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Oma's Traditional German Cabbage (Schmorkohl)

Oma Gerhild

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

Published: November 01, 2009, Updated: June 12, 2025

My northern German braised cabbage (Schmorkohl) is traditional comfort food ... perfect with sausage and potatoes.

Close-up of a spoonful of caramelized braised cabbage served from a white bowl, with apples in the background.Oma's German Cabbage, aka schmorkohl, is very traditional. Full of immense flavor!

This recipe is the one I grew up with. Mutti (who came from the Berlin area) made it all the time because she knew that we loved it so much.

This recipe works for both green cabbage and savoy cabbage. Although the cooking time for the cabbage takes about one hour, the preparation time is fairly quick.

Oma’s Recipe Rundown

  • Ease of Making: Easy ... quick prep, then simmer away
  • Taste: Rich, buttery, slightly tangy braised cabbage
  • Time: about 80 minutes total
  • Best Served With: German sausage, meatloaf & boiled potatoes
  • Gluten‑Free: Naturally gluten-free

The most flavor comes from the browning of the cabbage. This, along with the browned onion, makes the resulting cabbage dish so delicious.

Top Tips For Best Results

  1. Brown It Right: Lightly caramelize onions and cabbage before simmering for depth.
  2. Keep It Juicy: Maintain about an inch of liquid ... add broth/water if needed.
  3. Season Last: Add vinegar, salt, and pepper at the end to brighten the dish.
  4. Vegan Hack: Use olive oil instead of bacon fat and vegetarian broth to keep it plant-based.

Leftovers are great when they are stirred into some leftover potatoes that have been fried with any bits of leftover meat and gravy. Such a yummy lunch the next day.

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How to Make Schmorkohl

This is one of those recipes Mutti never wrote down. Why? It was made instinctively. Just chop, brown, and simmer. Done!

The main work is chopping that cabbage.

Hand slicing a head of green cabbage into large wedges on a wooden cutting board.

I find it easiest to quarter the cabbage and then remove that core from each piece.

Then start shredding it. Either keep the pieces 'long' like shown here, or cut the quarters in half lengthwise to get shorter shreds. Your choice.

Hand holding a wedge of cabbage and slicing it into thin shreds on a cutting board, with additional cabbage pieces nearby.

Once you've done the chopping, it's time to start browning. Adding that bit of sugar to the onion, helps it to caramelize quicker ... and then browning some of that cabbage. It just amplifies the final flavor. Then, just add the liquid and it simmers away quietly on the stove.

Stir occasionally to make sure there's enough liquid to keep it from burning, but that's it. Yummy cabbage!

Oma Says

In the Rhineland dialect, white cabbage is often called kappes. Kappes also has another meaning, and is lovingly and cheekily used to describe something as nonsense or rubbish

Fun fact: Say “So ein Kappes” and you'll sound like a Rhinelander brushing off someone's tall tale.

This is an easy way to learn how to cook cabbage and is one of my favorites to include among my Oktoberfest recipes. It's a comfort food and goes so well for cool autumn days and cold winter nights.

Looking for another great cabbage recipe? Check out my Bavarian braised cabbage. It's just a bit sweeter than this one, the way many like it in southern Germany.

German Cabbage Recipe – Oma's Schmorkohl Rezept

My northern German braised cabbage (Schmorkohl) is traditional comfort food ... perfect with sausage and potatoes.

Prep Time:

15 minutes

Cook Time:

65 minutes

Total Time:

80 minutes

Servings:

makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) oil or (26 grams) bacon fat
  • 1 tablespoon (13 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1¾ lb (800 g) green cabbage, shredded
  • 2 cups (480 milliliters) beef broth or water
  • 1 teaspoon (2 grams) caraway seeds
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) white vinegar, or to taste

Instructions:

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the sugar and sliced onion. Brown slightly. Add the cabbage and brown slightly.
  2. Add the broth and caraway seeds. Stir.
  3. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover.
  4. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add extra broth or water so that there is at least 1 inch of liquid in the pot.
  5. When the cabbage is tender, season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Serve.
  6. Serve with homemade German sausage or meat loaf and boiled potatoes.

*  *  *  *  *

Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

Recipe updated June 12, 2025

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