Keto Cabbage Roll Soup

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.

• 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.

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