Cabbage, Potatoes and White Beans (Vegan & Gluten Free)

I think I have a weird obsession with cabbage.

Oblique view of a white porce

I don’t think there is any other vegetable that plays such a main role in my cooking. What’s so weird is that I don’t really even feel that I am particularly fond of this vegetable – it’s not anything all that special on its own.

It’s not like a bell pepper, for example, that’s bright red and shiny, with a sweet and complex taste.

Half of a head of cabbage sitting in a wadded up white linen table cloth.

Nor is it like zucchini, that has this wonderful squash-y flavor that just jumps out at you when it’s picked at the height of summer, fresh off the plant.

No, cabbage is just cabbage. But it does have one redeeming quality: it sure makes a good canvas.

Top-down view of a vegan and gluten free combination of cabbage, potatoes, and white beans. The food is in a white ceramic serving bowl with a wooden spoon.

And I think that is what I love about it so much. You can use it everywhere, like in a salad, stir fry, or soup.

But pair it with some potatoes, white beans, and some spices, and it turns into one of my favorite meals.

Comforting and warm, this dish is perfect to serve on a cold, blustery night like we’re having tonight (did y’all hear California is finally getting some rain?!). I know it looks like it might be kind of bland and boring, but I really urge you to try this. You’ll be so glad you did – and hopefully you’ll start to love cabbage just as much as we do.

A white ceramic bowl filled with a gluten-free and vegan dish made with cabbage, whites beans, and potatoes. The food is in a white bowl with a wooden spoon. Oblique view.

This makes a perfect side dish, or functions as a full meal when served in large portions, which is exactly what we like to do with it!

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Cabbage, Potatoes, and White Beans (Vegan & Gluten Free)


  • Author: Raquel Smith
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Description

An easy weeknight meal that is both healthy and delicious! Serve this as a side or on top of rice for a complete meal. This dish comes together in about half an hour and is a great way to eat one of winter’s best veggies – cabbage!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 small golden potatoes
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 15-oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp ground sage
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 small savoy cabbage (approx. 8 cups sliced)
  • pinch salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Wash the potatoes well, and cut them into small 1-centimeter cubes. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the potatoes and cook, tossing occasionally until they are starting to brown, about 8 minutes.
  2. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the beans and cook until they brown just a bit, about 5-7 minutes. When they’re nearly done, add the coriander, sage, and thyme, and toss together.
  3. While the veggies cook, cut the cabbage in half, then slice it into 1-centimeter strips. Add the cabbage to the skillet, cover, and let steam for a few minutes. Remove the lid cook until the cabbage is softened but still a bit crunchy, tossing frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately. If you grind peppercorns using a pepper mill, you’ll experience a flavor explosion that hits your tongue in the best way. I highly recommend not skipping this as the pre-ground stuff is not nearly as tasty as freshly ground black pepper.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Dinner

Keywords: cabbage, potatoes, white beans, vegan, gluten-free, autumn, winter

If you made this dish, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Questions? Ask away! And please rate the recipe if you loved it!

If this vegan winter recipe floated your boat, then these should make it seaworthy too:

Photos by Raquel Smith, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on December 12th, 2014. Last updated: June 7, 2022 at 12:47 pm.

Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

About Raquel Smith

Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).

12 thoughts on “Cabbage, Potatoes and White Beans (Vegan & Gluten Free)”

  1. This looks really good! I love cabbage as well 🙂 In soups and sometimes I’ll roast thinly sliced rounds with garlic and olive oil and then top it with marinara sauce and ground turkey.

    Reply
  2. I followed the recipe but it turned out drier than I liked so I added mushroom broth to make it more like a thick stew (and to help cook the potatoes which were still a bit too hard for me) and added nutritional yeast to add some more flavor notes. Thanks for putting this recipe together!

    Reply
  3. Very tasty, thanks. Ate it with a favourite shop-bought vegan cutlet and it made a great midweek lunch.
    By softening the cabbage together with the other ingredients it takes away the crispy edge of the potatoes, making it a bit like Bubble&Squeak; in future I’d do the potatoes and onions together and separate from the beans and cabbage, but as always it’s good to experiment!

    Reply
  4. We really enjoyed this. I love the one pan. I agree that I prefer crispy potatoes, but it was yummy as written. Thank you.

    Reply
  5. Mine turned out terribly dry for some reason. (I suspect the cabbage; it didn’t add a drop of moisture). I also wanted more flavor, so sprinkled on some herby vinegar (which by the way, helps us get the benefits of cabbage – any acid does). For me, that made it worth doing again & hubby agrees. Enjoying the leftovers right now, with some peas added

    Reply
  6. I love any recipe with cabbage, potatoes, and onions. But, since thyme and sage are not my favorite herbs, can you recommend substitutes? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Of course! You can use a variety of other herbs (fresh or dried) for this dish. Rosemary, chives, or parsley would be lovely substitutes. This is a recipe where you can certainly play with your own personal favorites – start with adding just a few pinches, and then season to taste.

      Reply
  7. Next time I make this recipe, I will cook the cabbage first and remove it from the pan before following the rest of the method. I found that cooking the cabbage made those crispy pan-fried taters go all mushy which was a real shame. I also added some ground cumin, turmeric for spice and sugar to balance out the bitterness from the cabbage.

    Reply
  8. I love this recipe and have made it several times with green cabbage. I love the spice combination, just use a little more…thank you!

    Reply

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