Watch out friends, one bite of these Cubano cabbage wraps, and you’re going to CRAVE these low carb wraps so much that I guarantee they’ll become a weekly staple.
This low carb lunch ideas EASY to throw together, and tastes every bit as good as traditional Cubanos. So next time your coworkers order sub sandwiches for lunch, show them how tasty low carb recipes can be with this variation!
Low carb cabbage rolls make for awesome meal prep too! Come on, let me show you!
Looking for more keto lunch ideas? Check out my keto wraps, ham roll ups, or my salsa verde stuffed peppers without rice.
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What I Love About This Cabbage Wraps Recipe
So many reasons to love these cabbage wraps, especially…
- Only 10 minutes of work involved here, which yields a workweek worth of lunches or snacks.
- Absolutely delicious! Seriously, it’s recipes like this that remind me how full of empty carbs and calories bread really is…
- Gives you that handheld feel. Tired of salads and bored with stir-fries? I get it! These cabbage wraps make you feel like you’re eating a sandwich because of the nostalgic handheld feel we’re all used to.
- GREAT meal prep! The perfect make-ahead meal.
Recipe Notes
Not much to these cabbage wraps, here’s all you need to know:
Ingredient Notes
The meat – Cubanos are often made with 2 types of meat: deli sliced ham and pork (like roast, chop, or pulled pork). For simplicity’s sake, I usually just use deli-sliced ham, but feel free to get fancy with both if you’d like!
The cheese – Swiss cheese is the traditional keto cheese used in Cubanos. Feel free to sub in whatever you prefer.
Everything else – Mayo, dijon, and pickles are all that’s left! Feel free to add in some keto vegetables, or whatever else you like in your subs.
Tools To Make
Just a few tools are needed, primarily to soften the cabbage so it’s ready to roll:
- Large pot, large enough to fully submerge your head of cabbage.
- Sharp knife to easily core the cabbage. Also, to slice your sandwich in half.
- 2 sets of tongs to remove the cabbage leaves from the head.
Cooking Tips
Making these wraps is EASY, the only trick (that’s easy once you get it down) is prepping your cabbage leaves. Here are a few tips that will make a huge difference:
Remove enough of the cabbage core — if any is left attached the leaves will be hard to impossible to remove.
Allow the leaves to soften in your boiling pot of water. If they’re hard to remove, allow them to soften a little longer.
Remove the thick part of the cabbage spine by sliding a sharp knife over it. This will make your cabbage wraps easier to roll, and will give them a better texture.
Storing Tips
Store any leftovers you have in the fridge in an airtight container. Great news about these cabbage wraps is (unlike bread) cabbage won’t get soggy, so you can totally make these ahead of time!
Serving Recommendations
Serve these cabbage wraps alongside your favorite keto chips, fries (like jicama fries), or pickles spears — anything you’d eat with a sandwich!
Recipe Variations
Looking to change things up a bit? If you change/leave out the ingredients of this sando it’ll stray from a traditional Cubano — but you do you! Here are some ideas for you:
- Use a different kind of meat. Simply swap the ham for your favorite deli meat.
- Make a salad instead. Not feeling the cabbage wraps? These ingredients make for one of the tastiest keto salads, just chop everything up and toss them together in a bowl.
- Sub cabbage for different wraps. You can use large lettuce leaves (don’t boil!), keto tortillas, or storebought wraps as well.
- Turn this into a sandwich. If you’ve found wraps just aren’t for you, but carbs aren’t either, check out my keto bread and turn this into a delicious Cubano sandwich!
More Keto Lunch Recipes
Breakfasts, snacks, and dinners are easy. It’s lunch that can be hard to satiate! Here are a handful of our favorites:
Cabbage Wraps
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 Head Cabbage cored
- 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 8 Slices Swiss Cheese
- 16 Slices Deli Sliced Ham
- 24 Pickles sliced
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil (large enough to submerge your head of cabbage).
- Once boiling, add cored cabbage (1 head) and blanch for about 3 minutes, then use 2 tongs to remove each of the leaves. If they're difficult to remove, allow the leaves to blanch longer. Set blanched leaves aside on a plate as you cook remaining leaves. You'll need 8 leaves in total, so feel free to discard the center smaller leaves. Place leaves on kitchen towels or paper towels -- you want to remove as much liquid as possible here to prevent your wraps from becoming soggy!
- Once leaves are cool enough to handle, use a small knife to remove some of the core's thickness by dragging the blade over the top of the core.
- Working one cabbage leaf at a time with the stem facing toward you. Start with a layer of mayo and mustard, followed by cheese (1 slice), ham (2 slices), and pickles (3).
- Fold the wraps like a burrito -- fold the left and right sides over the filling, then tightly roll the wraps away from you.
- Optional: Preheat oven to 400 F and bake the cubanos for an additional 15 minutes to get the cheese melty!
- Slice in half, and enjoy!
Fans Also Made These Healthy Recipes:
Lindsey's Tips
- Pickles - Many pickles contain added sugar, check the labels before purchasing a product. We love Vlasic.
- Nutritional information is for 1 wrap if you make 8 using this recipe:
YUM! Thanks for sharing! It’s a really great recipe!!
Hi Tracy! I’m so glad you enjoyed!?