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This chicken and cabbage stir fry recipe is fast and easy. The chicken is soft and tender, and the onions and cabbage melt in your mouth. It’s ready in just over half an hour!
If you can’t get enough cabbage, try my Cabbage Soup with Bacon and Potatoes or Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry next.
Why you’ll love it
I based this chicken and cabbage recipe on my popular Sautéed Cabbage and Kielbasa Recipe. It’s cooked in a similar fashion, and it’s just as delicious! Since I grew up with plenty of Czech and central European food, it’s no wonder that I love cabbage so much. Somehow I don’t manage to eat it that often, though. I’m always so surprised at just how flavorful fried cabbage is. It’s so good.
Making chicken sautéed with cabbage is easy. You really don’t need much in the way of seasoning to make this recipe taste totally delicious. I used your standard mild paprika, some fresh garlic, and an onion along with salt & pepper. That’s about it for a quick and inexpensive meal with pantry ingredients!
What you’ll need
- Chicken – we’re using boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing
- Onion – use whatever you’ve got on hand, but our kitchen likes sweet (Vidalia) onions best
- Cabbage – we use green cabbage here
- Garlic – if you’re a garlic lover, go ahead and use even more than I suggest. It’s effortless to mince with a garlic press since there is no chopping or peeling involved.
- Paprika – you’ll find mild paprika in the spice aisle of any grocery store
Pro tips
- You don’t have to be super precise with measurements here. Use 2-3 chicken breasts or whatever you buy or feel like putting in. I say a medium cabbage, but I bought half of a MASSIVE cabbage that I cut into half again, and that totaled about what you’d expect from a medium cabbage, so don’t worry about precisely measuring.
- Keep in mind there’s a lot of cabbage in here, so it’s important to add enough salt to draw out the flavors!
How to make chicken and cabbage stir fry
This is an overview, and full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a skillet, add the chicken to the olive oil. Season with salt & pepper, and sauté until it’s just done, then set it aside. Sauté the onion in butter for a few minutes.
- Add the cabbage and cook, tossing or stirring frequently, for about 10-15 minutes or until it starts to get nice and tender. Kitchen tongs make it easy.
- Stir in the garlic and paprika, and finish by adding the chicken back it into the pan and heating it through to 165F. Give it a taste, add extra salt & pepper, and enjoy.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t feel like this recipe needs anything else, but you could always swap the mild paprika for hot paprika or smoked paprika if you wish. If you want to add more paprika or garlic or whatever, go ahead. I suggest tasting and adjusting until it’s perfect for you!
- Want to make a vegetarian version of this dish? Try my Simple Sautéed Cabbage Recipe.
- You can always use chicken thighs if you prefer, but I find chicken breast is fine since we don’t overcook it. It remains juicy and tender.
- To make it next-level good, add in some crumbled Oven Cooked Bacon.
What to serve with chicken and cabbage
- It’s totally optional, but a dollop of sour cream adds a nice contrast and a little creaminess.
- As written, this is a low-carb chicken and cabbage recipe, but if that’s not your thing, pair it with something like rice to round out the meal.
- A side salad makes a great accompaniment too. Try mixed greens with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing. Craving roasted veggies? Go for my Easy Roasted Green Beans.
Leftovers and storage
- I actually quite enjoyed the leftovers too! The chicken was still tender, even after being microwaved the next day.
- Store in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- I don’t really recommend freezing this one since the texture of the cabbage may change, but you’re welcome to experiment.
If you give this cabbage sautéed with chicken recipe a go, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Talk to me if the blog post didn’t answer your questions. You can also find me on Instagram.
Easy Chicken and Cabbage Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2-3 large chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium green cabbage cored & chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and chicken to a skillet. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Turn the burner to medium-high heat and sauté for about 7 minutes (stirring fairly often), or until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
- Add the butter and onion to the pan and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the cabbage to the pan and cook for about 10-15 minutes uncovered, stirring fairly often, until the cabbage is nice and soft (or cooked to desired tenderness). The cabbage at the bottom of the pan will start to wilt after a few minutes and it will become easier to stir. The onions will also start to lightly brown and become more flavorful.
- Stir in the garlic and paprika.
- Add the chicken back in, and cook until it’s heated through, stirring fairly often. This should only take a few minutes.
- Taste and season with salt & pepper as needed (there’s a lot of cabbage so I used a fair amount of salt). Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use smoked paprika or hot paprika if you prefer.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I read the reviews before I made this, this recipe has absolutely no flavor. Who wrote the reviews? It’s so bland. The only saving grace was I smothered it in soy sauce.
I have so much leftover. I’m not sure how I’m going it fix it tomorrow.
Sorry you didn’t like it. Did you cook the cabbage and onions slowly until they became browned and flavorful? Did you season it enough? Soy sauce is salty, so I am guessing you didn’t add enough salt initially. In any case, maybe this just isn’t the recipe for you, but please don’t begrudge others for loving it.
Has anyone used the bagged tri-color coleslaw instead of a head of cabbage?
That should be fine!
Loved this! Used smoked paprika and added chopped celery with the cabbage.
Wonderful! 🙂 Thanks, Judy!
Simple and delicious. I added a few other veggies I had hanging around, a tiny bit of jalapeno because we like the heat.
My husband loved this thanks so easy
You’re very welcome, Tara!
Delicious! I added shredded carrots which gave it a nice crunch.
Excellent! Thank you!!
This sounds delicious! Wonder how swapping sesame oil for the olive oil would be?
Do you mean regular sesame oil or the more concentrated, darker toasted sesame oil? For the latter, I think it would be too strong with that quantity. I just use a small amount typically to add a little flavor.
I want to add carrots to this dish, what do you suggest? Also what is a good side dish to this entree? Thank you in advance!!!
Hi! Hmmm it’s hard for me to guess on timing for the carrots… it really depends how thin you slice them. Maybe buy those matchstick cut carrots and ensure they have at least 5 minutes of sautéing time? I’d make a salad with this one.
Easy, and delicious, my big family of 6 was licking their dishes clean for this one! It’s not often I’m so easily impressed by a recipe, never mind a unique, simple one. Adding this to our regulars for sure!
That’s so great to hear, Sarah!! 😀
Hello Sarah! This looks good! What type of Sesame Oil did you use?
uh, yum. i just threw mine in a dutch oven to cook it low 250 and slow. lovely
Fantastic!