Dirty cabbage is the next viral recipe everyone’s making – and it’s perfect for the Blackstone griddle. Ground beef, smoked sausage, and Cajun-seasoned cabbage ready in 20 minutes. Get the easy step-by-step recipe now.
If you’ve been anywhere near Blackstone TikTok or griddle YouTube lately, you’ve seen dirty cabbage all over your feed – and now it’s time to make it on your own griddle. This viral griddle cabbage recipe combines ground beef, smoked sausage, and shredded or chopped cabbage with Cajun seasoning for a dish that’s smoky, savory, and done from start to finish in about 20 minutes.
It’s a one-pan (well, one-griddle) weeknight dinner that’s easy to customize, easy to clean up, and easy to love. Think of it as the griddle cousin of dirty rice – same Louisiana-inspired flavor, minus the rice.
I filmed this recipe video as a straight-up timed cook because that’s real life around here – my wife had to run and grab our daughter from cheerleading practice, which meant we had about 20 minutes to get this whole thing prepped, cooked, and plated. If a recipe can survive that kind of pressure test, you know it’s a keeper.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
It’s fast. Genuinely 20 minutes, griddle to plate. This isn’t “20 minutes” the way recipe blogs usually mean it – I timed it on camera.
It’s endlessly customizable. Ground beef or ground turkey, kielbasa or andouille, whatever veggies are in the refrigerator.
You can make it lighter without losing flavor. We used 93/7 ground beef and smoked turkey kielbasa this time around, and it still delivered.
One griddle, minimal cleanup. Clean as you go, and you’ll have dinner and dishes done at basically the same time.
Ingredients for Dirty Cabbage
- ground beef – We used 93/7 for a lighter version, but 80/20 works great too – more fat means more flavor, but for this recipe, I would try to funnel a good bit of the grease to the grease trap so your final dish isn’t too oily.
- smoked kielbasa-style sausage – We used turkey kielbasa, but regular sausage works well, or substitute andouille for even more Cajun flavor.
- bell pepper and onion
- cabbage – This is the star of this dirty cabbage recipe. Chop it into bite-sized chunks or shred it thin.
- jalapeno – We added some fresh, finely diced jalapeno for extra flavor and a bit of heat.
- garlic cloves
- tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- beef broth
- Cajun seasoning
- cooking oil – Like avocado oil or another high-heat oil.
*Notes on customizing it: This recipe is easily customizable. Shred your cabbage fine like you would for an egg roll in a bowl, grab a bag of pre-shredded cabbage to save time, or cut it into bigger, roughly 1.5-inch pieces like we did – it’s up to your personal preference. Ground turkey works in place of beef if you want to go even lighter, and if you want to skip the beef broth, vegetable stock will get you most of the way there (though beef broth is what gives it that deeper, richer flavor).
Step-by-Step Instructions
Heat your Blackstone griddle to a medium heat, make sure your vegetables are chopped and ready to go, and then follow these simple instructions:
1. Sear the ground beef. Lay the ground beef down on the hot griddle, breaking it apart into large chunks, and allow it to sear untouched on the first side for about 2 minutes. That initial sear is where your flavor comes from, so don’t rush this step. After a few minutes, you can start to chop it up into finer bits.
2. Start the sausage, onion, and peppers. While the beef sears, get your sliced sausage rounds down on the opposite side of the griddle, flat-side down for good contact and color. Add the onion and peppers alongside it and let everything start to cook down. You can go ahead and add your minced garlic in now too – once the cabbage’s moisture and the beef broth hit the griddle, the garlic won’t burn.
3. Add the cabbage. Once the ground beef is about 75% done, move it to the side to continue to cook and make room for the cabbage. Drizzle a little oil onto the griddle and add your chopped or shredded cabbage. Then mix in the ground beef.
4. Bring the sausage and peppers into the mix. Once the cabbage has cooked down 50–75%, combine the sausage, peppers, and onions in with the beef and cabbage. Spread everything out and let it cook together for a few minutes so the flavors start to meld.
5. Build the sauce right on the griddle. Clear a space in the center of your mixture and add the tomato paste directly to the griddle surface – this knocks the raw edge off the tomato paste before you mix it in. Follow with the Worcestershire sauce and the beef broth, then stir everything together.
6. Season and finish. Spread the mixture out across the griddle and sprinkle the Cajun seasoning evenly over the top. Sauté everything together until it’s all coated. At this point, the cabbage should look “dirty” – flecked with seasoning and small bits of beef, just like dirty rice.
7. Clean as you go, plate, and eat. Push the dirty cabbage to one side of the griddle, to allow everything to steam together and finish cooking. At this point, you can scrape down and clean the rest of the griddle – like I always say, “Clean as you go”, so that clean up is quick and easy. Total time from griddle to plate: right around 20 minutes.
That’s dirty cabbage – smoky, hearty, a little spicy if you go heavy on the jalapeño, and about as forgiving a weeknight recipe as you’ll find. Make it your own, and don’t forget to hit subscribe over on The Flat Top King YouTube channel for more griddle cooks like this one.
Dirty Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 12-14 oz smoked kielbasa-style sausage or andouille sliced into rounds
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 jalapeño deseeded and finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other high-heat oil
- 1 head cabbage chopped or shredded
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1-2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
Instructions
- Heat the griddle in two zones: medium-high on one side, low to medium on the other.
- Lay the ground beef down on the hotter zone of the griddle, breaking it apart into large chunks, and allow it to sear untouched on the first side for about 2 minutes. After a few minutes, you can start to chop it up into finer bits.
- While the beef sears, cook the sausage rounds, chopped onions, chopped peppers (including jalapeno if using), and garlic on the lower heat side of the griddle until the onion softens and the sausage picks up color.
- Once the ground beef is about 75% cooked through, adjust the heat down to medium-low, and move the beef over on the griddle to make room for the cabbage. Then add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the griddle surface, and add the chopped cabbage. Then mix the ground beef in to the cabbage.
- Allow the cabbage to cook down and start to wilt for about 3-4 minutes. Then mix in the sausage, peppers, and onions. Sauté everything together.
- Clear a space in the center of the dirty cabbage mixture, creating a "well". Add the tomato paste directly to the griddle in the center, and cook briefly to remove its raw taste. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and beef broth to the "well" in the center of the cabbage. Mix all of the sauces together with all of the cabbage mixture.
- Spread the mixture out, sprinkle the Cajun seasoning evenly over the top, and sauté until well combined and everything is cooked to your liking. *You can also mound everything up together in one spot on the griddle – this will help to further steam the cabbage and speed up the cooking process.
- When the cabbage is cooked to your liking, transfer to plates, and serve hot.
Notes
- For the cabbage – Shred the cabbage fine for an egg roll in a bowl texture, or cut it into 1 inch pieces for heartier bites.
- For the ground beef and sausage – We used a 93/7 ground beef and smoked turkey kielbasa to lighten the recipe up a bit, but you can use regular sausage and 80/20 ground beef as well.
- For the Cajun seasoning – Taste your seasoning for saltiness before adding. Some Cajun seasonings are very salty and/or spicy. Use about 1-2 tablespoons of seasoning based on taste.
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