Summary:
With only 6 ingredients, this easy Cabbage, Potatoes, and Bacon stir-fry cooks quickly in 30 minutes using just a single pan. It's ideal for busy weeknights, whether you're looking for a main course or a side dish for dinner.

Fried Cabbage, Potatoes, & Bacon Recipe
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Yield: 2 servings
Calories: 240
Net Carbs: 18g
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (10-ounce) package shredded green cabbage (5 cups)
- 1 russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 5 strips bacon
- 5 cloves garlic, minced (I use a
garlic press ) - 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook bacon on a large nonstick pan over medium heat until crispy, about 10 minutes, flipping occasionally. Transfer bacon to a paper towel to drain. When cool, crumble into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.
- Add potatoes, cabbage, salt, and pepper to the pan, stirring with bacon drippings. Cover with a lid and cook until potatoes and cabbage are tender, removing the lid to occasionally stir.
- Add minced garlic to the pan, stirring with other ingredients until fragrant, about a minute.
- Remove the pan from heat. Add crumbled bacon and serve.
NUTRITION
Makes 2 Servings |
Amount Per Serving: |
Calories 240 (47% from fat) | |
Total Fat 13g | 19% |
Saturated Fat 4g | 19% |
Cholesterol 38mg | 13% |
Sodium 940mg | 39% |
Net Carb 18g | |
Total Carb 22g | 7% |
Dietary Fiber 4g | 17% |
Sugars 5g | |
Protein 16g |

🔔 Why You Should Make This
- Quick Skillet Dinner: This is a fast dinner that feeds two, taking about 30 minutes from start to dinner. Only one pan is needed, simplifying cleanup.
- Few, Simple Ingredients: There are only six total ingredients, and that includes salt and pepper. All of these are easy to find in supermarkets.
- Great Flavors and Textures: Crispy bites of bacon complement the starchy potatoes, making this a tasty and comforting skillet dinner.
- Use Up Leftover Cabbage: If you have leftover cabbage from another meal, this is a delicious way to use it up.
- Easy Variations: Add an onion, substitute with different meats, or use purple cabbage. It’s simple to customize this recipe to your liking. For ideas on substitutions, check out the comments below from other readers.

This is fantastic! The only changes I made were using less bacon – only 3 slices and since there was less fat rendered, I added 1 Tbsp EVOO. I also used cold boiled potatoes which I diced and threw into the pan first allowing them to brown on the bottoms. Raw potatoes wouldn’t brown much if at all. Great recipe! I’ll be using it again. Thank you!
Just finished having this for dinner…amazing! I added kielbasa, red onion, jalapeno powder, granny Smith apple, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar. I used unpeeled red potato cubed, garlic powder since I was too lazy to peel and chop garlic. I mixed two recipes together.
Did you add vinegar in the end? How much and what does it add taste wise? Thank you!
A little balsamic at the table is a really nice touch. I also added an onion.
Growing up, my family had something very similar. We called it “browned cabbage”. I believe towards the end of the cooking, some flour would be added to the bacon grease and slightly browned (dad called it scorched, to give it just that little bit more flavor). I have not made it yet but will soon. Childhood food memories, yummy.
This was delicious! I parboiled the potatoes, and was incredibly happy with the results. Served alongside eggs and toast, it’s a great breakfast for dinner!
I used smoked tempeh in place of bacon and olive oil to fry with to make it vegan. Delicious!
Skip the garlic……and replace with onion. HEAVEN.
Skip the garlic? I think my heart just broke a little. 😉
I put garlic and onions in mine
I use turkey smoked sausage instead of bacon. Adds a lot of flavor.
Sounds so good, I think I will add two potatoes and double the bacon and serve with grilled chicken breast and call it dinner!
This was really good! I had a 1/2 cabbage to use up and had the other ingredients and, since it seemed right up my alley (easy!), I put it together tonight. Yum. My husband loved it so I will be making it again. Thanks!
We really liked this, although I made some changes. I went to 12 ounces of cabbage, cut the bacon to 4 slices and did 2 cloves of garlic, but added 1/2 of a medium yellow onion. I parboiled the diced potatoes for about 4 minutes, just to make sure they were done. This would be so great with a poached egg on top!
This was so tasty!!! I added an onion to mine and a pinch of chili flakes for a little heat!!! Will definitely make it again soon!!
Great recipe. I made mine a little different: used sea salt, didn’t slice up cabbage too small. Made it for a family of 3. Also used real bacon pieces instead of sliced bacon. Still turned out well. Thank you.
This is so good. I chopped a Napa cabbage and cooked with a cubed baked potato. Sweet onion and red onion were minced and added towards the end. Left-over beef roast was great with this.
Just make this but I use sweet potatoes instead.it was so good and healthy
I used about 8 radishes in place of the potato so it would be keto friendly:)
Thanks for saying this. I love been scrolling and scrolling to see if someone made this keto style. I too was thinking radish and now I know how much to use, thank you
I have made this several time, though a vegetarian version. The combination of cabbage & potatoes is a favorite here. I’ve at times added other vegetables & changed the spices.
Just made this tonight. Delicious! I think that next time I will add an onion. That is the only thing I would change. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I have never made fried cabbage before, but have wanted to try it. It was so easy!
Great cabbage side dish recipe… This is a keeper.
Delicious!! This is the second time I’ve made this in two weeks. This time I added more potatoes.
Very tasty! I agree with the previous comment. I added meat from a smoked turkey leg and bacon too. It really turned out very flavourful.
Very tasty! Just made this tonight when looking for a recipe to use up some leftover cabbage after making homemade vegetable soup earlier this week. The only real change was that I added a medium thin sliced yellow onion, left out the garlic and used thick cut bacon from the grocery meat department. Even though mine wasn’t exactly like the recipe, it was still very good. As a single person attempting to be more frugal, I’ll keep this one as a way to use up that leftover cabbage head I always end up with when making my mom’s homemade vegetable soup.
I laughed as I read your reason for making this dish. Please understand in knowing that I too, was trying to find a use for my leftover cabbage after making my Mother’s beef vegetable soup. This cabbage potato dish is cooking now and smells divine. Can’t wait to dig in.
Barb, I also love this recipe. Same reason I have made it many times with lots of variations. Thanks for your feedback as I am also using up a cabbage after making cabbage soup for my Mom and btw the cabbage soup freezes very well.
I would love to have your recipe for cabbage soup, I have made fried cabbage for years and can’t wait to try this recipe.
Thanks, Sharon
I just made this for supper and it was terrific.
I grew up in England and we used to call this “bubble and squeak” — it was leftover potatoes and greens (no bacon that I remember) for breakfast with a fried egg!
Delicious 👍
I added a few drops of Toasted Sesame Oil at the end of cooking just because I love Toasted Sesame Oil!
Thank you for posting.
This was a common dish in my Irish house where I grew up, and I still make it. My mother always cooked corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage in one pot. After removing the contents from the pot but not draining the water, she would add more potatoes and cabbage to the water to cook for the next day’s meal. Then she fried the cabbage and potatoes in a small amount of butter. As it cooked down she would add about 2 tablespoons of the flavored water to the mixture to keep it from drying out. Any corned beef left over from the night before was added toward the end, allowing enough time for the corned beef to warm up. There were 8 in the family and there were never any leftovers. Sometimes she made rutabagas and then fried that with the cabbage in place of potatoes. Other times all 3 items were fried together.