Looking for a quick week night dish, then this Sautéed Cabbage and Chicken is the one for you. Thinly sliced cabbage sautéed with delicious pieces of chicken is sure to please even the pickiest eater.
Cabbage is one of the cheapest vegetables you can buy and for the first two weeks in March they are available in abundance and sometimes on sale, in preparation for all the Corned beef and Cabbage dishes people make for St. Patrick's Day. I love having a cabbage on hand for when I am in a pinch and need to pull together a quick meal. I also add cabbage to my fried rice and some times chow mein dishes. You can't really go wrong with cabbage.
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Seasoning the Chicken
Green seasoning is a Caribbean marinade made with fresh herbs ground or blended together. It's like sofrito or pesto but we put it in all of our meats. Sometimes I go rogue and skip the green seasoning, but not when I am cooking cabbage. Cabbage can sometimes be bland if not seasoned properly, so when pairing it with chicken I add as much flavor to the chicken as possible at every stage of the cooking process.
First I marinate my chicken in freshly made green seasoning. I like to season my meat ahead and let it marinate in the green seasoning for at least 30 minutes before I am ready to cook, but really it's not necessary. I'm also notorious for blending the seasoning, adding it to the meat and letting it sit on my counter while I prep my other ingredients. No matter how long you let your meat marinate it will still have a lot of flavor.
Adding more flavor to the Cabbage and Chicken
For an extra boost of flavor I sometimes add a bit of cooking sauce like this Classic Marinade and Cooking Sauce from The New Primal or some coconut aminos. I add a few tablespoons of this sauce to the chicken and let it cook until all the juices cook off. Cabbage can get soggy quickly so try not to have any liquids or juices in the pan before adding the cabbage.
Next, I add some chopped tomatoes and let them cook for a few minutes before adding the cabbage. The key to this dish is to amp up the flavor of the meat, so that when you add the cabbage you don't need to add anything else.
Adding the Cabbage
Adding the cabbage in small batches is a great way to ensure that it mixes well with the chicken and pan juices. I add about two handfuls of cabbage at a time, and let it sauté for a minute or two before adding more cabbage.
After all the cabbage is added I sauté everything together for an additional 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. At this point the cabbage is cooked but still a little crunchy which is exactly how I like my cabbage. But my husband likes his cabbage a little softer, so I just remove the finished dish from the heat and cover the pot. This allows the cabbage to cook a bit more while I wrangle the kids for dinner. By the time we get settled at the dinner table the cabbage will be perfectly cooked.
Is this dish whole30 friendly?
Although I am not labelling this dish Whole30 because it really is how I cook cabbage (and I suspect how most Caribbean folks cook cabbage) whether following Whole30 or not , IT IS Whole30 friendly. It does not include any non-compliant ingredients. Before doing Whole30 I would add a bit of sugar to my chicken marinade. I have since stopped doing this. Your food does not need added sugar. Even without adding the sauce or coconut amino, on its own this recipe is very tasty. If you don't have The New Primal's classic marinate or coconut amino, leave it out. You will still have a delicious dish. Curious about my Whole30 journey? Check out my post The Whole30 and me, to learn more.
The Printable Sautéed Cabbage and Chicken Recipe:
Printable Recipe Card
Sautéed Cabbage and Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 large cabbage thinly sliced
- 4 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons of The New Primal's Classic Marinade or coconut aminos
Green Seasoning:
- ½ yellow onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- ½ cup of chopped parsley
- 4 green onions
Instructions
- Make green seasoning by combining all the ingredients in a food processor and processing until smooth. Alternatively you can add the ingredients and ¼ cup of water to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add green seasoning, salt and tomato paste to the chicken and set aside (for best results marinade for at least 30 minutes but it is not necessary)
- Bring a large skillet up to temperature on medium-high heat
- When hot add the oil and let the oil come up to temperature then add the seasoned chicken
- Sauté the chicken until it fully cooks and the pink color is no longer there
- Then add The New Primal's classic marinade and continue to cook for another 5 minutes
- Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes
- Then add the sliced cabbage a few hand full at a time
- Stir the cabbage and chicken together and continue to sauté on medium-high heat
- Repeat steps 8-9 until all of the cabbage has been added to the dish
- Continue to sauté for about an additional 5 minutes, stirring constantly to ensure even cooking
- Remove from the heat and enjoy warm
Notes
Looking for more Whole30 Recipes? Click here.
Melissa says
Hey Altee! Can i used dried parsley Instead of fresh for thE green sauce? Or does it impact the freshness?
Althea Brown says
I would add the dried parsley directly to the chicken, then add the green seasoning. It won’t change the taste. Dried parsley is a staple in my pantry.
Kirth says
Another metemgee RECIPE in our meal plan rotation. Thanks for sharing.
Althea Brown says
Yay. Glad you enjoyed it. Try the chicken and Bok Choy next. I’m sure you’ll love it. If you can’t get it don’t like chicken sub for spinach, even frozen spinach works.
TeTe says
Do you use Chinese sauce to season your chicken.. like what we use in Guyana?