Creamy Garlic Pork with Cabbage - pork pieces in an irresistible lighter creamy garlic sauce with delicious shredded cabbage for a perfect any night of the week dinner.
I mean what's not to love right? This dish is just everything!!!
and when I shared the pic of my dinner on Instagram recently, you all went completely crazy. Who would have thought cabbage would get anyone so excited.
But then you all obviously have great taste, because pork, cabbage, creamy and garlic go together perfectly - right?
Creamy Garlic Pork and Cabbage all in One Pan
Yes, that's right this dish is cooked all in one pan.
Okay, okay, yes there are various steps to the recipe, but I love the main recipe that uses just one pan and apart from the sides you choose to serve it with, everything, literally everything goes into the one pan.
For this reason, a deep frying pan is a must and one with a lid too. One like this Tefal 30cm Deep frying pan is the perfect size and depth.
This is because before cabbage gets cooked, it is pretty big in volume and quite a lot of it goes into this recipe, so ensuring you have enough space to add all the ingredients, means it will cook perfectly.
How do I make Creamy Garlic Pork and Cabbage?
One of the stars of this ingredient is obviously the garlic, it's in the title of the recipe after all. I am not talking a measly couple of cloves of garlic either. In this recipe we use 8 - yes you read that right, EIGHT cloves.
Now before you go thinking, oh no. that's far too much garlic, it really isn't. Yes, garlic is a powerful flavour, but cooked correctly, it adds such an amazing sweetness of flavour to any dish and in this Creamy Garlic Pork and Cabbage - it's heavenly.
Normally to cook garlic you need lots of oil or butter or both to prevent it from burning. If you burn the garlic, the result is a horrid bitter taste that is not pleasant.
So to create a healthy version, I use just a little bit of spray oil and some chicken stock. Using a little bit of stock and reducing it down in place of the oil, does the same trick that all that butter and oil will do.
Make sure when you cook the cabbage you let it absorb most of that stock. Otherwise the sauce will be a lot more runny when you add in the cream cheese.
Can I use Quark, Instead of cream cheese?
It's a question I get asked a lot of recipes where I use low-fat cream cheese. But the answer is no. Quark and cream cheese are really not the same. They taste different for a start. Quark is not at all creamy and has more of a sour taste to it. Fine in some recipes, but where you are trying to make something creamy, I tend to avoid.
The other thing with quark is it really can only be added to a dish at the very end otherwise it splits and your dish will not look at all pleasant.
You can use any brand of low-fat cream cheese that you like. The popular ones out there are Philadelphia, but store brand versions are just as good. Just make sure you always double-check the value of the one you use, as they can vary and the values given are based on the ingredients I have used.
Creamy Garlic Chicken with Cabbage? or Creamy Garlic Pork with Cabbage Pasta
Don't fancy pork? Then go right ahead and swap out that pork for some skinless boneless chicken thighs. I won't judge, because I may well do that myself next time. This will be as delicious with chicken as it is with pork. Yum!!
and now it's time to let you into a secret. This recipe serves 6 people. I know that's a lot of people, but I had a lot of pork and a lot of cabbage to use up. However my family is only 4 people, so do you want to know what I did with the leftovers the next day? I cooked up some Fettucine pasta and sliced the pork into smaller pieces and stirred the whole lot into the pasta with a little reserved pasta water. Oh my gosh - amazing!! You could even sprinkle with a little grated parmesan if you have spare, now there's a thought.
Need some Sides for this Creamy Garlic Pork and Cabbage?
I went for some simple chopped russet potatoes, still in their skins cooked in the Tefal Actifry with a little Avocado spray oil and a pinch of sea salt.
But if you need some other suggestions, check out these:
- ROSEMARY ROASTED POTATOES, PARSNIPS, CARROTS AND ONION
- EXTRA CRISPY POTATOES
- MASHED POTATOES
- SWEET POTATO MASH
- BEST EVER ROAST POTATOES
- SOUR CREAM AND SPRING ONION CAULIFLOWER MASH
More Delicious Pork Recipes:
- INSTANT POT CAJUN PORK AND BEANS
- STOVE TOP PORK WITH APPLES
- SLOW COOKED TERIYAKI PORK TENDERLOIN
- SLOW COOKER PINEAPPLE PORK
- PINEAPPLE MEXICAN PORK CARNITAS (SLOW COOKER AND PRESSURE COOKER)
- ONE POT CAMPFIRE STEW
- PULLED PORK SANDWICH
or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients and smart points etc.
LET’S CONNECT!
Find me ON FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER | and YOUTUBE, come and follow me TO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP UP TO DATE ON ALL NEW RECIPES.
You can also subscribe to Slimming Eats so that you never miss any new updates.
IF YOU TRY THIS RECIPE, LET US KNOW! LEAVE A COMMENT, RATE IT AND TAG US IN YOUR PHOTOS @SLIMMINGEATS ON INSTAGRAM
Recipe Card
Creamy Garlic Pork with Cabbage
Creamy Garlic Pork with Cabbage - pork pieces in an irresistible lighter creamy garlic sauce with delicious shredded cabbage for a perfect any night of the week dinner.
Ingredients
- 1kg (2.25lb) of pork chops, remove any bone and visible fat
- 8 cloves of garlic, halved lengthways
- 800g (28oz) of green cabbage, shredded
- 1.5 cups (360ml) of chicken stock, plus ¾ cup (180ml) of chicken stock (so 2.25 cups (540ml) altogether)
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon of onion powder
- 150g (5.5oz) of low-fat cream cheese
- salt and black pepper
- fresh chopped parsley
- cooking oil spray (I used avocado)
Instructions
- Slice the pork into chunks, keeping it to large pieces (I prefer to keep the pieces big as it keeps the pork tender)
- Spray a deep frying pan with some cooking oil spray over a medium high heat
- Add the pork in batches and brown on both sides until lightly golden, remove and set aside.
- Once all the pork is browned, reduce heat to medium and spray the pan with some more cooking oil spray, add the garlic cloves and fry just till they start to go a light golden, watch carefully, as you don't want them to burn.
- Then using the ¾ cup of chicken stock, add a little bit of the stock at a time to prevent the garlic from burning, reduce down around the garlic as you do, adding a little bit more until the garlic has really softened. Be patient with this stage!! It's important the garlic is cooked but not burnt. So watch that pan. It's also important you reduce all the stock down in stages.
- Add in the shredded cabbage, onion powder, garlic powder and the remaining chicken stock, season well with salt and black pepper, give a good toss in the pan, to distributue all the cooked garlic around the cabbage.
- Add lid and let it cook on medium for about 12-15 minutes, until the cabbage is lovely and softened and the stock is pretty much absorbed.
- Add in the pork into the pan with an juices that has released and toss to combine.
- Stir in the cream cheese until melted and continue to heat until sauce the pork is cooked through and the sauce is creamy and coats everything.
- Season as needed with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with some fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve with your choice of sides.
- Enjoy!!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
If you wish to share this recipe, then please do so by using the share buttons provided at top of this post.
DO NOT COPY AND/OR PASTE FULL RECIPES OR SCREENSHOTS OF ANY CONTENT FROM SLIMMING EATS TO ANY SOCIAL MEDIA OR WEBSITE, IT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL IMAGES AND CONTENT ON SLIMMING EATS ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
Nutritional information etc are an estimate and are to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary in values from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate values yourself by the ingredients you use and the tools provided to you as a member of the programme you are following.
It is the responsibility of the Reader to assure the products or ingredients they use in any recipes from Slimming Eats are allergen-free (gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free and/or dairy-free, for example). Slimming Eats assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatement about products, opinions or comments on this site.
Check Legal section, for Full Disclaimer, Disclosure and Privacy Policy.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 312Total Fat 8.1gSaturated Fat 3.9gCholesterol 16.7mgSodium 464mgCarbohydrates 10.7gFiber 3.2gSugar 6.5gProtein 46.3g
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information.
Diane Towlard says
What sort of cabbage did you use please
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
I used just regular green cabbage.
Michael says
Could I use pork shoulder?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Yes it should work fine for this
Laura says
I absolutely love your food! And my very fussy husband who doesn’t like “Rabbit Food” now only wants me to cook your recipes! Big praise indeed. Thank you for posting and sharing all your wonderful food ideas
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
thank you for your lovely comment Laura- I am so pleased to read you are enjoying the recipes 🙂
Jacky says
Fabulous!! and so easy to make. I served it with a portion of rice...so simple and a taste sensation. I recommend all of your meat eating slimming and non slimming followers to try it. They will not be disappointed.
Michael George Duffield says
Had it Sunday and Monday, superb.
David Rae says
Can you freeze this?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
yes you sure can 🙂
Annie says
Loved this recipe. My Husband really enjoyed it too. Very tasty. Will be making this again.
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
thanks Annie - glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Lynne Smith says
We all loved this i slow cooked a shoulder of pork and shredded it once cooked and then added all the rest of ingredients. Def a big hit in our house x
Donna Hitchmough says
This is one of my favourites of all your recipes that I have tried so far, I have raved about it to many people! The flavour is just delicious.
kevin says
can you use left over pork
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
I wouldn't use cooked pork unless you add it in right at the very end, otherwise, it will be over cooked.
cristina says
hi if i cant have cabbage whats the next best thing to replace it with please?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
Any green vegetable like asparagus would work or even mushrooms
Natalie says
I’m making this right now with pierogi, it looks and smells delicious.
Kay says
Loved this!! - was worried about the amount of garlic but was absolutely fine (you said it would be). Use your recipes all the time, thoroughly enjoy all of them - thank you.
Anne Wynn says
I did this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it was a roaring success! Thank you so much. I’ve bought pork specifically to make it again but forgot to buy the cabbage! I do have other veg... mushrooms and tender stem broccoli. Could I use these in place of the cabbage ?
Love your recipes xxx
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
Yea mushrooms should work perfectly in this. Enjoy. So glad you like the recipe.
Jen says
I used garlic marinated pork and sweet smoked paprika in addition to the other spices. I also added scallion, white button mushrooms and red bell pepper when I cooked the garlic. Using chicken stock to cook these veggies in stages was key to releasing their sweetness. A very smart tip. I also added a sprinkle of Parmesan at the end. I ended up cooking my cabbage longer too. The end result was incredible!
Becky says
This is beautiful, the garlic sauce is perfectly seasoned. My hubby doesn't like pork, yet he thoroughly enjoyed this for his dinner.
Linda Watts says
Could you blend cottage cheese as your soft cheese? Thanks
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
no you must use light cream cheese like Philadelphia (or stores own brand) for this recipe, cottage cheese or quark won't work the same and have a tendency to split in hot sauces
Marian says
I find pork quite difficult to digest, could chicken be used instead?
Sabrina says
I made this it was very nice, but had to use dairy free cream cheese instead.as I'm dairy intolerant. I adjusted the syns accordingly.
Tanja Rog says
Tanja Jan 2023
Absolutely wonderful and good for the budget. Cabbage is very healthy and this is a delicious way of having it. I used tenderloin pork and had potato mash on the side- a very good combo.
Sally says
WOWZA! Made this tonight exactly as written in a cast iron wok. Both my husband and I loved it. Excellent flavor and will make it again with chicken thighs . . . very soon! Thank you!!
Charlotte says
I just discovered you online and made this as my first recipe. It was delicious! A huge success! Both me and my husband loved this recipe, so simple and so tasty. Can’t wait to try more!