Easy Roasted Cabbage Steaks

Why We Love This Recipe

• Super easy vegetarian recipe: Even with the (optional) white bean purée, this recipe only has 10 ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry or fridge. All there is to do is slice, season, and roast the cabbage in the oven.
• Great meat alternative: Since cabbage is super hearty, it serves well as a stand-in for meat. If you're not a huge fan of cabbage, you can try our Roasted Cauliflower Steaks, Vegan Mushroom Stew over Mashed Potatoes, Lentil Coq Au Vin or this Miso Glazed Eggplant
• It's a blank canvas: Cabbage has a fairly mild flavor when roasted, meaning you can easily customize this dish to your liking. You can try it with balsamic, with some roasted nuts on top, or even with your favorite pasta sauce.
• Quick and easy: It only takes a few minutes to prep a head of cabbage for this recipe, so it's perfect for just about any skill level!

Ingredients

Here's all you'll need to make these cabbage steaks:

Ingredient Notes

• Cabbage: This is the key ingredient, and we would only recommend green cabbage in this recipe, for a few reasons:
  • It holds together during roasting. Some other cabbage varieties, like savoy or napa cabbage, may fall apart in the cooking process.
  • It becomes super tender after being roasted. We haven't tested this recipe with red cabbage, but red cabbage is slightly tougher and won't achieve the same soft and flaky texture of a roasted green cabbage.
• Picking the right cabbage: When you're at the store buying a cabbage, there are a few things to look out for:
  • The cabbage should feel heavy for its size.
  • It should have colorful, crisp leaves that are unblemished and tightly packed.
  • Seasonality: cabbages are in season between November and April.
  • For more info on selecting the perfect cabbage, you can check out this helpful article.
• Olive oil: Since this is such a simple recipe with mild flavors, be sure to use a high quality olive oil and to thoroughly cover the cabbage on both sides.
• White beans: The white bean purée is optional, but it really takes these roasted cabbage steaks to the next level. We like to use navy or cannellini beans, but you can also use white kidney beans or another similar bean of choice. We wouldn't recommend using chickpeas (garbanzo beans), which will make for a more mealy, gritty texture.
• Parmesan: If you're not dairy free, regular grated parmesan is great. If you are vegan, this is the nondairy parmesan we like to use!

Step-by-step Instructions

Prep: Preheat oven to 400˚F and lightly grease a sheet pan. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl. 

Remove any loose outer leaves from the head of cabbage.

(1) Slice off the root end (bottom) of the cabbage. 

(2) Set the cabbage flat end down on a cutting board and slice into ¾-1-inch thick large rounds, slicing all the way through the cabbage. You should be able to get somewhere between 4-6 slices per head of cabbage, depending on the size of the cabbage. 

(3) Transfer the cabbage to the baking sheet and brush both sides with the olive oil/lemon mixture.

(4) Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle with parmesan and parsley. Return to oven and continue roasting for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the cabbage is crispy and lightly browned on the exterior, and fork tender on the interior. (It should be soft enough to easily pierce with a fork.) 

(5) While the cabbage is in the oven, add all ingredients + 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid from the can of beans to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. 

Serve with the cabbage steaks and garnish with more parsley and parmesan. 

Expert Tips and FAQs

• Pick the right cabbage: Look for a cabbage that feels heavy and has colorful and tightly-packed leaves.
• Best way to cut the cabbage: Cutting the cabbage can be a bit tricky, so here's what we recommend. Start by removing any loose outer leaves. Next, slice off any of the stem that may be protruding from the bottom of the cabbage. Even if there isn't much, you'll need to slice it a bit so you have a flat edge to set down on the cutting board. Next, slice the cabbage into rounds that are ¾ to 1" thick. Use your hands to hold the cabbage together and be careful when transferring to a baking sheet so the looser pieces don't fall apart. The sturdiest (and biggest) pieces will be the ones from the center of the cabbage.
• Some cabbage steaks may take longer to cook than others: The smaller steaks from the outside edges of the cabbage will cook faster than the larger ones from the center of the cabbage. If they start to brown too quickly, remove those first and let the other pieces continue roasting.
• Options / additions: You can try these roasted cabbage steaks with a drizzle of balsamic, an extra squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of your favorite dairy free or regular cheese, some homemade pesto or gremolata, roasted nuts, or any other accompaniment of choice. They would also be great alongside a simple salad, like this white bean artichoke salad or this easy Italian chopped salad.
• Make ahead: These cabbage steaks are best served fresh out of the oven, so we don't really suggest making them ahead of time. However, you can do all of the prep work ahead of time, including slicing the cabbage, so you just have to pop them in the oven when you're ready.
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freezing: We wouldn't recommend freezing these roasted cabbage steaks, as they won't defrost well. However, you can definitely freeze any excess raw cabbage for use in the future!
• Reheating: These cabbage steaks are best reheated in the oven so they can crisp up. We suggest reheating in a 375˚F oven until heated through and slightly crispy.

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