r/Thrifty • u/Traditional_Fan_2655 • Mar 23 '26

🥦 Food & Groceries 🥦 Versatile Veggies

What veggie do you find to be the most versatile? How do you use it?

In a critical mindset of don't waste food, someone always considers a use that others later think, oh yeah - that's a good one! So what is your most versatile veggie and how do you make it so?

25 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

93 comments sorted by

View all comments

35

u/DeedaInSeattle Mar 23 '26

Cabbage. Cheap and lasts a long time, low carb/calories, heathy. Coleslaw, salad, steamed (try microwave, comes out like a stir fry!), stir fried, diced raw as a burrito bowl topping, boiled, add to soups and stews, use shredded in fish tacos and Chinese hotpot (I eat it parboiled as a rice/noodle substitute). Cabbage rolls, wraps, add to ramen/noodle soups, egg roll in a bowl/wrapped. I also like it in Korean type of shredded veggie pancakes.

7

u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 23 '26

Oh wow! Thank you. I never think of fish tacos, burrito bowls, or parboiled for cabbage. I'm not familiar with Korean pancakes, but I love okonomiyaki. It is a Japanese pancake-type dish. My MiL introduced us when we went to Osaka years ago on a family trip to visit relations. I wonder if they are similar.

I need to use Cabbage more!

3

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

Cabbage can cause gas, especially for older people or those prone to 'gassiness'.

3

u/Human-Place6784 Mar 25 '26

Beano first.

4

u/Rough_Back_1607 Mar 23 '26

Love cabbage. It's my favorite veggie

1

u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 28 '26

How do you use it?

2

u/Rough_Back_1607 Mar 29 '26

Roasted with other veggies and garlic.

3

u/burgerg10 Mar 24 '26

Yes! This isn’t totally healthy, but I do cabbage, green onions, can of chicken, ramen noodles oil/vinegar a bit of sugar and salt and pepper. Around 4.5 and I can get five or more servings

2

u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 28 '26

Do you boil it, sautee it, or?

1

u/burgerg10 Mar 28 '26

It’s a cold salad! Really break up the Ramen and add to the chicken and cabbage. Mix 1/2 cup oil, 2T sugar, the ramen seasoning packet and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over and mix. Best if it chills overnight

1

u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 29 '26

That sounds fantastic! Thanks!

2

u/burgerg10 Mar 29 '26

My family loves it! It was on my mind as I made it last week. I think we had six individual servings and it held up in the fridge all week!

2

u/Greasystools Mar 23 '26

Inexpensive! Versatile, filling, nutritious AND delicious

2

u/anngracechild83 Mar 25 '26

Yep I got through uni by eating cabbage or coleslaw every day. No my goto veg is cauliflower-can be eaten roasted, stir fried, raw in salads, grated as rice, steamed, processed into smooth soup or in tom yum soup

1

u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 28 '26

When you grate it as rice, do you add anything to it for cooking?

2

u/RealLuxTempo Mar 26 '26

Seconding cabbage. There is always cabbage in my produce drawer. Versatile, tasty, nutritious, hardy, inexpensive.

1

u/waitingforgandalf Mar 29 '26

Might I suggest miso roasted cabbage to add to your repertoire- cut the cabbage into wedges, mix miso into broth and pour over the cabbage wedges, and top with pats of butter. Bake until the cabbage is tender and browned, basting with the miso broth occasionally and adding a bit of water to prevent burning if necessary. It's super easy and absolutely delicious, and goes great with either meat or rice.