Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage. I saw Ina Garten making stuffed cabbage, for Jeffery, of course, and I really wanted to try it. Most of my experience with stuffed cabbage has come in the form of Lean Cuisines (yeah, I know.), but Paula’s family made the dish a lot growing up, so she was excited to help me make it.
We actually made two batches, one with beef, like the recipe calls for, and one with fake sausage. Also, Ina’s recipe gives directions for making tomato sauce, but I made my own with tomatoes, garlic, basil, and onions. I don’t have measurements for this because I was just trying to get rid of some tomatoes from the garden, but you could make your own, follow Ina’s recipe or use a jar of sauce that you like.
Also, I used GimmeLean sausage in place of ground beef. I don’t normally like or use meat substitutes because they always have a lot of extra ingredients, and I don’t love the texture, but this was pretty good for this vegetarian stuffed cabbage, and texture-wise it could have fooled many meat eaters.
Absolutely The Best Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 large head cabbage
- 3 cups tomato sauce or 1 jar
- 1 package vegetarian sausage
- 1 medium egg beaten
- ½ cup onions finely chopped and sauteed
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs I used Panko
- ¼ cup brown rice uncooked
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves minced (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Cut stalks out of the cabbage and remove any damaged outer leaves. Carefully place cabbage into boiling water.
- After a few minutes, use tongs to begin peeling off the softened outer leaves of the cabbage. They should be more tender but not mushy. Place the leaves on paper towels or somewhere to dry until you are ready to use them. You will need about 7 for this recipe. It takes a little work, but most good things do.
- Combine sausage, egg, rice, bread crumbs, onions, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- After patting cabbage leaves dry, place about 3 tablespoons of the mixture near one edge of the leaf. Fold the leaves over on the side and roll up, burrito style.
- Add a thin layer of sauce to the baking dish, and place rolled cabbage seam-side down in the dish. Depending on the size of your dish, you may need to layer the rolls. Just add some sauce to each layer.
- Use the remaining sauce to cover the rolls. Place the covered dish in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes at 350°F.
