If you love stuffed cabbage rolls but hate how tedious they are to prepare, give this Unstuffed Cabbage Soup a try! All the flavors in an easier, lower carb version! Save This Recipe! Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Happy Healthy Mama.
Okay, then, let’s just add that to the list of food requests from my kids and we’ll basically be eating plain chicken every day. I’m exaggerating, but only a little.
Tim’s actually been eating a more low carb diet for close to a year, but lately I’ve been sneaking in more rice and grains into our dinners. He noticed, and asked me to stop. I’m flexible and want to respect his choices, so I’m helping him out as much as I can. Thus, my Unstuffed Cabbage Soup became Lower Carb Unstuffed Cabbage Soup. 
This soup still isn’t “low carb” since the tomato sauce and tomato paste have carbs in them, but I swapped out the rice and added rice cauliflower to make it less “carby” for the hubs.
Cauliflower is a nutritional star so it’s a great addition to your soup even if you don’t care about the carbs. This meal also is Paleo and Whole30 friendly, so if you’re following either of those diets, you’re good with this one!
This next part is important, so hopefully you’re still reading. Let’s just say you don’t care about carbs or Paleo-shmaleo or any of that. Let’s say you just want to eat homemade, good food. Well, this recipe is for YOU, too. It happens to fit into those dietary lifestyles, but what you really need to know is that this is just GOOD SOUP.
So even though I’m called it “Low Carb Unstuffed Cabbage Soup” to appease Tim, it could also be called “Really Good, Yummy Soup That You Should Make.”
You really should.
If you’re looking for more recipes with ground beef, check out my Cottage Pie recipe. It’s not low carb, but it’s absolutely delicious!
Low Carb Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
All the delicious flavors of Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, this Low Carb Unstuffed Cabbage Soup is an easier, lower carb version!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (grass-fed if possible)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 of 1 medium or large green cabbage
- 4 cups riced cauliflower*
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, brown the ground beef over medium high heat, using a wooden spoon to break it apart.
- While the ground beef is cooking, roughly chop your onion.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- While the onion and garlic are cooking, roughly chop half of the cabbage head.
- Add the cabbage, riced cauliflower, salt, pepper, and thyme to the pot and stir until everything is well combined.
- Add the broth, tomato sauce, and tomato paste and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer until the cabbage is tender, about 30 minutes.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
*You can buy riced cauliflower in the produce section of most well-stocked grocery stores to save time. Alternatively, you can make your own by pulsing 1/2 of a large head of cauliflower, cut into florets, in the food processor until it resembles rice.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 18 grams
- Fat: 5 grams
- Carbohydrates: 32 grams
- Fiber: 4.6 grams
- Protein: 36 grams
If you make this Unstuffed Cabbage Soup recipe, or any Happy Healthy Mama recipe, I would LOVE to see it! Please take a pic and share it on Instagram or the Happy Healthy Mama Facebook page and tag me @happyhealthymama ?
Also, if you try it, would you mind rating the recipe? It’s VERY helpful for me and other readers if the recipes have ratings and reviews. I appreciate you!
Can this be made in the Instant pot, and how long of a cook. I would like making all your soup in instant pot
Yes, you can make this in the Instant Pot. After sautéing the onion and ground beef, I’d cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
This is the best soup I’ve ever made and I’ve made a LOT of soup! Lol
I don’t really subscribe to a low carb diet but as you mentioned love the idea of the nutritional aspect of cauliflower in place of the rice! 👏🏼
I made it vegetarian by using Beyond Meat and veggie “beef” broth.
I also added in some dried dill, parsley, smoked paprika, garlic and onion powder and a bit of veg worcestershire sauce.
We ate two big bowls and had to stop from eating a third. 😍
Thank you for my new favourite soup recipe.
Thank you for your feedback!
Can you put it in the crock pot?
I think so! I don’t see why not. 🙂
This was a big hit. I did make it and put it in the crock put to keep warm while I cooked the rest of dinner. Was delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that, Marci! 🙂
This recipe caught my attention because I love cabbage. I’m a vegetarian though so no ground beef for me. I also have not learned to like tofu. You can imagine I’m struggling to get enough protein. Any suggestions for substitutes for the meat?
Thanks,
Teri Aguiar
I’m not vegetarian, but do eat a lot of vegan and vegetarian meals. Some options for protein you could include here are lentils, crumbled tempeh (this will probably be the most meat-like in texture), or maybe some beans? Quinoa and brown rice both have a decent amount of protein, so those would be good also. Good luck! Let me know if you try this without the beef.
You can always substitute cooked brown lentils for ground beef. Start with one cup dry lentils. It’s a super easy swap to make it vegetarian, as well as cheaper and easier!
Can’t wait to make this! Just got cabbage in my CSA box this week…perfect timing.
Perfect! Please let me know how you like it! 🙂
OOh – I love cabbage rolls. Can’t wait to try this!
It’s so much easier than cabbage rolls! 🙂 Please let me know how you like it Kathryn!
Wow, I will totally make this for my family. I am CERTAIN we will all love it. We love cabbage rolls and this recipe seems to be like cabbage rolls in soup form :). Yum!
Yay! 🙂
That looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
I hope you love it Kristin!