Oma's Traditional German Cabbage (Schmorkohl)

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust—rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

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Oma's German Cabbage, aka schmorkohl, is very traditional. Full of immense flavor!

My German cabbage recipe, aka schmorkohl, is very traditional. It's the one I grew up with. Mutti (who came from the Berlin area) made it all the time because she knew that we loved it so much.

It's actually a braised cabbage recipe that is delicious when served with homemade German sausage.

This recipe works for both green cabbage and savoy cabbage. Although the cooking time for the cabbage takes about one hour, the preparation time is fairly quick.

The most flavor comes from the browning of the cabbage. This, along with the browned onion, makes the resulting cabbage dish so delicious.

Leftovers are great when they are stirred into some leftover potatoes that have been fried with any bits of leftover meat and gravy. Such a yummy lunch the next day.

Once you've done the chopping and browning, just add the liquid and it simmers away quietly on the stove.

Stir occasionally to make sure there's enough liquid to keep it from burning, but that's it. Yummy cabbage!

This is an easy way to learn how to cook cabbage and is one of my favorites to include among my Oktoberfest recipes. It seems just like a comfort food and goes so well for cool autumn days and cold winter nights.

Looking for another great cabbage recipe? Check out my Bavarian braised cabbage. It's just a bit sweeter than this one, the way many like it in southern Germany.

Ready to make this German cabbage?

Print Recipe

German Cabbage Recipe – Oma's Schmorkohl Rezept

My German cabbage recipe (Schmorkohl) is a traditional braised cabbage dish, perfect with homemade sausage. It works with green or savoy cabbage—while it simmers for an hour, prep is quick and easy!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 65 minutes

Total Time 80 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) oil or (26 grams) bacon fat
• 1 tablespoon (13 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1¾ lb (800 g) green cabbage, shredded
• 2 cups (480 milliliters) beef broth or water
• 1 teaspoon (2 grams) caraway seeds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) white vinegar, or to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the sugar and sliced onion. Brown slightly. Add the cabbage and brown slightly.
2. Add the broth and caraway seeds. Stir.
3. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover.
4. Cook about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add extra broth or water so that there is at least 1 inch of liquid in the pot.
5. When the cabbage is tender, season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Serve.
6. Serve with homemade German sausage or meat loaf and boiled potatoes.

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Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

05.07.2023 revision update

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German Cabbage Recipe – Oma's Schmorkohl Rezept

By Oma Gerhild Fulson

This German cabbage recipe is very traditional. It's actually a boiled cabbage recipe that is especially good served with sausages. An Oktoberfest and an autumn staple!

Ingredients: green cabbage, oil, sugar, onion, broth, seasonings, vinegar,

For the full recipe, scroll up ...

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.