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One Pot Healthy Turkey Kielbasa and Cabbage Recipe

Close up finished kielbasa and cabbage on a plate.

Turkey Kielbasa and Cabbage is delicious!

I know that some people have very strong feelings about cabbage in general, but you are all crazy if you don’t like it. Cabbage is delicious and when you pair it with the smokey turkey kielbasa the smokiness just adds to that delicious flavor profile. This is not just a great dish for a weeknight dinner but people love it when we bring this to potluck parties! Cabbage was for a very long time a staple of depression-era foods. It was cheap to buy and filling as a meal. This is still the case but there are so many different ways to make and elevate cabbage recipes now that there is no excuse to not find one that you like. If you are having trouble finding turkey kielbasa in your grocery store check by the bacon!

Cabbage cut in half

We use a little butter in this recipe but you can feel free to use olive oil or even non-stick cooking spray if you are looking to lighten up the calories in this even more! You can also substitute your favorite Polish sausage or smoked sausage in here if you would like, but the turkey sausage helps to keep the calories low and still very tasty. The ingredient that makes this dish sing is the red wine vinegar. We love vinegar. Like, we love vinegar so much we would have no problems or hesitations in just drinking it straight. It pulls this dish together in the final moments and keeps you craving more!

Cut onion and whole garlic in a bowl.

Turkey Kielbasa and Cabbage: Quick and Easy Weeknight Meal for the whole family.

Once you get all your ingredients cut this cabbage dish doesn’t take much time to make. Cabbage can be notoriously hard to cut through so make sure to use a large very sharp knife to get through it. Removing the stem is the second most important part. No matter how long you cook the stem it will always be just a little too hard to eat! Using fresh cabbage is key here even though I am not sure if you can buy it any different way. Place the stem side down on your cutting board, cut the head of cabbage in half and then half again. This should give you the ability to cut the cabbage into ribbons. I like to cut my sausage on a bias (diagonally) so there is more service area to get crispy.

Cut cabbage on a cutting board.

This entire cabbage recipe can be cooked in one pot, specifically a Dutch oven or a large saucepan. Once you have all of your ingredients cut, place your Dutch oven over medium heat on your stovetop. I like to slice my butter into smaller pieces so that it melts quickly. Once you have melted your butter in the Dutch oven add a single layer of Polish kielbasa to the bottom of the pot. Allow each side to brown for about three minutes and be sure to work in batches so that you do not over crowd the pan. Once the turkey sausage is browned remove it from the pan and add your onions in.

You are just going to want your onions to soften but not too much. I also like to salt and pepper my onions to allow them to develop more flavor and release some water. Please do not add sugar to your onions. It is unnecessary. Once your onions have softened it will be time to add in your garlic. You are only going to cook this until fragrant.

Kielbasa cooking in butter in a dutch oven on the stove.

Anytime I get to cook with wine I get excited!

I subscribe to the method of feed the food wine and then feeding me wine! So once your garlic is fragrant you are going to use your white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Be sure to scrape up all of those yummy brown bits while you allow the wine to reduce by half. If you do not use wine in your cooking you can certainly substitute water or chicken stock here.

It is now time to add in your fresh cabbage. It is going to look like a lot of cabbage at this point but I promise it will cook down. Cover your Dutch oven and allow this to cook for 15 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture every 5 minutes so that it does not stick. Once your 15 minutes is done add your kielbasa back in and also add in your red wine vinegar. The tangyness from the vinegar pulls this dish together! Cook for about 5 more minutes allowing the sausage to come back to temperature!

Cut onions browning and cooking in a dutch oven.

We didn’t add it here but egg noodles, white rice, or mashed potatoes would make this a complete meal! We were keeping it on the lighter side and low carb for our healthy eating month and just ate this alone! You can also add a little heat by sprinkling your final plate with some red pepper flakes! You can take your leftovers and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Just a little secret, this is even better the next day.

Finished kielbasa and cabbage on a plate ready to be served.

Things we used to make this!

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Close up finished kielbasa and cabbage on a plate.

Turkey Kielbasa and Cabbage


  • Author: A Couple Bites

Description

Turkey kielbasa and cabbage is a quick, easy, and healthy weeknight dinner!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 113 oz package of turkey kielbasa (we used Hillshire Farms), cut into slices
  • 1 medium head of green cabbage cut into ribbons
  • 1 white onion cut into slices
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons of salted butter
  • 1 cup of dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a heavy bottom pan or a dutch oven over medium heat add your butter and allow it to melt.
  2. Once melted add your keilbasa to the post making sure to not crowd. I did mine in two batches. Allow the kielbasa to brown for around 3 minutes and then flip and repeat. Once both sides are brown remove them from the pot.
  3. Add in your onions and allow them to soften. Cook for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.
  4. Add your garlic into the pot and cook until fragrant about 2 minutes.
  5. Add in your white wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan making sure to scrape up any brown bits with your spoon.
  6. Once your white wine has reduced by half add in your cabbage and cover. Allow the cabbage to cook for 15 minutes making sure to stir every 5 minutes.
  7. Once your cabbage has finished cooking add your kielbasa back into the dutch oven and allow it to heat through again. This will take about 5 minutes.
  8. Add in your 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and stir.
  9. Serve in a deep bowl and enjoy!

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