One-Pot Creamy Cabbage Pasta

Original Source: "Food & Wine", Paige Grandjean, March 5 2026

This recipe uses bucatini pasta. It's like long, hollow spaghetti, so you can use any spaghetti or other long pasta, per the creator. My recipe image is just pasta because my plating left something to be desired.

I feel like one dish meals are always lacking. They need an extra vegetable on the side or more starch to fill up. This recipe with cabbage and pasta cooked in its own broth comes with a head of wholesome, savory cabbage (mine was not small), made soft in a creamy, not-to-heavy sauce. This was also the first recipe that I cooked pasta in the sauce, and it turned out better than a restaurant. Tip: keep a pair of clean chopsticks next to your stove to extract and test pasta for doneness.

Don't buy cooking wine. It's not good. It always tastes like old plastic bottle. Instead, go to your liquor store and find the driest, smallest bottle of white wine you can. Usually, you can also find packs of 4 bottles about 200 ml each. If you can find glass, get those and stash them in your fridge. Use them to deglaze when making fish or chicken, stretching your seared meat bits into sauce. Depending on where you live, you may be able to buy just one tiny bottle. If not, get the cheapest possible thing that isn't fruity or oaky.

This recipe has flavors that bring to mind Irish Colcannon and chicken Piccata. My friend would call this recipe "yummygood". I hope you like it.

Parmesan Regg is expensive. If you can buy it on the rind and grate it yourself, it will stay fresher and taste better. If it's not in the budget this week, just use cheddar. Everyone will be happy with cheesy pasta goodness. I got some short dated chicken to pair with it for some more protein.

Definitely spring for the sherry vinegar. Keep it in the dark. I'll find more recipes for us soon.

on to the recipe...

One-Pot Creamy Cabbage Pasta

Tender sauteed cabbage mingles with bucatini in a garlicky cream sauce for this cozy one pot dinner.

Ingredients

• 3 Tb olive, (avocado or algae oil, depending on flavor preference)

• 8 cups sliced green cabbage (1 small head)

• 1 1/2 cups yellow onion

• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

• 5 cups water, divided

• 6 Tb unsalted butter, cubed and divided

• 6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

• 2 cups chicken stock or broth

• 2/3 cup white win

• 1 pound bucatini pasta

• 2/3 c heavy cream (or: additional cheese, butter, and milk)

• 3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

• 2 Tb fresh chives, chopped (optional b/c seasonal)

• 1 Tb sherry vinegar

  
  

Directions

1. Heat oil in large high-sided skillet or braiser over medium-high. Add cabbage, onion, and 1 tsp salt; cover and cook, stirring often, until tender, caramelized, and wilted down to about 3 cups, 30-40 minutes. If cabbage starts to overbrown, add up to 1 cup water, 1/4 cup at a time.

2. Add 3 Tb butter to the cabbage mixture, stirring until melted. Add garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add stock/broth, wine, remaining 4 cups water, and remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt. (my note: add some soy sauce at this point too!)

3. Add pasta to cabbage mixture, and stir using tongs until submerged. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, stirring often to ensure pasta remains mostly submerged in liquid, until al dente, about ten minutes. (note: check on the package to verify cooking time)

4. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in cream (or the substituted dairy and fat). Simmer until sauce even coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in other cheese, chives, sherry vinegar, and remaining 3 Tb butter (note per me: 3Tb butter is better added to taste, not all in a big pile of cubes). Sprinkle pasta with (toasted) pecans (I had some left over). Garnish with crushed red pepper and additional cheese and chives.

Source: "Food & Wine", Paige Grandjean, March 5 2026