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Ground Beef and Cabbage

If you’re looking for a ground beef and cabbage recipe that strays from the usual Asian stir fry seasoning blend, you’re in the right place. This recipe pairs extra lean ground beef with cabbage, carrots, and a bold and peppery seasoning blend. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or their lower carb cauliflower alternatives for a week’s worth of well balanced, high protein meals.

ground beef and cabbage with carrots in a skillet

How to Make Ground Beef and Cabbage

There are tons of ways to make this combo. You can make a quick stir fry, steam or slow cook, bake casserole-style, and more. My method meets somewhere in the middle, keeping cabbage and carrots tender crisp to give the dish added texture but enough time to pick up flavors.

Speaking of, I borrowed the seasoning blend from my Traeger smoked tri tip for this ground beef and cabbage. It’s a salty, peppery, sweet, and savory blend of salt and pepper, onion and garlic powder, chili powder, dark brown sugar, and ground coffee.

Simmer all that with a blend of Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, and you have the perfect situation for elevating cabbage.

ground beef and cabbage with carrots in a bowl with rice

You’ll have to trust me on the coffee. The bitterness just works wonders with all the other flavors.

You can serve this over rice, mashed potatoes, or your choice of side. I’d highly recommend the lower calorie blend of mashed potatoes and cauliflower from my hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes recipe.

More Ground Beef and Vegetable Combos

My site has a beaucoup of simple ground beef and veggie recipes like this ground beef and cabbage. Here’s a handful of my top recommendations:

That should cover everything. The printable recipe card is below. And if you have any questions feel free to drop them in the comments at the bottom of the post. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

ground beef and cabbage with carrots in a bowl with rice

Ground Beef and Cabbage

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Extra lean ground beef with cabbage, carrots, and a bold peppery seasoning blend.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Ground Beef (96/4)
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 8 oz Shredded Cabbage (about 1/2 a head)
  • 6 oz Shredded Carrots
  • 1 cup Beef or Chicken Broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons (24g) Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Coffee
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder

Instructions

  1. Brown the ground beef with the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat before breaking apart and fully cooking.
  2. Add the seasoning blend, Worcestershire sauce, and about 1/4 of the broth. Stir everything together until evenly incorporated.
  3. Add the cabbage, carrots, and remaining broth. Stir everything together and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender crisp, about 6-8 minutes. (You can cook longer with more broth if you'd like them completely softened.)
  4. Salt and pepper to taste (I added about 1/2 teaspoon of salt) and serve over rice, mashed potatoes or cauliflower, or on its own.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: about 6 oz
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 140Total Fat: 4gCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 16g

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Dina Renee

Saturday 1st of June 2024

This was delicious, I did not add coffee or Worcestershire sauce because I did not have it on hand and it was still phenomenal. So easy to make, can't wait to make it again adding all the ingredients. Thank you.

Karen

Sunday 19th of May 2024

This came out SO GOOD! We made with mashed potatoes and was a hit!

Jen C

Friday 17th of February 2023

This was exactly what I was looking for, a quick and easy recipe, pantry staples and so good! I will definitely be making this again.

Kathy Medina

Saturday 16th of July 2022

I am not a coffee drinker and don't want to buy a container of coffee Will the recipe suffer if I leave this ingredient out? BTW your Cheesy Hash Brown Breakfast Muffins (with Morning Star crumbles) were a sensation at my house. Thanks!!

Mason Woodruff

Friday 29th of July 2022

Thank you! I think this would be fine without the coffee, but maybe you could try to snag a K-cup or stick of instant coffee from the office.

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