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Is spring ever coming?! I can’t take this snow anymore. I’m ready to make spring salads and asparagus and maybe even start thinking about ice cream. Instead, we have another foot of snow on the ground. Today I’m making my easy lazy cabbage roll casserole to comfort me, as I try not to wallow about the winter weather in April.
Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole with Cauliflower Rice
Traditional unstuffed cabbage roll casserole recipes can almost be naturally low carb dinners. The basic ingredients are cabbage, beef, some kind of tomato-based sauce, and unfortunately, rice. Of course, rice is not low carb.
There’s an easy solution for that! Use cauliflower rice. I love using it in place of the regular kind to make recipes low carb.
In fact, low carb cauliflower fried rice is one of my favorite side dishes!
The ingredients for low carb cabbage roll casserole are as simple as can be:
- Avocado oil
- Garlic
- Ground beef
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- Cauliflower
- Italian seasoning
- Cabbage
- Marinara sauce
- Mozzarella cheese
I used marinara sauce to keep this easy cabbage roll casserole recipe super fast. Just look for one with no sugar added. Otherwise, you can make you own sauce if you have a recipe you like.
And, it’s easy to make this cabbage roll casserole paleo, whole30 approved, and dairy-free. Simply omit the cheese! It’s used on top only, so you can easily skip it if you want to.
Our family tolerates cheese well, so we like to add it for extra cheesy goodness. It’s up to you!
The Best Cabbage Roll Casserole The Easy Way
Want to know why I think this the best cabbage roll casserole ever? Because it doesn’t get any easier. It requires much less prep time than most. Here’s why:
- No pre-cooking cauliflower. You don’t need to cook the cauliflower rice separately. It will cook right inside the casserole.
- No pre-cooking cabbage. Same goes for the cabbage! It will cook together withe verything else.
- No layering. Some unstuffed cabbage roll recipes have you layer the beef, cabbage, and rice. You certainly can if you want to, but I’m all about quick and easy. Just mix everything together. It tastes just as delicious, without the fuss and extra time!
Hey, there’s a reason I called this a lazy cabbage roll casserole. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making actual cabbage rolls, you probably don’t want your casserole to be complicated, either.
How To Make Cabbage Roll Casserole Low Carb
The process for how to make cabbage roll casserole is super simple.
The only part you need to do ahead of time is brown the meat. Heat some oil in a saute pan, add some garlic for about a minute, then brown the ground beef with it. Season with salt and pepper as you do this.
The whole process with the beef takes about ten minutes and is the longest part. You can drain it if you need to afterward.
Next, just dump everything else into a baking dish and stir together. Cauliflower rice, cabbage, Italian seasoning, ground beef, and marinara sauce. It all goes into your easy cabbage roll casserole!
And, the cauliflower rice makes this unstuffed cabbage roll casserole low carb. Yay! At 9 grams net carbs per serving, it’s great for low carb diets and is still doable even for keto. The carbs come from the cauliflower, cabbage, and marinara sauce only.
Bake for about half an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the cabbage is crisp tender.
If you are using cheese, add that on top of your lazy cabbage roll casserole. If not, you can just continue baking without it. Bake for another 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and the cabbage is completely cooked through.
The cook times will vary a bit depending on how big you chop up your cabbage and even the type of baking dish you use. Just check for crisp tender doneness around 30 minutes and then make sure it’s completely done at the end.
If it’s not done, you can bake it for longer. And, if the cheese starts to brown before everything else is done, you can cover it and continue baking to avoid burning the cheese.
What To Do With Leftover Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole
This easy cabbage roll casserole recipe makes a large portion! You can certainly cut it in half and bake in an 8×8 baking dish if you want to. But if you’re like me, you’ll make more so that you have leftovers.
It’s easy to store any leftover cabbage roll casserole. You can keep it in the fridge for several days.
If you want to store it for longer, you can freeze your unstuffed cabbage roll casserole. If you do this, make sure you freeze it after baking. The cooking process will hinder the enzymes in the cauliflower and cabbage, so that they won’t deteriorate when freezing.
To reheat from the fridge, either the microwave or the oven at 350 will work. From the freezer, you can either thaw first and then place in the oven, or heat from frozen. You’ll want to cover it if heating the frozen casserole, so that the top doesn’t burn, because it will take a while.
There you have it! It’s easy to make, it uses common ingredients, it stores well, and it’s low carb. That’s the best cabbage roll casserole in my book.
Easy Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe - Low Carb:
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RECIPE CARD
Easy Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe - Low Carb
This easy lazy cabbage roll casserole recipe without rice is quick to make using common ingredients. Using cauliflower rice makes it healthy, low carb, and delicious. It's the best cabbage roll casserole ever!
RECIPE VIDEO
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- 1 tbsp Avocado oil (or oil of choice)
- 4 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 1 1/2 lb Ground beef
- 1 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 1 medium head Cauliflower (riced; about 4 cups)
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 3/4 medium head Cabbage (chopped/shredded; about 6 cups)
- 3 cup Marinara sauce
- 3 cup Mozzarella cheese (shredded; optional - omit for paleo, dairy-free or whole 30)
Instructions
RECIPE TIPS + VIDEO in the post above, nutrition info + recipe notes below!
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for up to a minute, until fragrant.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Cook, breaking apart with a spatula, until browned, about 10 minutes. Drain if needed.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
In a 9x13 in (23x33 cm) glass baking dish, stir together the rice cauliflower, chopped cabbage, and Italian seasoning.
When the ground beef is cooked through, stir that in. Stir in marinara sauce.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage is crisp-tender.
Top with shredded mozzarella, if using. (If not, just continue baking without it.) Continue baking for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and the cabbage is completely cooked through.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cup
Video Showing How To Make Cabbage Roll Casserole:
Don't miss the VIDEO above - it's the easiest way to learn how to make Cabbage Roll Casserole!
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. You can find individual ingredient carb counts we use in the Low Carb & Keto Food List. Carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.
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94 Comments
Amanda Counts
Wow!!! This is going on my regular meal rotation. How yummy is this!
Full disclosure — I didn’t use cauliflower at all in this recipe. My husband doesn’t usually like casseroles at all and he devoured it. Keep up the great work on the meal plans!
Bibi
I am viewing your recipes online from Trinidad and Tobago love all your recipes thanks for sharing.
Leslie
Hi Maya, I am trying this casserole for the first time. It looks so yummy. I was wondering can I substitute the ground beef for ground chicken.
Wholesome Yum A
Hi Leslie, that should work fine!
Connie Haworth
Have not had a bite of it yet, in the oven as I type but my kitchen is smelling soooooo good!
Cathy Kucher
Thank you! I’ve been craving cabbage rolls for months but haven’t gone there because of carbs and time limits. I love this recipe, it’s delicious and I didn’t even notice that there’s no rice. I used ground pork instead of beef and added my own sauerkraut and some cheddar as well on top and it was absolutely delicious!
Louanne Campbell
Delish as per usual
April
Made this tonight, it was tasty. I added a can of rotel and used pizza sauce instead of marinara. It was just like eating lasagna!
Tracy
I decided to make this recipe vegetarian by replacing the beef with tofu. I crumbled the pressed tofu and seasoned the heck out of it with spices and browned it in the frying pan with avocado oil and used it exactly as the beef would have been used. The recipe was delicious and a big hit in my house!
Ginger Garrity
Can you use frozen califlower rice
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Ginger, You can, but it would probably be better to cook it first (I recommend stir frying) because it might have more moisture than fresh.
Tracy
I made mine with Trader Joe’s Frozen Riced Cauliflower and it turned out great. I thawed and removed some of the excess moisture by tossing it in a frying pan over med – low heat until it seemed dry enough.
Stephanie
Cover or uncover to cook?? Takes way longer than 45 mins….but it smells awesome!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Stephanie, Cook it uncovered. However, if the cheese starts to brown too much before the inside is done, you can tent the top with foil.
Rhonda
I made just as the recipe says. mine was great. we all loved it. I added onions. so great. this will make a lot!!!
Sherry
This really sounds yummy, can you make it in a slow cooker?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Sherry, I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker yet.
Tan
I made this and followed the recipe except I switched the oil for butter and added onions. I grated the cauliflower. I used the same dish I browned the ground beef with on the stove to bake in the oven. With that, I was able to mix the cauliflower with the beef onions and garlic (after I drained it). then I added the cabbage on top and the sauce over everything. I did add a teaspoon of stevia to my tomato sauce since I am accustomed to the store bought marinara sauce that usually has sugar in it. That seemed to help offset the strong tomato taste. This turned out awesome.
Joni
Not in love with this. Made exactly as recipe stated….Husband hated it. Never will make it again…..
Sorry. I guess everyone’s taste buds are different.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Joni, Sorry to hear it wasn’t for you or your husband. Do you normally like cabbage rolls? It’s pretty similar to that. If you had any trouble with the recipe or a particular aspect you didn’t like, let me know and I’m happy to help.
Sophia Gilsdorf
I tried using frozen riced cauliflower. I did thaw and squeeze out excess liquid but still too watery. However, my daughter said we could use the crockpot next time and make it a soup! I’ll definitely use raw and fresh next time. I used a “coleslaw” mix from Sam’s with shredded cabbage, radicchio, and carrots. Flavor was great, but I would add a little diced onion next time. We also found the 3c of cheese to be too much, mostly because it was a layer on top. We’re going to mix it in next time. Overall, great. Even the kids ate it up.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Sophia, It could be that the frozen riced cauliflower was still too watery. You could try pre-cooking it first if using frozen riced cauliflower. I’m glad you and the kids liked it overall!
Molly
I used frozen (thawed) riced cauliflower as well and didn’t have any issues. I am used to using it though, so I did simmer my marinara (homemade) longer to compensate for the extra moisture. I did not wring out the water like I would usually do. I let it thaw at room temp. I absolutely love this recipe, even though I’m not usually a marinara or cabbage roll fan!
Grama Muffy
This looks amazing and I want to make it tonight.
I can’t seem to be able to find the serving size.
I’m sure I just skipped it somehow.
Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
The serving size is on the recipe card – 1 cup.
Marisa
It was delicious! I added a small diced onion to the meat. I also cooked it on the stove in a skillet. I added the cheese in the end. Will definitely be making this again!
Thank you!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy to hear that, Marisa! Thanks for stopping by!
Myrna
This was delicious and my family liked it too. They mixed in rice with theirs, lol, but they still ate it. I found that I needed to bake it for 60 min, though, to get the cabbage tender. Super yummy dish!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you and your family liked it, Myrna! Please come back soon!
Barbara
Do you know how many weight watchers points per serving?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Barbara, Sorry, I don’t have that info. There are calculators online where you can enter the ingredients and check.
Sarai
This looks amazing! I really love tomato sauce but lately it has been upsetting my stomach 🙁 Do you recommend a different sauce? Perhaps Alfredo or pesto?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Sarai, Yes, you can use a difference sauce if you’d like.
Helen
Thanks for the recipe. I made it exactly to the recipe and yum! I added red capsicum and mushrooms to the leftovers……double yum.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I ma so happy you liked it, Helen!
ecbound
Where do the 6 grams of sugar come from?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
It comes from the cauliflower, cabbage, and mostly the marinara sauce (which has no sugar added, but tomatoes have natural sugar).
Patricia Picard
Hi there, I am new to this Keto diet. I have a question, how do I rice cauliflower?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Patricia, Simply run the cauliflower florets through a food processor with grating blade. Alternatively, you can also pulse using a knife blade (just don’t keep it running with a knife blade, pulse only).
Jessica Vieths
Could you use shredded cabbage slaw (like I use for eggroll in a bowl)?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Jessica, Yes, you definitely can!
Maryjane heady
This was fabulous!!! I actually put 3/4 of cheese in it and topped with rest at last 15 min
Loved it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Oooh, that sounds delicious, Maryjane! Thanks for stopping by!
Breanna Connor
Do you think I would need to add more oil if I use ground chicken instead of beef? Just curious. I live where beef is not available. Thanks.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Breanna, I haven’t tried it with ground chicken but I’m sure it would work. You could add some oil or not, up to you!
Janelle
Hi, I love the look of this recipe and thought I’d make it for a family dinner. Could I add other veggies such as carrot or sweet pototo to make it go further? Can’t wait to give it a go. Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Janelle, Harder veggies like carrot or sweet potato probably wouldn’t cook to soften enough in the amount of time that the rest of the recipe is ready. So if you’re using those, pre-cook them first, and after that you can add them into the casserole before baking.
Lisa
I made this…and it was delicious..I will be making it again. I love anything that you can throw together and bake. Thank you so much for sharing.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you for stopping by, Lisa!
oodles_or
This has to be one of the easiest and tastiest dishes we have had in a long time. Trying to go lower carbs and this was absolutely delicious. The only thing I added was a dash of worcestershire sauce. I had a neighbor that loved it and asked for the recipe right off the bat. Thank you for sharing. We are going to try ground turkey next time.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I love to hear that! Have a great day!
Katie
Hi! Does the dish come out watery? I am making it tonight and my cheeky husband said “won’t that get watery??!” Lol. Thought I’d ask. Can’t wait to try this yumminess!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Katie, Not really, maybe just a little bit. You can see how much in the pictures. Hope you liked it!
Karen L Phillips
I made this delicious recipe tonight and my husband had positive comments even though he didn’t think he’d like the combination of ingredients when he saw the list. He is not a cauliflower rice fan. We both had a second helping of the casserole and plan to take some leftovers for lunch at work this week. Thank you for a tasty recipe to add to my low carb menu!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Karen! I am so happy you and your husband liked the casserole! Thanks for stopping by!
Cambri Jones
Could I make this ahead of time and put in the freezer?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Cambri, Yes, you can! I recommend baking it first, then freeze. Reheat in the oven at 350 (straight from the freezer) until hot.
Melissa Ann
Hi, quick question, is this really all supposed to fit in a 13×9 pan??? Mixing everything together was a huge mess. I had 600g of cabbage which supposedly is 6 cups, and had the 4 cups of cauliflower. Also didn’t seem like enough sauce, but I had the required amount. Am I possibly doing something wrong?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Melissa, Yes, it’s a 13×9 pan. I decided to stir everything in the pan to use less dishes. If that’s challenging, feel free to mix everything in a large bowl first. It ended up being enough sauce for me after baking, but if you want to use more, feel free. It’s a pretty flexible recipe. I hope you liked it!
prplcws
I ended up using two pans for mine! One 13 x 9 and another casserole dish. I mixed it all in a huge bowl as I saw there was no way to mix all this in the pan!
I put the cabbage and cauliflower mix in the bottom, then poured the meat sauce over top… super easy!
Delish!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thanks for sharing with us!
Edith
What could you use instead of the avocado oil? Can’t have anything avocado. (Cheese either, but I know I can leave that out.)
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Edith, Olive oil would also work fine. Preferably not extra virgin, because that has too low of a smoke point for the oven temperature.
Michelle
Hi there!
I love when your recipes include videos, would you mind uploading one for this?
Michelle
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Michelle! It’s on my list to add one for this recipe.
Grace Hall
This looks so delish. I live alone and would make it for 4 and freeze, but when reduced down the amounts become mind boggling to measure. I mean what is 0.33 of a teaspoon? Is there any way you could put in metric measurements for us Brits?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Grace, I usually freeze extras, too. I agree that not every recipe divides well to any number of servings we want. I do plan to add metric measurements soon and hope that will help!
Sara
If using frozen rice cauliflower should I cook it first?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Sara, No, you don’t need to cook it separately. But, you would need to defrost it and squeeze out any excess water from any ice crystals that may have been on it.
Sara
This was fantastic and even my pickiest eaters ate this. I’m glad I was able to get them to eat some different vegetables other than corn or potatoes.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you so much, Sara!
Eva
Delicious!!! My family loved it. I only added green olives and we did not use cheese because my daughters are allergic to dairy.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy the whole family liked it, Eva!
Sami
This was so good, so simple and I’ll make it again for sure! I used chicken because I had it on hand and I didn’t have mozzarella, so I used sharp cheddar cheese and it turned out great! Next time I will use ground beef and mozzarella and there will be many next times! Yummy!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I love all your substitutions, Sami! I am glad you liked it!
Melba Bradley
What is riced cauliflower?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Melba, Riced cauliflower is cauliflower florets that has been grated to the size of rice. You can use a food processor with a grating attachment, or a box grater, to make it from cauliflower florets.
John
Was good. Needed more salt. But better to salt your own portion than add too much. Tasty. You would swear the cauliflower was rice. Will make again!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, John! I always use Julia Child’s recommended salt ratio for meat (1 tsp per pound of meat). I didn’t add extra salt aside from the meat since my marinara sauce was salty enough, but I’m sure that varies depending on which marinara sauce you use. You can definitely add more salt to the cabbage and cauliflower if you want to. I’m so glad you liked it!
Jenniffer
I wonder how it would be without the riced cauliflower? I’m not a huge fan of it. Usually the rice in cabbage rolls is meant to bind the meat together. At least that’s what I thought! My grandma was from Poland and this was definitely her best dish! looking forward to the memories!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Jenniffer, Sure, you can make it without the riced cauliflower!
Katherine
You list the ingredients but not the amounts.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Katherine, the amounts and instructions are right on the recipe card above.
Kayley
This was a good recipe. My 4 year old even ate it without complaint!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I love to hear that, Kayley! Thanks for stopping by!
Cheryl
Any suggestions for replacing the marinara sauce? I have an allergy to tomatoes. Thanks.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Cheryl, The flavor would be different without tomatoes, of course, but personally I think it would also be delicious with Alfredo sauce like this.
Connie
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I plan to make it today. I appreciate you sharing recipes for wonderful main dishes and side dishes instead of mainly desserts.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Connie! Let me know how you like it!
Marguerite Lindemann
Do you think that shirataki rice would work in this, as I can’t stand the smell of cooked cauliflower.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Marguerite, I haven’t tried it but it might work. I don’t like the smell of steamed cauliflower either but in this case since we aren’t steaming it, I didn’t detect any. The marinara covers it up quite well.
Stace
Ok, silly question. You are using fresh riced cauliflower? I have only cooked with the frozen riced cauliflower. I know with it I have to squeeze all of the excess water out of it before adding to my recipes.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Stace, Not silly at all! Yes, I used fresh cauliflower rice and didn’t squeeze it. With the way the recipe is written, you can’t squeeze it, since it goes in raw. I haven’t tried it with frozen and am not sure if it would work or be too watery. I’m not positive if frozen cauliflower rice has more moisture or not, but know that putting it in frozen probably wouldn’t get it to cook through. So, if using frozen, you could try thawing it first and then squeeze any moisture out to be on the safe side. I liked the convenience of not having too many extra steps in this recipe.
Lori
I use frozen riced cauliflower all the time. I just pop it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes and then just add it to my recipe. Never comes out watery. Gonna make this for my parents tomorrow!!