This Rice with Cabbage is a delicious side dish that's full of tender strips of cabbage, sticky rice, and just a hint of spice. It's utterly scrumptious.

This Rice with Cabbage is a satisfying side dish that has so much flavor. Made with short-grain rice, tender cabbage, juicy tomatoes, and seasonings, it has everything you could want. It's also versatile enough that it can be served with most dishes for a delicious meal.
This healthy recipe has lots of variations that you can try to always keep fresh. Make it to fit the meal or your preferences so the whole family will enjoy it. The basic ingredients are simple items that you probably have on hand, making this a convenient dish when you have to put something together fast. Let's talk about what you'll need.
Video Tutorial
Main Ingredients
- Cabbage. Green cabbage is what works best, but you can also use other types, such as napa or savoy cabbage.
- Rice. I prefer short or medium-grain rice for this dish.
- Olive Oil. Or any other oil you like.
- Onion and Carrots. These are the flavor boosters.
- Tomatoes. Canned or fresh is fine.
- Veggie Broth. Mine is fully seasoned. You might need to adjust the salt and pepper in yours depending on what broth you choose to use.
- Spices. Paprika, Salt, Black pepper, and Red pepper flakes.
How to Make Rice with Cabbage
1. In a Dutch oven or large skillet, cook the carrots, onions, and red pepper flakes in olive oil over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes.
2. Then, add the tomatoes, cabbage, paprika, salt, and black pepper, and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Now add the rice and veggie broth, bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat to low, stir, and cover the pot with a lid. Cook everything for about 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it rest for 5-7 minutes.
4. Garnish this Rice with Cabbage with fresh parsley and serve.
Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Use shorter-grained rice. Short and medium-grain rice tends to be stickier and moister than the drier long-grain rice, which is what you want for this dish.
- Make the cabbage thin. When you are cutting the cabbage strips, go for thin ones so they can easily wilt and tenderize. They cook much faster when the strips are thin.
- Don't oversalt the Rice with Cabbage. Check your seasonings because, depending on the broth you choose, it may already have salt in it. Make sure you're not adding too much.
- Make it spicy... or not. If you like it spicy, then up the heat level with some Sriracha or extra red pepper flakes. But if you're sensitive to it, skip them altogether.
Variations to this Recipe
- Use other types of veggies. Make this Rice with Cabbage using other delicious vegetables, such as chopped zucchini, cauliflower, eggplant, bok choy, water chestnuts, garlic, or broccoli.
- Add some sauce. Make this dish even more flavorful by adding a sauce to it, such as rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Chermoula Sauce, or Roasted Pepper Vodka Sauce.
- Substitute the cabbage. Instead of plain cabbage, kick the flavor up a notch by using kimchi. This fermented Korean cabbage is spicy and tangy, so it's sure to add lots of great taste to the recipe.
- Use another grain. Instead of rice, try making this with couscous, bulgur, quinoa, millet, sorghum, or noodles.
How to Store and Reheat it
Store this Rice with Cabbage in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can then reheat it either in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
What to Serve this Rice with Cabbage with
- Proteins. Serve this Rice with Cabbage alongside Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast, Easy Kale and Sausage, Ahi Tuna Steak, or Baked Cod.
- Vegetables. Pair it with Shrimp Fajita Stuffed Spaghetti Squash, Crunchy Baked Broccoli, 15-minute Cashew Zucchini Noodles, or Cauliflower Steaks.
- Soups. Enjoy this dish with a bowl of Moroccan Chickpea Soup, Red Lentil Soup with Bacon, Hearty Beef Barley Soup, Creamy Tortellini Soup.
- Salads. Serve it with Iceberg Lettuce Salad, Refreshing Cucumber Salad, Greek Salad with Quinoa, or Avocado Corn Salad.
I hope you like this Rice with Cabbage as much as I do. It's flavorful, filling, and so easy to make. Enjoy!
More tasty cabbage recipes to enjoy:
Rice with Cabbage
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, shredded
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes optional
- ½ medium cabbage head, shredded
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced
- ½ tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. sea salt or to taste
- ⅓ tsp. pepper or to taste
- 1 cup short or medium grain rice, rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large skillet, cook the carrots, onions, and red pepper flakes in olive oil over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes.
- Then, add the tomatoes, cabbage, paprika, salt, and black pepper, and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Now add the rice and veggie broth, bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat to low, stir, and cover the pot with a lid. Cook everything for about 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it rest for 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish this Rice with Cabbage with fresh parsley and serve.
Notes
Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Use shorter-grained rice. Short and medium-grain rice tends to be stickier and moister than the drier long-grain rice, which is what you want for this dish.
- Make the cabbage thin. When you are cutting the cabbage strips, go for thin ones so they can easily wilt and tenderize. They cook much faster when the strips are thin.
- Don't oversalt the Rice with Cabbage. Check your seasonings because, depending on the broth you choose, it may already have salt in it. Make sure you're not adding too much.
- Make it spicy... or not. If you like it spicy, then up the heat level with some Sriracha or extra red pepper flakes. But if you're sensitive to it, skip them altogether.
Gin says
I tried this today. Can't wait to let my sister try it. She always makes delicious dishes, my turn to impress her since I am not the cook in the family. It is very good and easy to make. Topped it with chopped green onions. Yummy
Tania Sheff says
YUM! Thanks, Gin! I hope your sister enjoys it!
Kara Thelin says
Delicious recipe! I added a video to tiktok of myself cooking it @karat_cakes and was sure to give you the credit! Thanks for an amazing recipe to add my list of dishes I will be making frequently!
Tania Sheff says
Thank you so much, Kara!
Gail says
Absolutely delicious! Made this 3 times since I saw the recipe the beginning of this month! And it was just for me!
Tania Sheff says
Perfect! Thank you, Gail!