Sausage and Cabbage Skillet with Fennel

This Sausage and Cabbage Skillet with Fennel recipe is an easy, healthy meal that's perfect for weeknights. It is also a one-pot wonder, making clean-up a breeze.

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Inspiration for Sausage and Cabbage Skillet with Fennel

Phil and I have have many midweek dinner goals.

Dinners must be fast, healthy, and easy clean-up. Oh yeah...and tasty!

Let's face it: we're all busy, and the last thing we want is a major dinner production.

This sausage and cabbage skillet recipe ticks all of these boxes.

It's Fast

The recipe allows for meal-prepping ahead of time. Even if you plan to make it right away, it is a simple matter of chopping up some veggies and sausage.

Cooking is done in under 30 minutes. Most of that time is hands-off, when you're letting the dish simmer to soften the cabbage, fennel, and onion.

It's Healthy

I get it: we are talking about sausage. Isn't that full of fat? Well yes, BUT...

You have options. For example, I prefer to use turkey kielbasa.

With all the seasonings in turkey kielbasa (not to mention the dish overall!), it's hard to know the difference.

Also, with so much cabbage, fennel, and onion, you can just about hit your vegetable and fiber intake for the day. How many recipes can say that?

It cleans up quick and easy

This is one of my many one-pot meal recipes. (Links to my one-pot recipe collection are available at the end of the post.)

Clean-up involves one pot, a cutting board, and a knife. (And whatever you use to eat it, of course.) Easy-Peasy.

Oh, and it's tasty...

I add garlic, mustard, and a variety of seasonings to chicken broth to make the sauce.

After everything simmers together with the cabbage mixture, it perfectly complements the flavorful turkey kielbasa.

Check out the section at the end of the post: Recommended Optional Ingredients: I detail some other easy additions you might be interested in.

How to make Sausage and Cabbage Skillet with Fennel

Since there's slicing and dicing involved, this is a meal that lends itself well to meal-prep.

Prepping the vegetables and sausage

Note some of these ingredients cook at different amounts of time. So make sure to keep each ingredient separated on your cutting board or in bowls.

Cut the sausage or kielbasa on the bias, creating ½ inch thick pieces. Set aside.

Next, slice up the cabbage and set aside.

Finally, slice up the onion and fennel. Combine (because you add them at the same time) and set aside.

Or put everything in airtight containers and refrigerate until you're ready to start cooking!

Cook the Turkey Kielbasa

In your pot or skillet, add the olive oil and fry the sausage medallions about 2-3 minutes per side. I like to get some caramelization for extra flavor.

Then, remove to a plate until later (preferably a plate you'll be eating from so that you don't dirty an extra dish!).

DO NOT WIPE OUT THE PAN!

We want to keep the residual oil and juices from the sausage, along with any lingering crispy bits of meat that stuck to the bottom.

Can you say flavor?

Saute the cabbage, fennel, and onion mix

Add a bit more olive oil to the skillet, then add the sliced fennel and onions. Saute for 5–7 minutes.

Next, mix in the garlic, mustard, salt and pepper, and spice mix, and sauté mixture for an additional minute.

Then, I add in the cabbage and a quarter cup of chicken broth and lid the skillet.

I let the cabbage steam, stirring every couple of minutes.

Add in the cooked kielbasa

Once the cabbage, fennel, and onion mixture is close to the texture you want, add in your cooked sausage.

After a minute or two when the sausage has warmed up, dinner is served.

Here's a photo collage of what that looks like:

Optional ingredients for Sausage and Cabbage skillet

While I tried to make my recipe as healthy as possible, there are other ingredients that can easily be added to further amp up the flavor.

1. Use "full-figured" sausage like andouille, ring bologna, or smoked polish sausage
2. Add bacon
3. Add potatoes and/or carrots
4. Serve it over rice or mashed potatoes (note that the dish is low-carb without these)

Other One-Pot recipes

As mentioned earlier, I have a number of one-pot/one-skillet/one-pan meals on Flipped-Out Food, including Meyer Lemon Chicken and Rice, Arroz con Pollo, American Goulash, Taco Pasta, Ground Beef Stroganoff, and Vegetable-Turkey Lo Mein with Zoodles, to name a few.

The one-pot approach is my favorite because it's fast, and cleanup is simple (see my how-to article, Mastering Easy One-Pot Meal Recipes!).

That's it! I hope you enjoy this lightning-fast, healthy weeknight dinner!