Add This One Ingredient To Shredded Cabbage For A Beloved Ina Garten Side Dish Fans Can't Stop Eating

Ina Garten's approach to flavoring simple sauteed cabbage is going to help this cruciferous vegetable earn the title of top comfort food. If you've been wondering how to ramp up the flavors in your shredded cabbage, sauteing it with butter is the way to add toasty, nutty, dairy flavor neutral oils just can't provide. The technique has over 300 5-star reviews on the Food Network site, with one reviewer even sharing that they couldn't stop eating it. 

But Ina Garten, otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa, is no stranger to building flavor in every recipe, and her shredded cabbage is no different. In the video, Garten says she prefers sauteing with butter, salt, and pepper as opposed to boiling because it brings about a sweeter cabbage taste. That's because sauteing concentrates the natural sugars to help counteract cabbage's bitterness. Butter develops rich, nutty flavors as it browns to complement the sweet results and add that dairy richness that levels up a shredded cabbage that may otherwise be slightly bitter. 

Garten's recipe calls for unsalted butter but you can also make it with salted butter. Just be sure to monitor the amount of salt used. To ensure the flavors are most vibrant and most likely to melt in your mouth, serve your shredded cabbage warm.

The beauty of this recipe is that it comes together quickly, around 10 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook. Using a wide enough pan to saute the cabbage is vital. It keeps the cabbage from overcrowding, which is often at the heart of mushy, overly wilted cabbage. The wide pan allows the butter to work its magic without the cabbage being steamed in the process. Stirring the cabbage well distributes the flavors during the sauteing, but stirring too often inhibits browning. When finishing this dish, Ina Garten opts for flaky salt to ramp up the flavors before serving it. 

Garten uses regular green cabbage, but It's possible to use other types of cabbage for a slightly different version of this buttered dish. Red cabbage gives this recipe a vibrant hue without changing much else. 

In addition to changing the cabbage, you can also add aromatics and spices to the dish. Try pairing it with sauteed onions ,  chives, or  chopped garlic to give a subtle aromatic touch to the cabbage, or add paprika for a mildly smoky flavor.