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An authentic, simple one pan Italian meal on the table in 20 minutes? Yes!! My Italian Sausage and Cabbage (Salsiccia con Cavolo) recipe is made with your favorite sweet or hot Italian sausage along with cabbage cooked with pancetta, onion and wine. 

4 Italian sausages lined up on top of cabbage

I’ve made my fair share of cabbage recipes in the past. Some good and some amazing. But, it never tasted so good as when you cook it with pancetta and wine. This meat dish is typically a secondi (second) course of a traditional Italian meal. 

This dish would be served after the pasta course and can be served alongside the contorni course (side dish).  An example of a contorni dish is my Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Ricotta Sauce or Tuscan Tomato Beans all’uccelletto.

Sausages and cooked cabbage in a pan from overhead

Italian dishes such as this are very much like a lot of British dishes in origin from days past as it’s a traditional dish of the peasants. Inexpensive ingredients turned into a tasty meal.

If you’re not a fan of cabbage (some people aren’t – I get it), a similar dish I have created is my Italian Sausage and Bean Casserole. This is very much like the tomato beans, but with added meat.

A cast iron skillet of cabbage cooked with pancetta, topped with sausages

Optional additions to add

Sliced potatoes, cooked pasta, peas, or any vegetable you like. I like to serve the sausages whole, but you can slice them.

Cabbage Serving Suggestions

Even though this is an authentic Italian dish, you can serve the cabbage as a side without the sausage with any of your favorite fish, chicken, beef or lamb.

Wine substitute

If you don’t want to use wine, you can substitute chicken, vegetable or beef stock/broth.

If you’ve made this recipe, have a comment or question, leave it below. I love to hear from my readers.

Yield: 4

Italian Sausage and Cabbage

Italian sausage and cabbage cooking in a frying pan

A one pan meal of cabbage cooked with pancetta and wine along with Italian sausage.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
  • 8 Italian sausage (mild, sweet or spicy)
  • ⅓ cup/3 ounces (85 grams) pancetta, diced small
  • 2 cups (310 grams) 1 large yellow onion cut in half then slice into strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 pound (453 grams) green cabbage, cut into strips
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) pinot grigio wine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add the oil to a large frying pan/skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sausages evenly on all sides, turning often. Remove and place into a plate and cover with foil.
  2. Turn the heat down to medium, add more oil if needed. Add pancetta and onions, toss well and cook until the onions soften, about 10 minutes, tossing often.
  3. Add the garlic, mix well then add add the cabbage, wine, salt and pepper. Toss well. Cook until the cabbage has wilted and is cooked.
  4. Place the sausages into the cabbage and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F/74°C using a meat thermometer. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 737Total Fat 59gSaturated Fat 20gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 43gCholesterol 101mgSodium 1660mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 3gSugar 7gProtein 33g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.

© Janette
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Dinner Ideas