This recipe for Stuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls was by reader request. Hundreds of you asked for it, so here is my version. Is it authentic? Not even close, but it IS healthy, and it IS tasty.
Just so you know, I was really looking forward to
Chipped Beef on Toast is one of those war-time recipes that became a staple during the great depression, and yes it also goes by that other name … aka SOS – s%it on a shingle.
But Cabbage Rolls? No clue. No reference. Never had ’em before.
So I really went out on a limb here to make it the way I think it’s supposed to be made. I know traditionally, hamburger was used in the filling, so I simply substituted a mix of cauliflower & mushrooms like I use in my Cauliflower Tacos.
But the rest was simply by guess and by gosh.
I think they came out wonderful, which is a good thing because during my first attempt I completely left out a key ingredient, the rice. Oops. So now I have TWO batches of these in the fridge. A
Anyway – hope you like it and thanks for all the suggestions.
Let’s get to it.
Stuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls
Since these are Cabbage Rolls, obviously you are going to need a head of cabbage. I chose a smallish head of green cabbage. You want to remove the stem and as much of that hard, fibrous core as you can. A sharp paring knive and 45 degree cuts do the job. See the video for a visual if you need help.
Then we simply drop the cabbage into a large pot of salted, boiling water and cover. Reduce the heat and let that steam for at least 5 -10 minutes. We’re not looking to cook the cabbage here, just soften the leaves so they fall apart.
The Sauce
Before we move on to the filling, let’s take a minute to talk about the sauce.
The first time I made this recipe, I used my own homemade, oil-free Marinara Sauce. Since I forgot the rice, I had to make it again the next day, and feeling too lazy to make more Marinara, I simply used a 28oz can of Organic Diced Tomatoes.
My advice? Make the Marinara. The tomatoes are good, but man that Marinara is the bomb and really makes these rolls an incredible dish. More work yes, but it really makes this dish.
The Filling
Start the filling with about a cup of diced onions sauteed in a little broth until softened. I then add a little shredded carrot, some mushrooms, and some riced cauliflower, followed by a couple of heaping teaspoons of minced garlic.
For flavoring I added a tablespoon each of low sodium soy sauce and vegan worcestershire sauce.
After everything has cooked down and softened nicely, remove from heat and allow to cool.
Once the filling has cooled to about room temp, add a cup of rice (I used brown), 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (it comes in a tube now), a little seasoning (see recipe box below), a big handful of freshly chopped parsley, 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs (yes, you can find oil-free panko), and a flax egg.
Tip: To make a flax egg, mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with 2 tablespoons of hot water and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes. It will start to turn gelatinous, like an egg white.
Mix well using your utensil of choice, or if you’re feeling frisky – get your hands in there and go to town.
The Assemble
The first outer leaves of the cabbage should be nice and soft by now, so we’ll use these to line the bottom of a 9×13 lasagna dish. Then you can spread a thin, even layer of either the tomatoes or Marinara on top. I also added some sliced white onion for even more flavor – yum.
Before you start rolling your cabbage, you’ll notice at the bottom (stem) end of every leaf is this thick, white, fibrous vein. I cut this out, making a V shape in the bottom of the leaf. They roll better without it. Or you could just shave down the thickness a little bit too.
Then we simply add 2 tablespoons of filling to the bottom of each leaf and roll it up like a burrito, tucking in the sides as we go. Place your cabbage roll, seam side down, in your lasagna dish and repeat.
My dish held 12 cabbage rolls, with just enough cabbage left over to layer over the top, followed by more marinara sauce. I did have a bit of filling left over, but it does taste amazing just the way it is
Cover the whole dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 350° F oven for about 45 minutes.
Serve with fresh parsley for garnish, and/or a dollop of either some Vegan Sour Cream or fresh sauerkraut (love my Bubbies).
So there you have it. My version of Stuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls. Hope you like it and be sure and let me know how badly I butchered this in the comments below lol. I think it tastes good? But like I said – I have no reference to the original. So…..
Looks like SOS is on the menu for next week, so have an awesome plant-based week and we’ll see you back here next weekend.
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Description
Hundreds of you asked for them, so here is my version of Stuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls. Are they authentic? Not even close, but they ARE healthy AND tasty.
Ingredients
- 1 small head of green Cabbage
- Either: 28oz can diced tomatoes OR 3-4 cups Marinara
Filling:
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 cup riced cauliflower
- 1–2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbs vegan worcestershire
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 3/4 cup chopped parsely
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 Tbs ground Flaxseed
- 2 Tbs water
Garnish (optional)
- 1/2 sliced onion to layer in baking dish
- additional parsley
- sauerkraut
- vegan sour cream
Instructions
- Clean and core cabbage, place in pot of boiling, salted water to steam for 5-10 min
- Remove and drain – leaves should remove easily. If not, additional steaming will help
- Meanwhile, saute the 1 cup of onion until softened
- Add carrot and saute an additional 1-2 minutes
- Add mushrooms and cauliflower, saute to soften
- Add garlic and saute 30 seconds
- Stir in soy sauce and worcestershire.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool
- When the filling has cooled, add in remaining filling ingredients and mix well
- Make the flax egg by mixing the flaxseed meal with 2 tbs water then stir into filling
- Remove the first few cabbage leaves and line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish
- Layer on 1-2 cups of marinara or tomatoes – add sliced onion if desired
- Remove the tough rib at the bottom of each cabbage leaf – making a V shaped cut
- Add 2 tablespoons of filling and roll like you would a burrito.
- Place the cabbage roll in the baking dish and repeat
- Cover with any remaining cabbage leaves and an additional 1-2 cups of tomatoes or marinara
- Cover with foil and bake at 350° F for 45 minutes
- Garnish if desired and serve
Keywords: stuffed vegan cabbage rolls
Home Plix
This vegan cabbage roll recipe is really amazing. It’s also delicious and healthy. Thanks for sharing such an amazing post.
★★★★★
Carolyn
This looks delish. Do you have a substitute for the panko sinc I am gluten sensitive?
Chuck Underwood
I think any kind of GF bread will work, which you can then toast to make crumbs.
Heather
Having had the original, I can tell you that the panko or bread crumbs aren’t needed at all. The rice is the only grainy thing that needs to be in there.
Elaine
If you want to use gluten free panko, Ian”s Gluten free original panko breadcrumbs have no oil, dairy, eggs, or nuts. My local grocery store carries them. If you can’t find them locally, they are available from Amazon.
Suzy
I’ve been making golumpki for 50 years the traditional Polish way, as my mother taught me (this isn’t an Italian dish). They are typically made with rice, ground beef, onion, etc., and then rolled in the cabbage leaves. Your recipe veganized this dish wonderfully! I didn’t have cauliflower, so I just upped the panko to the correct consistency. The Polish recipe calls for the leftover cabbage to be diced and scattered on top. Then the marinara is drizzled on top of that.. I actually made this in the early afternoon, covered with foil and refrigerated until dinner. I put in an unheated oven, turned the oven to 350 and baked for 1 hour. I don’t think husband knew they were vegan! I’ll definitely be making these again!
★★★★★
Elaine
My aunt’s recipe was from her Italian mother-in-law and are oh so go. Instead of baking, they were cooked on the stove. Cover the bottom of the stockpot with sauerkraut and layer the assembled cabbage rolls on top then cover with canned tomatoes.. Bring to boil, cover with lid, lower heat to simmer and cook about 45- 1 hous. With vegan version, you could probably cook less. I am looking forward to making these as soon as I finish my Mary’s Mini.
Debbie Miranda
Gave this one a try today and it was amazing. Only change I made was using caraway seed instead of italian seasoning because that seemed more cabbage-rollish to me. This is the 4th recipe if yours I have tried..always very good! You have become my go-to recipe guy.
★★★★★
Judi
We love cabbage rolls and yours is by far the best meatless we have ever tried! Just a tip on the cabbage, an old polish lady taught me to put a whole head of fresh cabbage wrapped in freezer wrap in the freezer for at least three days. A week or longer is even better. When it thaws out the leaves are just like you boiled them without the work! I’ve done them like this for years. It really works! But it does take a couple days to thaw in the fridge so plan ahead.
Ginger Conrad
For my husband’s birthday, I made these cabbage rolls with your filling idea more or less. However, used my husband’s Czechoslovakian Grandmother’s traditional seasoning–parsley instead of Italian herbs, saur kraut juice instead of tomato paste, plus saur kraut and tomato sauce instead of marinara. I did bake it with the onions on top. She taught me to make the carnivore version in 1980, My husband declared it close enough to the original to make it worth cooking again. Thanks so much for helping me make one of his favorite dishes again–it’s been at least a decade.