Name: Bacon Cabbage Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 16 oz. package of nitrate-free, gluten-free bacon (I like Beelers); 1 head purple cabbage (chopped into thin strips); 1/2 C Feta cheese; 1/2 C raw walnuts (chopped); 3 Tbls. gluten-free balsamic vinegar; Real Salt and pepper to taste

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This warm red bacon cabbage salad takes only 15 minutes to make and has been a family favorite recipe of ours for over 15 years. I am excited to share it with all of you!

Red Cabbage Salad

There is nothing quite like this warm cabbage salad with bacon. It is so full of incredible flavors and topped with yummies like walnuts, feta and balsamic. My mom has been making for our family for over 15 years. It is surprisingly easy to make yet it comes out seeming so fancy.

Now I am sure some of you are saying, “But I am not a huge cabbage fan.” That’s ok, this salad will likely make a cabbage fan of you. I know a few people will tell you that it did for them!

While many salads are not, this one is hearty enough for those with big appetites with the crumbled bacon, rich feta and walnuts. It is robust enough to stand on it’s own and in my mind, isn’t considered just a side.

Although, it does make a great side dish, kind of like our fluffy buttermilk biscuits, it is also yummy when served with Evolving Tables chicken lettuce wraps too! For dessert, I recommend Vegetarian Mammas mixed berry fruit salad.

I know when my mom first made this for my dad, he was a little skeptical. However, he soon came to love it as much as she did.

For me, this salad is nostalgic. My mom and I would eat it while sitting down together to watch an episode of Law and Order. We didn’t get along very well in highschool but food was always one thing we could agree on.

Since those school days, we are very close now. I still love going home to my moms house where I can enjoy this bacon cabbage salad as I once used to.

Warm Red Cabbage Salad Ingredients:

Red Cabbage
Bacon (I like thick cut Beelers brand)
Feta
Walnuts
Salt and Pepper
Aged Balsamic Vinegar

What aged balsamic is best?

Choose aged balsamic that is thick and delicious. You want one that has been aged longer and comes out like a syrup more than a vinegar.

I like Napa Valley Naturals Grand Reserve aged balsamic. The flavor is rich and slightly sweet. It works great with sweet and savory dishes.

How to make red cabbage salad:

Step one: In a large pan cook bacon until crisp then transfer bacon to a plate to cool

Step two: Chop cabbage into thin strips

Step three: Remove HALF, only HALF of the bacon grease from the pan then add cabbage to the bacon grease along with 2 T aged balsamic vinegar

Step four: Cook until slightly tender

Pro Tip: The cabbage should still be a bright purple. If you overcook it you will lose the vibrant color and be left with an almost black cabbage.

Step by step instructions to make red cabbage salad

Step five: Chop the cooled bacon

Step six: Transfer cabbage to a serving plate and top with Feta cheese, salt to taste, aged balsamic vinegar, chopped bacon and as many walnuts as you prefer

Bacon Cabbage Salad Notes:

Don’t be afraid to use the bacon grease for cooking the cabbage, it will give this salad so much flavor!
Make sure to cook the cabbage only a few minutes, you want it to still be a vibrant purple color
Be sure to toss the cabbage and get the yummy bacon morsels off the bottom of the pan when cooking

How do you store this salad:

This salad is best served warm and fresh. You can store the cooked cabbage and bacon in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat it the next day.

Just wait to add the toppings of feta, nuts and additional balsamic drizzle, until you’ve reheated it.

I don’t recommend freezing this salad.

If you like this recipe, be sure to check these out…

Lemon Ginger Cookie Salad

Golden Beet Salad with Watermelon

Instant Pot Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese

Best Cheeseball

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Bacon Cabbage Salad

5 from 3 votes

I love sharing new recipes with you guys and this bacon cabbage salad is one you are going to love! It is a salad that my mom has been making for our family for over 15 years. It is surprisingly easy to make yet it comes out seeming so fancy. This was one of the recipes of my moms I was most excited to learn how to make.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon cabbage recipe, easy cabbage salad, gluten free bacon cabbage salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 81kcal

Author: Chandice Probst

Ingredients

1 16 oz. package of nitrate-free, gluten-free bacon (I like Beelers)
1 head purple cabbage chopped into thin strips
1/2 C Feta cheese
1/2 C raw walnuts chopped
3 Tbls. gluten-free balsamic vinegar
Real Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pan cook bacon until crisp
Transfer bacon to a plate to cool
Remove HALF, only HALF of the bacon grease from the pan
Add cabbage to the bacon grease and cook until slightly tender (It should still be a bright purple. If you overcook it you will lose the vibrant color and be left with a purple cabbage)
Add balsamic vinegar, chopped bacon and as many walnuts as you prefer and toss lightly
Transfer to a serving plate and top with Feta cheese and Real Salt to taste

Nutrition

This recipe was first posted on my old blog back in 2011. Since then we have added new photos, instructions and information but the recipe is the same. Here is a peek at the old photo…

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