This isn’t one of the most visually appealing recipes to emerge from my kitchen, but one of the simplest! It’s a quick and easy take on spaghetti without the grains. It even got an un-prompted “This is actually pretty good,” from my Italian husband!
My favorite part… it only takes one (oven-safe) pan to make from start to finish and the kids all ate it!
Grain Free Spaghetti Recipe
This recipe uses shredded cabbage in place of spaghetti noodles for a nutrient rich substitution that is grain-free and gluten-free. Sounds strange but tastes great!

One Pan Spaghetti Recipe Over Cabbage Noodles (Grain Free!)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 medium onions
- 1 head cabbage
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to broil.
- In a large oven safe skillet, brown the meat.
- While meat is browning, thinly slice the onions.
- When the meat is almost finished cooking, add the onions and cook until the meat is done.
- Thinly slice the cabbage into "noodle" thin pieces as you would for sauerkraut.
- Add the cabbage to the skillet and saute until softened. You may have to do this in several batches, returning it all to the pan when it is cooked down.
- Stir the spices and spaghetti sauce.
- If using cheese, sprinkle it on top and put the skillet into the preheated oven to melt the cheese.
- Remove and serve with salad and a garlic version of coconut flour biscuits. Salut!
Notes
Nutrition
Do you miss pasta? Ready to try a healthier alternative?
I’ve made “lasagna” using steamed red cabbage leaves as noodles (well – I’m still sensitive to lactose, so it ended up with very little cheese and more like a ratatouille). The thicker parts of the cabbage made great “noodles” to eat on the side, but I didn’t think about making a whole dish that way.
Thank you for the idea of using cabbage for lasagna. I made it the other night with cauliflower and didn’t like it at all, my husband did though. I’m excited to try this spaghetti reciepe.
About two yrs. ago I started eating my spagetti sauce over half rice noodles and half whole green beans in an attempt to at a more gluten-free diet. As I’ve become more grain-free I cut out the rice noodles and I actually enjoy my spagetti sauce over just the whole green beans. No gut-ache or sluggish slump after spagetti dinner for me anymore! Now I’m curious and excited about trying out the cabbage thing too ;D
i made this last night for the first time. it turned out great. my husband ate three plates. he never even mentioned that it was made with cabbage. i was quite amazed! thanks!!!
I made this tonight and I almost ate the whole batch! That’s how good it was! I added italian sausage and I am full and…sleepy! LOL!!
Thanks for this delicious recipe. We made it last night and it was great!!!
Um… Thank you for bringing spaghetti back into my life. Made it tonight. Can easily see this staying.
I am on a low glycemic diet and this looks like I can eat this with no problem!! Thank you!!!
My family has only been grain-free for a couple of weeks, but I’ve been trying to think of pasta substitutes, especially for my son – recipes like this one are really what I miss about pasta, they’re so simple, comforting and homey!
I would never have thought of using cabbage, but I’ve got half a head of it sitting in my fridge waiting for inspiration, and now I’ve found it 🙂
I don’t miss pasta, really. Cookies, yes, pasta…nah. 😉 But this recipe looks SO so so good…we’ll def have to try this one. Would you be willing to share your spaghetti sauce recipe?
I actually DON’T miss pasta (I’m almost 1 year primal-style now), which is shocking to everyone, me most of all. I like to use spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles as a pasta substitute. I haven’t tried to do cabbage yet, but your recipe looks fantastic!