Cabbage

Low FODMAP

By Michael EisenwasserUpdated October 5, 2026

Serving sizes

Cabbage changes rating with portion size. These are the amounts tested in the literature behind our ratings.

About ¾ cup (75g) Low
Larger portions Moderate
Much larger portions High

Fructans

Common cabbage is Low FODMAP at about ¾ cup (75g), with Fructans building at larger portions.

Green or white cabbage is low at about ¾ cup (75g).
Fructans build steadily with the amount, moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions, so a side of slaw fits while a big bowl does not.

Serve about ¾ cup (75g) shredded per person in slaws, stir-fries and soups.

Why cabbage is rated low

Common green or white cabbage is low FODMAP at about ¾ cup (75g), moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions, and the FODMAP behind that climb is Fructans. ¾ cup (75g) is a real side portion: a handful of slaw, a scoop of stir fried cabbage or a layer of shredded leaf in a taco. The catch with cabbage is volume. Shredded raw it is airy and disappears into a bowl, and cooked it collapses to a fraction of its raw volume. Both make it easy to serve yourself a much bigger helping while feeling like you took a side.

What changes your risk

Serving size About ¾ cup (75g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. Portioning is the reliable way to stay where you meant to be, because cabbage is deceptive by volume in both its raw and cooked forms.
Raw volume versus cooked volume Braised, fried or stir fried cabbage packs down hard. A modest looking pile of cooked cabbage on the plate can easily have started as several cups of shredded leaf, so portion it shredded and raw before it goes into the pan.
Boiling water is the only method that removes anything Fructans are water soluble, so boiling cabbage in plenty of water and pouring the water away takes some of them with it. Sauteing, roasting, steaming and stir frying do not, because nothing leaves the food. Cooking cabbage longer does not break the Fructans down.
Stacking Fructans Cabbage turns up as a side rather than the main event, which is how it stacks. Ordinary wheat bread, beetroot and okra carry Fructans too, so cabbage with a sandwich, or cabbage in a stew alongside other Fructan vegetables, is more than one source in a single meal.
Slaw and kraut Coleslaw is an unportioned pile of cabbage, and the dressing is often built on onion. Sauerkraut and kimchi are separate foods with their own ratings, and kimchi is usually made with garlic and onion in any case.

What else works

Cabbage is low at about ¾ cup (75g), so swaps are for when you want a bigger bowl. Carrot and cucumber cut thin give the same crunch and shred in a slaw, and baby spinach or bok choy leaves fill the cooked greens role. Bok choy in particular stir fries into the same place in a noodle dish. The two things people reach for instinctively are the two that do not help: cauliflower and Brussels sprouts carry FODMAPs of their own, so neither stretches a cabbage dish. Ordinary wheat noodles or bread served alongside stack on the same Fructans, so rice noodles or gluten free bread is the better partner.

How to keep it low

Shred the cabbage and portion about ¾ cup (75g) per person before it goes into the pan or the salad bowl, since judging it afterwards will flatter you in either direction. Then bulk the slaw or stir fry with carrot or cucumber so the dish still looks generous. Buy a quarter or a half cabbage rather than a whole head where you can, wrap the cut face and keep it in the crisper, where it stays firm for well over a week. If you are cooking for a household, portion the cabbage onto plates in the kitchen rather than putting the pan on the table. Deli and takeaway slaw is impossible to portion and usually generous, so it is the version most likely to run past the low serve.

Common questions

how much cabbage is low fodmap

Common green or white cabbage is low at about ¾ cup (75g), moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions.

is cabbage high in fructans

Fructans are the FODMAP in cabbage. At about ¾ cup (75g) the load is low, it reaches moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions.

does cooking cabbage make it easier to digest on low fodmap

Cooking does not destroy Fructans. Boiling it in plenty of water and pouring the water away removes some, because Fructans are water soluble, but frying, roasting and steaming leave them in the food. Portion about ¾ cup (75g) raw either way.

is sauerkraut the same as cabbage for fodmaps

No. Sauerkraut and kimchi are separate foods with their own ratings, so the cabbage serving sizes do not tell you where fermented cabbage sits. Kimchi also usually contains garlic and onion.

Learn more

Where this rating comes from

Cabbage is rated from published lab measurements of its FODMAP content, using the low, moderate and high cutoffs of Varney et al. (2017).

Feedback sent through the FODMAP Foods app has led to changes in this list.

See our full rating method →

Sources

Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns between healthy individuals and patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.