For More Flavorful Cabbage, Add This Creamy Sauce That's Sitting In Your Fridge

Having versatile ingredients for meal prepping on hand is great, but if you can't squeeze in enough time to plan ahead, the next best thing is quick and easy dishes that are almost effortless to make and prepare, like cabbage. It helps that there are so many things you can do with cabbage — bake, roast, saute, stir fry, or even toss it into a slaw. For a more flavorful twist, however, try making your cabbage with Alfredo sauce. 

The parmesan cheese in the sauce adds a nice, salty touch to the cabbage, boosting it with an umami flavor. Sauteing cabbage on its own before you introduce it to Alfredo sauce can even highlight the vegetable's sweet and earthy notes, offering a nice contrast to the sauce's cheesy, buttery, and savory tone. At the same time, the butter and heavy cream of Alfredo sauce introduce a pleasantly creamy texture to the cabbage. The rich character of the sauce is a nice complement to the cabbage's gentle crispiness, so the marriage of textures will make your dish shine even more.

You can make Alfredo sauce with just three ingredients, but you can also make-do with a store-bought one for the easiest hack. You might even spot sliced cabbage in the supermarket that's usually ready to use for coleslaw if you want to keep things simple and effortless. Just saute the cabbage first (15 minutes if you want a more tender finish, 10 minutes if you want a crisper bite), adding the sauce as the last step and perhaps a few seasonings like salt and pepper on top.

Aside from sauteing cabbage, there are other ways to make the vegetable's flavor shine with Alfredo sauce. For instance, you can roast the cabbage to give it a nice caramelized char, and add the sauce after to maintain its crispy texture. Alternatively, if you want the dish to feel like you're swapping pasta for a veggie option, baking it in the sauce will give you a closer substitute. 

You can also tweak the Alfredo sauce slightly to improve the dish. Make your Alfredo sauce creamier by adding mascarpone. It brings thickness without messing up the flavors. Or, drizzle in a bit of lemon to cut through the sauce's creamy richness. When acidity is introduced to the dish, it also makes the mellow character of cabbage more bright and interesting.

While you can eat your cabbage with Alfredo sauce on its own (with a glass of wine on the side if you're feeling fancy), you can have it as a side dish with entrées like roast chicken. Taste-wise, the protein helps create a more balanced meal that doesn't feel too heavy or excessively creamy in your mouth. Grilled fish can also work similarly to the chicken. Its smoky finish will nicely complement the saucy cabbage, giving both dishes a chance to be in the limelight without one taking the attention away from the other. There are other proteins that will look immaculate next to the cabbage with Alfredo sauce as well, like pork chops. Feel free to pair it with different mains.