Hearty comforting Cabbage Roll Soup is made even healthier with cauliflower rice! This flavorful keto cabbage soup warms you right down to your toes.
Cabbage rolls are a favorite comfort food across the globe. How can you go wrong with spiced ground beef wrapped in tender cabbage leaves and smothered in tomato sauce?
But they are also a labor of love and usually take several hours to make. And because they contain rice, and sometimes even sugar, they aren’t the best option for a low carb diet.
That’s where this Keto Cabbage Roll Soup comes in. It has all the flavor of the classic dish with a fraction of the carbs. And it’s far easier to make too! Add this recipe to your list of keto ground beef recipes for a simple and delicious winter meal.
Why you must try this recipe
My husband says he doesn’t really care for cabbage rolls, but he adored this recipe. He is, in fact, finishing off the last helping as I write this.
This keto cabbage soup is so thick and flavorful, it feels more like eating stew. And yet it’s packed with healthy goodness. It’s a full meal in a bowl, with protein, vegetables, and plenty of vital nutrients. It fills you up but it doesn’t weigh you down, which is my idea of the perfect comfort food!
Gone is the labor intensive work of the classic dish. There’s no need to steam the cabbage, roll everything up, and wait for it to bake. Instead, you have a healthy low carb dinner on the table in 45 minutes flat.
Ingredients you need
- Ground meat: I use a combination of ground beef and pork, but you can make this with just ground beef.
- Onion: I used a quarter cup of onion for flavor.
- Celery: Cabbage rolls normally don’t contain celery but I added some for extra flavor, since I cut back on the onion.
- Red pepper: Most cabbage roll soup recipes call for carrot so I subbed in some red pepper for color.
- Garlic: This keto cabbage soup deserves fresh garlic!
- Cabbage: You will need half of a head of regular green cabbage. Use the rest of the cabbage to make keto fried cabbage or my keto reuben casserole.
- Beef broth: I used beef broth for this recipe, but you can also use chicken broth.
- Cauliflower rice: The original soup has noodles or rice in it, but I use cauliflower rice. It can be either fresh or frozen.
- Canned diced tomatoes: You can use standard cut or petite diced tomatoes. If you don’t like chunks of tomatoes, use crushed tomatoes instead.
- Seasonings: The seasonings are what give this soup a classic cabbage roll flavor. Because I didn’t want to use ketchup or Worcestershire sauce, I added a touch of cloves for that same flavor. I also added paprika, Italian seasoning, and some red pepper flakes.
- Pantry staples: Tomato paste, salt, and pepper.
Step-by-step directions
1. Brown the meat: Sauté the meat, onions, and celery in a large dutch oven over medium heat until cooked through. Add salt and pepper and break up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. If desired, spoon off some or all of the fat from the ground meat.
2. Add the seasonings: Add the red pepper, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and cloves and continue to sauté until fragrant, 1 minute more.
3. Cook the cabbage: Stir in the cabbage and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the liquids: Add the broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes.
5. Add the cauliflower: Stir in the cauliflower rice and cook until tender, another 3 to 5 minutes.
Expert tips
Taking the time to brown the meat properly brings out more flavor, so don’t rush this step. You can use all ground beef, or a mix of beef and pork.
Spooning off some or all of the fat after you’ve cooked the beef helps the soup be less greasy. I simply push the meat to one side and then tilt the dutch oven so the fat runs to the other side.
Frequently Asked Questions
With about 3 grams of net carbs per cup of shredded cabbage, it is a popular vegetable for those who follow a low carb lifestyle. My keto cabbage soup recipe swaps out regular rice and noodles for cauliflower rice, making it extra healthy and full of nutrition.
Most cabbage roll soup recipes have 25 to 30g of carbs per serving. But this keto version has 8.8g of carbs and 2.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 6g net carbs per serving.
You can store leftover soup in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It also freezes well for up to 3 months. Be sure to let it cool completely before placing in the freezer.
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Keto Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb (453.59 g) ground beef
- 1/2 lb (226.8 g) ground pork, (or more ground beef)
- 1/4 cup (40 g) chopped onion
- 3/4 tsp (0.75 tsp) kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) pepper
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1/2 medium red pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) red pepper flakes
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) cloves
- 1/2 medium head of cabbage, chopped, (about 5 cups)
- 4 cups (946.35 ml) beef or chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups (223.5 g) diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp (1.01 tbsp) tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups (240 g) cauliflower rice , (fresh or frozen)
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, combine the meat, onions, and celery and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Sauté until cooked through, about 8 minutes, breaking up the clumps with the back of a wooden spoon. If desired, spoon off some or all of the fat from the ground meat.
- Add the red pepper, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and cloves and continue to sauté until fragrant, 1 minute more.
- Stir in the cabbage and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Stir in the cauliflower rice and cook until tender, another 3 to 5 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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RUN, don’t walk, to gather the ingredients and make this. Absolutely fantastic. I don’t love bites of diced tomato, so I subbed tomato sauce and it’s so delicious. Plus it will make your kitchen smell like a million bucks. Pro tip: stir some sour cream into your steaming bowl and dig in!
This recipe is going into the regular rotation for our family of 6! It’s quick & easy to make. We do a lot of soups in the winter & this is a nice variation. Even my picky teen said it was delicious.
I made this on stovetop but next time I’ll throw it in the Instant Pot for 35 min the way I do when I make vegetable beef soup.
Thanks for everything you do, Carolyn!
This is a simple recipe to put together snd it is a delicious meal. We enjoy it more when we reheat it. Flavors are enhanced by mixing together for longer.
love this! so easy to make and so flavorful.
wonderful entry to my keto “cookbook”.
Very flavorful. I used Savoy cabbage, which turned out really good. This recipe is a KEEPER for a cold day like today. Thanks, Carolyn for all your hard work.
You’re welcome!
This is dinner tonight! Delicious and easy.
Great to hear!
This is how I found this website and it is such a yummy recipe.
Today’s the earliest date of recorded snowflakes in my part of country. And a great day for soup; this hits the spot!
Wonderful delicious soup. Also very quick and easy to make. It is in permanent rotation. Highly recommend.
Delicious. I’m 2nd generation Hungarian and grew up on Hungarian cabbage rolls. I do carry on tradition and enjoy making cabbage rolls; however, this Keto Cabbage Roll Soup was a great change up. So easy! And the flavors are all the traditional Hungarian flavors I love. The spices were wonderful. I will be making this again!
This soup could not be any better. It’s perfect! I used ground turkey, and because I ran out of cauli rice, I used a shredded zucchini. I will definitely make this again.
Love this soup! It’s so hearty, flavorful, and my all-time favorite soup!
So many layers to this recipe. The flavour – such simple ingredients pulled together by clove giving this dish a rich earthy depth while still being light! And the body, thick but not watery, chunky, and full of harmony. Warms the chest. Warms the belly. Makes me happy. Perfect comfort for recovering from a cold ☺️
I love this soup, and I always have to share it with my neighbor. She says hers isn’t as good as this recipe. I agree!
Have made this multiple times when craving a hardy yet healthy soup. Love it!
I can wait to try it. Your presentation looks yummy