If you like cabbage as much as I do, you are going to love this delicious Keto Cabbage Rice. You will be surprised at how well this dish scratches the itch for rice without all the carbs to weight you down. It is super-easy to make and makes a great weeknight side dish.
If you have never tried cabbage rice, you are in for a treat!
I love cabbage, so when I first heard the suggestion that you could use it as "rice" much like cauliflower, I knew I had to give cabbage rice a try.
I was blown away by the results!
This dish is super-simple but flavor-packed. It is so good that I had to stop myself from eating a whole bowl so I could take a photo. Give it a try, and I think you will be hooked too.
Ingredients
- Cabbage: I like green cabbage because you don't have to worry about the bleeding of colors that you can have with purple cabbage.
- Avocado Oil: Feel free to use your favorite high-heat cooking oil.
- Chopped Onion: Use a yellow or white onion.
- Jalapeno: Brings a touch of heat to the dish.
- Chopped Tomato: Feel free to omit to lower the carb-count.
- Minced Garlic: Use fresh, frozen, or jarred.
- Tomato Paste: Use a low-sugar brand.
- Ground Cumin: You could use chili powder for a different flavor profile if you don't have cumin.
- Sea Salt: Enhances all the flavors.
- Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed is best.
- Cilantro: Feel free to skip it you don't like cilantro.
Is Cabbage Keto?
Yes - cabbage is a great option for a keto diet. One cup of raw chopped cabbage has just 2 net carbs per serving, making it roughly equivalent to cauliflower.
Buying and Storing Cabbage
Look for cabbage that are smaller with thin outer leaves and bright color. Store loosely wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator for about a week. Remove the tough outer leaves before using.
Serving Suggestions
Since this has Southwestern-inspired flavors, I like to serve it with Taco Lettuce Wraps, Fajitas, Tacos, and Quesadillas.
It is also exceptional as an easy side to chicken. Try this Grilled Chicken or this Air Fryer Chicken.
Tips & Tricks
- Chopping the Cabbage: A food processor is hands down the best way to get your cabbage chopped fine.
- Watch the Heat: Adjust the amount of jalapeno to suit your spice preference. For a milder dish, remove the seeds and membranes.
- Storage: Leftovers will keep for two or three days. Make sure you keep them in a sealed container so the rest of your fridge doesn't start to smell like cooked cabbage!
How to Make Cabbage Rice
See the printable recipe card below for the full recipe with measurements.
First, start by cutting the cabbage into rice. I prefer to do this in the food processor because is is fast and easy. If you don’t have a food processor you can also use a box grater to grate the cabbage.
Once you have your “rice”, heat oil in a skillet to medium heat. Add the cabbage, onion, jalapeno, tomato, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Add in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, and water. Cover and cook for 12 minutes.
You May Also Like
- When you are craving comfort food, it doesn't get any better than this Keto Mashed Cauliflower.
- Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice is another fabulous side that works well with Mexican flavors.
- Looking for a classic side that the whole family will love? You will love this Keto Coleslaw!
- Keto Creamed Spinach is a deliciously decadent side that the whole family will adore.
Cabbage Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 jalapeno seeded and diced
- ½ chopped tomato
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Chop the cabbage into pieces small enough to fit in a food processor. Pulse until it resembles rice.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the cabbage, onion, jalapeno, tomato, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, cumin, salt, and ¼ cup of water. Cover and cook for about 12 minutes.
- Stir in lime juice and garnish with cilantro.
Nutrition
More Keto Cabbage Recipes
- This Italian Roasted Cabbage has just 5-ingredients and is full of flavor.
- Cabbage Casserole is a delicious low carb meal that never fails to satisfy!
Joshua Taylor says
This is my new favorite riced cabbage recipe. SOOO good. Thank you!
Wendy Polisi says
So glad that you enjoyed it!
Helen CW says
I made this tonight and am in love! My jalapeno was spoiled so I used cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Next time, I am making sure to have my jalapeno peppers in the dish. I squeezed lime juice and sprinkled with cilantro on my plate, and it was so delicious. I did not rice the cabbage but used cabbage sliced for slaw (not the bagged one, freshly cut) which id cute into smaller pieces. This was easy, fast and turned out so well. I think I will make this again. It was so good, I shared it on 3 keto groups I am in.
Wendy Polisi says
I am so glad that you liked it as much as we do! Thanks so much for sharing.
Wendy Dawson says
Can this be frozen after cooking?
Wendy Polisi says
Yes, you could freeze this. Cabbage has a lot of water, so the texture will change a little.
Marisa says
I needed a side for hake and doing keto so I had red cabbage in the fridge and searched for recipe and found this to have all the other ingredients I already have. Came out surprisingly good. I added some masala spice as well. It worked amazingly with the hake and is so super tasty!
Jennifer V says
Surprisingly delicious! We've been missing our favorite spanish rice since going ketovore. I did adapt this to our original recipe by use garlic powder, onion powder and a bit of oregano. Only omitted the fresh garlic but kept everything the same. May add chicken broth in place of the water next time. Simple to make, even my husband who was a true rice fan said that I could make it again! May try using this recipe to go the fried rice route. Thank you for adding some variety to our menu!