Well guys, I’m almost a third of the way through the Whole30. And I have to say- I actually don’t want it to end!
I feel GREAT. Not only have I noticed numerous health/physical changes, but I haven’t been this excited about cooking in a while. I’m cooking with ingredients I haven’t really used before, and finding super creative ways to make classic recipes to stay within the guidelines of the Whole30.
Which brings me to my recipe for this post.
Ever had stuffed cabbage? It’s one of those delicious, simple tasting dishes that is oh-so-comforting.
But it’s often NOT a simple process to make: it requires blanching pieces of cabbage, filling them with a mixture of beef and rice, rolling them like enchiladas, and baking. It can take a very long time to prep as well as cook.
This Spicy Stuffed Cabbage Casserole takes only FIVE MINUTES OF PREP.
It’s a hassle-free way to get the awesome homemade taste of stuffed cabbage, but your slow cooker does all the work.
No rolling, no blanching… just mix some things together and turn on!
And this version is Whole30 (and Paleo) compliant, because instead of using rice as in traditional stuffed cabbage, cauliflower rice is used instead. (But don’t worry: I included directions for using brown rice in the recipe below if prefer for all you grain-eating people.)
Let’s talk about cauliflower rice for a minute.
If you’ve been on Pinterest in the last few months, chances are you’ve seen something about this latest grain-free substitute for rice. And I have to say… it’s pretty darn good!
The taste of cauliflower is neutral enough that it can mimic rice in texture for many dishes, without overpowering the flavor. I made burrito bowls the other night with my smoky Mexican pulled chicken over cauliflower rice, and it was awesome!
And since I made a bunch over the weekend, all I had to do was reheat it for burrito bowls and use the rest in this stuffed cabbage casserole recipe.
Here’s a great on how to make your own cauliflower rice.
This recipe is as simple as it comes: both in the way it’s made and in taste.
I love dishes that pack a big punch of flavor, but I also like very simple comfort foods, like this casserole. It has the consistency of chili (and in my opinion, is best eaten with a spoon) and simple Italian flavors from the garlic, Italian seasoning, and fresh parsley added at the end.
It’s a wee bit spicy from crushed red pepper- but if spicy isn’t your thing, you can certainly omit it.
And the best part? This recipe makes a TON. On thing I’m finding on Whole30 is that I need much less food in order to be satisfied. This is because the food that you do eat is extremely nutrient-dense.
We ate this for dinner, for lunch the next day, AND I have a good amount in my freezer just waiting for a night that I’m too busy to cook.
Three quick tips:
- Go heavy on the salt. Because the ingredients are somewhat bland and simple, you’ll need a lot of salt to season it.
- When you mix the ingredients together, you may need to use your hands. Since there are so many ingredients, and very little liquid, it will be hard to stir with a spoon.
- Make sure you add the fresh parsley at the end and not before cooking. Fresh herbs are almost always added toward the end of recipes, so their flavor is stronger and brighter.
And finally, if you aren’t on a dairy free diet, I believe this would be AMAZING with some mozzarella cheese melted on top. Just add it on top of the casserole after its done cooking and place the cover back on, and let it melt for a few minutes before serving!
Sigh. I do miss cheese.
Recipe below. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cabbage roughly sliced (about 4-5 cups total)
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced
- 1.5 lbs. ground beef (uncooked)
- 15 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups cauliflower rice (see notes)
- 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Stir together all ingredients except fresh parsley in a 7-8 quart slow cooker, making sure it's well combined.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3.5-4 hours, or until beef is fully cooked.
- Stir in fresh parsley.
- Serve!
Notes
- You can use frozen cauliflower rice or pulse raw cauliflower florets in your food processor until it resembles the texture of rice. Regular rice can also be used if you are not following a grain-free diet. Use 1 cup of uncooked rice and add 2 cups of chicken broth, veggie broth, or water to the casserole before cooking.
- Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
- If you are using a very lean ground beef, I recommend adding just a little bit of liquid to the casserole- just a half cup of water, chicken broth, or veggie broth.
- Optional: add mozzarella cheese! Just add it on top of the casserole after its done cooking and place the cover back on, and let it melt for a few minutes before serving.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Terri Fagan
Sorry, but this recipe was not a winner with my family. I love to try new whole30 recipes because the program just gets so boring a few weeks in; but this one did not work for us.
I followed the directions exactly and slow cooked for 8 hours. I tasted it when I got home from work and it just has no flavor at all. You can taste the heat of the red pepper; but nothing else. I tried adding more salt; added some buffalo sauce, and even sliced and added 2 bell peppers and let cook/soften a bit. Maybe the smoky paprika someone suggested would help. It really needs some spices, in my opinion.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Adding some more spices is a great way to boost the flavor of this recipe – it definitely is a bit on the blander side of things. Also going heavy on black pepper also helps. Better luck next time!
Julia Goldberg
Do I need all the butter?
Elizabeth Lindemann
You can definitely cut the amount of butter in half, or even more if you prefer!
Josie
I made this today on a snowy day, and it was delicious!! I cooked to recipe directions(did 8 hours on low), except for I added an additional can of crushed tomatoes, and I did stir through out and added salt. In total I did a about a tablespoon of salt. I added fresh mozzarella at the end too… it was sooo yummy!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
EllyG
I am giving it a go using up leftover cabbage and cauliflower cheese but am using Meatless Farm mince as I am a vegetarian. I have added smoked paprika as well as the chilli for a deeper flavour. If it turns out a little wet I will add some cooked rice later. I am thinking mashed potatoes or garlic bread as an accompaniment. My kind of comfort food.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yum I love the idea of adding smoked paprika!
Olivia
I made this in an Instant Pot and used uncooked jasmine rice instead of cauliflower rice. Method: Sautee meat and onion in IP until browned, add rest of ingredients EXCEPT cabbage, substituting 1 cup uncooked rice instead of cauliflower rice. Stir. Pour 1 cup broth over mixture. Add sliced cabbage. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Natural release for 8 minutes then let out steam.
Note: the rice I used usually cooks in 15-20 minutes according to package directions. If you use the kind that usually takes ~45 minutes, then you will want to cook it longer in the IP,
This was a great make ahead meal for meal preps but I found that it needed salt. I also didn’t use any butter or ghee, which could have been the cause for some of the missing flavor.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for sharing this method and suggestions!
Regelyn
love this, thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you like it!
Walter
Hi. I’m making this right now. Question…Did you stir this frequently? I know you are not supposed to open the lid for slow cooker cooking, but for cabbage, I would guess that this cooks down and softens from the bottom of the cooker, upwards. I’m tempted to stir this every couple of hours to make sure it cooks down (cabbage softens) evenly.
Elizabeth
No need to stir! Just stir it at the end when it’s finished ???? hope you like it!
Walter
Lets see. 2# ground turkey, fried, 1 large head Cabbage, 1 head Cauliflower, 1 Green Pepper, 3 Onions, 1 large can Tomato Puree, 1 can Diced Tomatoes, and a few other things. I had enough to fill my 8 Qt. and my 6 Qt. to the top. It cooked in 6-1/2 hrs. Very soggy. My Wife strained everything. But, its great! Go;s with mashed potatoes. Will make this again.
Walter
P.S. I stirred.
Carla
Very good but since I am Texas, I used ground cumin, tomato paste, 8oz, of chicken broth and pico and salsa spices instead of Italian Herb, and 1/4c of Franks Hot Sauce. Delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Glad you liked it! I’m in Texas, too! :-)
Theresa
If I swap out beef with turkey, do you think any other modifications would be needed?
Elizabeth
Hm, I think the only thing is that it might take a bit less time to cook- since turkey is leaner, it will overcook faster. Maybe just check on it a little earlier. Other than that, I think you’d be good to go!
Dana
Loved this! Your mozzarella comment inspired me to add a tablespoon of compliant mayo to make it creamier. Also added a splash of Frank’s Red Hot to make it spicier. Yum Yum!
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it!
Virginia Sears
Delicious and easy!
Elizabeth
Glad you liked it!
Mike
Stupid question…..but, I assume you cook the ground beef first, right? I’ve never just tossed raw ground beef in a slow cooker before.
Elizabeth
Nope, just add it raw! I promise it will cook all the way. That’s what makes this recipe super easy.
Debbie M
It sure looks good. I am going to make it now. Just wonder how many serving does this recipe make and if you know how many carbs in per serving. Love the recipes but not everyone puts the calories, carbs or serving. Thanks debbie
Elizabeth
Sorry for the delayed response! I’m in the (very slow) process of updating my recipes to include nutrition information. I went ahead and updated this post, thanks to your question, with the info. Looks like it’s about 18 g. carbs. Hope that helps!
Lori
this is awesome! thank you for this inspiration. i never made my mom’s cabbage rolls because of the labor. i also haven’t put raw ground meat in the crockpot…always thought the flavor was enhanced with browning first, but not in this case. easy=yum! i added a few extras: a bit of tomato paste, pureed butternut squash, coconut animos, paprika. mine didn’t take as long to cook. all kids loved too. it’s a printer (keeper!). thanks again :)
Elizabeth
So glad you liked it! I agree about the browning ground meat thing- but when I’m in a hurry, in certain recipes with lots of other flavors and textures, I feel that it doesn’t make much of a difference anyway (so I skip it to make my life easier). Thanks for the comment, and I LOVE your suggestions, especially the pureed butternut squash!
lindsay
How long would I cook in Instant Pot? thank you!
Elizabeth
So, I’ve never tried it in the IP, but you’re in luck- another reader commented how she made it in the instant pot in the comment right above yours! I’ll add it to my to do list to add the instructions in the note on the recipe card, too. Hope this helps!
lindsay
thank you!! i saw that just after I posted… didn’t mean to add double work. appreciate it!
Elizabeth
Not a problem at all!
Danae
Hello Elizabeth – thanks for an amazing recipe! I combined yours with another I found for an Instant Pot to sort of figure out the cook-times and all that. It yielded AMAZING delicious results, so I thought I’d share with you and your other readers.
I used the “Saute” mode to brown the ground beef for about 5 minutes, sprinkled with a lot of salt & pepper. After it was cooked through, I added ALL the other ingredients EXCEPT the cabbage and cauli rice. Pressure Cook on “High” for 15 minutes.
Then, I released the steam and all that, opened ‘er back up and added a packet of pre-shredded Cabbage from Trader Joe’s and a frozen pack of Cauli Rice. I did not mix the ingredients, so the cabbage sat on top of the juicy mixture, instead of mixed through. Pressure Cook on “High” for another 3 minutes.
It came out incredibly juicy & mouth-watering delish! I ended up adding about a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of Whole30 Compliant marinara sauce at the end just to add some more tomato flavor. Because of the shredded cabbage, the consistency came out a bit more like bolognese sauce and I can’t wait to pour the leftovers on top of zoodles or spaghetti squash.
Danae
Oh shoot! I forgot to mention that I added some bone broth to the initial Pressure Cook for some liquid yumminess. It didn’t come out too watery and retained all the amazing flavor!
Elizabeth
Great idea!
Elizabeth
THANK YOU for sharing this! It’s been on my to do list to try and figure out how to do this in the IP, and I’m so excited you already experimented with it! Definitely trying this next time I make this.