Cabbage is a leafy vegetable that comes in green, red(purple), and white colors. Aside from conventional cabbages, two more species are available on the market.
These are savoy cabbage a winter variation of cabbage and napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage. But what about adding cabbages to the keto diet. Is cabbage keto friendly?
Cabbage is a great keto friendly vegetable. In fact, all species of cabbages are low in net carbs and perfect to eat on the keto diet. Regular consumption of ketogenic cabbages will help you to lead a low carb healthy life.
Is Conventional Green Cabbage Low in Carbs?
Cabbage lovers often ask “is green cabbage keto”? Yes, conventional green cabbage is low in carbs and keto-friendly vegetables. You will get 5.8 grams of total carbs from 100 gram sized conventional green cabbage.
It also contains a high amount of dietary fiber i.e 2.5 grams. After subtracting the dietary fiber we get 3.3 grams of net carbs of green conventional cabbage.
Is Cabbage Kick You Out of Ketosis?
The standard keto diet restricts the daily net carb limit to 30 grams. This intake limit contains both heavy meals and side meals.
As cabbage is a very important keto vegetable it is used in both heavy and side meals. That’s why the net carb limit of cabbage is very important to stay in ketosis.
The very low carb of cabbage fulfills these essential criteria. Because of this low-carb cabbage will never kick you out of ketosis.
Is Purple Cabbage Keto?
Purple or red cabbage is a variation of conventional cabbage. Like green cabbage, purple or red cabbage is also low in carbs and keto approved.
One cup of chopped purple cabbage contains 6.56 grams of carbs and 1.87 grams of fiber (1). The net carbs of purple/red cabbage come down to 4.69 grams after deduction of fiber.
Is Napa Cabbage Keto Friendly?
Napa cabbage is also known as Chinese cabbage. This variation of cabbage has the lowest carbs among all cabbage types.
Napa cabbage is very much keto friendly for its tiny carbs content. One cup of cooked napa cabbage contains only 2.43 grams of carbs (2).
Is Savoy Cabbage Keto?
Savoy cabbage is a winter variation of cabbage. This slightly differs from green cabbage. Winter cabbage is a strong flavor compared to conventional green cabbages.
You can add low carb savoy or winter cabbage to your keto approved vegetable list without risking ketosis breakout.
A 100 gram sized savoy cabbage provides 6.1 grams of carbs and 3.1 grams of fiber respectively (3). We get 3 grams of net carbs of savoy cabbage after deduction of dietary fiber.
Is Cooked Cabbage Keto Friendly?
People often ask “Is baked cabbage keto friendly?” Well, cooking or baking does not change much of carbs concentration. That’s why normally both baked and cooked cabbage is considered keto friendly.
However, if you add oils during cooking it will add fats to your cabbage recipe. Which may not be a healthy keto-friendly option for some cases.
It’s because some oils contain unhealthy components like saturated fat and can cause health problems.
Is Cabbage Soup Keto?
Cabbage soup is absolutely keto. Let’s check why. Cabbage soup is prepared by mixing cabbage with water, and tomato.
Hence not only cabbage but tomato is also keto-approved. That’s why cabbage soup is keto. Furthermore, you can add garlic salt and black pepper for additional taste.
Like other ingredients, garlic salt and black pepper are keto-friendly also. So, it’s another added benefit for cabbage soup to add to your favorite ketogenic dishes.
Is Fried Cabbage Keto?
Fried cabbage is keto as frying cabbage does not add many carbs to cabbage. Moreover, it does not depend upon what oil is used for cabbage frying.
It’s because the majority of oils do not contain carbs. However, some unhealthy oils can be harmful to health and you should avoid these.
Moreover, some people use butter or margarine during frying. But it is not a healthy habit. It’s because although butter is keto-friendly it is high in saturated fat and sodium.
Also, keto margarine is high in both sodium and saturated fat like butter. As high consumption of both saturated fat and butter is not beneficial for health, you should avoid both.
Is Cabbage Good for Keto Diet?
Yes, all species of cabbages are low in carbs and the perfect choice to add to the keto diet. The low carb and high fiber combination of cabbage will help you to stay in ketosis.
In fact, the carb-restricted formula of cabbage helps to attain the most important symptoms of ketosis i.e
- Oily yellow ketosis pee color
- Pee smells like bacon or meat
- Dark yellow ketosis poop color
- Bad keto poop smell
- Bad breath smell
- Sudden weight loss on keto
- Keto bloat
- Constipation on keto
- Keto pee smells like tuna(for a few cases)
Moreover, the high fiber and low carb combination of cabbage make it one of the best keto vegetables for weight loss.
Furthermore, cabbage is nutrient dense and contains a moderate-high amount of potassium. This potassium can help to prevent potassium deficiency on the keto diet.
Also, the micronutrients and macronutrients of cabbage provide a wide range of extra health benefits along with keto state maintenance.
The important benefits of cabbage are
- Maintaining healthy heart function
- Diabetes and prediabetes a1c goal control
- Lowering high blood pressure
- Improvement of eye and brain health
All of these health benefits of highly nutritious cabbage make it a good choice for keto diet plans.
Cabbage Nutrition
Cabbage contains almost every important nutrient. Let’s check the nutrient breakup of conventional cabbage (100 gram serving).
- Calorie: 25
- Protein: 1.28 g
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrate: 5.8 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Calcium: 40 mg
- Iron: 0.47 mg
- Magnesium: 12 mg
- Phosphorus: 26 mg
- Potassium: 170 mg
- Sodium: 18 mg
- Zinc: 0.18 mg
- Copper: 0.01 mg
- Vitamin C: 36.6 mg
- Thiamin: 0.06 mg
- Riboflavin: 0.04 mg
- Niacin: 0.23 mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.12 mg
- Folate: 43 µg
- Choline: 10.7 mg
- Vitamin A: 5 µg
- Vitamin E: 0.15 mg
- Vitamin K: 76 µg
How Many Calories in a Head of Cabbage?
There are three sizes of the cabbage head and the calories of each one are different from the other. Let’s check in details:
- A small head of cabbage(714 grams) contains 178 calories
- A medium sized head(908 grams) of cabbage contains 227 calories
- A piece of large cabbage head(1248 grams) contains 312 calories
Nutrition Cabbage Cooked
The nutrition value of cooked cabbage without salt slightly differs from raw cabbage. Cooked or boiled cabbage contains almost every nutrient like raw cabbage. It contains essential nutrients like protein, fiber, carbs, iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, B6, A, E, and K.
A 100 gram serving of cooked cabbage provides the following (4)
- Calories: 23
- Protein: 1.27 grams
- Fat: 0.06 grams
- Fiber: 1.9 grams
- Carbs: 5.51grams
- Sugar: 2.79 grams
How to Store Cabbage
Cabbages can be stored at both normal room temperature and freezer. However, using a refrigerator for cabbage storage is the best option.
A properly packed cabbage can stay as long as 6 months in the freezer. To store the uncut cabbage wrap it with a plastic bag without closing the mouth of the bag for air passing.
By following this step whole cabbages can last for at least 5 months. On the other hand, cut pieces of cabbages can last a maximum of 2-3 days in the freezer.
For storage of cut pieces, wrap them tightly with paper and keep the cut pieces in the freezer for 2-3 days.
Keto Cabbage Recipes
Can you eat cabbage raw? Cabbage can be eaten raw, however, it’s better to consume a cooked version. Raw cabbage tastes bitter so it is better to avoid raw.
Several ketogenic dishes are prepared from cooked cabbage. No fry butter cabbage is a widely used cabbage recipe. But is butter cabbage keto?
Yes, butter cabbage is a great ketogenic side dish to be added to your breakfast or lunch. Also, you can replace normal butter with more healthy options i,e
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Chia butter
However, peanut butter can cause constipation problems in some cases. In that case, you should use almond butter to prevent constipation problems.
Cabbage meal is the most popular among the keto dishes made with this nutritious veggie. Some, more amazing side dishes prepared using cabbage are:
- Low carb cabbage vegan soup
- Keto cabbage pot with chicken
- Cabbage keto broccoli rice
- Keto brazil nuts and sliced cabbage mix
- Cabbage roast with keto garlic soup
- Ketogenic nut butter cabbage(no fry)
All of these keto recipes with cabbage are full of nutrients and aid in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Final Thoughts
Cabbage is a low carb keto vegetable. There are five variations of cabbage. These are 3 conventional ones and 2 others. All of these variations are low carb and perfect for the ketogenic vegetable list.
Moreover, this healthy vegetable is a powerhouse of useful nutrients. It helps to reduce blood pressure and heart problems.
Moreover, cabbage aids in healthy eye and brain function and prevents sudden weight gain.
