Caramelized Cabbage and Walnut Pasta Recipe (2024)

I used to do a stir-fry with cabbage, brown rice, and walnuts. Those three ingredients go perfectly together.

I'm going to make this with wide egg noodles so it's more like my childhood favorite haluski.

This recipe lends itself fully to substitutions! What I did have was cabbage, garlic, pasta and lemon. What I didn't have was pecorino cheese, leeks or walnuts. Instead I used feta, shallots and onion and pecans. Delightful! This is now my husband's and my favorite cabbage dish!

I frequently make a cabbage pasta like this--walnuts and all. But sometimes I do it with crispy bits of salami on top instead.

Made this exactly as directed and it was really great. My daughter is a vegetarian and I’m always looking for filling dishes that will work for her and the rest of the family - this totally fits the bill. Everyone loved it! Don’t skip the chives and lemon juice - they brighten up the richness and makes a great contrast. Thanks for a great recipe!

toasted pinoli instead of walnuts.

This dish has a lot of potential, but needs some modifications to make it sing. I'm not quite sure why you cook the cabbage with the lid on -- the water just collects and you need to cook it for at least twice as long to get anywhere near caramelized. Next time I think I'll also use Parm for a nuttier taste than the Pecorino offers.

My mother used to make this. It was very simple: shredded cabbage with walnuts and mixed with bowtie pasta. The cabbage was cooked in butter without all the other spices and special seasonings. It was delicious.

I simmered the veg much longer...almost an hour in the dutch oven until they truly caramelized, which also made the texture more compatible with the pasta. Also, added roasted fennel seeds with the cumin seeds, substituted pecans (because that's what I had), added julienned sugar snap peas, tons of fresh cilantro & parsley and zest & juice of a whole lemon. Served to guests who were actually swooning. A new favorite!!

Walnuts were fine, but I wasn’t a fan of the long pasta. This needed something shorter, like fusilli or even rigatoni, to grab onto the cabbage and nuts effectively. I’d make it again with that change and maybe add guanciale or pancetta, reducing the salt accordingly.

I'd use any vegan cheese that is marketed as parm, mozz, or white cheddar. Nutritional yeast is always something I add when cooking vegan.

It's Cacio e Pepe with cabbage. It was surprisingly good with the cabbage sliced very thin on a mandoline.

Nice change of pace. Welcome winter weeknight meal.Replaced walnuts with chopped, roasted hulled sunflower seeds (nut allergy).Might try toasted pine nuts next time or even pepitas.

Bryant Terry has a great tip for removing bitterness from walnuts. After roasting, letting cool, rub them inside a fine sieve. Removes skins and bitterness.

Good recipe, but I think the walnuts are miscast in this role.

The Total Time refers at best to the cook time and doesn’t take into account the prep time. Two pounds of cabbage seems like a lot but it cooks down, although it takes much longer than specified. And a pound of pasta is 8 servings not 4. I used about 2/3 of a box and it was still too much. Yes to the lemon juice and walnuts plus a shake of red pepper flakes and fresh parsley, and spring onions for garnish. This was good but it took about an hour to prepare and I have a LOT of leftovers.

Delicious! The caramelization really tones down the strong cabbage. Would probably substitute pistachios for the walnuts next time

I added hot pepper flakes & cubes of roast turkey breast I had in the fridgeso tasty, & fun to eat with all the different textures

Has anyone browned the butter at the start? Any science-y reason not to?

Really loved this recipe! I’m usually game to try any dish that combines cabbage and noodles, and the addition of walnuts also intrigued me. I made this recipe with vegan cheese and it worked out. The sauce is rich and silky, lighter than a white sauce. I might just add something besides pasta water, like stock, to give the dish a richer umami flavour, to balance out the lemon juice.

Definitely needs way more time to caramelize the cabbage, as others noted

I made it just as is and we all loved it.

Liked it very much. Used at least 3lbs cabbage and next time would cook cabbage on high caramelizing heat from the start. Egg noodles were nice match. Needs some color so do use chives or something else for green.

Made nearly as written, with fettuccine. As recommended, caramelized the cabbage deeply. I had fresh dill, so used that. This is a keeper.

Yum, needs longer to caramelise and less salt. Added lemon zest as well as juice. Otherwise super easy. Wondering if just as good with onion rather than leek?

Excellent as written - we added red pepper flakes at the end and it was delicious. If you wanted added protein, sardines would be complimentary.

It's all right. My family is readily eating it, which is good, but I don't think I'll add it to my repertoire as a go-to dish. That said it was pretty cheap to make.

the store was out of leeks so I used fennel and some shallots, and it was great.

Made exactly as specified - very unique. Husband said, "That was restaurant quality!"

Second time around and still really like this- cabbage is becoming a fave! Unsure why some of the comments, but the cabbage caramelized nicely in the time allotted, but then i am a fan of high-heat cooking. Finished the pasta in the sauce to ensure melding of flavor. Didn’t have walnuts so subbed toasted hazelnuts for a good result as well. Playing with recipes is always an adventure- make this one yours!