Casseroles are not at the top of the meal plan for low carb diets. But there is a very popular low carb unstuffed cabbage roll casserole recipe that fits the bill.

In fact, this recipe is filled with nutrition and has very few carbs, which mean it can be a weekly meal for a low carb diet. A low carb unstuffed cabbage roll casserole is not only great low carb meal prep, but it is an easy keto dinner recipe anyone can make.

Eating low carb is more than a full-time job. We try, and we try to make sure that we stay within our carb limits for the day and succeed. But there are the occasional times when we just don’t want to cook, are out of quick low carb options, or just crave something more.

That leads us to reach for something that puts us just over our carb limit for the day. Of course, one day, going overboard on carbs is not going to kill us. But that does slow the process down, and we will need to be even more strict with ourselves the next day.

Casseroles are a great example. You can make a very simple casserole, but you need to calculate the carbs in each ingredient and then guesstimate the carbs per serving.

You can make things easier by using all low carb ingredients like in this low carb unstuffed cabbage roll casserole recipe. This recipe utilizes healthy ingredients that all pack a lot of flavors.

Those flavors come together to make something truly amazing. However, this is one of those dishes that some people will love and want to eat over and over.

But others may find it not so enjoyable. It is a polarizing recipe that you will just need to try so you can discover which side of the fence you land on.

Low Carb Ingredients

This low carb unstuffed cabbage roll casserole recipe comes with a good number of ingredients that are low-carb. The meat is obvious as most meats are low carb or no carb at all.

Ground beef and ground pork are clearly low-carb. In fact, beef and pork both have zero carbs. That means so far, we are off to a great start. You can even go for leaner, healthier packs of ground beef, but we will want the fats from the pork. The rest of the ingredients will start adding carbs.

You may have learned by now that low-carb fruits and veggies are not so easy to find. But cabbage only has 1.3g of carbs, so that’s still a great start. It is the rest of the ingredients that we will need to be careful of when serving.

Tomatoes have more carbs than meat and cabbage but still would be considered low-carb. Tomatoes have 4.8g of carbs.

Low Carb Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe

The rest of the ingredients for this recipe will have high carb counts. However, it is important to note that you will not be eating a whole lot of them. That is what makes a casserole such a good idea.

You can rest assured that you won’t get much of the carb-heavy ingredients and still enjoy a taste of them. Let’s start with the rice. This recipe does have rice in it, which adds 45g of carbs.

But the rice could be swapped for quinoa to help lower the carb count if you’d like. There is one medium onion in this recipe, which adds 10g of carbs to the casserole, but remember, you won’t be eating the entire casserole at once.

The rest of the ingredients can be considered low carb, like Worcestershire sauce at 3.3g of carbs and beef broth, which does have about 2g of carbs.

Low Carb Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe Directions

Rinse the rice well and set aside.

Combine the spices in a small bowl or cup.

In a large skillet, heat a bit of the olive oil and brown the pork, beef, and onion together.

Once browned, add the beef broth and rice. Mix well over medium heat. Cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, spice mix, Worcestershire sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spray the bottom and sides of your Crockpot with oil spray to prevent sticking.

Then, begin layering the ingredients.

Line the bottom with 2 of the cabbage wedges, breaking them apart to cover the bottom of the dish.

Add ½ of the beef/pork/onion/rice mixture.

Add the bay leaf and ½ of the sauce.

Repeat the layering steps for the next layer.

Top the entire dish with the remaining sauce. I like to push the cabbage and meat layers a little away from the sides of the dish to let some of the sauce soak through.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve up in a casserole dish or straight from the crockpot.

More Low Carb Recipes

Keto Breakfast Muffins | Start your day off right with the help of a low carb breakfast that you can grab-n-go when you need.

Low Carb Portobello Mushroom Pizza Recipe | We can get creative with how we adjust recipes so that they become low carb, like pizza, but instead of pizza dough, you use portobello mushrooms.

Low Carb Protein Balls | Protein balls are fantastic for people who are on a low carb diet and are also working out regularly.

Kale Chips Recipe | Kale is a great snack and can be made better by cooking it until it is crispy enough to be called a chip.

Low Carb Mini Bell Pepper Nachos Recipe | Mini bell peppers should be in everyone’s fridge all of the time, with recipes like this out there.