This Air Fryer Cabbage is an easy and delicious side dish that is ready in a flash! Perfectly grilled and tender, cabbage in the air fryer is Whole30 compliant, paleo, and vegan/vegetarian.
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This cabbage in the air fryer is one of those recipes that is super easy to make, and also can be adapted to anyone’s preferences. Even better, it’s simple to prep, cooks quickly, and tastes incredible!
Throw in some strips of bacon (or make Air Fryer Bacon) to make a tasty dish of cabbage and bacon. If you have leftover cabbage, try making Kale Chopped Salad, Air Fryer Egg Rolls, Fried Cabbage and Bacon, or Healthy Coleslaw.
If you’re someone who likes their cabbage saucy, drizzle some chipotle sauce over the finished cabbage. I also REALLY love adding a few dollops of this red pepper simmer sauce over the hot cabbage. It’s not spicy but has an amazing smoky flavor.
Air Fried Cabbage Equipment
You’re going to need an air fryer (we have this Cosori 5.8 quart and love it), a cutting board, a sharp chef’s knife, and a plate. That’s it, though some tongs would be helpful as well.
I also like using air fryer parchment to keep everything from sticking, but you can easily brush olive oil on the basket.
Pro Tip/Recipes Notes
- Top finished cabbage with a bit of shredded or shaved Parmesan.
- Leave out the smoked paprika and add 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil to the olive oil mixture. Top with sesame seeds and slivered green onions.
- You can also cut the cabbage into “steaks” or even use shredded cabbage. The cooking time for steaks would be the same as wedges. If you’re using shredded cabbage, add the water after 3 minutes of cooking time. If you use shredded cabbage, place a metal rack over the top of it to prevent it from flying up into the heating element.
- Sub in 1-2 cloves of minced garlic instead of the garlic powder.
Air Fryer Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1/2 head green cabbage
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 360F for 3 minutes.
- Cut the head of cabbage in half, and then one half into 6 wedges. Remove the core if desired.1/2 head green cabbage
- Place wedges on their side on a plate.
- In a small bowl whisk olive oil, garlic powder, black pepper, and smoked paprika until well blended.2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the wedges. There is no need to flip them to coat both sides.
- Brush the hot air fryer basket with olive oil or lay a piece of air fryer parchment in the basket.
- Carefully lay the cabbage wedges in the basket with the oiled sides facing up.
- Cook at 360F for 5 minutes. Then, carefully pour 1/2 cup of water into the air fryer basket.1/2 cup water
- Cook for another 4-6 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender.
Notes
Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Drizzle olive oil in the skillet and lay the seasoned cabbage wedges in the skillet on its sides. Cook for 4-5 minutes, and then carefully add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low and place a lid or baking sheet over the skillet. Cook for 5-10 more minutes or until the cabbage is tender.
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I did the skillet version of this (because my kids made the air-fryer tray a mess today and I didn’t want to clean it, they’ll clean it when they do dishes). I loved it. I let it go 5 minutes covered and then 5 more uncovered to try to get it a bit more crispy…and it was a bit more crispy, but I want to try it in the fryer next time for more crisp! Don’t forget the salt at the end, that MAKES it.
I am making this THIS Week. We love roasted cabbage steaks in the oven, but those suckers take 40 minutes. I can do it here in 10? AND, what is this magic of Air Fyer parchment paper? How did I not see these before? (Husband is making chicken wings in the air fryer right now and the amount of fat already dripping off…sigh. Going to give it a good cleaning this week and using paper from here on out!)