How to cut cabbage recipe

Learn to chop cabbage for slaws, stir-fries, soups and more! This step-by-step guide teaches you how to slice it into wedges, slices, and squares.

Ever wondered how to cut cabbage? You are in the right place! Today, I’m breaking down my favorite easy methods for how to chop cabbage for salads, slaws, soups, and more.

This post is part of my mission to get everyone to eat cabbage more often. This humble vegetable is nutritious, delicious, and versatile (not to mention cheap!), but I’ll admit, from the outside, it can be intimidating. Where do you start with a veggie that looks like a miniature globe?

I hope the step-by-step instructions and tips below make preparing cabbage easy. And if you need ideas on how to use it after you cut it, find some of my favorite cabbage recipes at the bottom of this post!

Varieties of Cabbage

When you visit the produce section of your grocery store, you’ll likely see one or more of these types of cabbage:

• Green pepper (pictured above) – Its crisp, pale leaves are densely packed into heavy rounded heads. Left raw, green cabbage is perfect for classic coleslaw, but it also cooks beautifully in soups and stews.
• red cabbage (pictured above) – From the outside, it looks just like green cabbage, except it’s, well…red. Add it to a slaw or grain bowl, or stir-fry it.
• Napa cabbage – This type of Chinese cabbage has a long, oval shape. Its leaves have crisp white stems and soft, dull pale green edges. I love eating napa cabbage raw or cooked, stir-fried and sautéed.
• Cabbage is a type of cabbage – A whole savoy cabbage and a whole green cabbage have a lot in common. Both are spherical; Both are green. But Savoy cabbage leaves are much more loosely packed and have a softer, ruffler texture. Although this cabbage variety hails from the French Alps, its tender texture makes it a great sub for napa cabbage in many recipes.

All of these types of cabbage look different from the outside, but you can learn how to cut any of them using the guide below!

How to cut cabbage into wedges

Cutting the cabbage into wedges can be your end goal or the first step toward cutting it into other shapes, such as slices or squares. This breaks a large, unwieldy head of cabbage into more manageable pieces.

1. Start by removing any tough, dry or discolored outer leaves. Wash the cabbage and pat dry with paper towels or kitchen towels.
2. Then, identify the stem or core. It will be under the cabbage where the leaves meet.
3. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the cabbage in half lengthwise through the core.
4. Cut the halves in half, again with the core lengthwise, making four wedges.

Are wedges your stopping point? Continue slicing the cabbage through the core until the wedges are your desired thickness. I think 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick is a great size for searing or roasting.

Want to learn how to cut cabbage into thin slices or squares? Keep reading!

How to cut cabbage

First thing’s first: see the section above to learn How to cut a cabbage into wedges.

1. Once you have four wedges, place one wedge cut side down on your cutting board.
2. Cut diagonally along the core to remove it from the wedge.
3. Then, use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the wedge of cabbage crosswise, working from the pointy tip down in the direction where you cut the core.
4. Repeat with remaining wedges!

That’s it! Use shredded cabbage in coleslaw, tacos, and more.

• Variation 1: For long pieces, Cut the cabbage lengthwise, not crosswise. Slice it thinly along one of the cut edges of each wedge.
• Variation 2: For very finely chopped cabbage, Use a mandoline slicer. Hold a cabbage wedge at the root end and run the tip over the mandolin blade to shred it. Don’t forget to use the security guard!
• Variation 3: For shredded cabbage, As I use in my cabbage soup, cut each wedge lengthwise into uniform 1-inch slices. Then, cut 1-inch slices crosswise to create a grid. The leaves will separate into squares.

Favorite Cabbage Recipe

So, you learned how to cut a cabbage. How are you going to cook it? If you need some inspiration, try making one of these recipes:

You can find more delicious cabbage recipes in my new cookbook, Love and lemons are easy feeling good food.

In fact, it includes a 3-day meal plan designed to consume an entire head of cabbage! The Plan recipes—Seared Cabbage Wedges, Loaded Pita Nachos (pictured below), and Chickpea Tacos with Pickled Cabbage (pictured below)—are some of my favorites in the book. Pre-order now to get a free bonus e-book!