Italian cabbage stir-fry

Italian cabbage stir-fry

This meal is simple rustic deliciousness. The combination of tart cabbage, luscious basil, and savory beef is melt-in-your-mouth fabulous. This is keto at its finest.

Italian cabbage stir-fry

This meal is simple rustic deliciousness. The combination of tart cabbage, luscious basil, and savory beef is melt-in-your-mouth fabulous. This is keto at its finest.
USMetric
4 servingservings

Ingredients

  • 1½ lbs 650 g green cabbage
  • 1 oz. 28 g butter
  • 1¼ lbs 550 g ground beef
  • 1 tbsp 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp ¼ tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 2 garlic clove, finely choppedgarlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 oz. 85 g leek, thinly slicedleeks, thinly sliced
  • 23 oz. (713 tbsp) 19 g (110 ml) fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 cup 240 ml sour cream
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Instructions

  1. Shred the green cabbage finely with a sharp knife or in a food processor.
  2. In a large frying pan, melt half of the butter over medium heat. Add the cabbage and fry for about 10 minutes or until just softened.
  3. Add vinegar, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Stir and fry for 2-3 minutes or until well incorporated. Transfer the sauteed cabbage to a large bowl.
  4. Heat the rest of the butter in the pan. Add the garlic and leeks, and sauté for a minute.
  5. Add meat, and continue frying until cooked through. Sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  6. Add tomato paste and mix well. Lower the heat a little and add reserved cabbage and fresh basil. Stir until cooked through.
  7. Adjust seasoning and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
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💬 Have you tried this recipe?

What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
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90 comments

  1. Frances
    This comes up in the dairy-free selection. However butter surely counts as dairy? Can ghee be used instead or something else (dairy-free)?
    Reply: #53
  2. Dee
    Can I use ground turkey?
    Reply: #54
  3. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    This comes up in the dairy-free selection. However butter surely counts as dairy? Can ghee be used instead or something else (dairy-free)?

    Many people who are dairy free can eat butter safely because it only has trace amounts of lactose. Yes, ghee can definitely be used instead, as can bacon grease, coconut oil or olive oil as indicated in the Instructions.

  4. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    Can I use ground turkey?

    Ground turkey naturally has less fat than ground beef so you may need to add some bacon grease or extra butter to compensate.

  5. Marie
    Can i sub zucchini for cabbage?
  6. Venencia
    delicious and super easy recipe
  7. Kim
    I added whole thing of tomato paste too...i should've read better. Oh well, not too bad.
  8. Carrie
    This is one of my favorite Keto recipes and I make it frequently. To punch up the flavor, I substitute bulk hot Italian sausage for the ground beef. Wow - so full of flavor. And when it is mixed with the sour cream-mayo topping, it makes a creamy Italian flavored sauce. I don't think this change alters the keto nutritionals too much. Make this recipe!
  9. melisa dusevic
    This was delicious. I thought I wouldn't like it by the list of ingredients but it was amazing! I will definitely make this again! I followed the exact recipe.
  10. Julie-anne Gilbert
    This dish is very tasty, and economical, mainly mince and cabbage. I find the Diet Doctors recipes so helpful. It is so very easy to stick to strict Keto when I am in control of the cooking. Tad harder when traveling though.
    I am going to also do the Asian Cabbage stirfry and the Cabbage with Blue Cheese as well.
    Since going Keto I find we are saving sooooo much money on food. By not buying packaged products etc, just fresh veges, meat, chicken, Whipping Cream we use in our COFFEE MACHINE instead of milk and makes ADDICTIVE KETO COFFEE, it is absolutely delicious and think coffee franchises need to start offering it. People would pay more for KETO COFFEE.
    Very happy with Diet Doctor site and have joined the monthly membership at a small cost for the information given out.
    What a fabulous site. Fantastic recipes.
    I think I overeat the protein though as don't lose weight.
  11. Ryan
    Especially good with some extra vinegar. I doubled the amount of vinegar in mine.
  12. Isa
    Can I use 5% greek yogurt instead of sour cream, or will it mess up the carbs content too much? (New to this)
    Reply: #63
  13. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    Can I use 5% greek yogurt instead of sour cream, or will it mess up the carbs content too much? (New to this)

    You can look at the protein fat and carb count of your specific brand with sour cream to see how they compare.

  14. Aimee
    I'm new to keto and am using Carb Manager to track macros. When I entered this recipe exactly as written, it shows 13g instead of 9g. I have it set to count net carbs, so it's not that. Wondering why the discrepancy and what I should use.
    Reply: #65
  15. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    I'm new to keto and am using Carb Manager to track macros. When I entered this recipe exactly as written, it shows 13g instead of 9g. I have it set to count net carbs, so it's not that. Wondering why the discrepancy and what I should use.

    It's tough to say, though using a higher carb brand of tomato paste may account for it. Carb Manager is generally good, but it's always a good idea to calculate your own macros as different brands of ingredients can vary in macro information.

  16. arianenoula
    Can I use fresh tomato instead of tomato paste? if yes what quantity please? Thank you
    Reply: #67
  17. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    Can I use fresh tomato instead of tomato paste? if yes what quantity please? Thank you

    We have not tested this recipe with fresh tomatoes so I don't have a quantity suggestion. If you decide to substitute, keep an eye on how that will affect the carb count.

  18. Sandy Gill
    Can this be frozen and reheated?
    Reply: #69
  19. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    Can this be frozen and reheated?

    Yes, this can be frozen and reheated.

  20. Justin S
    I didn't really quite like this dish. I made it accordingly, however substituted beef mince for vegan mince since majority of my immediate family don't eat meat. What I loved about this dish however is that it is like a fusion of Asian and Italian.
  21. Lynn
    This was a nice and simple dinner that I was able to make with items on hand. I doubled the recipe and our family all liked it, especially with the added dollop of sour cream. I used dried basil so I look forward to trying this again using fresh basil.
    Reply: #72
  22. Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor

    This was a nice and simple dinner that I was able to make with items on hand. I doubled the recipe and our family all liked it, especially with the added dollop of sour cream. I used dried basil so I look forward to trying this again using fresh basil.

    Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it!

  23. Janet
    I substituted the beef and made this recipe with ground chicken instead, since I don't eat beef. It was heart warming, like comfort food. It was very good, but not great, however it reminded me of dish I used to make my family using pasta....so it was warming. I will make it again since I deem it good comfort food.
  24. Kelly Ann
    Does the nutrition information. Include the sour cream/mayo?
    Reply: #76
  25. balaramrf
    Thanks for this great recipe. I am pretty new to Keto and it might sound stupid but how much is serving size in grams?
    Reply: #77
  26. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    Does the nutrition information. Include the sour cream/mayo?

    Yes, the nutrition information includes mayonnaise.

  27. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    Thanks for this great recipe. I am pretty new to Keto and it might sound stupid but how much is serving size in grams?

    The serving size is not noted in grams. Simply divide the finished dish into the number of servings you set the recipe. You may do this with a visual estimate or by portioning it out into the number of servings noted.

  28. Elise
    This recipe is amazing!!!!!!!! I used some Newmans spaghetti sauce instead of the tomato paste because I didn’t have any and honestly——alsoooo yes!!!!!!
  29. Danyeil
    Absolutely delicious 😋
    Reply: #80
  30. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    Absolutely delicious 😋

    I am happy you loved this one! It is one of my family's favorites.

  31. Sally Walter
    I am concerned about adding so much butter to the cooking after so many years of avoiding eating fats. My partner takes statins and blood thinners, so is it safe for him to try these recipes, then again he would choose pies and chips, bread etc regularly 🤔
    Reply: #82
  32. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    I am concerned about adding so much butter to the cooking after so many years of avoiding eating fats. My partner takes statins and blood thinners, so is it safe for him to try these recipes, then again he would choose pies and chips, bread etc regularly 🤔

    You do not need to fear the fat. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fat However, it is not recommended to consume a diet of foods both high in fat and high in carbohydrates.

  33. Kathleen
    This was good. Didn't use leeks, so I used extra onion powder. Added some ground cayenne pepper. Hit the spot!
    Reply: #84
  34. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    This was good. Didn't use leeks, so I used extra onion powder. Added some ground cayenne pepper. Hit the spot!

    Great job adapting! I have trouble finding leeks in my local store and so I sometimes have to leave them out.

  35. Shahriar Mossavat
    What fat percentage is the ground beef in this recipe (and DD recipes in general)?
    Reply: #86
  36. Charlotte Zwart Team Diet Doctor

    What fat percentage is the ground beef in this recipe (and DD recipes in general)?

    We use 87/13 or 13%. But you can use whatever percentage you like or what is on sale. You can find additional nutrition information by clicking on the "plus sign" just below the ingredients list.

  37. Lynda
    I use carb manager, when I put this recipe into it, the calorie count was 1003,does that sound right?
    Reply: #88
  38. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    I use carb manager, when I put this recipe into it, the calorie count was 1003,does that sound right?

    You can view the full nutrition information for our recipes by clicking the Nutrition+ tab under the list of ingredients. Our calculations show 966 calories per serving.

  39. Maria
    Wonderful recipe - the flavours are subtle but delicious. I actually forgot to add the sour cream - it's not really needed, but would make it a bit yummier I think. Overall another winner, one that I'll make again and again.
  40. Alana
    what might I be doing wrong? after ages of waiting, the liquid would not even reduce, let alone evaporate! I eventually gave up and drained liquid so I could proceed. 2nd issue was basil... which is why I was so excited to try this recipe - it used an entire bunch of basil but I couldn't taste any at all! is that from cooking too long? otherwise tasted nice.
  41. Terri Macklin
    I just made this recipe. I stuck to the recipe steps. I found this dish to be surprisingly delicious! I had not tried leeks before, nor adding vinegar to a dish. But I love both! In fact, the dish was so delicious, that I forgot to add the suggested dollop of sour cream! I'm adding this dish to my favorites!
    Reply: #92
  42. Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor

    I just made this recipe. I stuck to the recipe steps. I found this dish to be surprisingly delicious! I had not tried leeks before, nor adding vinegar to a dish. But I love both! In fact, the dish was so delicious, that I forgot to add the suggested dollop of sour cream! I'm adding this dish to my favorites!

    Awesome! So glad you love it!

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