Grilled Cabbage Steaks + Spicy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

cabbage is the new kale and it makes for an insanely delicious, easy, inexpensive, and healthy grilling side-dish!

Cabbage is the new kale. It’s a bold statement, I know. And if you’ve been following my recent recipe posts — cilantro lime cabbage slaw and creamy avocado cabbage slaw — you can see I’m kind of obsessed with cabbage right now.

There are so many reasons to love cabbage: 

• It comes in three colorful varieties, including green, purple, and white {purple is my favorite, it’s so pretty}
• It’s an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin B6
• not to mention, it’s also a good source of manganese, dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin B1, and copper
• and the list goes on as it’s high in folate too {yes, pregnant mammas, eat up}
• it’s super low in calories for those that are counting {6 cals per leaf}
• it’s one of the cheapest vegetables at the farmer’s market or grocery store
• and there are so many ways to eat it — from freshly chopped cabbage salads and slaws to roasted and grilled sides

So if I haven’t convinced you to add a head of cabbage to your grocery cart yet, then you must keep reading; because like most veggies, cabbage is way better grilled. And these grilled cabbage steaks with spicy cilantro-lime dressing bring cabbage to a whole new level.

Grilled Cabbage Steaks + Spicy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Although I’m a grilling newbie, the best way I’ve found to grill cabbage is to cut it into large wedges or steaks, leaving the core intact. This gives you plenty of surface area for charring the outer leaves while keeping it all in one piece. 

The best part about grilling cabbage is it chars the exterior while gently softening the interior, and leaving a bit of raw crunch at the very center. If you’re anything like me, you opt for a little extra char on the exterior leaves.

I love how the smokey, grilled flavor hits all layers of the cabbage. 

It’s so good you can eat it fresh off the grill. Or turn the cabbage steaks into a grilled chop salad or blackened salmon taco topping.

I personally, prefer or drizzle my grilled cabbage with this spicy cilantro-lime dressing. It has a cool, citrusy lime flavor paired with a little cayenne kick. And it doubles as a fresh salad dressing, so triple the batch and top your salads for the week too! 

so what do you think, is cabbage the new kale? 

grilled cabbage steaks + spicy cilantro-lime dressing

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

like most veggies, cabbage is way better grilled; and these grilled cabbage steaks with spicy cilantro-lime dressing bring cabbage to a whole new level.

Author: lindsey, nourish move love

Recipe type: grilled veggies

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• for the cabbage steaks:
• 1 head of cabbage {green or purple}
• ¼ c coconut oil, melted
• for the spicy cilantro-lime dressing:
• ¼ c freshly squeezed lime juice {3-4 small limes}
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 10-12 sprigs of cilantro
• ½ tsp pink sea salt
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ c extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat grill.
2. While the grill heats you can start prepping the cabbage. Remove the toughest outer layer from the cabbage.
3. Then cut the cabbage into 8 evenly sized wedges. Keeping the inner core intact.
4. Lightly brush the wedges with melted coconut oil.
5. Place the wedges on the heated grill and cover. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the edges are blackened and the inner cabbage begins to soften. Then, turn the wedges over, cover the grill, and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes on the other side.
6. Once the outer layers are charred to your liking you can take it off the grill. The inner core should still have some firmness to it.
7. Then mix the dressing. Combine the lime juice, garlic, cilantro, salt, cayenne, and olive oil in a blender and blend until well mixed.
8. Place the cabbage steaks on a plate and drizzle or pour the dressing over the top of the cabbage. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

*these are best if enjoyed straight off the grill, but if you have leftovers I suggest turning them into a grilled, chop salad topped with the leftover dressing.

3.5.3208