Crock Pot Cabbage Roll Soup is a comforting, hearty, but keto, low carb meal you can make any weeknight!
Cabbage Roll Soup
You may or may not be a cabbage fan, but honestly you must try this recipe!
This recipe might just win you over. One of the most comforting meals on a cold winter’s day made in your crock pot or just simmer on the stove, but either way it’s a hearty meal for the whole family. Often cabbage roll soup has rice in it, but to make this keto friendly, I swapped it out with the infamous cauliflower and you will love how thick the texture is because of it. In fact I think you’ll love it even more than traditional cabbage roll soup with rice!
Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?
I don’t. I do make short term goals though and feel with a goal, I make steps each day toward reaching it. A monthly or 3 month or even 6 month goal is far easier to see the end result than a whole year long resolution don’t you agree?
Low Carb Cabbage Roll Soup
My hubby finally made a decision (well New Year’s resolution!) to remove the carbs from his diet. I have to say after many years waiting for my man to want to make healthier changes in his life I’m pretty excited about this.
Oh don’t misunderstand though, he eats everything I make at home. It’s when he’s not home, he chooses his love of carb and sugar laden foods and goodies. But making his favorite cabbage roll soup in a low carb version, I wasn’t sure his reaction. I am happy to report, he absolutely loves my keto friendly cabbage roll soup!
Getting your love to desire to be healthier has to be their choice and one I haven’t tried to push because in all honestly you just can’t make someone want something they don’t want. Am I right?
But finally after many years he is focusing on the carbs and sugar and feeling much better all ready.
My job is making sure there is plenty of low carb and sugar free foods for him to eat at home that keeps him full and satisfied and this soup is one of those recipes. He had it for lunch every day last week! A few recipes he often asks for again and again is my Coconut Flour Bread, Peanut Butter Cups and my Keto Cheesecake.
The first time I served this was for a New Year’s Day party with over 50 people and it went fast and everyone was asking for the recipe! I’ve made them all wait until today LOL!
If you’ve had a reluctant family member not ready to embrace a sugar free and/or low carb lifestyle, try comforting recipes like this that they won’t even notice is grain free and healthy! They will hopefully realize it’s not that hard to give up processed carbs and sugar.
Crock Pot Cabbage Roll Soup
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Crock Pot Low Carb Un-Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1/2 cup shallots chopped
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 16 ounces low carb marinara sauce I used Rao's brand
- 2 cups cauliflower riced
- 5 cups beef broth low sodium
- 8 cups cabbage sliced
Instructions
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Heat olive oil and garlic on medium high heat.
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Add onions and shallots and cook until softened.
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Add ground beef and cook until browned and no longer pink.
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Add seasonings to beef and marinara sauce.
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Add the riced cauliflower to the beef mixture and stir until coated.
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Pour the beef into the crock pot.
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Pour beef broth into crock pot and add cabbage.
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Stir to combine everything.
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Cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours. If you don't have a crock pot, simply cook ground beef in a dutch oven or heavy soup pot, follow recipe and simmer on low, covered for about an hour until cabbage is tender.
Recipe Notes
Net Carbs: 6g
Brenda's Notes:
- This recipe was first published in January 2016 and updated with video in October 2018.
- You could reduce the carbs more if you have just a cup as a serving instead of suggested serving.
- If you choose to use rice instead of cauliflower then I would suggest 1 cup of cooked rice and eliminate the cauliflower.
- You can eliminate the cauliflower in the recipe if you prefer. I feel it was a good substitute for rice which is usually in cabbage rolls. I think it thickened it nicely without being very noticeable in texture.
- The sugar amount you see listed below is naturally made from the tomato sauce used.
- You could simply use cooked rice in place of the amount of cauliflower I used.
- I will tell you that not even my hubby noticed cauliflower was in this soup and everyone raved about it!
- Are you unsure about all the sugar free sweetener options and what is the difference between sugar free versus low carb? Here's what you'll see shared on my blog as well. If you're all ready a sugar free fan, but need a little guidance in converting some recipes to sugar free, this post about all the differences with stevia plus a conversion chart might help you.
- And last if you're ready to start the New Year, but need a little more help and guidance you can check out my Sugar Detox Plan .
- You can subscribe for free by email so you won't ever miss any recipes I share on social media.
Did you make or buy the marinara sauce? That would account for the high carbs and sugar. Your sugar content is never that high. I wil give it a try.
It’s my marinara recipe linked within the recipe so it’s homemade, no sugar.
Hi Brenda,
How much marinara sauce is in the ingredients? You didn’t specify in the directions
It’s 16 ounces sauce. There is a problem with the plug in I’m using, it will be fixed.
Hi Brenda,
I can’t figure out how to make my own thread but I was wondering if it’s 8 measuring cups of cabbage or 8 cabbage leaf cups. Thank you!
Can you use c=rushed tomatoes instead of marinara sauce?
yes, might need additional seasonings.
Is this good for a 4 quart crockpot?
I used a 6 quart.
I can’t find the link for your sauce
https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/quick-italian-marinara-sauce-no-sugar-added/
This looks yummy, especially since it’s been so cold and will continue to be cold! I’ve found a jarred marinara sauce that I really like, and it only has 3g net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. I think I’ll sub that in the recipe.
What is the brand of Marinara that you are talking about.
I found Rao’s Maranara Sauce at Walmart. It has 3 net carbs for 1/2 cup.
It is very good.
It’s Rao’s Sauce.
This soup recipe looks awesome, Brenda. I am going to be making it this week, when I work late.
My husband, also, decided he was going to make some drastic changes in his diet. He quit eating sugar two years ago but then recently read that (apparently) wheat is bad for you too! Men are funny. I’ve been telling him that for years. I’ve had issues with wheat since my 20’s and have not eaten it except when there are no other choices. Travelling is the hardest for me. I’ve been low carb for 2 years now and am excited to have him along for the ride! Thanks for all your great recipes. All your hard work makes low carbing easy!
I’m glad I’m not alone with a reluctant hubby! Thank you!
This may sound silly but was that two cups of cooked rice my soup is really thick.
I believe she meant “riced” cauliflower, not “rice” the grain.
Yeah I did 2 cups and it was no longer soup. It was still good but next time I think I’ll put 1/4 cup rice, unless she meant 2 cups cooked rice.
Sorry folks, I will clarify in the directions, I meant 2 cups of “riced” cauliflower. But if you are using rice I would suggest at least 1 cup of cooked rice.
Hi! I think this looks amazing. What is the beef fat content you used/prefer?
I used 80/20 but you can use whatever you like or even ground turkey if you prefer.
Have you tried this with ground turkey?
yes, just as delicious!
That sure looks hearty and delicious! Perfect for the cold weather!
This looks so cozy and comforting! Yum.
What’s not to love? Easy, flavorful and pure comfort!!!
I love how comforting this soup looks – makes me want to make it right now!
loving this soup and I have never had ground beef in my soup so really looking forward to trying this out on my family, thank you Brenda xoxo
Definitely going to be making this soon — LOVE the cabbage rolls!
I am really digging the cauliflower in the recipe – so many people think this ingredient shouldn’t be in soup and I totally disagree. Looks amazing!
Stuffed peppers are one of my boys favorite dinners, I’ll definitely be trying out this soup!
Just to confirm, the ground beef was drained before adding additional ingredients correct?
No I didn’t drain it. You can but I did not.
We all love stuffed cabbage here…I have a feeling your soup will be a big hit in our house!
Have you tried freezing it? Do you know if it holds up? I made this and it was amazing! However, is just me and now I have So. Much. Soup.
I haven’t tried although I do think it would freeze fine.
It does freeze really well. I’ve been making similar soup for years 🙂
Did you ever try freezing it? I was wondering the same thing. 🙂
I have not.
Could this be prepared in an instant pot? I don’t have one so I’ll use a crock pot tomorrow but in the future?
I haven’t tried it yet in the Instant pot but I will be sure to update this recipe for when I do.
Did you every do this in an instant pot? Wondering how long?
I’m sorry I haven’t tried it yet in the Instant pot.
How about rice instead of cauliflower, that’s what I use in my stuffed cabbage?
You surely can use rice but to make it lower in carbs I used cauliflower rice.
If you use rice do you cook it prior to adding it to the mixture or do you add it uncooked?
Yes I would cook it first.
Do you think I could use Quina in it instead of rice? Cooked slow in the slow cooker would make it less chewy as well?
The quinoa would be fine, add in at the last hour.
I made this on Tuesday and loved it! Well, to be honest, I made a version of it by using what I had in the kitchen! 🙂 I used ground turkey instead of beef, chicken stock instead of beef and all cabbage, both green & purple, no cauliflower. I used the Welleslly brand marinara from BJs since it doesn’t have added sugar. It was quite delicious and very easy to make. I look forward to making it as the recipe calls for it after a grocery store trip! I love recipes like this that provide a good base for any meat or veggie I have on hand. Thx!
thank you!
I made this last night for surpper. It was easy to make in the morning and it smelled so good once we arrived home from hockey. It tasted awesome and felt good on a cold day. I kept some for another meal this week and froze one meal’s worth. I used ground turkey instead and reduced the amount of cabbage a bit (to please my young lad) but next time, i will put the whole amount as it was so good. Thank you for the recipe.
So happy you all liked it!
How do you rice cauliflower, or is this something that is bought that way? Could I put raw cauliflower in a food processor and just watch it to make sure it doesn’t turn into mush?
I cut off the stem and place the florets into my food processor then pulse it until it looks about the size of rice.
Thank you!!
Wegmans now sells riced cauliflower. The one in Amherst NY does anyway
If everything is already browned or sautéed can you do this on the stove top?
oh sure you can, just simmer after putting in the sauce for about 30 minutes.
Just made this (with a few exceptions to meet my Daniel Fast requirements). I added chopped carrots and omitted the ground beef, used vegetable stock instead of beef stock and added a splash of apple cider vinegar for a little tartness. Toward the end of cooking, I added a can of cannellini beans. It’s a keeper!
Sounds good!
you made vegetable bean soup.
instead of using the blender, could I put raw cauliflower through my Bosch grater blade? to make the pieces smaller? I think it would be much quicker than several batches in the blender. then just toss it in the raw pieces in the slow cooker or do I have to saute/fry it up?
Yes that would work.
You could make a vegetarian version of this recipe, with chick peas instead of beef
great idea!
Brenda, does this freeze well? It sounds delicious, but we would have a lot of leftovers. Thanks!
We’ve never had it long enough to freeze LOL! Each time I’ve made it it’s been gone quickly. I bet it would be fine though.
Made this tonight; DELICIOUS!!! I will put this in my keeper recipe pile for sure! Thank you for sharing.
thank you!
Made a double batch of this in a big stockpot tonight. It’s tasty!
not a fan of marinara sauce, how would you substitute?
Well it does help thicken it but maybe something spicy like salsa instead?
I absolutely loved this and thank you so much for posting this recipe. I did use ground turkey, double the spices, added a hefty pinch of crushed red chilies,tbsp. of worchestershire sauce, tomato sauce instead of marinara, 1/2 cup red wine to deglaze and 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley and basil in the last 10 minutes as I simmered mine on the stove. Just goes to show you how you can improvise with what you have on hand and end up with an amazing product. ?❤️
I know this is a stretch, but do you know how the nutritional content would change if you used organic ground turkey and low sodium veggie broth?
I’m sorry I don’t. Best bet is to just add ingredients into myfitnesspal.
Question: how is the protein count so high??
I use myfooddiary.com and pay a monthly fee for what I believe to be an accurate measurement of nutrition. It’s been double checked. If you are unsure it is accurate you can also use a calorie counter and input the ingredients into it.
I want to make this today and I see in instructions you have to add marinara but in the ingredients you don’t say how much marinara to buy or how much to use. Or do you mix in into the crock pot or with the beef mixture while cooking?
Thanks
glitch in the recipe plug in working on fixing it
I’m sorry but I’m confused. Where does it say how much marinara to add?
Can I use an Italian sauce? if i can’t find a marinara sauce?
yes
Where can you buy rice cauliflower?
They do sell it packaged at Trader Joes but it’s easy enough to make yourself if you have a food processor.
Can I substitute marinara with the passata, seasoned and a tad bit of arrowroot flour to thicken?
I’m really excited to make this. Looks and sounds delicious, thinking I’ll try ground pork!
Thank you for posting this.
sounds good!
This has become one of my go to recipes. Everyone in the house actually likes it, lol. Recipes that everyone will eat are hard to find. Even my 10 year old eats it and takes leftover for lunch! Thanks so much for a great one!
Can this be frozen?
Brenda,
I am thrilled for some low-carb recipes. keep up the good work!
keep em coming.
Pam
This looks delicious and I’m so anxious to try it out! I do have one crazy question though….
What size crock pot did you use to make this? I have a 5 quart and I didn’t want to start making it and run out of room.
Thanks in advance and keep up the great work! 🙂
The one I used is a 6 quart.
Made this today. Very tasty! This recipe was much better than some other recipes I’ve tried, and the seasoning was perfect. Doing a low carb diet, and in combination with fall, this is a great dish. I used water instead of broth (thought I had some but didn’t) and used ground turkey. Still tasted wonderful, but I’ll see how broth does next time :).
Thank you!
Brenda,
I have made this soup twice. It is delicious!! Thank you for the recipe.
Glad you like it!
Hi, help I made this today and plugged in the macros into my fitness pal ,the macros are waaaaaay off. Ended up with 16 eight oz servings, 173 cal. 7 g fat, 17.8g. Carbs, 9.8g protein. I thought this was low carb. I followed the recipe exactly, it tastes great but oh the carbs.
Hello All. I made this today , I cooked it for around 1hr and 1/2 in my Dutch oven on low. I added a little extra seasoning as well as a little red pepper it was delicious, gave is a little kick. My girlfriend had surgery this
weekend, I am taking a pot for her and her family. This is great comforting food and also good on a cold day.
I wonder if you can sub miracle rice in this recipe? If so only add at the end or can you add it at the same time as the other ingredients?
Yes just rinse it off first then add that last few minutes you are ready to serve. Not sure if it will get mushy though over time in the soup.
Can you just use tomato sauce instead of the marinara?
yes
I am trying to prepare to start the THM lifestyle. What would this recipe be considered?
Thank you
I don’t follow the THM lifestyle so I really don’t know which it would be.
The carb count for a half cup seems really high. Any idea why?
You had said that the first time you served this was a New Year’s Eve party for over 50 people. I would like to make it to take to a wake. Could you tell me please the amounts you used for the 50 people?
I doubled the recipe and used 2 crock pots. Everyone enjoyed a small bowl.
Can you use crushed tomatoes instead of marinara sauce?
I followed the recipe except I used ground turkey in place of ground beef…..DELICIOUS!!!
Thank you!
This is my first time making this. Um…do I put the whole cabbage in the crock pot or do I need to cut it in half, or do I cut it into pieces? Thanks
It depends on how big your cabbage is. I’d slice it up and see how much you have. You need 8 cups.
Delicious! I also made a few changes. I only used one pound of hamburger and I used one cup of cooked brown rice instead of the riced cauliflower. I also put in a bag of fresh baby spinach. Thank you for sharing!
Has anyone tried using bags of preshredded cabbage? I’m not sure what bag size to use. I only have a 4 quart slow cooker, so this might have to be done in a Dutch oven in order to use the full recipe without halving it. Thanks!
Have you made this in an insta pot yet? If so, how long do you set the timer
I’ve not sorry.
Made this recipe last night. I came out extremely tasty for how few ingredients are involved. I misread the ingredient list though and didn’t purchase shallots. However, I read online that you can replace shallots with more onion and garlic, so I did just that. My recipe had 2 medium sized onions, and four gloves garlic. I used Prego as my marinera and my package of 1.34 lbs of ground beef. The amount of beef was actually perfect to me. I think 2 lbs might have been much. Also, without the cauliflower it was already quite hearty. I kept everything else the same, ratio despite the beef reduction, and it was perfect.
Finally got to make this tonight. I had to change a few things due to dietary restrictions, so I used chicken stock and ground bison, cheated with a bag of coleslaw mix, and cooked it on the stovetop since my slow cooker is too small. This is delicious! Thanks for a great recipe. I might add a splash of vinegar next time to make it a bit tangier. My apartment smelled amazing. It was great over rice and will be even better for lunch at work!
I never liked cabbage but I really liked this soup. I used chicken stock instead of beef, and broccoli instead of caulifower because I don’t like cauliflower. I also halved the recipe to make sure I liked it. I really liked it and will for sure will make it again!
How big is the serving size?
Oh my goodness!!! I made this last night. Left it in the crock pot on low and woke up this morning to the amazing aroma. My husband had a bowl for breakfast! This is so tasty. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Wow!
I must admit that I did not think we would like it when I finally had it all on the crockpot! But holy deliciousness! This is amazing!
I used ground chicken breast to save calories (and chicken broth). I did not use onions not shallots (personal preference). I did however add onion powder.
I can’t believe how amazing this tastes. Do happy that the batch was enough to freeze half for another dinner soon and to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Thank you for this receipe!!!
We are making this now, can’t wait to try it!! What is the actual serving size? It says it serves 9 but not sure how much..
1 1/2 cups, my recipe plug in had a glitch and converted all my nutrition servings to 1 gram.
What is the serving size used in your Nutrition label?
1.5 cups per serving
I made this soup today for a family gathering featuring soups/ crockpot creations. It was wonderful! Everyone enjoyed, going back for seconds. I used ground turkey simply as a personal favorite flavor. I also used Newman’s Own Organic Marinara. No added sugars at all. Reasonable in carbs.
This is truly a delicious meal and I do like the convenience of crockpot meals. Thanks! Healthy comfort food? Oh yes!!! ?❤️
Looks amazing! What is the serving size?
1.5 cups per serving
What is considered a serving size for the 9.8 grams of carbs? It doesn’t say what the serving size is.
1.5 cup serving
Your job? you lost me here. Seriously, what is he, 5? even my son started cooking at 6. You are right that he has to make the decisions about his diet, but it’s not your fault if he can’t figure out what to eat. Help him? yes. Be responsible for that? NO. I am not young or gay, I’ve been married for 30+ years to the same man. While I do know that men get into an attitude that you are their Mom instead of their wife, lets not encourage it, OK?
This is definitely KETO friendly and I will be giving this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing!
Any suggestions for how long in a insta pot on the soup setting? I’ve been told this is delicious! I am anxious to try it but would love to use my insta pot;)
Maybe just an hour or two to get the cabbage tender. I’m really sorry I’ve not made it yet for the instapot so I’m guessing here.
Okay! Thank you! I’ll give it a go and let you know:)
I only did 30 mins in the InstaPot and it the cabbage was tender! Set on soup.
I was just going to say I made another soup that had cabbage in it. I used the soup setting on my instapot and that recipe only needed 15 mins and the cabbage was tender. I was going to try that with this soup too. Pressure cooking shouldn’t need as much time.
I tried to go through the comments and didn’t see anything… with the “fixed cauliflower “. Do you enter raw or would you cook it first then add later?
Oops sorry I meant “riced” not fixed
no need to cook the cauli first, it cooks in the soup.
This was so delicious! I’m make my it again this weekend. ThI used a bag of frozen riced cauliflower and Raos Marinara. Such a simple and delicious recipe. Thanks so much!
Thank you!
Made this tonight for my small group. It was a hit! Especially with two of my low carb peeps! Easy to make and fed a large group.
Thank you!
I can’t to nightshades unfortunately – is there any way to make this without the marinara sauce? Thanks!
Maybe just use more beef broth?
Petra, use canned pumpkin and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, for tartness.
Just made this tonite and it’s a big hit! Keeping this recipe forever! I did change a couple of things but I don’t think it affected the overall flavor of the dish. I used half ground beef and half ground pork, 2.25lbs and four cups of broth instead of five. It was an amazing quick dinner for us in the InstaPot!
Thank you!
I left out the cauliflower and used a basil tomato sauce and it was very good. Very filling actually. I was surprised. Thanks for sharing!
Hello, this recipe obviously uses cabbage, but cabbage is not listed or mentioned in how to cook it…? Help! Looks so delicious!
Never mind! ?
This soup is delicious. I added a little fresh basil, chives, oregano and marjoram from my herb garden…just a bit. Also, I added fennel seed because my marina sauce didn’t have any in it. Really, no changes at all needed. What a terrific recipe and so easy.
Can’t wait mine is in the crockpot now. I used ground chicken breast, riced cauliflower, organic crushed tomatoes, low sodium beef broth, onion, green peppers and cabbage and seasonings! 220 calories and 7 carbs
I LOVE this soup! I don’t know why, but any soup with cabbage is automatically amazing, but this soup was even better than I expected. I used just one pound of ground turkey, and I would even do it again with ground Italian sausage. So good.
This looks wonderful!! Stupid question, but how do you measure “8 cups of cabbage”? I try to due everything by weight when ever possible since starting Keto. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!!
I shredded the cabbage and packed it into a large 12 cup measuring bowl I have. It was a level 8 cups.
Thanks for the recipe,
How did you come up with the nutritional box at the bottom? I usually only see that on packaged foods. Love everything you do!
That’s a Word Press Recipe Maker Plug In.
Cabbage and my gut don’t get along but I always did like stuffed peppers so I think I’ll make this the next storm that comes through using red, yellow, orange, and green peppers………and see how it turns out. I’m guessing it’ll be excellent on a cold winter’s day.
do you leave the meat undrained after cooking before adding other stuff?
I did, but you can drain it if you want.
I have tried Cabbage with Beef in several recipes and got this one to try soon. Hope it will be yummy 🙂
I’ve made this several times in the crockpot and we love it!
Do you have cooking times for the instant pot? It’s just more convenient and faster than using my crockpot.
No sorry but I will work on it as I have an instant pot too!
Too bad you can’t rate this – it’s delicious!!! Made it in a Dutch oven which was done in about 45 minutes of simmering. Would be good with a little chili oil to finish it off. YUM!!
I’ve been avoiding making something like this because all the recipes I’ve seen use diced tomatoes, but I’m not a fan of chunky tomatoes. So when I saw you used the marinara sauce I decided to give it a try. So glad I did. It’s still cooling but of course I snuck a taste and OMG! I don’t like onions so I doubled the garlic and used a teaspoon of onion powder. Also, cooked it all in my Instant Pot…perfection! Half is being packed for my lunches this week and freezing the other half for lunches another week!
How long did you cook in the Instant Pot?
I cannot wait to try this recipe, it looks delicious. Going to the store now just to buy the ingredients. I’m excited for a non dairy keto meal. THANKS!
Brenda, where does the high sodium count come from? I think it is probably the combination of ingredients, but what can be done to make this dish low sodium?
I’m guessing from the beef broth even though it’s low sodium you might do better using chicken broth and possibly from the marinara sauce.
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was very delicious and pretty simple to make! The only thing is that the recipe says it’s 9 servings and I didn’t change a thing but reasonably this was about 6 servings and 5 if you have a pretty hungry husband who likes his bowl a bit more than 3/4 full. It seems like 1.5 cups would be enough food for a toddler? Maybe that’s what the 9 servings means?
Could Miracle Rice be used in place of the riced cauliflower?
Sure
This is really good. I have made it several time. My husband loves it and I have made it for company too. No one seems to mind the riced cauliflower.
My kids BEG fort his soup! Even my picky boys love it. I hope it is okay that I shared your recipe with a link back to your blog on my site. Everyone should check out what you have going on over here. Thank you for allowing me to feed my family well.
AWESOME!!!
Very quick & easy and will be making again & again. I added Romano-Parm. cheese to top before serving! So DELICIOUS! THANKS so much!
This was was very good this is definitely a keeper thank you for posting the recipe.!
Well I am also the reluctant husband until I was called back to hospital due to blood sugar. I did find low sugar spaghetti sauce, and no salt beef broth. I am gonna enjoy this! Thanks
I’ve been making every couple of months for over a year now. If you’re wanting to make things even easier, buy a bag of coleslaw mix! The only other thing I do differently is use the 19 oz turkey packs from Aldi, my own homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade chicken stock (I can or freeze HUGE batches at a time), and double the garlic. So good with some crusty bread!