Fennel Cabbage Skillet! We love one-pot skillet meals, and this one is brimming with hearty winter veggies.

Feel-good, wholesome, and comforting, this oil free Fennel Cabbage Skillet makes for a delicious meal or side that is sure to please.  Nourishing cabbage, fennel, carrots, red bell peppers, onions, and garlic are sautéed to perfection in this lightly seasoned skillet wonder. You won’t believe how fast, easy, and utterly delicious this dish is.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We absolutely loved this lightly flavored, yet utterly delicious fennel cabbage skillet dinner.  All of us ate it up so quickly. This dish was created for individuals who love sauteed fennel and cabbage. The dish is light and refreshing.

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This is an oil-free Whole Food Plant Based nod to the traditional Italian dish featuring fennel and cabbage.  You will not find traditional Italian seasonings in this recipe like oregano, basil, etc.  This dish is all about the fennel flavors.  It is refreshing, light, and delicious.  This recipe was designed for those individuals who love fennel.
• Great Northern Beans: Feel free to use your favorite white bean in this dish.  We used Great Northern Beans.  If you are not a fan of beans, feel free to leave them out.
• What does Fennel taste like? Fennel has a very mild anise or licorice flavor.  Most people either love it or hate it.
• Is Fennel good for you? Fennel has been shown to aid in digestion, reduce bowel inflammation, reduce acid reflux, and decrease bacteria that causes gassiness.  Fennel seeds are an excellent source of potassium, iron, zinc, Vitamin K, phosphorus, and calcium.  It is also high in essential fatty acids and magnesium.
• Low Fat Dish Expectations: This dish is designed to be a low-fat dish.  It is not going to taste as decadent as a dish that has a higher fat content.  It is very delicious, but we want to make sure the reader understands this.  It is also a lightly flavored dish.  If you wish to make it more decadent, serve with Vegan Parmesan Cheese.
• Green Cabbage: We used approximately ¾ of a medium green cabbage which yielded 8 to 9 cups of sliced cabbage.  While it is tempting to use the whole cabbage, don’t exceed 9 cups of sliced cabbage to avoid a dry dish.  Do not substitute with red cabbage.
• Slicing the Cabbage: Slice the cabbage into ½ inch strips.  Then cut the long strips in half.
• Fennel Bulb: We used fennel bulbs ranging from 14 to 16 oz. including stems and fronds. Cut off the stems and fronds.  You can save a few of the fennel fronds to top the dish if you wish. Cut the fennel very thinly into strips.  Use between 2 to 2 ½ cups of very thinly sliced fennel.  Note:  You can eat the fennel stems and fronds if you wish.  We opted to cut the stems off (discard) and only used a few pieces of fennel fronds as an accent topper for the dish.
• Can’t find a Fresh Fennel Bulb? No worries, you can skip the fresh fennel altogether and just use the ground fennel seeds.  We tested this dish both with fresh fennel and without fresh fennel (only using ground fennel seeds).  Both were absolutely delicious.  If you opt to not use fresh fennel, start with ½ teaspoon of ground fennel seeds and increase from there based upon your personal preferences.   Ultimately, our favorite was using both fresh fennel and ground feel seeds combined.
• Ground Fennel Seeds: We used dried ground fennel seeds which has a powder-like consistency.
• 10 Minute Cooling Off Time: Allowing the finished dish to cool off for 10 minutes allows the cabbage, fennel, and spices to marry. It is essential.
• Sauce: There is not a lot of sauce with this dish.  We loved it as is, however, we can see how some individuals would prefer a saucier dish.  Feel free to add an extra ½ cup of vegetable broth and a couple extra tablespoons of water.  The cabbage and fennel are thirsty and will continue to soak up the sauce as it sits.
• Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over how much sea salt this dish needed to be seasoned properly.  Feel free to adjust the amount to suit your personal preferences.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This dish freezes well.

Pantry Products Used:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products Used:

• Large skillet

If you try this nourishing dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Fennel Cabbage Skillet

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 25-35 Minutes
• Total Time: 40 Minutes (+Rest Time)
• Yield: 7.5 Cups 1x
• Category: Main, Side
• Method: Stovetop
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Feel-good, wholesome, and comforting, this oil free Fennel Cabbage Skillet makes for a delicious meal or side that is sure to please.

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Ingredients

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Base Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 to 9 cups sliced green cabbage *
• 2 to 2 ½ cups thinly sliced fennel, stems and fronds removed *
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed *

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground fennel seeds (powder) *
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes 

Optional Ingredients:

• Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Optional Toppings/Serving Ideas:

• Fennel fronds
• Serve over steamed rice

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Instructions

1. Prepare all the veggies (onion, carrot, red bell pepper, garlic, cabbage, fennel), set aside.
2. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
3. In a large skillet, add the diced yellow onions, grated carrot, and diced red bell pepper, sauté over medium-high heat until the onions, carrots, and red bell peppers are nearly tender, approximately 7 to 9 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
4. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Add the sliced cabbage, sliced fennel, water, vegetable broth, and the Spice/Herb Mix, stir. Increase the heat, then cover with a tightly fitting lid and allow to come to a high boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
6. Simmer the cabbage mixture until tender, approximately 8 to 15 minutes, largely dependent upon how tender you enjoy your cabbage.
7. Add the beans, mix thoroughly and simmer to heat through, approximately 3 minutes, then remove from the stove to cool off.
8. Allow to cool, with the lid cover on for 10 minutes to allow the flavor to develop.
9. Stir, serve with fresh fennel frons and/or Vegan Parmesan Cheese.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  Serves 4 – Makes 7 ½ cups

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