Don’t Toss That Red Cabbage Base. It’ll Grow You Free Leaves.

You slice into a beautiful red cabbage, and there’s that hard little core at the bottom. Straight in the bin, every time. Right?

Not anymore. That base is still very much alive, and it will grow you a fresh supply of tender purple leaves on a sunny windowsill. No garden needed. No green thumb required. Just a scrap you were about to throw away.

This is one of the prettiest little projects in the whole regrow-your-groceries series, honestly. Those new leaves come in with the most gorgeous purple veining. It’s almost too nice to eat. Almost.

Let me walk you through it. It couldn’t be simpler.

Let’s be honest about what you’ll get

I’m not going to oversell this, because I’d rather you be delighted than disappointed.

Your regrown cabbage will not form a tight round ball like the one you bought. That dense head is a one-time thing the original plant did, and once it’s cut, that’s done. What you get instead is a steady flush of loose, leafy purple greens.

And here’s the thing: that’s the better prize for most of us. You’re not waiting months for one cabbage. You’re snipping fresh leaves as you need them, again and again, right from the windowsill.

Loose leaves are exactly what you want for a slaw or a salad anyway.

Why is my cabbage more purple than red?

Quick fun fact, because people always ask. If the leaves come back looking more purple than red, that’s completely normal and nothing you did wrong.

Red cabbage changes color with the soil it’s grown in. In acidic soil the leaves lean red. In neutral or alkaline soil they turn more purple.

It’s the same pigment that makes red cabbage such a famous kitchen science experiment. Either way, the leaves are lovely and perfectly good to eat.

What you’ll need

Truly nothing fancy.

• One red cabbage (you’ll cook with the rest, of course)
• A knife
• A shallow dish or jar
• A pot with drainage holes
• Peat-free, general-purpose potting mix

Step one: start it in a little water

1. Cut the base off your cabbage, leaving a stub about three quarters of an inch tall. Use the rest of the cabbage for dinner.
2. Set that stub cut-side up in a shallow dish with about half an inch of water.
3. Pop it on a sunny windowsill.
4. Change the water every few days. Fresh water keeps it from going murky and helps the roots come along.

Give it one to two weeks. You’ll start to see tiny new leaves pushing out from the center of the base. That’s your cue that it’s working.

Step two: move it to a pot

Once those little leaves appear, plant the base in a pot of peat-free potting mix and keep it on the windowsill in a bright spot.

If you have a garden and want to plant it outside instead, tuck it in about half an inch below the soil. Planting more than one? Space them about a foot apart.

One thing worth knowing: cabbages are hungry plants. If yours is growing in a pot indoors, give it a balanced liquid plant food once or twice a week while it’s actively growing. It’ll reward you with more leaves.

Keep it watered, keep picking the leaves as they come, and it should keep supplying you right through summer and into fall.

This trick works on more than red cabbage

Here’s a lovely bonus. This same base-in-water method works on the whole cabbage family.

Try it with green and Savoy cabbage, bok choy, kale, and Chinese cabbage. They all regrow leaves from the base the same way. Broccoli can be coaxed to root too, though it’s a bit more stubborn. And every type of lettuce from the supermarket regrows like this as well.

So one little windowsill dish can turn into a whole rotating supply of greens, all from scraps.

Now put those pretty leaves to work

Free leaves are only worth it if they land on your plate, so here’s where mine go. Red cabbage is a workhorse in the kitchen, and the leaves you grow slot right into all the classics.

A few favorites:

• Slaw, always. A red cabbage and apple slaw is the one I make on repeat. Shredded cabbage, crisp apple, a little vinegar and oil, and you’ve got the perfect side for pork, sausages, or a sandwich. Add carrot if you like.
• Coleslaw for tacos. Thin-sliced red cabbage with lime does wonders on taco night. It cuts through everything rich.
• A simple red cabbage salad. Toss the young leaves with a sharp dressing, some seeds, maybe a crumble of cheese.
• Cooked down soft. Braised slowly with apple and a splash of vinegar, red cabbage turns silky and sweet. A classic alongside a Sunday roast.
• Red cabbage soup. Deeply colored, warming, and pretty on the table.

One kitchen note that surprises people: add something acidic when you cook red cabbage, like a splash of vinegar or some apple. Without it, the color can turn a sad grayish blue in the pan. A little acid keeps it that gorgeous ruby shade.

So next time you’re cooking with a red cabbage, stop before you bin the base. Trim it, sit it in a dish of water, set it on the windowsill.

A couple of weeks later you’ve got fresh purple leaves coming back, and you didn’t spend a penny to get them.