Cabbage is an incredibly versatile and budget-friendly vegetable, making it an excellent choice for those following a ketogenic diet. Its low carb content and high fiber make it a filling and nutritious addition to keto meals. You can use cabbage instead of high-carb foods like rice or pasta. Here are some fantastic keto cabbage recipes that are both delicious and easy to prepare!
Why Cabbage is Great for Keto
Cabbage is a keto-friendly vegetable because it is low in carbohydrates. One cup of cabbage has only 5 grams of net carbs. Cabbage recipes for the keto diet are perfect because they contain fewer carbs and lots of fiber. They’re also full of vitamins and minerals. Raw cabbage has fewer carbs than cooked cabbage, but both work in your keto lifestyle. Just watch the amount you eat.
When choosing the right cabbage, consider your flavor preferences. Green cabbage offers a more neutral flavor profile, while red cabbage has a slightly spicy kick. Both green and red cabbage are low in carbs. Green cabbage is the most common type for keto recipes.
Look for cabbages that feel heavy for their size. Check the outer leaves. Gently squeeze the cabbage. It should feel firm. Buy whole heads instead of pre-cut cabbage. Store your cabbage in the fridge’s vegetable drawer.
Keto Cabbage Recipes
Here's a look at some amazing keto cabbage recipes:
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Keto Fried Cabbage with Bacon
This recipe is an easy, low-carb dish that can be served as a side or main course. Fry the bacon until crispy, then sauté the onions in the bacon grease. Chopped cabbage, chicken broth, garlic powder, salt, and pepper are added and simmered until tender. Add the cooked bacon crumbles on top before serving.
Skillet Cabbage with Bacon & Garlic
This is a simple but tasty dish that's also low-carb and keto-friendly. With five minutes of prep and about 10 minutes of cooking time, you can have this dish on the table. The hardest part is slicing the cabbage, and for that, you’ll need a big knife and a cutting board. Start by cooking the bacon first until it is nearly crispy, add the garlic, and then get that cabbage busy cooking!
Southern Style Cabbage with Bacon
Spicy, tender, and flavorful, this easy southern style cabbage with bacon is a nostalgic dream come true. It’s a bona fide family favorite for generations past and present. The best part is that it is low-carb, and keto-friendly.
Keto Egg Roll in a Bowl
This is a quick, one-pan meal with the flavors of an egg roll without the high-carb wrapper. The low carb meal is made with ground pork or beef, shredded cabbage, and seasonings like garlic, ginger, and soy or Bragg’s aminos. This meal is not only delicious and satisfying but also is ready in less than 30 minutes.
Keto Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
This is a simple, one-skillet meal that’s perfect for a quick and delicious low-carb dinner. Made with ground beef, cabbage, diced tomatoes, and spices, it captures all the delicious flavors of traditional cabbage rolls without the fuss and the carbs!
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Unstuffed Keto Cabbage Soup
You’re going to love this Unstuffed Keto Cabbage Soup. It’s a hearty, keto freindly meal that can be made using an Instant Pot or stovetop. The soup contains ground beef, cabbage, and a flavorful broth enhanced with Bragg’s Aminos. Unstuffed Cabbage Soup is perfect for a quick, one-pot meal, making it an excellent option for busy days.
Marinated Keto Coleslaw
This is a light, tangy, and slightly sweet side dish, perfect for any keto meal. Made without mayo, the sugar-free sweetener and vinegar-based dressing give it a refreshing tangy twist. The slaw is made from shredded cabbage, pickles, onion, and green pepper.
Low Carb Cheesy Cabbage Casserole
This is a one pan, easy dinner ready in 30 minutes! This is one of my favorite easy low carb dinner options. From start to finish it will be in on the table in 30 minutes and only required one pan, talk about easy!
One Pan Cabbage Casserole
This Keto One Pan Cabbage Casserole is a low carb, easy dinner ready in 30 minutes! The perfect easy keto dinner!
Brown your beef or turkey over medium heat in a large skillet and drain off any grease. Add the diced onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped cabbage and tomatoes with green chili, tomato sauce, and spices and stir well. Cover and reduce heat to medium, cooking for 15-18 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the cabbage has reached your desired tenderness, top with cheese and remove from heat. Place the lid on the skillet and allow the cheese to melt for about 2 minutes.
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Keto Sausage and Cabbage Skillet
This Keto Sausage and Cabbage Skillet is everything you want in a keto meal, high in fat and super low in carbs. It is also done in under 20 minutes and requires just one pan. Dinner doesn’t get much better than this smoked sausage and cabbage recipe! You can make this cabbage meal with any sausage you like! The exact amount of time needed to sauté the cabbage will depend on how crisp you like it. If you like your cabbage to have a crunch, this will take 5-6 minutes.
Cheesy Cabbage Bake
Updated take on a classic. It’s inspired by a recipe from the late 1800s, but streamlined for today’s kitchen. Low-carb and keto-friendly. Versatile. Cabbage. Tender green cabbage soaks up the casserole’s buttery, custardy goodness beautifully. Onion. Diced sweet onion adds a gentle, savory depth, but you can skip it altogether if onions aren’t your thing. Butter. Butter helps sauté the cabbage and adds richness to the dish. Eggs. Cream. Salt and pepper. Parmesan cheese. The finishing touch! It gives the casserole a salty, umami-rich golden crust.
Cheesy Baked Cabbage Casserole
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and generously grease a 2.5-quart casserole dish with butter or olive oil spray. Coarsely chop the cabbage into 1" bite-sized pieces, removing the hard stem and core. Then dice the onion (or shallots). Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large deep non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped cabbage and onion (or shallots) to the skillet and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until partially cooked down and softened. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, cream, eggs, salt, and pepper. Add the cabbage and onion and toss well to mix. Transfer the cabbage mixture to the greased casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, cook for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the fresh grated parmesan cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes more until lightly golden around the edges. (Total bake time = 50 minutes).
Stir Fry Cabbage Recipe
Recently, I’ve been super into cabbage stir fry. It’s fresh, flavorful, frisky, and can easily be incorporated into your bowls.
Ingredients:
- Avocado Oil: The stir fry is cooked on the stove top using a higher heat, which means a high-temperature cooking oil is best for this application. I use avocado oil because it has a higher smoke point than olive oil.
- Yellow Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Green Onion: Fresh, flavorful yellow onion, garlic, fresh ginger, and green onion add a nice punch of flavor to this cabbage stir fry.
- Cabbage: Fresh green cabbage gets thinly sliced, then chopped for this stir fry. No need to use the hard white core! Cabbage makes an amazing stir fry as when it is cooked, it has a unique flavor that is subtle and inviting. It is ideal to pair with big flavors, since it is a nice canvas.
- Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos: Flavor maker! Liquid aminos is similar to soy sauce. Liquid aminos adds a good salt content to the cabbage stir fry, so you will want to add sea salt to taste at the end depending on whether or not you feel the dish is salty enough. Add sea salt to taste!
Instructions:
- Cut the cabbage in half, then remove the hard white core.
- Place cabbage cut-side down on the cutting board and slice into thin slices, about 1/4-inch wide. Note that cabbage cooks down quite a bit during the cooking process, so it’s fine to cook larger pieces of cabbage as well.
- Add the avocado oil to a large skillet with a deep lip and heat over medium-high.
- Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion has softened and begins to turn translucent.
- Stir in the chopped cabbage to the skillet - this will likely overflow the skillet at first.
- Stir as best you can, then cover. Cook until cabbage has wilted and begins cooking down, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover and add the remaining ingredients, and stir well.
- Continue cooking until cabbage begins turning golden-brown around the edges and begins sticking to the skillet, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Tips for Keto Cabbage Cooking
- Avoid High-Carb Ingredients: Be mindful of what you add to your cabbage dishes. Avoid adding high-carb ingredients like carrots, peas, or sweet sauces.
- Versatility: Cabbage is incredibly versatile. You can use it in place of rice in bowls, create tasty slaws, and explore many other options.
- Freezing: You can also chop the cabbage you aren’t going to use and freeze in a large freezer bag. The next time you want to make this recipe just pull it out a few minutes before cooking. This makes your groceries go a little further!