This easy slow cooker red cabbage recipe is perfect for Christmas dinner or any meal where you want to serve a delicious veggie side dish.
The sweet and tangy red cabbage is cooked slowly in a crockpot, which saves space on the hob. It's flavoured with apples, onions, and mixed spice, which makes it a perfect match for turkey or gammon.
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This easy side dish couldn't be simpler! All you need to do is toss the ingredients into your slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 6 hours. The result? Tender and delicious slow cooked red cabbage.
Plus, you have the option of making it ahead of time and freezing it, cooking it the day before and reheating it in the microwave, or simply letting it cook in the slow cooker on the day.
Looking for another easy slow cooker side dish? Try my easy slow cooker roast potatoes recipe.
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- This slow cooker braised red cabbage recipe is incredibly simple and requires very little prep work. Just toss the ingredients into your slow cooker and let it do the work for you.
- It's perfect for serving as a side dish at your Christmas dinner or any other meal.
- The combination of apples, onions, and mixed spice gives this dish a delicious and unique flavour.
- By cooking the red cabbage in a slow cooker, you'll free up valuable hob space for other dishes.
- It can be made ahead of time and reheated when you're ready to serve it. This makes it a great option for busy festive meals when you need to prepare multiple dishes at once.
🥘 Ingredients
Red Cabbage - 1 medium red cabbage, shredded.
Apples - I like to use Bramley apples for their tart flavour but Granny Smiths would also work. The apples need to be peeled and chopped.
Onions - 2 thinly sliced onions, or substitute with red onions if you prefer.
Dark Brown Sugar - Substitute with light brown sugar or caster sugar.
Cider Vinegar - Or use white or red wine vinegar. The vinegar helps to keep the pH of the cabbage acidic, thus ensuring its vibrant colour through the long cooking time.
Mixed Spice - or use ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
Salt and Pepper - seasoning.
🔪 Instructions
One: Place all of the ingredients in your slow cooker basin, switch on to low, and cook for 6 hours.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Slow cooker red cabbage is a delicious addition to your roast or Christmas dinner. Serve it with turkey, gammon, slow cooker roast beef, polenta roast potatoes, honey roasted root vegetables, creamed cabbage, sausage meat stuffing, roasted Brussels sprouts, carrot and swede mash, devils on horseback, and bread sauce.
It also makes a tasty side dish for sausage casserole, slow cooker lamb breast, and pork chops.
📖 Variations
- Add 100g of dried cranberries to the red cabbage for a delicious sweet taste.
- Add the juice of 1 orange or lemon.
- Grate in a small amount of fresh nutmeg.
- Add a splash of port for an extra rich flavour.
- Swap the cider vinegar for balsamic vinegar.
🥡 Storage
The red cabbage can be made up to 3 months ahead and frozen. Defrost fully before reheating in the microwave. It's a great make-ahead recipe for Christmas, but it's equally easy to make on the day too.
❓ FAQs
Yes, you can freeze red cabbage. If you have leftovers from your slow cooker red cabbage recipe, you can store them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. However, it's important to note that the texture of the cabbage may change slightly after freezing and thawing, and it may become a bit softer. To reheat frozen red cabbage, simply defrost it in the fridge overnight and then reheat it on the hob or in the microwave.
Red cabbage is a good source of vitamin K and provides small amounts of calcium, magnesium, and zinc. It's also high in fibre, which helps keep your digestive system healthy.
😋Related recipes
More delicious slow cooker recipes to try.
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Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker Red Cabbage
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Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 Red Cabbage shredded
- 2 Bramley Apples peeled and chopped
- 2 Onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
- 60 ml Cider Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Mixed Spice
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into your slow cooker basin.1 Red Cabbage, 2 Bramley Apples, 2 Onions, 3 tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar, 60 ml Cider Vinegar, ½ teaspoon Mixed Spice, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- Give everything a good stir with a wooden spoon.
- Cook on low for 6 hours. You can also cook it on high for 4-5 hours if you prefer.
Notes
- Add 100g of dried cranberries to the red cabbage for a delicious sweet taste.
- Add the juice of 1 orange and swap the cider vinegar for white wine vinegar.
- Grate in a small amount of fresh nutmeg.
Lima Ekram
Was looking for a colorful side dish with my roast chicken tonight - this is it! Cant wait to try it!
Stephanie
I love using the slow cooker! This was delicious and so easy to make with the slow cooker.
Janat Brockwell
Did it go must or did it stay firm
Dannii
This is how we make our red cabbage too and it is a must every christmas. So much easier than cooking it on the hob.
Beth
As a German I love red cabbage but have never made it myself. That will change from this moment forward. I will always make it in the slow cooker. So easy and flavorful! Thanks!
Elaine Malpas
Can I use eating apples
Beth Sachs
You can, but use a tart eating apple, not a sweet one.
nicola scantlebury
Do you not need to add any water to this please?
Diane
Very good. We love red cabbage.
Diane
Very good
Mary Rynearson
Could you please tell me what is in mixed spice!
Beth Sachs
Hi Mary. Mixed spice is a British spice blend and includes some or all of the following ground spices: cinnamon, coriander seed, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, and mace.
Becci
Made this for Christmas & froze a couple of other portions, which we've just had with a roast... I'm not a fan of red cabbage & have been known to cook it at Christmas for others & not touch it myself - this one is yummy!! I used nutmeg & cinnamon, as well as substituting the cider vinegar with balsamic (all of which I'm sure I saw somewhere, but now can't find!!). This will be a very used recipe from now on - we've already decided to slow cook up a further batch. Thanks 🙂
Diane
I never ate red cabbage in my life but I'm bingeing on this now. I put my slow cooker on a timer so it cooks at night. But could you perhaps add a note that red cabbage stains? These take a couple of days to clear, next time I'm going to use gloves.