Easy Braised Red Cabbage and Pears: A Cozy Christmas Recipe
A cozy Christmas recipe of red cabbage slowly simmered with warm spices and pears—perfect for a holiday dinner or festive winter side.
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Using my Spiced Red Cabbage canning recipe as the base, this is a recipe designed specifically for preserved cabbage.
Why You’ll Love This
No Prep – This red cabbage Christmas recipe uses a spiced canned cabbage. Creating a no-prep skillet side dish.
Christmas Cheer – With an air of yuletide cheer, DELICIOUS, DECADENT, and DELIGHTFUL are the only words I can use to express how aromatic and flavorful this dish is.
Low and Slow – Your attention can be on the main Christmas meal with the occasional stir for a mostly hands off recipe.
A Christmas Story Red Cabbage and Meatloaf
The first time I had this recipe it was served with mashed potatoes and meatloaf. Reminiscent of A Christmas Story but nothing like the slop Ralphie’s mom dished out for dinner! This red cabbage was caramelized in the sugars from the pears, spiced with ginger and lightly sweetened with brown sugar. Now I’m all about making gourmet dinners easy and quick. My solution? Discovering a canning recipe for pickled red cabbage that I could use as a base for anytime Christmas cheer was needed at the dinner table. Now I can have 10 pints (10 side dishes) ready to go on the pantry shelf. You can check out that recipe here.
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The Problem With Canning Recipes
The main complaint I hear with canning is “What will I use this for?” And it’s true, unless you have a recipe in mind, you’ll just be creating pantry clutter, not dinner staples.
Reasons To Love This Recipe
- It utilizes two separate items I have canned on my pantry shelf.
- The flavors are infused by the canning process into the red cabbage creating an aromatic dish without all the work.
What Fruit Pairs Well With Red Cabbage?
Many recipes for spiced red cabbage call for apples, I use pears. Other fruits that would braise well with red cabbage are:
- Cranberries
- Oranges
- Plums
- Dates
One thing to note – Already pickled with balsamic vinegar, the cabbage has a distinct flavor. Feel free to incorporate other fruits into the dish that you think will pair well with the vinegar profile.
How to make a Braised Cabbage And Pears
Step 1
Melt butter over low-medium heat in a skillet.
Step 2
Add in one pint of canned pickled red cabbage
Step 3
Add in one 8oz jar of pear sauce, or 2 pears diced and chopped.
Step 4
Slowly braise and simmer cabbage with pears for 20 minutes until the sugars begin to caramelize and cabbage becomes tender.
Step 5
Add in spices and seasonings: ginger, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg.
Step 6
Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until red cabbage and pears are almost gelatinous. Approximately 20 minutes.
Serve as a Christmas side dish. This braised red cabbage and pears pairs well with mashed potatoes and a glazed pork loin or traditional oven pot roast.
Dark cranberry red in color this side dish brings a festive appearance to any Christmas dinner feast.
Remember the reason for the season! Have a prayer request? Comment Below, I read Every One.
Braised Red Cabbage and Pears: A Cozy Christmas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Pint Canned Spiced Red Cabbage
- 2 Pears – Diced or 8oz Pearsauce
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Melt butter over low-medium heat in a skillet.
- Add in one pint of canned pickled red cabbage.
- Add in one 8oz jar of pear sauce, or 2 pears diced and chopped.
- Slowly braise and simmer cabbage with pears for 20 minutes until the sugars begin to caramelize and cabbage becomes tender.
- Add in spices and seasonings: ginger, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg.
- Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until red cabbage and pears are almost gelatinous (Approximately 20 minutes).
- Serve as a Christmas side dish. This braised red cabbage and pears pairs well with mashed potatoes and a glazed pork loin or traditional oven pot roast.
I’ve got some canned pears I need to use up that would work in this yummy recipe! Red cabbage always reminds me of A Christmas Story (one of my favorite Christmas movies!) too.
What an interesting recipe, I would have never thought of pairing cabbage and pears, but it sounds amazing!! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try this 🙂
Yum, never heard of a recipe like this, but all the flavors will work together so well!
Yum! This is the perfect side for Christmas dinners!