Low carb crack slaw is made with simple ingredients, infused with tons of Asian flavors, and the best part is that it is ready in just 25 minutes. While the whole family loves this recipe, it’s also great for those following the keto diet or for low-carb, grain-free eating.
This easy keto recipe reminds me of stir fry, but takes less ingredients, prep work, and time. It’s also great for meal prepping and can easily be doubled or tripled. You’ll also love that it tastes like your favorite egg roll without all of the extra carbs and is often called egg roll in a bowl.
We love eating crack slaw as the main course, but it’s also the perfect recipe when you want a hearty side dish. You can also omit the meat and serve it with teriyaki steak bites, instant pot mongolian beef, or General Tso’s chicken.
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🍽️ Ingredients:
- cooking oil – use a neutral oil such as vegetable, avocado, or olive to saute the onions.
- white onion
- ground beef – we like using lean beef (93/7)
- minced garlic – you’ll need several fresh cloves or 1 tablespoon of garlic paste. If using garlic powder go with at least a teaspoon.
- ginger paste – fresh ginger works well too, it just needs to be minced finely.
- sea salt and pepper
- pre-shredded coleslaw mix – we used tri-color cole slaw mix. Using a pre-shredded bag saves so much time, but you can certainly slice up a head of cabbage.
- light soy sauce – can also use coconut aminos.
- rice vinegar (or mirin) – we do not recommend apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. Rice vinegar has a signature Asian flavor that pairs well with this dish.
- chili sesame oil – this is optional, but we recommend leaving it out if you don’t like spicy.
- sesame oil – adds a ton of flavor.
- Sriracha sauce – lots of spice and flavor here, go easy for a more mild dish.
- green onions – for garnish.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Garnish keto egg roll in a bowl with green onions or shallots and additional sesame seeds if desired. For a little more spice, drizzle the final dish with hot sauce or a dash of red pepper flakes.
Substitutions and Variations
- Slaw – broccoli slaw is another way to change up this egg roll in a bowl recipe while still following the rules of a low carb diet and getting extra nutrition.
- Rice – you can also serve crack slaw over cauliflower rice for more volume and is a great option for keeping the overall dish low in carbs.
- Traditional egg rolls – wrap the mixture into egg roll wrappers. Slightly wet your fingers to seal and roll them together. Deep fry at 350 degrees or air fry at 380 degrees for 8 minutes. If using the air fryer, be sure to spritz them with oil.
- Meat – any ground meat can be used such as ground chicken, ground pork, ground turkey, or any combination of these. You could also dice up some of chicken breasts if that’s what you have on hand.
- Sweeter – add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the soy mixture. Know that this will increase the carb count.
- Cheesy – toss in a handful of cheddar cheese before serving.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Dice the onions.
Step 1: Saute the onion in a little bit of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until soft.
Step 2: Add the salt, pepper, ginger, garlic, and ground beef. Cook until the beef is no longer pink.
Step 3: Add the bagged coleslaw mix and stir. Cook until the cabbage has wilted.
Step 4: Whisk the soy, rice vinegar, chili sesame oil, sesame oil, and sriracha in a small bowl. Add more ginger paste if desired.
Pro Tip: You can increase or decrease the amount of ginger based on your liking.
Step 5: Pour the sauce over the crack slaw and toss.
Step 6: Stir until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.
SERVE: Garnish the cabbage stir-fry with chopped green onions and serve.
Crack Slaw Recipe Tips
- While you can shred a head of cabbage, grabbing a bag of coleslaw mix is much easier. You can also place the cabbage head in a food processor and shred it in no time!
- If you are using a packaged coleslaw mix that contains just cabbage, consider adding in shredded carrots and red cabbage for color and nutrition.
- Avoid cooking the onions in toasted sesame oil. It has a strong flavor and we don’t want it overpowering the dish.
- The ginger and garlic pastes are a great way to infuse the flavors throughout the entire dish. You can find these in the produce section at your local grocery store. They are fast and convenient.
- When cooking with ground beef that has a higher fat content, drain the excess grease before it finishes cooking.
- Avoid over salting. The soy sauce has more than enough and you can always season individual servings.
- Mirin is another Asian vinegar that is similar to rice vinegar but a little sweeter. You can find it on the Asian foods aisle.
- This easy egg roll in a bowl has a medium spice level. If you want to lighten it up, use less or omit the chili sesame oil and sriracha.
Fun Fact
Did you know that the keto diet was originally created to treat epilepsy?
Recipe FAQs
Keep leftover slaw in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. We do not recommend freezing.
Mainly because it’s insanely delicious and can be addicting! It’s also known as egg roll in a bowl, think of it as a deconstructed egg roll without the wrapper.
More Low Carb Recipes
Here are a few more of my favorite low carb recipes – baked chicken thighs, pesto zucchini noodles with shrimp, and air fryer chicken bites.
Interested in our web story? Follow this link to view the visual story for Crack Slaw.
More Asian Inspired Recipes
If you tried this Easy Crack Slaw Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Crack Slaw
Ingredients
- 1-2 teaspoons cooking oil vegetable oil, avocado oil, olive oil, etc.
- 1 medium white onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced (or 1 tablespoon garlic paste)
- 1-2 tablespoons ginger paste or finely minced ginger, divided
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 14 oz. bag of tri-color coleslaw
- 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or mirin
- 1 teaspoon chili sesame oil optional
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha optional
- 2-3 green onions sliced for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, sauté the onion in cooking oil over medium heat until soft and translucent.
- Add the ground beef, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring regularly, until the meat is cooked through and no pink remains.
- Add the coleslaw and stir into the beef mixture, cooking several more minutes until the cabbage has wilted.
- In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili sesame oil, sesame oil, and Sriracha. Add a additional tablespoon of ginger paste, if desired.
- Pour soy sauce mixture over the cooked crack slaw and toss to combine.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and serve hot.
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Notes
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Comments & Reviews
KT says
yummy and quick meal