Keto Cabbage Rolls

These keto cabbage rolls are stuffed with ground beef and baked in tomato sauce. Adapted from the classic Polish cabbage rolls recipe, they make the perfect low-carb dinner for a family and an easy meal prep like our cabbage soup diet recipe.

Why You'll Love this recipe

• Easy: It requires no special cooking skills. All you have to do is to soak cabbage leaves in boiling water, and then stuff them with a mixture of cauliflower rice, ground beef, seasonings, onion, and an egg. Then bake it in tomato sauce until the cabbage is tender and the meat is cooked.
• Healthy: It's nutritious, low calorie if compared with other casseroles, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-carb.
• Versatile: You can easily replace several ingredients to use whatever you have at home.
• Comforting: This stuffed cabbage roll casserole tastes like comfort food though!
• Budget-friendly: Cabbage, (cauliflower) rice, ground meat, and tomato sauce are simple, low-cost ingredients that most of us have at home.

Polish Cabbage Rolls Recipe

Our keto cabbage rolls are adapted from the popular Polish cabbage rolls recipe, known as galumpkis.

Unlike the classic dish, ours is filled with cauliflower rice and baked in a homemade low-carb tomato sauce (but not pomodoro sauce).

Of course, if you don't have any dietary restrictions to carbs or sugar, you can easily make our recipe using a good store-bought tomato sauce, cutting down the prep time of our recipe.

Also, you can use regular cooked white rice instead of cauliflower rice. Definitely, use any rice leftovers you may have to make this dish!

As for the meat, we used 90% lean ground beef but you are welcome to replace it with ground pork, or a mix of both pork and beef.

This is a flavorful, easy recipe that you can prepare with budget-friendly ingredients and even leftovers to feed a family.

Moreover, you can serve it as a main dish or even an appetizer.

What is Golumpki?

Also known as gołąbki or galumpkis (plural), these are Polish cabbage rolls made from boiled cabbage leaves stuffed with minced pork or ground beef, chopped onions, and rice, baked in tomato sauce.

This main dish is often served during Christmas, at weddings, or at family reunions.

They are also popular in other European countries (e.g. Ukraine and Hungary) under different names and with a few variations -- some use barley instead or rice and mushroom gravy instead of tomato sauce. Jewish cuisine has a similar dish called holishkes.

In the United States, the dish is also known as "stuffed cabbage", "stuffed cabbage leaves", "cabbage casserole", or "stuffed cabbage rolls".

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make these keto cabbage rolls, you'll need:

For the low-carb tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or other vegetable oil)

• ½ small yellow onion, finely chopped (or white onion)

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 14.5 ounce can of Organic diced tomatoes, Do NOT drain!

• 15-ounce can of tomato sauce (no sugar added)

• 1 cup water

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons sugar substitute, such as granulated Swerve, Stevia, or Xylitol (or 1 tablespoon sugar if you are not on a keto diet)

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

TIP: You can save time using a good store-bought chunky tomato sauce instead of making this homemade low-carb tomato sauce. But be aware, store-bought ones have more carbs and added sugar.

 

For the stuffed cabbage rolls

• 1 pound ground beef (90% lean)

• 1 cup cauliflower rice, steamed (follow instructions in the package for microwave). TIP: Make sure to drain any excess water so your rolls won't be watery.

• ½ small yellow onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 teaspoon table salt

• ½ teaspoon pepper

• ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves chopped, divided use (or Italian seasoning, about 1 tablespoon total)

• 1 large egg, at room temperature (it works like a binder)

• 1 head of cabbage

• Cooking spray

 

How to Make Keto Cabbage Rolls

1. To make the tomato sauce: Heat a large no-stick pot over medium heat, add the oil and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes or until softened, stirring now and then. Add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds. PIC. 1 Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, salt, pepper, sugar substitute, and red wine vinegar. PIC. 2 Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring once and a while. PIC. 3 TIP: If you're not on a keto diet, you can use a store-bought tomato sauce of your liking, cutting down the prep time.
2. While the sauce is simmering, prepare the cabbage rolls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Immerse the cabbage head in boiling water (with a good pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar) but leave some free space at the top so the boiling water won't overflow. PIC. 4 Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the cabbage leaves begin to soften and turn their color yellowish. Carefully remove the cabbage from the pan, let it cool enough to handle, and peel 12 large leaves off the cabbage. Reserve! PIC. 5
3. In a large bowl, mix in ground beef, steamed cauliflower rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of parsley, and egg until homogeneous. Stir in ½ cup of tomato sauce until combined! PIC. 6
4. Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat surface. Using a small knife, cut a V-shaped notch to remove the thick part of the cabbage rib.
5. Shape ⅓ of a cup of the meat mixture into a log shape and place it in the center of a cabbage leaf. PIC. 7 Then, tuck in two ends of the cabbage leaf tightly and roll it up, similar to a burrito. Repeat with remaining meat and cabbage leaves. PICS. 8 & 9
6. Bake: Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Meanwhile, coat a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray. Place ½ of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. PIC. 10 Place the cabbage rolls, seam side down, in the dish and top with the remaining sauce. PIC. 11
7. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 60-90 minutes or until the cabbage is tender and the meat is cooked through. PIC. 12
8. Serve keto cabbage rolls with a sprinkle of the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley on top.

 

How to remove the cabbage leaves for cabbage rolls

There are 2 ways of separating the leaves to easily making this cabbage roll casserole recipe:

1. THE BOILING METHOD: Boil the cabbage head in water with salt and vinegar, fully immersed. When the leaves begin to soften and turn their color yellowish, remove the pot, and let it cool down enough to handle. Then pull the leaves off!

2. THE FREEZING METHOD: Remove the tough outer leaves, rinse the cabbage, and remove the core. Pat dry with a paper towel, wrap it in cling film, and freeze for at least 6 hours. The night before making these keto cabbage rolls, thaw the cabbage and the leaves will come off easily. It is a safer method but it takes more time.

Useful Tips for making Keto Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Use a big pot to cook the cabbage because the head has to be fully immersed in water.

Cook the cauliflower rice first and let it rest enough to drain any excess water; otherwise, your rolls will be watery.

Wrap them tightly, like a burrito.

Bake them seam-side down to avoid getting unwrapped when they shrink during the cooking process in the oven.

FAQ's

Why are my cabbage rolls tough?

They are tough only when the cabbage leaves didn't cook long enough. To soften them, just bake them for a little longer.

What to serve them with?

These keto cabbage rolls are a complete meal on their own, but if you'd like to serve it with a side, a fresh salad would pair well with it!

What is the best cabbage for this stuffed cabbage rolls recipe?

You can make them with red, green, savoy, napa, or Chinese cabbage.

Of course, each one of them has slightly different tastes and textures, some cooking faster than others. for example, savoy and Chinese cabbage will cook faster and also peel easier than white or red cabbage.

What is the best rice for this recipe?

The traditional Polish cabbage rolls are made with long-grain white rice, which is less sticky and perfect for stuffing. But we used cauliflower rice for making them low-carb! 

How to Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

In order to freeze these low-carb cabbage rolls, cook them fully, let them cool, place them into freeze-safe containers, and freeze them for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them in the fridge and reheat them covered in the oven at 350 degrees F just until hot.

Other Cabbage Recipes

• Creamy ham cabbage soup
• Cabbage and smoked sausage
• Corned beef and cabbage
• Lebanese cabbage salad (malfoulf)

 PIN & ENJOY!