Slow Cooker UnStuffed Low Carb Keto Cabbage Roll Soup

This Keto Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup is a comforting, hearty, low carb meal made easily in your slow cooker, stove top or Instant Pot for any busy weeknight or a cold day!

keto cabbage roll soup

WHAT IS CABBAGE ROLL SOUP?

Soup recipes are the epitome of winter in my opinion! This unstuffed cabbage soup has been a favorite since I first posted it in January of 2016!!

โ€‹Cabbage roll soup is essentially deconstructed classic cabbage rolls in soup form! 

You may or may not be a cabbage fan, but honestly you must try this great recipe which might just win you over!

One of the most comforting meals on a cold winter’s day made in your slow cooker or just simmer in a large pot on the stove, but either way it’s a hearty soup for the whole family with all the flavors of traditional cabbage rolls but lots less work.

Often cabbage roll soup has white rice or brown rice in it, but to make this keto friendly, I swapped it out with cauliflower rice.

You will love how thick the texture is because of using riced cauliflower and you’ll love how much lower in carbs it is than traditional cabbage roll soup. In fact, I think you’ll love it even more than traditional cabbage roll soup with rice!

low carb cabbage roll soup

Carbs in Classic Cabbage Roll Soup

One cup serving, according to Cronometer, has about 31 grams of carbs.

Carbs in our Keto Unstuffed Cabbage Soup

Our serving is actually 1.5 cups for just 8 grams of carbs!

CARBS IN MARINARA SAUCE

Tomatoes and tomato sauce can be enjoyed on a low-carb or keto diet. There is no food that is keto. Ketosis is a nutritional state your body is in when you lower the carbs enough to get into ketosis.

1 large tomato is about 7 carbs. Contrary to popular belief, you can enjoy a small amount of tomatoes within a recipe. Granted you may not be able to eat a whole tomato and stay in ketosis but, a small amount can be enjoyed.

1/2 cup of myย homemade low carb marinara sauceย is 6 total carbs. You can also purchaseย Rao’s brandย which is low carb if you don’t want to make my recipe.

This unstuffed cabbage roll soup provides you a whole lot of servings so the total carbs per serving are 8 and if you follow net carbs just 6 grams per 1.5 cups of this delicious soup!

keto cabbage roll soup

LOW-CARB Options for RICE

There are a many options for a low carb rice that you could use in this cabbage roll soup. I chose cauliflower rice but there are plenty of others if you aren’t a fan.

Palmini riceย is made from Hearts of palm and has about the same amount of carbs as cauliflower rice.

Miracle rice or Shirataki riceย is another low carb option with the lowest amount of carbs, just 4 per serving.

If you choose to use rice instead of cauliflower then I would suggest 1 cup of cooked rice and eliminate the cauliflower.

You can eliminate the cauliflower in the recipe if you prefer. I feel it was a good substitute for rice which is usually in cabbage rolls. I think it thickened this slow cooker soup nicely without being very noticeable in texture.

I will tell you that not even my hubby noticed cauliflower was in this soup and everyone who was at our party raved about it and asked for the recipe and none of them are low carb!

low carb cabbage roll soup

SLOW COOKER VERSUS STOVE TOP METHOD

The slow cooker is great if you have the time in the morning to make before heading out to work. It will be amazing to come home to the aromas of an amazing cabbage roll soup.

But don’t fret if you don’t have a slow cooker or don’t have the time. I’ve provided directions below for making this recipe in your stove top in about an hour.

Either cooking method will provide you a satisfying meal for the whole family and plenty of left overs!

low carb cabbage roll soup

HOW TO MAKE Instant Pot CABBAGE ROLL SOUP Recipe

Set your instant pot to saute mode and heat olive oil and garlic. Add onions and shallots and cook until softened.

Add ground beef and cook until browned and no longer pink.

Add seasonings to beef, marinara sauce and remaining ingredients (the riced cauliflower, broth and cabbage). 

Stir to combine everything and cover. Set to manual mode on high pressure for 30 minutes. Quick release and carefully uncover once pressure seal has released. 

Top with some fresh parsley and enjoy!

How to Store Keto Cabbage Roll Soup 

Store this easy soup, once cooled, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 

low carb cabbage roll soup

How to Serve Easy Cabbage Roll Soup

I think this is a one-pot meal in itself and you may not want anything else, but here are some low carb keto bread options you might like:

Cheesy Air Fryer Rolls

Italian Buns

Cloud Bread Loaf

โ€‹This healthy soup can also be served with any of these low-carb vegetable side dishes.

Tomato Avocado Salad

Cucumber Dill Salad

LOW-CARB VERSUS KETO

If you’ve had a reluctant family member not ready to embrace a sugar free and/or low carb lifestyle, try comforting recipes like this that they won’t even notice is grain free and healthy!

They will hopefully realize it’s not that hard to give up processed carbs and sugar.

Unsure about the differences between sugar-free and low carb? I’ve cleared it up for you in this post as well as low-carb versus keto to help you figure out the best plan for you!

KETO UNSTUFFED Slow Cooker CABBAGE ROLL SOUP

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3.95 from 349 votes

Crock Pot Low Carb Un-Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 20 minutes
Course: Entree
Servings: 9
Calories: 356kcal
Author: Brenda Bennett | Sugar-Free Mom

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil and garlic on medium high heat.
  • Add onions and shallots and cook until softened.
  • Add ground beef and cook until browned and no longer pink.
  • Add seasonings to beef and marinara sauce.
  • Add the riced cauliflower to the beef mixture and stir until coated.
  • Pour the beef into the crock pot.
  • Pour beef broth into crock pot and add cabbage.
  • Stir to combine everything.
  • Cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours. If you don't have a crock pot, simply cook ground beef in a dutch oven or heavy soup pot, follow recipe and simmer on low, covered for about an hour until cabbage is tender.

Video

Notes

Net Carbs: 6g
Brenda’s Notes:
  • This recipe was first published in January 2016 and updated with video in October 2018.
  • You can subscribe for free by email so you won’t ever miss any recipes I share on social media.ย 

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 990mg | Potassium: 534mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 35.1mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2.6mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @sugarfreemom and tag #sugarfreemom, I’d love to see your dish!
selfie

About Brenda

Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.

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218 Comments

  1. instead of using the blender, could I put raw cauliflower through my Bosch grater blade? to make the pieces smaller? I think it would be much quicker than several batches in the blender. then just toss it in the raw pieces in the slow cooker or do I have to saute/fry it up?

  2. 5 stars
    Just made this (with a few exceptions to meet my Daniel Fast requirements). I added chopped carrots and omitted the ground beef, used vegetable stock instead of beef stock and added a splash of apple cider vinegar for a little tartness. Toward the end of cooking, I added a can of cannellini beans. It’s a keeper!

    1. Made this tonight. Itโ€™s delicious. Iโ€™ve missed cabbage rolls! I had to add more salt and pepper than stated.

    1. 5 stars
      Thank you Brenda for this wonderful recipe. when I was a teenager my Jewish neighbor Ellie taught me how to make her stuffed cabbage rolls, her sauce was Sweet & Sour and just delicious. I missed that flavor in this soup. So, I added 1/4 c. of Apple Cider Vinegar and 2T. of Sukrin Gold brown sugar substitute. Oh My! Just delish. Can also put a squeeze of lemon juice too. Best to taste and adjust the seasonings. Thanks again for all your fabulous recipes & all your hard work testing!

  3. 5 stars
    How do you rice cauliflower, or is this something that is bought that way? Could I put raw cauliflower in a food processor and just watch it to make sure it doesn’t turn into mush?

    1. I cut off the stem and place the florets into my food processor then pulse it until it looks about the size of rice.

  4. 5 stars
    I made this last night for surpper. It was easy to make in the morning and it smelled so good once we arrived home from hockey. It tasted awesome and felt good on a cold day. I kept some for another meal this week and froze one meal’s worth. I used ground turkey instead and reduced the amount of cabbage a bit (to please my young lad) but next time, i will put the whole amount as it was so good. Thank you for the recipe.

  5. I made this on Tuesday and loved it! Well, to be honest, I made a version of it by using what I had in the kitchen! ๐Ÿ™‚ I used ground turkey instead of beef, chicken stock instead of beef and all cabbage, both green & purple, no cauliflower. I used the Welleslly brand marinara from BJs since it doesn’t have added sugar. It was quite delicious and very easy to make. I look forward to making it as the recipe calls for it after a grocery store trip! I love recipes like this that provide a good base for any meat or veggie I have on hand. Thx!

  6. Do you think I could use Quina in it instead of rice? Cooked slow in the slow cooker would make it less chewy as well?

  7. Could this be prepared in an instant pot? I don’t have one so I’ll use a crock pot tomorrow but in the future?

    1. I haven’t tried it yet in the Instant pot but I will be sure to update this recipe for when I do.

  8. Have you tried freezing it? Do you know if it holds up? I made this and it was amazing! However, is just me and now I have So. Much. Soup.

  9. I am really digging the cauliflower in the recipe – so many people think this ingredient shouldn’t be in soup and I totally disagree. Looks amazing!

  10. This soup recipe looks awesome, Brenda. I am going to be making it this week, when I work late.
    My husband, also, decided he was going to make some drastic changes in his diet. He quit eating sugar two years ago but then recently read that (apparently) wheat is bad for you too! Men are funny. I’ve been telling him that for years. I’ve had issues with wheat since my 20’s and have not eaten it except when there are no other choices. Travelling is the hardest for me. I’ve been low carb for 2 years now and am excited to have him along for the ride! Thanks for all your great recipes. All your hard work makes low carbing easy!

    1. Yeah I did 2 cups and it was no longer soup. It was still good but next time I think I’ll put 1/4 cup rice, unless she meant 2 cups cooked rice.

    2. Sorry folks, I will clarify in the directions, I meant 2 cups of “riced” cauliflower. But if you are using rice I would suggest at least 1 cup of cooked rice.

  11. 5 stars
    This looks yummy, especially since it’s been so cold and will continue to be cold! I’ve found a jarred marinara sauce that I really like, and it only has 3g net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. I think I’ll sub that in the recipe.

  12. Did you make or buy the marinara sauce? That would account for the high carbs and sugar. Your sugar content is never that high. I wil give it a try.

    1. Hi Brenda,

      I canโ€™t figure out how to make my own thread but I was wondering if itโ€™s 8 measuring cups of cabbage or 8 cabbage leaf cups. Thank you!

    2. Not the meat, you really want to get great flavor from browning it in a pan otherwise its boiled meat and flavorless.

3.95 from 349 votes (341 ratings without comment)

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