Potato Cabbage Casserole
Updated Jul 14, 2025, Published Apr 19, 2020
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Country-style Potato Cabbage Casserole is a hearty, homestyle, and budget-friendly side dish that pairs perfectly with roasted meat or poultry. Loaded with tender potatoes, savory cabbage, and crispy bacon, all smothered in rich, melted cheddar cheese, this dish is a comforting classic. When accompanied by a fresh salad and a side of green vegetables, it’s a meal on its own! Perfect for family dinners, potlucks, or cozy gatherings, this casserole will quickly become a favorite.
“This was amazing! My hubby said he liked it better than Potatoes au Gratin!”
The inspiration behind this recipe:
During this time when we’re all trying to make the food and ingredients we already have on hand go a little farther, I think about the stories my father tells about growing up with 13 brothers and sisters and the difficult time my grandmother had feeding everyone. It was during the Great Depression and potatoes and cabbage were a mainstay for them because she could make them go a long way.
As with everyone, we’re trying to stay home as much as possible and use what’s on hand. I was faced with needing to use these baby Yukon Gold potatoes and half a head of cabbage. I love a good potato and cabbage soup but was in the mood for something cheesy and bubbling!
Country-Style Potato Cabbage Casserole with Cheddar and Bacon fits that bill!
How to make Potato Cabbage Casserole with Cheddar and Bacon:
- Start with approximately two pounds of baby Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Slice them into approximately 1/4-inch slices and cook them until you can just pierce them with a knife. You don’t want to overcook them because they’ll cook again later and you don’t want them falling apart.
- Thinly slice half a large head of green cabbage. You should have between 8 to 10 cups of cabbage.
- Cook and crumble 8 slices of bacon or chop the bacon and then cook. Your call!
- Reserve some of the bacon drippings, add some butter and cook the cabbage until softened.
- Make a cheese sauce in the saucepan you used to cook the potatoes to save washing a pot.
- Combine the sauce with the cabbage and start layering!
- 1/3 of the cabbage
- Half the potatoes
- 1/3 of the cabbage
- The rest of the potatoes
- The rest of the cabbage….
- This Country-Style Potato Cabbage Casserole with Cheddar and Bacon can be assembled up to the point of adding the French-fried onions and refrigerated up to two days.
- Finish with a layer of canned French-fried onions and bake!
Cheesy, hearty, satisfying, delicious and perfect for a crowd!
Okay, it may still be a while before we can be in a crowd, but you’ll definitely want to have this recipe in your back pocket because I have a feeling there are going to be some major get-togethers when we get the all-clear!
Or, divide it up into two 8 x 8 baking pans and take one to a friend! They’ll love you for it!
For more great cabbage recipes, try my:
- Spicy Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Farmhouse Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa
- Roasted Cabbage Steaks with Mustard Vinaigrette
- Baked Cabbage
- Russian Cabbage Soup (Shchi)
- Spicy Asian Pork Cabbage Rolls
- Cabbage Casserole
You can find all my potato recipes here!
Potato Cabbage Casserole
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- Salt
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 head green cabbage, inner core removed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk, –OR– 1 cup 2% milk and 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, mild, medium or sharp
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup crumbled french-fried onions
- Chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Place the sliced potatoes in a large saucepan and fill to cover with water. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook 5-7 minutes or until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a knife, being careful to not overcook. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to cool.
- Meanwhile, place the bacon in a large saute pan and cook 5-7 minutes over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings and discard any dark, overcooked bits.
- Add 2 tablespoons butter to the bacon drippings and add the onion. Cook over medium heat until beginning to soften, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and continue cooking another 4-5 minutes or until cabbage is softened. Remove from the heat.
- In the large saucepan you cooked the potatoes in, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
- Add the flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the milk or milk and half-and-half, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook 3-5 minutes or until thickened. (It won't be terribly thick–the cheese will thicken it some more.)
- Add the cheese and whisk constantly until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the dry mustard and sour cream. Add to the pan the cabbage is in and stir to combine. Add salt and black pepper to taste along with the bacon.
- Begin layering as follows:
–1/3 of the cabbage mixture
–Half the potatoes
–1/3 of the cabbage mixture
–Remaining potatoes
–Remaining cabbage - Top with crumbled french-fried onions.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until bubbling and heated through approximately another 15 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped fresh chives.
Notes
- Casserole can be made ahead to the point of the last layer of cabbage. Cover and refrigerate.
- To bake when needed, top with crumbled french-fried onions.
- Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or add 15 minutes to the baking time if cold from the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I read and reread your instructions I never saw the ham mentioned with the exception of the title of the recipe. If it’s there I apologize. So I guess eyeballing is my best bet.
Hi Martha, Are you sure you have the right recipe? This dish does not contain ham–it’s bacon. However, you could use ham.
So good! I ended up needing more cheese mixture, I barely had enough for my 2nd later, so for my 3rd later I just made another batch of cheese sauce without the cabbage (since it was used in 1st and 2nd layers) and added slap ya mama seasoning instead of salt and pepper to this bitch and it was fantastic and extra cheesy!!
Hi, Ashley, Thanks so much and happy you enjoyed! Nice touch with the “Slap ya Mama” seasoning! Thanks again and appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment and rate.
Sounds & looks delicious. Do you think I could substitute leftover mashed potatoes?
Hi, Bev, Thanks so much for your great question! I don’t see why not; it would more of a colcannon casserole. If you used milk in the mashed potatoes, you could skip making the cheese sauce and stir the sour cream into the potatoes then layer with the onions, cabbage, cheese, bacon, etc. I’m afraid if you make the cheese sauce as written, it will be too soupy. Thanks again and let me know how it goes!
These turned out amazing…better then Concannon recipes I’ve made in past. This is my new go to! I added about 3/4 c sour cream, ground mustard, garlic powder & pepper to mashed potatoes. spread half in sprayed 9 x 13 dish. Then put down the layer of sauteed cabbage & onions, added most of cooked/chopped bacon & then cheese. Spread rest of the potatoes on top & covered with foil, baked for 30 min. Removed foil, added combo of crushed pork rinds & gf crackers-I have gluten sensitivity, then more cheese & rest of cooked chopped bacon. Baked about 15 more minutes until top was golden & cheese melted
Hi, Bev, Thanks so very much and so happy you enjoyed! Pork rinds are a great substitute for the onions, so thank you for mentioning it. Appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment and rate!
I would have liked to try the recipe but unfortunately the ingredients list was obscured by an advert!
Hi, Emily, I tested it three times on mobile and desktop and no ad appeared over the ingredients list. I see you’re not in the US so perhaps it was a cookie notification.
What if I don’t have gold potatoes on hand?
Hi, Nancy, Thanks so much for your question. You can definitely use red potatoes or Russets. Russets tend to fall apart more because of their high starch content. Waxy potatoes such as Yukons or red potatoes hold together better. If you like turnips, I think turnips would be great in this dish, too. Thanks again, hope this answers your question and hope you enjoy!
When do you add the bacon?
Are the French-fried onions from a can?
Hurry w/answers….I’m salivating! LOL
Hi, Joyce, Sorry about that and thanks so much for catching that! Add the bacon back in after combining the cheese sauce with the cabbage. Thanks again and hope you enjoy!
I love everything about this casserole. It’s the perfect recipe to use up cabbage and potatoes in a totally not boring way. That bacon tho…winning! Pretty sure I’ll be craving this on the regular 🙂
With bacon, it won’t be a vegetarian dish. But for us meat eaters, it does sound good.
Hi, Joan! Thank so much and you’re completely right! I clarified the recipe to say veggie bacon. Morningstar Farms has a great veggie bacon product. Hope you enjoy!