Learn how to cut cabbage to add flavor and crunch to your favorite dishes, like tacos, soups, and stir-fries. Whether you want to make cabbage wedges to accompany corned beef, slice cabbage for coleslaw, or shred cabbage for egg rolls, I will show you the best methods to get the best results.
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Cabbage is an underrated vegetable that can be used to add flavor and crunch to so many recipes, like cabbage rolls, tacos, sauerkraut, coleslaw, and pad Thai!
But how do you cut cabbage to ensure the best texture for any given dish? And what are the best techniques? This post will show you the best methods for cutting cabbage using a variety of tools. So, let's get started!
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👩🏼🍳 Types of Cabbage
There are hundreds of varieties of cabbage grown throughout the world. However, there are just 4 varieties available in U.S. grocery stores:
- Green cabbage: This is the most common variety of cabbage; it looks similar to a head of iceberg lettuce. The leaves are a bit rubbery and taste slightly peppery when eaten raw. Green cabbage is traditionally used to make cabbage rolls, coleslaw, and sauerkraut.
- Red or purple cabbage: Because red cabbage takes longer to mature, its leaves are not as tender as those of green cabbage. It can be used interchangeably with green cabbage in salads and coleslaw, and has a vibrant color. Red cabbage is best eaten raw since cooking it leaches a blue color that is unappetizing.
- Napa cabbage: Also known as "Chinese cabbage", Napa cabbage has thick stems and an oblong shape. It's typically more tender and sweeter than the other types of cabbage, and has more of a yellow color.
- Savoy cabbage: Considered the most tender of the four varieties of cabbage, it has dark green wrinkled leaves.
🔪 How to Prep Cabbage
To prep cabbage, remove the outer wilted leaves of your cabbage (usually 2-3 whole leaves). After cutting or shredding your cabbage, you can give it a quick rinse under water or place it in a salad spinner to remove any bacteria. Pat it dry before using.
🔪 How to Cut Cabbage into Wedges
Using a sharp knife, cut cabbage down the middle from top to bottom. Cut out the white core at the bottom of each sliced half by cutting a triangular shape. (If you are planning on roasting wedges, you can actually leave the core intact so the leaves stay together).
Place the halves cut side down, and cut each half into two pieces (from top to bottom), giving you four quarters. You can take it one step further and cut the quarters into eighths for eight total wedges.
Cabbage wedges are great for roasting or to pair with corned beef on St. Patrick's Day.
🔪 How to Slice Cabbage
The easiest way to slice cabbage is using either a mandolin or box grater, but you can also do it by hand using a sharp knife, or using the slicing attachment on your food processor.
If using a knife, place the wedges cut side down on the cutting board. Starting at the top of the cabbage, cut crosswise from top to bottom into thin slices.
Using a mandolin will give you thinner pieces that are more uniform compared to using a knife.
If using a mandolin, adjust your mandolin to ⅛" setting and use the finger guard to carefully slice each cabbage portion into thin strips.
🔪 How to Shred Cabbage
To shred cabbage, you can either use a box grater or the shredding attachment on your food processor. If using a box grater, shred each portion of cabbage using an up and down motion.
Shred each wedge of cabbage until you have enough to make delicious recipes like egg rolls or okonomiyakis.
❄️ How to Store Cabbage
Cabbage should be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated. Whole cabbage will last up to 15 days in the refrigerator.
For cabbage that has been cut, wrap in a paper towel to absorb excess moisture, and store in the fridge for up to 5-6 days.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- The easiest way to slice cabbage is by using a mandolin, but a box grater, food processor, or sharp knife works as well.
- Remove the white core after slicing cabbage in half.
- The best way to clean cabbage is to rinse it under water or use a salad spinner to rinse it after it has been sliced or shredded. No need to soak it in water, and always pat it dry before using.
🌮 How to Use Cabbage
Use all of that sliced and shredded cabbage for dishes like:
- bean and cheese tacos
- purple cabbage coleslaw
- soup
- pulled pork or mushroom burger
- stir fry, egg rolls, or pad Thai
- salads
- sauerkraut
🍽 Related Recipes
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How to Cut Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
Instructions
- Remove the outer wilted leaves of your cabbage (usually 2-3 whole leaves). *After cutting or shredding your cabbage, you can give it a quick rinse under water or place it in a salad spinner to remove any bacteria. Pat it dry before using.
- Using a sharp knife, cut cabbage down the middle from top to bottom. Cut out the white core at the bottom of each sliced half by cutting a triangular shape. (If you are planning on roasting wedges, you can actually leave the core intact so the leaves stay together).
- Place the halves cut side down, and cut each half into two pieces (from top to bottom), giving you four quarters. You can take it one step further and cut the quarters into eighths for eight total wedges.
- The easiest way to slice cabbage is using either a mandolin or box grater, but you can also do it by hand using a sharp knife, or using the slicing attachment on your food processor.
- If using a knife, place the wedges cut side down on the cutting board. Starting at the top of the cabbage, cut crosswise from top to bottom into thin slices.
- To shred cabbage, you can either use a box grater or the shredding attachment on your food processor. If using a box grater, shred each portion of cabbage using an up and down motion.
Notes
- The easiest way to slice cabbage is by using a mandolin, but a box grater or sharp knife works as well.
- Remove the white core after slicing cabbage in half.
- The best way to clean cabbage is to rinse it under water or use a salad spinner to rinse it after it has been sliced or shredded. No need to soak it in water, and always pat it dry before using.
Barb
Informative and helpful! Cabbage is great Year round but I especially like it in the summer- so crisp and refreshing!
MaryAnne
I'm so glad you found it helpful! 😍