Creamed Cabbage And Ground Beef Casserole

Here's a delicious recipe for a low-carb creamed cabbage ground beef casserole with crispy bacon! The homemade cream sauce is seasoned with Cajun spices that enhance the flavor and give this casserole a southern flare.

Article Index

• Ingredients
• Quick tips
• Instructions
• ️ Serving suggestions
• FAQs
• Why you'll love it
• Related recipes
• Recipe

I don't think you can possibly have enough casserole recipes featuring ground beef and a low-carb vegetable. This ground meat is a staple in our home, and we often make bacon burgers where the meat is mixed in with bacon before grilling or frying!

There is something magical about adding bacon to ground beef that really enhances the flavor of the meat. That's why this creamed cabbage and ground beef casserole includes bacon just like my cheeseburger casserole recipe.

Plus, who doesn't love bacon?

Cooking the ground beef in the same skillet as the bacon makes sure you get all the bacon flavor goodness.

It's absolutely delicious!

Creamed Cabbage In A Crockpot

At first, I was thinking about making this creamed cabbage with bacon and ground beef in a crockpot. It would likely work out fine, and you probably wouldn't need to pre-cook the cabbage.

However, I was too impatient to plan this meal out and wanted it for dinner that same night. I suppose you could prep everything the night before in the crock and set it on low in the slow cooker to cook all day.

This is something I may try later as I would like to make more use of my crockpots. Yes, I have more than one slow cooker, so it's surprising that I don't cook in them more often.

Ingredients

There are two parts to this recipe - the cabbage and ground beef mixture and the creamy sauce.

Here's what you need:

Meat

I used both bacon and ground beef. Baking bacon in advance will have it ready to go. You'll also want to make sure you use the kind without any added sugar or maple so it's keto-friendly.

You could use Italian sausage instead of ground beef. If you want to use ground chicken or turkey instead of ground beef, I suggest adding a bit more Cajun seasoning since those types of meat don't have much flavor.

Cabbage And Onion

Shred the cabbage, so it is in really thin pieces. Add some sliced onions. Any type of onion will work in this recipe.

Butter

You'll need butter to sauté the veggies and to use in the creamy sauce.

Heavy Cream

For the best taste and texture, use heavy whipping cream. Half and half can work in a pinch but won't be as thick.

Xanthan Gum

This is a very important ingredient because it makes the sauce extra thick and creamy!

Spices

Save yourself time and use jarred Cajun seasoning and some salt and pepper.

Please note: Check out the recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients used to make this low-carb recipe.

Quick tips

• Cover the creamed cabbage with foil when you bake it, to prevent it from burning in the oven.
• If you don't want to use the microwave, you can soften the cabbage by sautteing it in a skillet.
• The leftovers will make great healthy lunches for you!

Instructions

All the exact steps for this creamy cabbage casserole are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. First, here are some helpful step-by-step pictures, along with more notes about the recipe.

Soften And Pre-Cook The Cabbage

To start things out, I coarsely chopped a full head of cabbage, then put it in a large casserole dish with salt and butter. I covered the dish and microwaved it on high for ten minutes.

The cabbage was softened at that point but not fully cooked. It will soften up more while baking the casserole.

Layer Ingredients In A Casserole Dish

I used half of the cabbage as the first layer in the casserole. A 9x13-inch baking dish is a perfect size for this creamed cabbage and ground beef casserole.

Add Bacon

The next layer is the cooked ground beef, so I sprinkled the chopped bacon on top of that. I kept the bacon pieces somewhat large, but you can cut them up smaller if you'd like.

I topped the casserole off with the other half of the chopped cabbage.

Make The Cream Sauce

Then, I worked on the cream sauce. I wanted to give this casserole a southern flare, so I used a Cajun seasoning mix. To thicken up the sauce, I sprinkled in some xanthan gum.

Cover And Bake

Once the cream sauce was thickened, I poured it over the top layer of cabbage and allowed it to drizzle down through the layers.

To help the cabbage get fully cooked and not dry the dish out, I covered the casserole with aluminum foil and baked it for half an hour.

Here's how it looked after baking:

️ Serving suggestions

Since this creamed cabbage recipe has both ground beef and bacon, it is a pretty filling main course for dinner or lunch. I would serve your favorite low-carb side dish with it!

Sheepshead maitake mushrooms will taste delicious with this cabbage dish.

If you really enjoy cream and cheese, these stuffed portobello mushrooms only have 3g net carbs each.

Or, change up the taste and texture by eating some zucchini fritters with the creamed cabbage. They only have 1g net carb per fritter - so you have plenty of carbs left over!

FAQs

Before we get to the printable recipe card, here are a few questions people often ask about this recipe. If you have a question, please leave it in the comments.

What are some other types of thickeners I can use instead of xanthan gum?

You could use any low-carb thickener you have on hand. I always have xanthan gum, but guar gum or a mix of both also works well.

How many servings and net carbs are in this creamed cabbage casserole?

I got six good portions out of this low-carb casserole. The total carbs for each serving is only 7.1 grams, and if you subtract the fiber, the effective net carb count is 4.8 grams.

How do you make homemade Cajun seasoning?

Here's my favorite recipe for homemade Cajun seasoning:

• 2 ½ tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons of salt and garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper, onion powder, cayenne powder, dried leaf oregano, and dried thyme

You can also buy a premade mix at the store!

Why you'll love it

This one-dish dinner is sure to satisfy and fill you up. Cabbage is a healthy vegetable that is not only inexpensive, but it's low in carbs too. It's a budget-stretching low-carb dinner recipe that is rich and filling!

Related recipes

If you enjoyed this creamed cabbage casserole, here are some more keto and low-carb casserole recipes you should try next. They are some of my favorites!

• Unstuffed Pepper Casserole looks like a cheesy plate of ground beef goodness and only has 4g net carbs in each serving.
• Keto Taco Pie has flavors that leap from the plate and is ready for dinner in less than an hour.
• Low-Carb Chicken Cordon Bleu is extremely filling, but each serving only has 2g net carbs.
• Hamburger Cabbage Casserole looks like a favorite tomato-based dish but has cabbage instead of pasta.
• Keto Philly Cheesesteak Casserole has all the flavors of the classic sandwich with tons of cheese and peppers.
• Corned Beef Casserole is a great way to use up your St. Patrick's Day leftovers!

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Recipe

First published on March 4, 2015. Post updated on November 16, 2021, with new photos and additional recipe information.