Hearty, flavorful, and incredibly easy to make, my Cabbage Bacon Pasta is a personal favorite, and I know you’ll love it too! The shreds of sweet cabbage, salty bacon, and al dente pasta come together beautifully, especially when finished with plenty of grated Parmigano Reggiano cheese!
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An unforgettable northern Italian experience
Over twenty years ago, I had the pleasure of ordering (and devouring) a dish known as Rigatoni Cabbage in one of the few Northern Italian restaurants here on Long Island. Before that, I had never eaten cabbage in a pasta, but with each bite, I knew I had to replicate the recipe at home!
Since then, I’ve been making this simple Cabbage Bacon Pasta for my family, and every time I do, we can’t get enough of it!
With just a handful of ingredients, cabbage bacon pasta is budget-friendly and incredibly easy to make. It’s hearty enough to be a full meal, but you can easily serve it in smaller portions as a precursor to other Northern Italian dishes, like Peposo.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Bacon. Yes, I know bacon isn’t a traditional Italian ingredient, but the flavors work with the cabbage and it’s a more accessible ingredient. You can definitely use pancetta or guanciale if you prefer.
- Cabbage. Green cabbage is the cabbage of choice for my cabbage bacon pasta.
- Wine. Sauvignon blanc is my go-to wine for this dish, but any dry white wine will do. If you cannot have wine, feel free to omit.
- Stock. Chicken stock is a main component of the sauce. Use a low-sodium, or no-sodium stock, or even better, use homemade chicken stock.
- Pasta. I love the way paccheri or rigatoni hold up to the cabbage and recommend those shapes, or penne.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Saute the bacon until most of its fat has rendered then transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Saute the onion in the same pan with a pinch of salt until softened.
- Add the chopped cabbage along with 1 cup of the chicken stock, turn the heat to medium high, and cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking until the liquid evaporates, then add the wine and cook until that evaporates.
- Allow the cabbage to brown for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water for two minutes less than al dente.
- Add the remaining stock and 1 cup of pasta water to the cabbage mixture.
- Add the pasta to the pan and continue to cook until it reaches al dente.
- Add half of the bacon to the pan along with the cheese and parsley. Taste test and season with cracked black pepper and salt, to taste. If the pasta is dry, add some reserved pasta water a little at a time. Whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time, then serve in bowls and top with the remaining bacon and more grated cheese.
Top tips
- Cooking the cabbage. When you first start out, you may think you have too much cabbage, but trust that it will reduce as it cooks down and browns. It may take some time for the liquid in the cabbage to evaporate, but it eventually will and you’ll be left with tremendous flavor!
- Save your pasta water. Be sure to reserve 2 cups of pasta water for pasta with cabbage and bacon as it can be used to reconstitute the pasta if it dries out at all while you’re waiting for your friends or family to gather at the table.
- Serving. I recommend serving each plate with a crumble of the bacon, plus more Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil.
More recipes you’ll love
If you enjoyed my cabbage and bacon pasta, give these other recipes a try!
- Beans and greens sausage pasta
- Pasta alla Norcina
- Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe
- Shells with pancetta and peas
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Cabbage and Bacon Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Rigatoni or paccheri, ziti, penne, etc
- 6 ounces bacon chopped
- 1 large yellow onion finely diced
- 1 medium head cabbage chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock divided
- 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano plus more for serving
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cup pasta water will most likely not need all of it
- 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons cold butter cubed
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Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Heat a large pan to medium and saute the bacon until most of the fat has been rendered. Remove the bacon to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onion to the pan along with a pinch of salt and cook until softened. Add the cabbage and mix to coat. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and turn the heat to medium high. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the liquid evaporates. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates. Let the cabbage brown for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, begin cooking the pasta to 2 minutes less than al dente.
- Add the pasta to the pan along with the remaining 2 cups of stock and 1 cup of pasta water. Cook until al dente then remove the pan from the heat. Add 1/2 of the bacon back in with pasta.
- Mix in the cheese and parsley. Taste test and season with plenty of cracked black pepper and salt to taste. If the pasta is too dry, add a bit more of the reserved pasta water at a time until a creamy consitency is achieved. Whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. Serve in bowls and top with the remaining bacon. Serve with more grated cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 4 large or 6 moderate sized portions
- Cabbage. A medium cabbage will yield approximately 8-10 cups of chopped cabbage. The raw cabbage will fill a 5qt pot but cook down to very little after about 10 minutes.
- Bacon. Guanciale or pancetta can be subbed for the bacon in this recipe.
- Leftovers. Cabbage and bacon pasta can be saved for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated on the stovetop or microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My sister makes this with gnocchi. It’s a great recipe and very soothing.
Yes, this sounds great with gnocchi!
J&T –
This recipe looks sooo good. NOW a question: I have a package of SPECK that I froze. Do you think it would be a n OK substitute for the bacon in this recipe? Thank you so much for all you do for us “foodies.”
Hi Andie, you definitely can use speck for this recipe. It has a similar smoky flavor to bacon and would be great! Thanks for the comment!
Is the nutritional values for the entire recipe or per serving?
Hi Cher, the values are per serving. The nutritional information is auto calculated and is an approximation only.