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Photo by Marcus Nilsson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski

Every editor who claimed this cheesy gratin would be “too much!” ended up going back for seconds and thirds. We think you’ll do the same.

Ingredients

8 servings

1

medium head of green or savoy cabbage (about 3½ lb. total), cut through core into 8 wedges

2

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

tsp. kosher salt, plus more

1

tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more

2

medium shallots, quartered through root end

4

garlic cloves

2

cups heavy cream

1

Tbsp. thyme leaves, plus more for serving

1

Tbsp. unsalted butter

3

oz. Gruyère, grated (about 1½ cups)

½

oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place oven racks in upper third and middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Place cabbage on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil; season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and edges are golden, 40–45 minutes. (This is an essential first step: It draws out the excess moisture, ensuring that the cream mixture doesn’t get watery.)

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, bring shallots, garlic, cream, 1 Tbsp. thyme, 1½ tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper to a simmer in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots and garlic are very soft, 15–20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender; blend until smooth.

    Step 3

    Rub the inside of a 3-qt. shallow baking dish with butter. Arrange cabbage in dish so wedges are lying on a cut side; pour cream mixture over. Bake on middle rack, uncovered, until cream thickens, 30–40 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes.

    Step 4

    Heat broiler. Sprinkle Gruyère and Parmesan evenly over cabbage. Broil until cheese is bubbling and gratin is deeply browned, about 4 minutes. Top with more thyme.

    Step 5

    Do Ahead: Gratin (without cheese) can be baked 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before sprinkling with cheese and broiling.

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  • This is incredibly delicious, but there are some unnecessary, time-consuming steps in the process that can be streamlined. If you finely chop the shallot and garlic, the cream sauce will cook in about 10 minutes, and there's no need to puree it, you can just pour it over the cabbage. You can also then just sprinkle the cheese over top of everything and cook it for 30-40 minutes at 350 with a blitz under the broiler at the end. There's no need to cool the cabbage for half an hour, especially on a busy Tuesday night. I added nutmeg, white pepper, and a pinch of red chile flakes to the cream sauce, about two cups of cooked chicken from a rotisserie bird, and lots of chopped parsley over the final dish, for a very hearty winter supper that makes a sensational next-day lunch.

    • Anonymous

    • Montreal, QC

    • 2/7/2024

  • Omg. I chose to make this for a Friendsgiving. Never made or tried it. It was a grand slam! So good! Putting this in my side dish rotation

    • Anonymous

    • 11/16/2022

  • This is an excellent dish. I’ve made it twice in the past two weeks. This last time I omitted the cheese, and we didn’t miss it. This reheated perfectly well for us, too. Highly recommend!

    • Amy

    • New York

    • 11/25/2021

  • This was just okay. The sauce never thickened enough to coat the cabbage, and the cheese just kind of sat on top and didn't melt into the dish. It seemed to me that the ingredients never really came together. I planned on taking this dish for Thanksgiving dinner; since we have gluten-intolerant guests, I intend to bind the cream sauce with cornstarch or arrowroot. I may also leave out the thyme and add a little nutmeg. And definitely reduce the salt. My family did not go back for seconds, and we love cabbage.

    • AliceK

    • Pittsburgh

    • 11/20/2021

  • This was ridiculously good. It is the perfect side for steak and would make a great vegetarian entree. I disagree that it doesn't reheat well...my husband and I just sopped up every bit of the leftovers.

    • Anonymous

    • Pittsburgh

    • 5/1/2021

  • First Grattan. Popped my Grattan cherry will be back to you not long.

    • Agnurom

    • Cginvers

    • 5/1/2021

  • Why is cabbage so undercover glorious? I cheated and made a cheaper version: 1 can evaporated milk + 1/2 cup heavy cream. Sauce cooked down kinda fast, so I added some water before the broil step. It was still luxe. Perfect topped with the economical cheddar/gruyere melange from Trader Joe’s. So delicious and not super heavy! The hidden garlic pieces were treasured. Would totally make this again full version (or my cheater version). [I even think one could even get away with swapping up to half of the cream out for thickened non dairy for tummy reasons. ]

    • Tish

    • Los Angeles, CA

    • 2/15/2021

  • This recipe is bomb, but it made a ton of food, and my kids weren't interested, so what to do with all the leftovers? We fried up a pound of bulk spicy italian sausage and added 2 quarts of chicken broth. Hot damn, what a treat. Did I top it with some sour cream even though I know how much whipping cream was already in the dish? Absolutely. Did I regret it? Not one bit.

    • Kate S

    • Denver

    • 2/4/2021

  • Very tasty however too much pepper. And, when I make it again I will put the cheese into the cream so it blends more into the roasted cabbage as it bakes. Very tasty indeed

    • Anonymous

    • Palm Coast Fl

    • 1/9/2021

  • This is so good. I needed a recipe to use my garden cabbage. The heads aren’t big enough on their own, so I used a combo of leaves, the head, and a few leeks I had on hand. That cream-garlic-shallot-thyme mixture is delicious.

    • Zoe

    • Houston, TX

    • 12/27/2020

  • This was delicious! When planning your menu, let this be the only rich dish because it will overwhelm anything else. So good. I think next time I might cut back on some of the Gruyère, it felt a little too intense for my taste, but it was still so good; couldn't wait to have leftovers the next day!

    • Liz

    • West Orange, NJ

    • 12/26/2020

  • Absolutely delicious dish. Thank you.

    • Natalia

    • Denver, CO

    • 11/27/2020

  • Wow! First off, I only like cabbage on egg rolls, so I was very skeptical when making this dish. But I got a cabbage in my produce box and did not want it to go to waste. This dish is amazing! So glad I can eat cabbage now. However, I did use red cabbage instead of green, half and half instead of heavy cream, and mozzarella cheese instead of Gruyere. It came out perfect.

    • Strawberries404

    • NC

    • 7/1/2020

  • This is a tasty dish. The second time I made it, I used 1/2 tsp less salt. Someone else pointed this out & they are right...too much salt.

    • Anonymous

    • Saint Augustine, Florida

    • 5/9/2020

  • I've been meaning to come back and review this dish. I made it to go with our Christmas dinner, and it was an absolute hit! It's been months since I last made it, and I can't stop thinking about it!

    • Stephaninie

    • South Carolina

    • 4/29/2020