If You Love Creamed Spinach, Give Cabbage The Same Treatment For A Craveable Side Dish

Creamed spinach is comforting and lovable — it has an old-world charm and is one of the best sides to pair with prime rib. While the spinach can easily be swapped out with kale for a new spin on an old-school classic, there's another vegetable that should be on your creamed side radar: cabbage. Not only is cabbage a budget-friendly grocery option, it's also delicious when creamed and perfect as a side dish or as a topping on fresh bread. It might just outdo the original.

To some creamed spinach die-hards, this might sound like blasphemy, but it's true. In creamed spinach, the delicate greens are covered up by lots of dairy, so the spinach itself is not actually the star of the show. In fact, it might just be the least flavorful ingredient of the dish, plus it can get a bit slimy. Cabbage, on the other hand, has a stronger, more pungent flavor profile, making it more of a main character in its creamed form. The leaves are also thicker and heartier, giving the dish a more varied consistency.

As one recipe posted on TikTok makes clear, cooking creamed cabbage is not much different from cooking creamed spinach. Both require sauteing onions and garlic in a pan with butter. Rather than dumping in a whole bag of spinach leaves, you'll remove the core from a head of cabbage and chop it into strips before adding it to the pan. After that, wait for the cabbage to soften before adding more butter and heavy cream to give you a rich, comforting dish just as delicious as its spinach-based cousin.

Creamed cabbage is also just as customizable as creamed spinach. For instance, you can swap out the cream for milk to lighten it up, or use nuts to add a bit of crunch the same way you would to sauteed spinach. Adding some meatiness with bacon pieces or kielbasa could even turn this side dish into a main. You can also adjust the texture of the cabbage to your liking by cooking it on the burner a little longer for a more tender consistency. Adding in vegetable stock is also an option for added flavor. Regardless, give spinach a break and cream some cabbage for a change. Variety is the spice of life, after all — and speaking of spices, don't be afraid to add plenty of seasoning to your creamed cabbage.