Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Skillet
All the comfort of stuffed cabbage — tender cabbage, paprika-seasoned beef and a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce — in one pan, with riced cauliflower standing in for the rice.
Nutrition per serving
about 1½ cups- Net carbs
- 6.7g
- Calories
- 477kcal
- Protein
- 29g
- Fat
- 35g
- Total carbs
- 12 g
- Fiber
- 4.1 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Ground turkey: A lighter skillet made with lean turkey; the sweet-sour tomato sauce carries all the flavor.
- Brown the turkey in the oil until no pink remains and it reaches 165°F (74°C), 9–10 minutes. There's no fat to spoon off.
Hungarian-style (sauerkraut): In the spirit of Hungarian stuffed cabbage: tangy sauerkraut simmered with the cabbage and plenty of paprika, so no sweetener or vinegar is needed.
- Leave out the vinegar and sweetener. Add the sauerkraut and the extra paprika along with the cabbage in step 4 and simmer as written. Taste before seasoning — sauerkraut is salty, so you may need only half the salt.
- Skillet
- To serve
- Nice to have (optional)
- Skillet
- To serve
- Nice to have (optional)
- Skillet
-
1 tbsp apple cider vinegarleave out -
2 tsp granulated keto sweetenerleave out - To serve
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $19.62 for 6 servings ($3.27 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned and no pink remains (160°F/71°C), 8–10 minutes. Spoon off the excess fat.
-
Add the onion and cook 3–4 minutes until translucent, then stir in the garlic, paprika and thyme for 30 seconds.
-
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute, then add the diced tomatoes, broth, vinegar, sweetener, salt and pepper.
-
Pile in the chopped cabbage — the pan will look overfull, but it collapses as it cooks. Cover and simmer over medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring halfway.
-
Stir in the riced cauliflower and simmer uncovered 5–8 minutes more, until the cabbage is tender, the cauliflower is cooked and the sauce has thickened.
-
Taste: it should be gently sweet and tangy. Adjust with a little more vinegar or sweetener, then serve topped with sour cream and dill.
Tips for success
-
The small amount of sweetener and vinegar recreates the sweet-sour sauce of Eastern European cabbage rolls without brown sugar or raisins. - For a more traditional flavor, use half ground pork and half beef.
- Savoy or napa cabbage cooks faster; cut the covered simmer to about 8 minutes.
Nice to have, not needed
- A Dutch oven or deep 12-inch skillet with a lid holds all the cabbage at once — a large soup pot works too.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Freezes up to 3 months
Reheat: Microwave 2–3 minutes, stirring halfway, or warm covered in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of broth.
Prep tip: It tastes even better on day two, so it makes a great batch-cook; add the sour cream and dill after reheating.
Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. It tastes even better reheated.
Variations
2 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosGround turkey
ProteinA lighter skillet made with lean turkey; the sweet-sour tomato sauce carries all the flavor.
- ground beef (80/20) → ground turkey
6.7 g net · 317 kcal · 33 g protein · 17 g fat · ≈$2.81 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Hungarian-style (sauerkraut)
FlavorIn the spirit of Hungarian stuffed cabbage: tangy sauerkraut simmered with the cabbage and plenty of paprika, so no sweetener or vinegar is needed.
- green cabbage → green cabbage
- + 2 cups sauerkraut
- + 2 tsp extra sweet paprika
- no apple cider vinegar
- no granulated keto sweetener
6.4 g net · 479 kcal · 30 g protein · 35 g fat · ≈$3.46 per serving (−0.3 g net carbs vs the original)
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