topping gives it that special final touch. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
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 1-5 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!
Expert Tips
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.
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.
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.
More Side Dish Recipes to Explore
This post was originally published in November 2020 and was updated in November 2021.
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Recipe
Creamy Cheesy Cabbage Casserole Recipe
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
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Rinse head of cabbage under cool water first. Chop the cabbage into 1-inch squares or strips. Discard the hard core and end piece. READ RECIPE NOTES (A & B) BELOW.
- 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
Nutrition
Note: Different brands will vary on the nutritional information provided, so keep that in mind. For the most part, they should be fairly close. Use a site like MyFitnessPal.com or HappyForks.com to figure out this information based on the brands or ingredients you used.
Paul and Natalie Steele
Added 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. allspice and cloves, wow so tasty.
MyKitchenSerenity
Thanks for the additions. Sounds good! Glad you enjoyed the casserole!
Carrie Chastain-Little
Do you have another soup suggestion for people who don’t like mushrooms?
MyKitchenSerenity
Hi Carrie. Thanks for your question. You can use cream of chicken soup as a substitute.