These low-carb cabbage rolls are stuffed with ground beef and a tangy tomato sauce. They are perfect for low-carb meal prep or a family dinner!
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Stuffed Beef Cabbage Rolls
I love dishes with tomato sauce!
From my spaghetti squash lasagna to zucchini pizza boats, there are just so many things you can do with this simple (and sugar-free) sauce.
Marinara meat sauces are really popular with kids. Even if you don't think they will eat the cabbage leaves, there is plenty of nutrition in the meat sauce to feed them! Just serve this with a side salad or some steamed veggies.
I'll share more serving ideas later on, too!
If you are the only person that will eat this dish, that's ok too. This recipe saves and reheats really well. It makes it the perfect meal-prep recipe to eat all week long.
Ingredients Needed To Make Keto Stuffed Cabbage
This recipe combines the ingredients of a low-carb meatloaf with marinara sauce. All of the exact ingredient amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Cabbage
For this cabbage roll recipe, you need one medium head of cabbage that is about 2-3 pounds. Use a green cabbage, it will have a sweeter flavor.
Ground Beef
Next, you need about a pound of ground beef. You can use any type of ground meat that you like! This would taste delicious with ground turkey, ground chicken, or even sausage.
Binders
I mixed an egg and minced garlic and chopped onion into the meat. I think white onion has the best flavor, but a red onion will be sweeter if you like that.
Sauce
Then, I kept the carbs and sugar low by using tomato sauce and Swerve confectioners powdered sweetener.
Seasonings
For the spices, I mixed in garlic powder, salt and pepper, fresh parsley, and Italian seasoning.
If you want to make your own Italian seasoning, sprinkle in some basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage!
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:
- Don't skip the step where you boil the cabbage first. This is very important because it softens the cabbage leaves. Pull the cabbage out when the leaves are soft but still slightly firm.
- Place the boiled cabbage in cold water while you make the rest of the ingredients. This will prevent it from overcooking and becoming too soft.
- Before you stuff the cabbage, remove the largest outer leaves and cut a "v" shape in the bottom of each one to remove the toughest part of the stem. This will make it a lot softer and easier to eat.
- After you stuff the cabbage leaves and arrange them in the baking dish. Cover it with aluminum foil. It will take about an hour for it to bake.
How To Make Low-Carb Cabbage Rolls
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the exact steps all in one place.
I wanted to share some step-by-step pictures first so you can see how I made these yummy cabbage rolls.
Prep The Cabbage
The first thing I did was to boil the entire head of cabbage. Then, I placed it in an ice bath while I mixed the ground beef filling.
Make Beef Filling
In a large mixing bowl, I used my hands to combine the ground beef, onion, parsley, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, egg, and salt and pepper.
Clean Cabbage Leaves
Then, I prepped the cabbage leaves by removing the tough stems at the bottom of each one.
Set those leaves aside!
Make Tomato Sauce
Mix the tomato sauce with some powdered keto sweetener and spread it out on the bottom of a baking dish.
Form The Cabbage Rolls and Bake
Fill the cabbage leaves with the ground beef mixture and place them on the baking dish.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake it for an hour at 350°F.
What To Serve With Cabbage Rolls
This is almost an entire meal in one casserole dish. It serves 8 people, and would taste really delicious with your favorite vegetable side dish!
You'll love how the flavors pair perfectly with some oven-roasted broccoli and cauliflower. If you want something just as easy (and quick) serve it with some pan-fried Brussels sprouts and bacon.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cabbage Rolls
You are seriously going to love this recipe! Before I get to the printable card next, I wanted to answer some questions people ask about cabbage rolls.
Why are my cabbage rolls tough?
If your cabbage rolls are still tough after baking them for an hour, that means you didn't boil them long enough at the beginning. Thankfully, this is easy to fix (you don't have to start over!).
Just keep baking the rolls in 10-minute intervals (while still covered with the foil). Check on them and remove them when the leaves are soft enough for you to eat them.
How do you freeze cabbage rolls?
This recipe makes a wonderful freezer meal, but you should freeze the cabbage rolls before you bake them. This is because the freezer can alter the taste and texture.
To freeze them, boil the cabbage and stuff them with the ground beef filling. Then, place them in an aluminum foil baking tray and cover with a lid. They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Ready to bake them? Just let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then cover them with the tomato sauce and bake them following my recipe.
How long can cabbage rolls stay in the fridge?
They will stay fresh for 3-4 days if you store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Keto Beef Stuffed Cabbage Rolls For A Healthy Dinner!
Yum! Can't you just smell it? Even people who think they don't like cabbage will fall in love with this recipe.
The best part is that this cabbage recipe is so easy! If you have ever made meatloaf or spaghetti before, you will be able to make this recipe too.
More Low-Carb Dinner Recipes
If you enjoyed this keto cabbage recipe, then I have some more amazing keto dinner recipes you should try next! These are some of my favorite ones:
- Keto Fried Chicken can be made in the air fryer or the oven and it comes out just as crispy as if you used wheat flour.
- Low Carb Instant Pot Lasagna only has 6g net carbs per serving and is infused with flavor in every bite.
- Slow Cooker Crustless Chicken Pizza Casserole has all the classic pizza flavors without the carbs - even kids will ask for seconds.
- Keto Butter Chicken tastes like authentic food from India with all the curry and bold spices that you love.
- Low Carb Pepper Steak is a low-carb stir fry with tender and juicy strips of your favorite cuts of steak.
Follow us on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM for even more tasty keto-friendly recipes!
Recipe
Keto Cabbage Rolls
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon powdered sweetener optional if you want a sweeter sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 medium head of cabbage 2 to 3 pounds
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Boil the cabbage whole in a large pot on the stove with the lid on until the cabbage begins to become tender, but still has a bit of strength to its leaves.
- Place the cabbage into cold water and let sit while you prepare the filling.
- Add the ground beef, onion, chopped parsley, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, egg and salt and pepper to taste to a mixing bowl, and knead with your hands until completely combined.
- Place the tomato sauce, sweetener if preferred and garlic powder in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish and stir to combine well.
- Separate 8 of the larger outside leaves from the head of cabbage and cut a v shape in the bottom of each one to remove the toughest part of the stem.
- Place a bit of the filling into the center of each leaf, fold up the bottom, fold in the sides, and fold down the top of the leaf to form a meat filled pocket.
- Add the filled leaves open side down into the tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
- Chop up 2 cups of the remaining cooked cabbage and sprinkle it around the cabbage rolls in the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes.
Notes
- Don't skip the step where you boil the cabbage first. This is very important because it softens the cabbage leaves. Pull the cabbage out when the leaves are soft but still slightly firm.
- Place the boiled cabbage in cold water while you make the rest of the ingredients. This will prevent it from overcooking and becoming too soft.
- Before you stuff the cabbage, remove the largest outer leaves and cut a "v" shape in the bottom of each one to remove the toughest part of the stem. This will make it a lot softer and easier to eat.
- After you stuff the cabbage leaves and arrange them in the baking dish. Cover it with aluminum foil. It will take about an hour for it to bake.
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
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Karen
This came out great! Thank you for the detailed cooking info, including cutting a “V” out of the stem of each leaf! I added some cauliflower rice, taco seasoning and cheese to the meat. It was much easier than I expected—thank you Lisa!
Gloria
These are my favorite .... I actually use the meatloaf mixture .... beef, pork and veal. The stuffing is then nice a soft and not hard. All beef seems to make them hard.