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Miso-roasted cabbage with pickled onions
youryum.com/recipes/miso-roasted-cabbage-with-pickled-onions · serves 4

Sweet roast cabbage, sharp onions

Start the onions before the oven. Their vinegar cuts through the browned miso cabbage and makes a plain grain bowl feel finished.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten free
  • Dairy free
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 5 June 2026
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Miso roasted cabbage with pickled red onions herbs and sesame
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Prep
15 min
Cook
35 min
Total
50 min
Serves
4
Per serving
185kcal
Effort
Easy

Roasted cabbage is sweet enough to need a counterweight. Pickled onion does it better than another squeeze of lemon because it brings crunch as well as acid, and it can be made while the oven heats. The onions become pink and sharp; the cabbage becomes dark and soft at the edges.

Do not pour the hot pickle over the cabbage. Keep the onions bright and the roasting tray dry. A little brine at the table is useful, but a wet cabbage wedge loses its crust before you have cut into it.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Pickled onions

Cabbage

Miso glaze

Equipment

  • Large roasting tray
  • Heatproof jar
  • Small saucepan

Method

  1. Pickle the onion

    Put the sliced onion in a heatproof jar. Warm the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves; it does not need to boil. Pour it over the onion and press the slices under the liquid. Leave for at least 20 minutes while the cabbage roasts.

  2. Brown the cabbage

    Heat the oven to 220°C fan with the roasting tray inside. Rub the cabbage wedges with oil and salt. Put them cut-side down on the hot tray and roast for 20 minutes, until the underside is dark brown and the outside leaves are collapsing. The cabbage may smell stronger than you expect at this point; that is water leaving the leaves, not a sign that it is burning. Look at the cut face rather than the loose tips. The face tells you whether the pan has done its job.

    Hands pouring warm pickle over thinly sliced red onions in a glass jar

  3. Glaze the other side

    Mix the miso, rice vinegar, maple syrup and water. Turn the wedges and brush the browned faces with the glaze. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes more, until the core is tender and the glaze has set. Scatter sesame seeds over the tray for the last two minutes.

  4. Drain, do not squeeze

    Lift a forkful of onion from the jar and let the excess brine drip back. Do not squeeze it dry; a little liquid is useful against the sweet cabbage. Taste one slice. If it is too sharp, leave it in the brine another ten minutes rather than adding sugar to the finished plate.

  5. Finish at the table

    Arrange the wedges and scatter pickled onions over them. Spoon a teaspoon of brine around the platter, not over every cut face. Serve with rice, lentils or a roast dinner.

Cabbage red onion miso vinegar sugar sesame and oil arranged on a worktop
The onions need only the time it takes the cabbage to roast.

A quick pickle is not a preserve

Warm vinegar softens the onion and carries the salt and sugar into the outer layers. It does not make the jar safe to leave in a cupboard. Store it in the fridge, keep the slices under the brine, and use a clean fork each time.

After 20 minutes the onion still has a little crunch. After a day it is softer and more evenly pink. Both stages are useful with this cabbage. I prefer the sharper version on the first night. It has enough bite to cut through the sweet glaze without needing a second sauce on the plate.

Why the onion comes after roasting

The cabbage has a dry, browned surface that carries the miso. Pickling liquid is mostly water and acid. Tip it over the wedges and the water steams the crust off; keep it to a few drops around the plate and you get the lift without losing the roast.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 185 kcal
Protein 4 g
Carbohydrate 23 g
Fibre 7 g
Fat 9 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use white vinegar?
Yes, but it is sharper. Use 75 ml vinegar and 125 ml water for a gentler pickle, or add one extra teaspoon of sugar.
Can I pickle the onions without heating the liquid?
Yes. Shake everything in the jar and wait at least an hour. Warm liquid makes the onions ready sooner and softens them more evenly.
Can I use the cabbage raw?
Not for this recipe. Raw cabbage needs a different dressing and the miso glaze is designed for the dry surface created by roasting.
What should I do with extra brine?
Whisk it with olive oil for a dressing, or add a tablespoon to a bowl of lentils. Keep it refrigerated with the onions.

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