The humble cabbage makes an AMAZING side dish when roasted, coated in marinara, and smothered in melty cheese. It has eggplant parm vibes thanks to all the delicious cabbage layers covered in cheesy marinara sauce. This recipe is VERY easy and hands-off. A must-try if you're looking for a lower calorie side dish that is loaded with flavor and nutrients, or simply looking for new cabbage recipes to try.
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Roasted cabbage steaks
This recipe starts by slicing cabbage into steak-like pieces and roasting them until soft and easily sliceable. Then simply slather on some marinara and add cheese on top, let the cheese melt, and it's ready to serve!
More easy low calorie side dishes: Air Fryer Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 small green cabbage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, or as needed
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, or as needed
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
- ½-1 cup of marinara sauce or low-calorie pizza sauce, as needed
- 8-10 slices provolone or mozzarella cheese, as needed (or ~1.5 cups shredded mozzarella)
- fresh basil, for garnish
More easy low calorie side dish recipes: Air Fryer Frozen Brussels Sprouts
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Silicone brush
More easy low calorie side dishes: Cilantro Lime Rice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove any loose cabbage leaves from the top, we only want cabbage layers that are "together." Slice the cabbage into ¾ to 1-inch thick "steaks", discarding the core.
Carefully place the cabbage steaks onto your prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil and season each one with garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
Roast at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until the cabbage is mostly easy to slice through with a knife.
Add a couple of tablespoons of marinara sauce to the top of each cabbage. Place a slice of cheese on top. Roast for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the cabbage is easy to slice through.
Remove from oven and garnish with fresh basil. Serve hot.
Kate's cooking tips
- Don't slice the cabbage too thinly or the steaks will fall apart easier.
- Try to keep the cabbage slices the same thickness.
- Play around with different seasonings: Try sprinkling Old Bay or any favorite savory seasoning on the cabbage, add some jalapeno powder for spice.
- Make sure to roast the cabbage until it is easy to slice. The trick to enjoying this dish is being able to cut through the cabbage easily and grab a bite-sized piece, instead of peeling off each layer of cooked cabbage.
- If you have pieces of cabbage that are not big enough to be a steak, shred it to make coleslaw or use it as a crunchy topping for chicken tacos or shrimp tacos.
What to serve with cabbage steaks
Even though this dish has the word "steaks" in it, it doesn't have a lot of protein (aside from the cheese), so I recommend serving it with air fryer filet mignon, air fryer chicken, or sheet pan chicken and potatoes.
Since this recipe has marinara sauce and cheese, it definitely has Italian vibes, so it would be great with garlic chicken pasta or your favorite pasta dish.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Cheesy Cabbage Steaks
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small green cabbage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or as needed
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or as needed
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper or to taste
- ½-1 cup marinara sauce as needed
- 8-10 slices provolone or mozzarella cheese as needed (or ~1.5 cups shredded mozzarella)
- fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove any loose cabbage leaves from the top, we only want cabbage layers that are "together." Slice the cabbage into ¾ to 1-inch thick "steaks", discarding the core. You should get at least 6-8 steaks.
- Carefully place the cabbage steaks onto your prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil and season each one with garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Roast at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until the cabbage is mostly easy to slice through with a knife.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of marinara sauce to the top of each cabbage. Place a slice of cheese on top. Roast for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the cabbage is easy to slice through.
- Remove from oven and garnish with fresh basil. Serve hot.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Kate
We really enjoyed these cheesy roasted cabbages. The marinara and seeping in between the tender cabbage layers and the melty cheese on top is so good! I hope you get to try this and enjoy it as much we did.