Balsamic-Parmesan Melting Cabbage

It’s called Balsamic-Parmesan Melting Cabbage for a reason—it is so tender and practically melts in your mouth. The oven works its magic to give a slow-cooked texture to fiber-rich cabbage, and the tangy balsamic vinegar reduces to a gorgeous, almost syrupy sauce. We keep the sodium at a moderate level by using salt-free seasoning and low-sodium broth, and add umami and saltiness from Dijon mustard and Parmesan cheese. Keep reading for our expert tips on how to prep the cabbage, what type of cabbage you can substitute and kitchen tool suggestions to make this recipe easy. 

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Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• It’s a good idea to remove and discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. After that, thoroughly wash the cabbage under cold running water to eliminate dirt.
• Use a spatula and a pair of tongs to gently flip the cabbage wedges without ripping off any leaves.
• You can substitute the green cabbage with red or Savoy cabbage, and the dish will be just as delicious.
• If you don’t have a red onion handy, you can substitute it with a sweet onion, yellow onion or shallots.

Nutrition Notes

• Cabbage is a nutrition powerhouse and, as a member of the cruciferous veggies club, it is most often hailed for its fiber content—which is impressive. Cabbage also contains an abundance of vitamins, minerals and other compounds that make it a vegetable choice that should grace your table more often. Cabbage gets its distinctive odor from compounds called glucosinolates, which have been linked to decreased risk of cancer and metastasis. Cabbage is also a beneficial food to help control blood sugar for those with type 2 diabetes. 
• Balsamic vinegar is the fruit vinegar we chose for this dish, because as it cooks down, the sweetness and tang of the vinegar concentrates down to a sauce, revealing its natural sugars. Vinegars are emerging as functional foods with the potential to be beneficial for heart health, blood sugar regulation and supportive for the microbiome. 
• We used low-sodium vegetable broth in this recipe to ensure that we controlled for the extra sodium that comes from the mustard and cheese. Maintaining a healthy heart means having blood pressure in a healthy range. Too much sodium can raise blood pressure, so using low-sodium broth is a great compromise in this recipe to keep salt levels under control. 
• Parmesan cheese gives a great umami flavor in this dish. It’s not only great for flavor, it also adds protein. Along with the fiber-rich cabbage, the protein from the Parmesan cheese adds to the satiation factor of this meal. Parmesan cheese is typically made with animal rennet, so if you’re following a vegetarian diet, look for Parmesan specifically labeled vegetarian for a cheese without it.