Name: Ground Beef and Cabbage
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef (Choose 80-85% lean ground beef for best flavor.); 4 to 5 cups cabbage, thinly sliced (about 1/2 of a large head of cabbage); 2 cups chicken broth (Made with 2 cups water and my homemade chicken bouillon powder); 1 cup carrot, grated; 1/2 cup minced red onion; 3 Tablespoons gluten free flour (or all purpose flour); 2 Tablespoons tomato paste; 1 Tablespoon minced garlic; 1 Tablespoon homemade All Purpose Seasoning (or your favorite brand); 1 teaspoon homemade Southwest Seasoning; salt and pepper, to taste

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Ground Beef and Cabbage is humble, hearty and utterly delicious!

Ground Beef and Cabbage over Mashed Potatoes in a white stoneware bowl sitting on a concrete counter

This easy ground beef and cabbage recipe stretches a pound of hamburger to fill up the whole family with a truly budget friendly main dish. When simple, tasty comfort food is what you’re craving, this recipe will definitely satisfy.

In This Post:

My Recipe Inspiration

As I worked on this recipe, a night standing in my Aunt Florene’s kitchen kept coming to mind. There was an irresistible aroma coming from a large stock pot she was stirring. It was her version of ground beef and cabbage.

What she included other than cabbage and ground beef, I couldn’t tell you. I just know that as a kid, I was drawn to her side by the delicious smells.

I hadn’t thought about that tasty supper again until this recipe started coming together in my head.

Aunt Florene was a great cook and an inspiration when it came to making affordable meals that tasted delicious! I hope I will be that for someone, too.

Easy, Filling and Affordable

garlic mashed potatoes in a serving bowl

Over creamy mashed potatoes, ground beef and cabbage is a satisfying, simple comfort-food supper with lots of flavor. You can do all the prep in about 10 minutes and cook the ground beef and cabbage in 20 minutes or less. All you need are a few common pantry and fridge staples.

Ground Beef and Cabbage creates a very small amount of thin sauce in the pan as it cooks. It’s just enough to drizzle a Tablespoon or two over each serving. The easy beef and cabbage recipe is gluten free and absolutely scrumptious! This will become a fast favorite in your meal rotation!

The Ingredients for Ground Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients for Cabbage and Ground Beef recipe - ground beef, cabbage, grated carrot, minced red onion, chicken broth, minced garlic, tomato paste, all purpose seasoning and Southwest seasoning

(80-85% lean) Ground Beef
Cabbage, thinly sliced
Chicken Broth
Carrots, grated
Red Onion, minced
Gluten Free Flour _{[affiliate link]}
Tomato Paste
Garlic, minced
All Purpose Seasoning
Southwest Seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
optional garnishes: chopped celery leaves, chopped parsley or sliced green onions

We raised our own chickens and beef when I was growing up. I know what meat looks, smells and tastes like when the animals are well cared for. (And when there aren’t a lot of processors and middlemen between it and my table.) That simply isn’t what’s being made available in my small town right now.

To make a meal like Ground Beef and Cabbage as flavorful, healthful and economical as you can, choose the best quality ground beef you can find and afford. Actually, that’s true of all your family meals that include ground beef.

Trusted Sources for Quality Meat

If you know and trust a small family farmer in your area that you can purchase animals from and have those processed at a local locker, that is always the best option. The other is to find a local, or an online, source that you trust.

I never thought I’d hear myself say that, but it’s true. We have enjoyed the best beef and chicken we’ve eaten in decades, over just the last couple of months. And, it has all been delivered to my front door by FedEx or UPS.

I can feel better about preparing our favorite family dinners, like this Ground Beef and Cabbage recipe, when I know the meat I’m using is exceptional in quality.

How to Serve Ground Beef and Cabbage

Ground Beef and Cabbage recipes can be served in many different ways. Many I have seen are actually more like a beef and cabbage stir fry. I’m sure they are also tasty. But, they weren’t the comfort food style supper I was hoping to create.

We have definitely served this tasty ground beef and cabbage dish on it’s own for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

But, it’s just as quick and easy served our favorite way – over creamy mashed potatoes. Swoon! Using mashed potatoes as the base, (make your own or pick some up pre-made in your grocer’s deli case.) Ground Beef and Cabbage becomes a comforting, hearty meal to fill up your whole family. It’s luscious and healthy and fills even more hungry bellies, stretching your grocery/meat dollars for the best value.

Ground Beef and Cabbage is equally delicious over mashed sweet potatoes and the colorful plate that creates is stunning.

Collage of Serving suggestions for Ground beef and cabbage including mashed sweet ptoatoes, brown rice and zucchini noodles

We also enjoy serving this easy recipe of ground beef and cabbage over brown rice, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles (zoodles) or even homemade pasta.

There are many possibilities for creating a delicious and filling, comfort food ground beef dinner that makes your grocery budget go further and gets a healthy meal on the table quickly.

Whatever you serve it over, add one of these delicious sides: Bell Pepper Salad, Creamy Coleslaw, Shirazi Salad or Kale, Apple and Butternut salad for a simple delicious and memorable meal.

Possible Recipe Variations

The Meat

While this beef and cabbage recipe is traditionally made with ground beef, you could easily make some substitutions.

Ground Pork or Ground Sausage
Ground Chicken or Ground Turkey (May need extra fat, like butter or olive oil to keep the meat from becoming overly dry and to add some much needed flavor)
Ground Lamb

The Seasonings

homemade all purpose seasoning in a mason jar sitting on a marble countertop — Best Homemade All Purpose Seasoning

You can definitely substitute other seasonings or commercial brands of All Purpose and Southwest seasoning, though your flavors may be dramatically different from the recipe I made, depending on the brand.

Commercial brands are more heavily dependent on salt, in most cases. So, I would urge you to taste as you go and add them in small increments until you achieve the flavor you want.

Southwest Seasoning Blend in a jar and spilling out of a measuring spoon on a concrete counter top — My homemade Southwest Seasoning

You may also find that a good SPICY taco seasoning or spicy fajita seasoning is a better substitute for establishing the unique flavors I’ve created, than a commercial Southwest seasoning. You’ll just have to taste as you go, to see how much you need when making seasoning substitutions.

Veggies

The classic combination is ground beef and cabbage. However, I’ve added onion and carrot to my version. You could go ahead and use the whole head of cabbage to stretch your meal further, if you like. But, I found that about 1/2 a large head of cabbage was perfect for our tastes.

head of cabbage with a cut wedge of cabbage sitting in front of it

You could easily add other vegetables to stretch the dish further and add more nutritional content, too. Good possibilities are :

Shredded Brussels Sprouts
Thinly Sliced Celery
Halved Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
Grated Parsnips
Grated Turnips
Thinly Sliced Leeks
Kale
Spinach
Collard Greens

Making Vegetables Taste Good

Air Fryer Asparagus drizzled in Hollandaise in a white oval serving dish.

I grew up in the age of covering vegetables completely in water and boiling them until they were very soft or mushy and had lost most of their beautiful vibrant color. Plus, the nutrients were drained off when discarding the cooking water. Food trends have definitely changed. And in this instance, for the better.

Most of the vegetables I used to believe I didn’t like are ones I truly enjoy, now. The difference is in the way they’re cooked. Roasting vegetables or steaming them are my favorite methods for maximizing flavor and retaining nutrients while creating a pleasing texture and keeping all that gorgeous color.

As in the case of Ground Beef and Cabbage, not overcooking the vegetables is essential to great flavor and texture. Cook just until the veggies are heated through, but are still tender crisp. Their color should still be vibrant, not graying.

How to Make Ground Beef and Cabbage

Brown the (80-85% lean) ground beef in a large stock pot or Dutch oven _{[affiliate link]}. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until no pink remains. Do not drain any fat left in the pan with the browned ground beef.
Add the All Purpose Seasoning, Southwest Seasoning, minced onion, grated carrot and minced garlic to the pan. Cook one to two minutes over medium high heat, stirring to combine seasonings with the ground beef.
Reduce heat to medium.
Stir the flour into the pot. Try to distribute it evenly. Cook and stir until the meat and vegetables have a thin coating of flour.
Pour in the chicken broth. (You can use store-bought broth, but I just used two cups of hot water and 2 teaspoons of my homemade chicken bouillon powder.)
Continue stirring over medium heat until the broth has absorbed all the seasonings and has started to thicken just slightly around the ground beef. It won’t be thick like gravy, but will be like a thickened broth.
Stir in the tomato paste and stir to distribute it evenly.
Turn the heat back to medium high and add the thinly sliced cabbage. Stir constantly as the cabbage heats. It will begin to release some of its liquid, soften slightly and have a more vibrant green color. Continue cooking until the cabbage is hot and tender crisp.
Do a final taste before serving and add salt and pepper, as needed.
Serve the Ground Beef and Cabbage over mashed potatoes or one of the other options suggested, above. I like to do a final garnish of chopped celery leaves and fresh parsley, mixed together. And I add a few slices of green onions if I have them in the fridge, too.

I hope you make this delicious Ground Beef and Cabbage recipe your own. Create a ground beef cabbage dish that suits the tastes and budget of your own family. My sincerest wish is that it becomes a favorite family meal that you can share with the people you love most. Enjoy, my friends!

The Recipe

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