2026 will be the year of the cabbage

• Cabbage, the cheap, high-fiber leafy green, appears to be having a moment.
• It's popping up on more menus, and Pinterest searches for cabbage-related recipes have spiked.
• Cabbage is packed with nutrients that support gut health and help protect the brain from disease.

After decades of terrible PR (think: WWII boiled cabbage recipes and The Cabbage Soup Diet of the '80s), cabbage — the cheap, high-fiber, low-calorie vegetable — is quietly gaining cultural capital.

A recession indicator? Maybe. But also, likely a result of our obsession with health, longevity, and the gut microbiome.

People are looking for ways to eat more fiber, support their gut health, and eat more plants without blowing their budget, Rob Hobson, a registered nutritionist and author of "The Low Appetite Cookbook," told Business Insider.

"In a world of 'fibre-maxxing' and fermented foods trending on social feeds, it makes perfect sense that cabbage is having a moment," said Hobson, who predicts fiber will overtake protein as the trendiest nutrient next year.

A cheap flavor vessel for chefs

Of course, kimchi, the fermented Korean cabbage dish, has been a staple of cosmopolitan American food culture since at least the 2010s.

But, whether you've noticed it or not, the data shows that interest in cabbage appears to be growing once again. Hispi cabbage (known in the US as sweetheart cabbage) is a mainstay of trendy restaurants across London.

Chefs at some of the city's buzziest kitchens, including Rochelle Canteen, Ottolenghi, and Fallow, told the New York Times of their love for the conical leafy green in August for a story headlined: "London's Sexiest Produce Star Is a Cabbage." It's used in all sorts of cuisines ranging from Sri Lankan to Middle Eastern to British.

It's an "ultimate vessel for flavor," Will Murray, a chef and founder of Fallow, which is known for its steaks and Sunday roast, told the outlet. The current cabbage dish on the restaurant's menu is confit smoked cabbage with miso butter, pickled walnuts, and chestnuts.

Cabbage is making headway on US menus, too. The number of menu items mentioning "cabbage" grew 20.65% year on year between October 2023 and October 2025, led by Mexican restaurants, according to data that Tastewise, a food and drink market research agency, shared with Business Insider. The dataset included 636,366 cabbage menu items across 166,984 restaurants and 8,543 chains, plus 24,023 cabbage items across 5,070 schools.

Online, people are searching for cabbage recipes: From September 2024 to August 2025, Pinterest searches for cabbage dumplings spiked by 110%, searches for glomupki soup, a Polish dish that consists of cabbage and ground beef in a tomato broth, rose by 95%, and cabbage alfredo, a lower-carb version of the pasta dish, was searched for 45% more, according to the platform's 2026 Pinterest Predicts report.

This affordability and versatility make it appealing to today's bold-flavor seeking consumer, Wesley Allan, a consumer insights analyst at Tastewise, told Business Insider.

"Today's consumer is more open to exploring global cuisines than ever. Cabbage's versatility comes in handy, as it can be a part of tacos, rice bowls, noodles, and other culturally relevant dishes," he said.

Cabbage has major health credentials

With 84% of US consumers saying wellness is a "top" or "important" priority in McKinsey & Company's 2025 Future of Wellness survey, "functional" foods are king, and cabbage fits the bill.

Cabbage "punches well above its weight in terms of nutritional value," Hobson said. It's a rich source of fiber, which supports digestion, and provides fuel for the beneficial bacteria in the gut, vitamin C, which helps protect cells from damage, and vitamin K, which plays a key role in bone health and blood clotting," he said. It's also very low in calories, making it appealing for those on a calorie deficit looking to add volume, fiber, and micronutrients to meals.

Dean Sherzai, a neurologist and dementia researcher, previously told Business Insider that eating leafy greens — which includes cabbage — is his number one tip for fending off cognitive decline.

With two servings per day, "you've significantly reduced inflammation, oxidation, glucose dysregulation, and lipid dysregulation," which are hallmarks of many age-related diseases, he said.

Given its low cost, many health credentials, and ability to take on almost any flavor, what's not to love?

"If anything, it feels like cabbage has been waiting for its moment," Hobson said.