Melting Cabbage Marinara
This show-stopping dish features buttery soft cabbage that’s laced with parmesan cheese and braised in warm marinara sauce. It’s unlike any cabbage you’ve ever had! It’s called “melting” because it literally melts in your mouth!
Melting cabbage is achieved by searing cabbage and then slowly braising the wedges until they’re incredibly tender. First, you brown the cabbage in a skillet, then you simmer it in moist heat – in the oven. You can use any flavorful liquid, but marinara sauce reigns supreme here. In fact, when my son took his first bite, he said, “Wow, this is delicious”. And he samples all my creations. The cabbage is succulent and undeniably flavorful.
Make a quick marinara sauce or use store-bought. My marinara sauce below is a simple marriage of tomato sauce, herbs, and garlic. If desired, you may swap in your favorite store-bought variety. You need about 1 cup of sauce.
Serve this as a hearty side dish or vegetarian main dish. It’s excellent no matter how you serve it!
Melting Cabbage Marinara
Ingredients
- 1 medium head green cabbage, about 1 1/2 pounds, outer leaves removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, or more as needed
- 8- ounce can tomato sauce
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut the cabbage into 8 equal wedges (halve first, then cut each half into 4 equal wedges – and keep the stem intact to ensure the wedges don’t fall apart when searing).
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches to prevent crowding the pan, add 3 to 4 cabbage wedges to the hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides.
- Transfer the cabbage wedges to a plate and repeat with more oil and remaining cabbage wedges. Transfer all cabbage wedges to the plate.
- Add the tomato sauce, garlic, and Italian seasoning to the same pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
- Remove the pan from the heat and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Nestle the cabbage wedges in the sauce, overlapping them as necessary. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese over top.
- Cover with a foil (or an oven-safe lid) and bake for 30 minutes.
- Flip the cabbage, top with the remaining parmesan cheese, and bake for 15 to 20 more minutes (covered), until the cabbage is buttery soft and fork-tender.
- Top with basil and serve.