Our Cabbage Lasagna is an easy recipe that cooks in about 30 minutes in one skillet! Healthy, hearty, and so flavorful – the whole family loves this dish. Plus, it’s a great way to sneak in extra veggies!
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We’ve never been huge pasta eaters in our house. I mean, sure, the occasional plate of pasta was always delicious, but it’s not something I’ve really missed a lot since going low carb.
The other night, though, man. I had a CRAVING.
I needed lasagna and I needed it immediately. Our lasagna stuffed chicken wasn’t going to cut it, because we’ve had a lot of chicken the past few days. I need something with that classic beef lasagna vibe!
This low carb cabbage lasagna is a bit strange sounding, since it’s made with chopped cabbage instead of lasagna noodles, but it just works.
No, the cabbage will never taste exactly like a traditional lasagna noodle, but it totally satisfied my craving and my family loved it too! That’s a win in my book.
Besides, how could a skillet full of saucy beef smothered in a creamy ricotta mixture not be a win??
Ingredient Notes:
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Cabbage Lasagna – Cabbage is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when you’re craving pasta. But if we’re being honest the pasta itself is usually just a convenient way to get what we really want: loads of cheese and a meaty tomato sauce! The cabbage will soften the longer it cooks in the sauce, and while cabbage lasagna isn’t quite the same as real pasta, it does have a similar vibe after cooking in the sauce and soaking up the flavors.
Meat Sauce – We really enjoy using Rao’s Marinara for any dish that requires marinara sauce. It pairs perfectly with all the cheesy goodness in this skillet lasagna recipe, it has excellent flavor, and it isn’t loaded with sugar! I used lean ground beef but you could use a fattier blend or even a different type of ground meat like pork. You’ll also add some onion and garlic to the meat sauce.
Ricotta Topping – The meat sauce is pretty darn good, but it’s not complete without lots of cheese! You’ll stir in mozzarella with the cabbage and sauce, and then you’ll top the dish with a mix of ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, garlic, and parsley.
- Cheese, cheese, cheese! The key to a tasty dinner. 😉
- The meat sauce along with all that cheese does an excellent job of hiding the fact that you’re eating cabbage and not actual pasta.
- Lasagna is a dish that most kids like and this is just similar enough that they’ll give it a shot. My kids ended up loving this one!
- Cabbage lasagna is healthy and low carb, but it still delivers the same rich flavors and cheesy goodness of traditional lasagna.
How To:
Ground Beef – We’ll start this skillet lasagna recipe by preparing the ground beef for the marinara meat sauce. You’ll want to grab a large, deep skillet. I’m using a 12 inch skillet that’s about 3 inches deep. Heat your skillet and add some ground beef. Break the beef up as it cooks and add some onions and garlic to the skillet. I’m using 90/10 ground beef, so I don’t bother draining the fat, but feel free to drain the grease if necessary.
Marinara Sauce – Once your meat is cooked through, add your preferred low carb marinara sauce to the skillet and combine with the meat, onion, and garlic. This will make a flavorful marinara meat sauce that’ll help convince you that this dish tastes similar to regular lasagna!
Cabbage – Now you can add in the chopped cabbage. The cabbage will likely fill the pan, but just very carefully stir to coat the cabbage in the marinara meat sauce. It’ll cook down quite a bit. Cover the pan and let the cabbage lasagna cook over low heat for about 15 minutes or until the cabbage is as soft as you’d like!
Cheese – My favorite part! When the cabbage is ready stir in some shredded mozzarella. You can’t have lasagna without loads of cheese, right? Mix up some ricotta, parsley, Parmesan, and garlic and spread that mixture over the top of your skillet lasagna.
Finish – Cover the dish again and let this cook for another minute or two – just long enough to heat the cheese. That’s it, guys! Easy low carb skillet lasagna with cabbage! I hope you guys give this a try and let me know what your family thinks! My kids both devoured this one. My littlest was definitely skeptical at first, but once she managed that first bite, she was hooked!
FAQs:
This should last covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. I’ve not tried freezing this low carb lasagna myself but readers have commented that they’ve tried it with mixed results. I don’t think cabbage usually holds up well to freezing.
The longer that the cabbage cooks in the sauce, the softer it will get. If you don’t want any crispiness at all to it and for it to be as tender as possible then you could boil or steam the cabbage first before adding it in with the marinara meat sauce.
Our recipe is for a skillet version of cabbage lasagna and it really couldn’t be easier! You’ll prepare a meat sauce using your favorite jar of marinara, cook chopped cabbage in the sauce until it has softened, and then spread some ricotta over the top.
What to Serve with Cabbage Lasagna:
Just like a traditional lasagna, our cabbage lasagna goes great with salad and breadsticks!
Our keto Italian dressing is simple to whip up, or try our keto ranch dressing. Both are delicious on a green salad loaded with fresh veggies, like tomatoes, cucumbers, diced peppers, and greens.
For the breadsticks, you’ll want to keep it low carb by whipping up a batch of our cauliflower breadsticks. Our keto cheddar bay biscuits or garlic bread chaffle are also good choices!
More Easy Dinner Recipes:
Pizza Stuffed Zucchini: hollow out a zucchini and top it with your favorite pizza toppings!
Cream Lemon Chicken: This saucy chicken happens about once a week in this house! So good!
Garlic Butter Shrimp: If you love shrimp, you have to try this simple recipe.
Sheet Pan Chicken and Green Beans: Just about the quickest thing to toss together ever!
Skillet Cabbage Lasagna
Ingredients
For the lasagna:
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ onion minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 medium head cabbage cored and chopped
- 24 ounces Rao’s Marinara
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
For the ricotta topping:
- 2 cups ricotta
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef.
- Brown the beef until about halfway cooked, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add the onion and garlic to the meat mixture and cook, stirring often, until the meat has cooked through.
- Add the marinara to the meat and stir to combine.
- Add the cabbage to the skillet and carefully stir to coat the cabbage in the meat sauce.
- Once the cabbage has cooked down a bit, cover the pan with a lid and continue cooking for 15 minutes over low heat or until the cabbage is as soft as you’d like.
- Remove the lid and add the mozzarella to the skillet. Stir well to combine.
- To make the ricotta topping, add the ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, and parsley to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Spread the ricotta mixture over the cabbage and cover the pan and cook over low heat for 2 minutes to warm through.
- Serve immediately.
Deb N. says
Tried this. A bit of a fail with ricotta on top. Next time I’m putting th mozzarella o top and mixing ricotta in the body of the meal. Also needed more seasonings
The Cianci Family says
I’ve made this delicious recipe for our keto diet and my son has commented that he felt like he was eating something he shouldn’t be eating. Thank you for bringing us this tasty meal idea!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you all enjoyed the recipe! <3
Margie McGeeI says
I would love to have the oven version of this recipe. How can I find it and what is it called.
Karly Campbell says
I don’t have an oven version of this on the website, but you can use the search bar on the site and search for lasagna to see our other lasagna recipes. 🙂
Kathleen Smith-Diaz says
I just made this, and my husband absolutely loved it! So delicious! So cheesy!
Becky says
Just made it and it was delish, even better the next day. Definitely a keeper.
Karly Campbell says
So happy to hear that!
Jackie says
Can I substitute cream cheese for the ricotta? I always have cream cheese on hand.
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried it, but if you like cream cheese in lasagna, that would likely work fine. Might be a bit thick.
jackie says
Could you add air fryer cooking instructions (preheat?, temperature, times, turn?) to your recipes?
Karly Campbell says
We do on the ones that we test in the air fryer, but not on the ones we don’t. We don’t want to just guess and then get it wrong.
Linda says
we love this …it still is wonderful after being frozen
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Linda! Glad to know it freezes well too!