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.
Notes
If you didn’t want to use the fake sausage, I would recommend using more brown rice + whatever your favorite meat replacement is (tofu, tempeh, etc.) chopped up. Otherwise, I thought this was a really filling dish, and it would be well served with mashed potatoes and a vegetable dish.