Grilled Cabbage With Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated August 29, 2018

Why It Works

  • Cutting the cabbage into wedges with the root intact helps it hold together on the grill.
  • Charring adds sweetness and nutty depth to the cabbage.
  • Very high heat allows you to char the cabbage while retaining plenty of fresh crunch in the interior.

Deeply fragrant, with smoky, charred edges, cabbage takes on a nutty, sweet flavor when grilled over blazing-hot coals, and a great texture that's simultaneously tender and crisp. Its layered structure also makes it the ideal vessel for picking up both smoke flavor from the grill and whatever sauce you choose to serve it with. In this case, we're going with a rich blue cheese dressing, tomatoes, and—if you want them—bacon bits.

grilled cabbage and blue cheese dressing
Grilled cabbage with blue cheese dressing. . Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Vicky Wasik

Recipe Details

Grilled Cabbage With Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

Active 20 mins
Total 45 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces (115g) crumbled blue cheese

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) mayonnaise

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) sour cream

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice from 1 lemon

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 6 wedges, with core left intact

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/4 cup sliced scallions

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, split in half (optional)

  • 1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon (optional)

Directions

  1. Place blue cheese in a medium bowl and mash with a fork or whisk. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, and lemon juice and whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

  2. Light 1 chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.

  3. Place cabbage wedges directly over hot side of grill. Cook, covered, until well charred on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip cabbage, cover, and cook until charred on second side, another 2 minutes. Flip wedges to third side, cover, and cook until well charred, another 2 minutes. Transfer cabbage to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue cooking until mostly tender but still crunchy in center, about 4 minutes longer.

  4. Transfer cabbage to a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with scallions, tomatoes, and bacon (if using). Serve immediately.

Notes

To cook the cabbage indoors instead, toss the raw wedges with 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil to coat. Place on a foil-lined broiler pan, and broil under high heat, turning occasionally, until well charred on all sides, about 15 minutes.

Special Equipment

Grill, chimney starter (see note)

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
320Calories
28gFat
13gCarbs
7gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories320
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g35%
Saturated Fat 8g41%
Cholesterol 33mg11%
Sodium 571mg25%
Total Carbohydrate 13g5%
Dietary Fiber 4g15%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 81mg404%
Calcium 225mg17%
Iron 1mg3%
Potassium 502mg11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes