All this and no farts?: Cheesy Chicken and Cabbage Casserole Recipe Review

I have a confession to make: I love cabbage. I think it’s an extremely underrated vegetable, and I use it all the time. I braise it, I use it in slaws, I use it as a taco topper, and I love both sauerkraut and kimchi. So I was intrigued when I came across this Eating Well recipe for Cheesy Chicken and Cabbage Casserole, because it uses both fresh cabbage and ‘kraut.

The hilarious thing about assembling this casserole was that as I went through the recipe, I kept realizing I didn’t have right ingredients, so I kept making substitutions. So essentially I did NOT follow this recipe yet I’m reviewing it anyway. The audacity.

It calls for crisped kielbasa, but I used bacon. It calls for rye breadcrumbs, but I accidentally bought pumpernickel. And it calls for Gruyere or Swiss cheese, but I used Gouda. Just complete anarchy happening in the assembly of this dish. Luckily, it turned out really well, and I enjoyed it…but I am sassy enough to have notes.

NOTES:

• The casserole calls for chicken thighs; I think breasts would be better.
• Honestly, the substitution of bacon works great here. Same goes for the Gouda. It was good-a.
• I think the casserole needs a hint of sweetness. A little brown sugar or shredded apple would not be amiss.
• I really think it needed more sauerkraut and/or mustard. It was missing the zing and depth of flavor more acidity would have provided.
• The recipe calls for almost no seasoning, presumably because of the addition of pre-seasoned sausage and cheese, but make no mistake: both the cabbage and chicken need ample seasoning!

So I would absolutely recommend this casserole with several caveats because,ultimately, it’s homey and satisfying, reasonably healthy, and tasty. But I’d use it as springboard for your own interpretation and not follow it to the letter.