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!
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!!
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!
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.
½ cup of my homemade low carb marinara sauce is 6 total carbs. You can also purchase Rao's brand 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!
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 rice is made from Hearts of palm and has about the same amount of carbs as cauliflower rice.
Miracle rice or Shirataki rice 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!
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!
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.
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:
This healthy soup can also be served with any of these low-carb vegetable side dishes.
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
Crock Pot Low Carb Un-Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup onion chopped
- ½ cup shallots chopped
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 16 ounces low carb marinara sauce
- 2 cups cauliflower riced
- 5 cups beef broth low sodium
- 8 cups cabbage sliced
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
- 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.
Nutrition
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.
Juliette N Butler
Just made this tonite and it's a big hit! Keeping this recipe forever! I did change a couple of things but I don't think it affected the overall flavor of the dish. I used half ground beef and half ground pork, 2.25lbs and four cups of broth instead of five. It was an amazing quick dinner for us in the InstaPot!
Brenda
Thank you!
Petra
I can't to nightshades unfortunately - is there any way to make this without the marinara sauce? Thanks!
Brenda
Maybe just use more beef broth?
Jana
Petra, use canned pumpkin and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, for tartness.
Michelle
Made this tonight for my small group. It was a hit! Especially with two of my low carb peeps! Easy to make and fed a large group.
Brenda
Thank you!
Leslie
This was so delicious! I’m make my it again this weekend. ThI used a bag of frozen riced cauliflower and Raos Marinara. Such a simple and delicious recipe. Thanks so much!
Brenda
Thank you!
Mich
I tried to go through the comments and didn't see anything... with the "fixed cauliflower ". Do you enter raw or would you cook it first then add later?
Mich
Oops sorry I meant "riced" not fixed
Brenda
no need to cook the cauli first, it cooks in the soup.
Amber Matarelli
Any suggestions for how long in a insta pot on the soup setting? I've been told this is delicious! I am anxious to try it but would love to use my insta pot;)
Brenda
Maybe just an hour or two to get the cabbage tender. I'm really sorry I've not made it yet for the instapot so I'm guessing here.
Amber Matarelli
Okay! Thank you! I'll give it a go and let you know:)
Juliette N Butler
I only did 30 mins in the InstaPot and it the cabbage was tender! Set on soup.
Lisa
I was just going to say I made another soup that had cabbage in it. I used the soup setting on my instapot and that recipe only needed 15 mins and the cabbage was tender. I was going to try that with this soup too. Pressure cooking shouldn’t need as much time.
Melissa
This is definitely KETO friendly and I will be giving this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing!
Kat
Your job? you lost me here. Seriously, what is he, 5? even my son started cooking at 6. You are right that he has to make the decisions about his diet, but it's not your fault if he can't figure out what to eat. Help him? yes. Be responsible for that? NO. I am not young or gay, I've been married for 30+ years to the same man. While I do know that men get into an attitude that you are their Mom instead of their wife, lets not encourage it, OK?
Charmaine
What is considered a serving size for the 9.8 grams of carbs? It doesn't say what the serving size is.
Brenda
1.5 cup serving
Kristin
Looks amazing! What is the serving size?
Brenda
1.5 cups per serving
Janet
I made this soup today for a family gathering featuring soups/ crockpot creations. It was wonderful! Everyone enjoyed, going back for seconds. I used ground turkey simply as a personal favorite flavor. I also used Newman’s Own Organic Marinara. No added sugars at all. Reasonable in carbs.
This is truly a delicious meal and I do like the convenience of crockpot meals. Thanks! Healthy comfort food? Oh yes!!! ?❤️
Nancy
What is the serving size used in your Nutrition label?
Brenda
1.5 cups per serving
Kelly
We are making this now, can’t wait to try it!! What is the actual serving size? It says it serves 9 but not sure how much..
Brenda
1 1/2 cups, my recipe plug in had a glitch and converted all my nutrition servings to 1 gram.
Karasmom
Wow!
I must admit that I did not think we would like it when I finally had it all on the crockpot! But holy deliciousness! This is amazing!
I used ground chicken breast to save calories (and chicken broth). I did not use onions not shallots (personal preference). I did however add onion powder.
I can’t believe how amazing this tastes. Do happy that the batch was enough to freeze half for another dinner soon and to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Thank you for this receipe!!!
Jackie Ambrose
Oh my goodness!!! I made this last night. Left it in the crock pot on low and woke up this morning to the amazing aroma. My husband had a bowl for breakfast! This is so tasty. I'll definitely be making this again.
Serina
How big is the serving size?
Bonnie
I never liked cabbage but I really liked this soup. I used chicken stock instead of beef, and broccoli instead of caulifower because I don't like cauliflower. I also halved the recipe to make sure I liked it. I really liked it and will for sure will make it again!
Eve
Finally got to make this tonight. I had to change a few things due to dietary restrictions, so I used chicken stock and ground bison, cheated with a bag of coleslaw mix, and cooked it on the stovetop since my slow cooker is too small. This is delicious! Thanks for a great recipe. I might add a splash of vinegar next time to make it a bit tangier. My apartment smelled amazing. It was great over rice and will be even better for lunch at work!
Rosa
Made this recipe last night. I came out extremely tasty for how few ingredients are involved. I misread the ingredient list though and didn't purchase shallots. However, I read online that you can replace shallots with more onion and garlic, so I did just that. My recipe had 2 medium sized onions, and four gloves garlic. I used Prego as my marinera and my package of 1.34 lbs of ground beef. The amount of beef was actually perfect to me. I think 2 lbs might have been much. Also, without the cauliflower it was already quite hearty. I kept everything else the same, ratio despite the beef reduction, and it was perfect.
Angelique Ayala
Have you made this in an insta pot yet? If so, how long do you set the timer
Brenda
I've not sorry.
Erica
Has anyone tried using bags of preshredded cabbage? I'm not sure what bag size to use. I only have a 4 quart slow cooker, so this might have to be done in a Dutch oven in order to use the full recipe without halving it. Thanks!
Claire
Delicious! I also made a few changes. I only used one pound of hamburger and I used one cup of cooked brown rice instead of the riced cauliflower. I also put in a bag of fresh baby spinach. Thank you for sharing!
Chris
This is my first time making this. Um...do I put the whole cabbage in the crock pot or do I need to cut it in half, or do I cut it into pieces? Thanks
Brenda
It depends on how big your cabbage is. I'd slice it up and see how much you have. You need 8 cups.
Deb Payne
I followed the recipe except I used ground turkey in place of ground beef.....DELICIOUS!!!
Brenda
Thank you!
Pam
Can you use crushed tomatoes instead of marinara sauce?