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This Amish cabbage noodle bake is simple, creamy comfort food with dry bow ties, shredded cabbage, condensed cream of Chicken soup, and chicken broth. Everything bakes together in one dish under foil, so dinner takes care of itself. You’re going to love how the cabbage turns soft, mild, and almost sweet.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just four ingredients — simple pantry and refrigerator staples come together in one casserole dish.
- No-boil pasta — the bow ties cook right in the dish with the broth and soup.
- Mild, sweet cabbage — it bakes down soft and creamy with the noodles.
- Feeds six — perfect for a comforting dinner with leftovers.
Ingredient Notes
Bow tie pasta is the right little noodle here because those folds catch the creamy sauce and tuck bits of cabbage into every bite. I use plain farfalle, nothing expensive. The store brand works just fine. Do not cook it first—that’s the whole point of this cozy little number.
For the cabbage, regular green cabbage is what you want. Not red cabbage, which is pretty but will make the whole dish look vaguely purple-gray after baking, and we have enough troubles in this world. Shred it fairly thin. I usually cut the cabbage into wedges and slice it with my big chef’s knife, though a bag of pre-shredded cabbage is perfectly acceptable on a busy night. The bagged kind sometimes has a few thicker pieces, so give those a rough chop if you have the patience.
The cream of chicken soup is doing a lot of work here, bless it. Any 10.5-ounce can is fine. And use chicken broth, not water. I tried water once because I was out of broth and feeling stubborn. It was edible. That is the kindest thing I can say about it.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry bow tie pasta (about half of a standard 16-ounce box)
- 4 cups raw green cabbage, shredded fairly thin—about half a smallish cabbage, give or take
- 1 can (10.5 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, whatever brand you have open or like best
Instructions
Heat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch glass casserole dish. I use a little cooking spray, though butter works too if you’re feeling civilized. Don’t skip greasing it; the edges have a tendency to grab on, and nobody needs to be scraping baked noodle glue off a glass dish after supper.
Scatter the dry bow tie pasta across the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread it around so it’s reasonably even, but do not stand there arranging every noodle like you’re decorating a parade float. Then pile the shredded green cabbage over the pasta. It will look like an awful lot of cabbage at first. It always does. It cooks down dramatically, like a wool sweater in a hot dryer.
In a bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup and 2 1/2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Get the little lumps of soup worked out as best you can. I use a whisk, but a fork will do in a pinch. Pour that mixture evenly over the cabbage and pasta, making sure the broth gets around the edges too.
Cover the dish tightly with foil. Tight means tight—crimp it around the rim so the steam stays in there and does its job. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the cabbage is soft. I usually check at 50 minutes because my oven runs a little hot. Time is a thief.
If you want a little color on top, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. It won’t turn deeply browned or anything dramatic, but the top gets a bit more appetizing-looking. Peek under the foil during the last 15 minutes if you’re unsure. Different pasta brands behave differently. If the dish looks dry but the noodles are still firm, pour in a small splash of extra broth, cover it back up, and keep baking.
Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before scooping it onto plates. I know everybody will be circling the kitchen by then, asking when it’s ready, but that little rest helps the sauce settle into the noodles instead of sloshing all over the plate.
Variations
If I want to make this more substantial, I’ll add browned ground beef or chopped smoked sausage between the pasta and cabbage layers. It takes it past the simple four-ingredient idea, obviously, but sometimes you have a hungry house and a package of sausage in the refrigerator that needs using. Smoked sausage is especially nice on a chilly evening, though it does make the casserole richer—so maybe skip the extra butter on the rye bread. Or don’t. I am not the butter police.
Cream of mushroom soup and vegetable broth turn this into a meatless dinner with a deeper, earthier flavor. It is good, especially with plenty of black pepper.
I once tried adding a giant handful of sharp cheddar on top before baking. In theory, lovely. In practice, the cheese got a little greasy and the top browned before the noodles were quite done. Not a disaster, just not the casserole’s best day. If you want cheese, I’d sprinkle some on during the last 10 minutes when you remove the foil.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for about three days, covered up well. The noodles soak up more sauce as they sit, so it thickens considerably overnight. Honestly, I kind of like it that way.
To reheat, spoon a serving into a microwave-safe bowl, add a small splash of chicken broth if it looks dry, and cover it loosely. Heat until hot, stirring once if you remember. You can also reheat the whole casserole in the oven, covered with foil, at 350°F until warmed through. Add a little broth around the edges first if needed.
I don’t usually freeze this one. You could, I suppose, but cooked pasta gets soft enough already, and frozen-then-reheated bow ties can go from tender to downright floppy. Nobody wants a floppy bow tie. That sounds like a bad office party.
Final Notes
There’s something about cabbage that makes people nervous, which is funny because it has fed families forever. It’s inexpensive, keeps for ages in the fridge, and turns sweet when you give it enough heat and a little patience.
This bake is for those nights. The ordinary ones. The ones with rain on the windows, somebody hunting for a clean sweatshirt, and supper needing to happen whether you feel inspired or not.
Set it on the table hot, pass the pepper, maybe put out applesauce if you have it. And if nobody says much for the first few minutes, that’s usually a pretty good sign.
Oven Baked 4-Ingredient Amish Cabbage Noodle Bake
Ingredients Â
- 8 ounces dry bow tie pasta about half of a standard 16-ounce box; do not cook first
- 4 cups raw green cabbage shredded fairly thin, about half a smallish cabbage
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup 10.5 ounces
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth plus a small splash more if needed while baking or reheating
- cooking spray or butter for lightly greasing the 9x13-inch glass casserole dish
InstructionsÂ
- Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x13-inch glass casserole dish with cooking spray or butter.
- Scatter the dry bow tie pasta evenly across the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.
- Pile the shredded green cabbage over the pasta, spreading it out evenly; it will look like a lot but will cook down dramatically.
- In a bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup and 2 1/2 cups chicken broth until as smooth as possible.
- Pour the soup and broth mixture evenly over the cabbage and pasta, making sure the liquid reaches around the edges of the dish.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil, crimping it around the rim, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the cabbage is soft.
- For a little color on top, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking; if the dish looks dry but the noodles are still firm, add a small splash of extra broth, cover again, and continue baking.
- Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before scooping so the sauce can settle into the noodles.