Grilled Cabbage With Yogurt and Mint Recipe

Charred cabbage with garlicky, herbed yogurt dressing is a perfect summer side.

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.
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Updated Aug. 29, 2018
Charred cabbage wedges on a serving plate, drizzled with yogurt-herb dressing and sprinkled with mint leaves.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Vicky Wasik

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 light and creamy yogurt dressing, made with plenty of lemon and olive oil.

For variations on this theme, find my other takes on grilled cabbage in the Read More section below.

1:14

How to Grill Cabbage

September 2014

Recipe Facts

Active: 20 mins
Total: 45 mins
Serves: 4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup (240ml) Greek-style yogurt

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) juice from 1 lemon

  • 4 tablespoons (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/4 cup (7g) roughly chopped fresh mint leaves

  • 1/4 cup (7g) roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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

Directions

  1. Combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, garlic, mint, and parsley in a medium bowl. Whisk until homogeneous. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

  2. Light one 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.

    Cabbage wedges on a kettle-style grill, turned over to reveal a deeply charred side.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  4. Transfer cabbage to a large bowl and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle with sauce and serve immediately, drizzling with additional olive oil if desired.

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

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
140 Calories
9g Fat
11g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 140
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 12%
Saturated Fat 1g 6%
Cholesterol 2mg 1%
Sodium 184mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 61mg 303%
Calcium 120mg 9%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 371mg 8%
*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.)

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