Klassisches Rotkraut ohne Speck
Traditional German Red Cabbage Without Bacon
Braised red cabbage is the perfect side to the famous Rouladen, Sauerbraten or other German meat dishes.

Servings: 6 - 8 Portions
Ingredients
- 1 medium head red cabbage
- 2 apples or 1 1/2 cups apple sauce
- 1 onion
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 2 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp. goose lard alternatively Butterschmalz or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- ¼ chicken or vegetable broth alternatively apple juice
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 4 tbsp. flour
- 2 cups red wine alternatively grape juice
Instructions
- Remove outer leaves of cabbage, cut into 8 wedges and remove core.
- Shred the wedges finely.
- Peel and core apples and shred finely.
- Cube the onion finely.
- Heat the lard over medium high, add the onions and sugar and caramelize.
- Add the shredded cabbage and apples and braise for a couple of minutes.
- Add the vinegar and stir well.
- Add the bay leaves, cloves the broth.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes and stir occasionally.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour.
- Stir well and add red wine.
- Simmer until the cabbage is soft.
Serving Tip: This dish tastes the best if you reheat it. It is perfect to cook it the day before you plan to serve it. This recipe is well suited for canning as well.
Tried this recipe?Mention @AllTastesGerman or tag #alltastesgerman!

This recipe looks fantastic! Is there a big difference in taste between using red wine vs grapejuice? I can’t wait to try this out. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, for the question, Brittany. There will be a slight difference in taste if you are using grape juice. I personally prefer red wine, the alcohol will cook off during the simmering time.