I took my Grandma’s Recipe for Sweet & Sour Stuffed Cabbage Rolls and tweaked it into a healthier, vegan version! Meatless Stuffed Cabbage is filled with lentils and cauliflower rice, then baked in a plant-based sweet and sour sauce for an incredibly flavorful, super satisfying Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Recipe.
I know you’re going to love this vegetarian version of stuffed cabbage as much as we do! I served it recently to meat eaters to RAVE REVIEWS and I can’t wait for you to try it.
Here’s another idea if you’re feeling pressed for time, but still craving a warm and cozy meatless cabbage dish: try my Sweet and Sour Vegan Cabbage Soup! It’s super easy to make and the vibe is similar. Think: Grandma’s in the room!!
How to soften cabbage for rolling
Freezer Method
- Why choose the freezer method? If the whole idea of putting cabbage into and out of boiling water doesn’t appeal to you (don’t be shy, I raise my hand for this method myself)….this method is much easier and safer too. Freezing breaks down the structure of the leaves making them pliable and easy to roll. When the cabbage defrosts, it naturally wilts as it rids itself of the water.
- Prep cabbage for freezing: Remove the tough outer leaves of the cabbage. Rinse cabbage, then pat it dry. Sounds obvious, but it’s important. Any water residue will just turn to ice. You do not need to core the cabbage now. It will be so much easier to do once it softens.
- Place in plastic bag and freeze. Zip-top bags are the best way to freeze. Before sealing, remove as much air as possible. If you have more than one head of cabbage to freeze, place each in a separate bag.
- How long to freeze? 1-2 days, or as long as 2 weeks.
- Thaw cabbage. Let the cabbage thaw out a few hours (or overnight) at room temperature before you plan to stuff the leaves. Place the head of cabbage on a kitchen towel, since it will release water as it wilts and softens.
Boiling Method
I have used this method many times when I forgot to freeze my cabbage ahead and it’s quick…you just need to be careful with the knife and the boiling water!
- Use a chef’s knife and/or a small paring knife and carefully remove the core.
- Bring a large pot of water, with a pinch of salt to a rolling boil.
- Use a large pair of tongs to carefully place the whole head in the boiling water, core side down.
- Allow water to come back to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Cook until leaves are tender. It will take 8-10 minutes, depending on size of cabbage, until the leaves can be easily peeled off and are soft enough to roll. Savoy cabbage will take less time and regular green cabbage closer to the 10 minute mark to become tender.
- Remove from water with tongs and place on a dish towel to drain.
Sweet & Sour Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, until apples and raisins begin to soften. The sauce will further cook with the cabbage rolls, so keep that in mind.
- Tomato sauce…not paste.
- Pineapple juice
- Raisins. A great natural sweetener. I always have them in my pantry to make my favorite celery salad and oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Apples: I love the way the chunks of apples taste after cooking in the sauce. Or, you can grate the apples for a more subtle effect, with the same great taste.
- Red wine vinegar. This is where the tang comes from! Good substitutes include lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, unseasoned rice vinegar, white wine vinegar.
Plant-based filling
- Legumes: I like to use cooked lentils for plant based protein plus extra fiber. Cannellini or pinto beans would be another good choice because they’re soft and would be easy to mash into the rest of the ingredients.
- It takes just a couple minutes to mix together the chopped onions, green peppers, cauliflower rice, ground flax, garlic and spices with the legumes.
- No need to pre-cook the filling. The stuffed cabbage rolls will steam in the oven making the filling rich with flavor.
Stuff and Roll
Place softened cabbage leaf on a flat surface. Add a heaping spoonful of filling onto the center of the leaf.
Fold bottom of cabbage up towards center, covering filling.
Fold both sides into the center.
Roll with seam side facing down.
Prep for Baking
Spread sweet and sour sauce onto the bottom of a deep baking dish.
Lay one cabbage leaf down. Load 1-2 Tablespoons filling into leaf. Fold bottom up, sides in and roll. Place cabbage roll seam side down onto sauce in dish.
Continue to roll until the baking dish is full. Spoon remaining sauce over cabbage rolls
Pour on water and cover tightly in preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 90 minutes, until soft.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Don’t be alarmed at the TOTAL time to make these. Most of it is passive.
- A large head of cabbage has enough leaves to make a double batch. One for this week and one to freeze.
- In a rush? Use canned beans and frozen cauliflower rice. Mix and fill.
- Perfect dish to take to someone who needs a warm hug….it’s cozy and comforting, ideal for vegetarian or vegan diets, and they can eat it now, or freeze it for another time.
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📖 Recipe
Sweet & Sour Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 head cabbage green or savoy
Sweet and sour sauce
- 2 15-oz cans tomato sauce
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 small apples peeled and diced small or shredded
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar*
- ½ cup pineapple juice
Filling
- 1 ½ cups cooked lentils*
- 1 medium onion grated or finely diced
- 1 small green pepper small dice
- 1 cup cauliflower rice
- ¼ cup ground flax seeds
- 3 cloves garlic pressed
- 1 Tablespoon dried Italian spices
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
- PREPARE (SOFTEN) CABBAGE: Pull off outer leaves to cabbage. Rinse and pat dry. Freezer Method: Place cleaned cabbage head in a zip-top freezer safe bag and freeze 2-3 days (or up to 2 weeks). Defrost at room temperature for a few hours, or overnight. Cabbage will release water as it defrosts (I recommend placing it on a dish towel) and naturally wilt. Carefully cut off stem. Remove leaves carefully. If necessary, trim any thick stems with kitchen shears or a sharp knife.
- Cook lentils….according to package. This recipe call for already cooked lentils. You can do this step up to 3 days in advance.
- MAKE THE FILLING: Place lentils, onions, green peppers, cauli-rice, flax seeds, garlic, spices into a bowl and mix well. If using beans, mash a bit with a fork before blending with remaining ingredients.
- MAKE THE SAUCE: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350
- Spread ¾ cup sauce over bottom of casserole dish.
- Pull leaves of cabbage off head. Spread one leaf out and spoon 1-2 Tablespoons filling in center of leaf. Fold bottom up and around filling, then fold the sides in and finally pull the top over it all to form a tightly rolled log. Place rolled cabbage leaf, seam side down on top of sauce in casserole dish.
- Continue to roll leaves and place in casserole until dish is full. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover will remaining sauce. Pour ¾ cup water over entire dish, cover and bake for 90 minutes.
Notes
ALTERNATE METHOD TO SOFTEN CABBAGE LEAVES:
If you didn’t plan ahead to freeze and defrost the cabbage, you can boil the cabbage to soften it. Boiling Method: Use a 4-quart pot or larger. Fill at least halfway with water (use enough water to fully cover cabbage when submerged) and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat until leaves soften, about 15 minutes. Remove from pot and remove outer leaves one by one.Meal Prep and Storage
- Prep ahead: Filling can be made in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Same with sauce. Cabbage can be frozen up to a week in advance and then defrosted in the fridge overnight for easy rolling.
- Store: Store stuffed cabbage casserole, tightly covered in fridge for 5 days or freezer for 3 months.
- Freeze: I like to use glass containers with lids to freeze casseroles. Otherwise, cool completely, then cover with foil and freeze for 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat: Reheat in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Amanda Marie Boyle
Really love the sauce for these!
Sue
This looks great. I especially love the freezer method for prepping the cabbage, I can’t wait to try it!
Jill |Sugar Spice Life Blog
This looks and sounds sooo amazing! I love every step from the filling to the sauce!
Emily Flint
I’ve been searching for a vegan stuffed cabbage recipe and I finally found it, thank you!
Kay
Super recipe, love the fruity sweetness added in the sauce
Ramona
Made this last night and what a delightful recipe. Will make again 😋
Leslie
Perfect healthy recipe!
Judith Zavala
Your recipe sounds delicious, but do you think it would work the same with the califlower substituted with rice? Would the rice have to be pre-cooked?
Debra Klein
If you’re using rice, instead of cauliflower rice, then I would cook it before adding it to the rest of the filling ingredients. I’ve done it before…it works well and is delicious.
Chana
Can I sub orange for the pineapple juice?
Debra Klein
Yes, the sub of orange juice for the pineapple will still produce a sweet sauce for these stuffed cabbage rolls.
AC
Would nappa cabbage work, by chance?
Debra Klein
Definitely. You can use napa cabbage for stuffed cabbage rolls.
Judith
I’m excited to find your site with your particular interest in transforming traditional Jewish foods to plant based. I make sweet and sour stuffed cabbage and cabbage soup quite often as we love the taste passed on by my mother. She used citric acid (sour salt) which gives it a particular taste that we love. Do you think it will work in this recipe instead of vinegar? Also, do you think the recipe would work without the raisins or with a substitute? Thanks so much!
Debra Klein
These are great questions. I think you could definitely use the sour salt as a sub for the vinegar….but start small, like maybe with 1/2 a teaspoon. You can always add more…but you just want a bit of tang, not too much! IF you don’t like raisins, you could use another dried fruit, or skip them. I like the texture and the sweetness the raisins provide, but between the apples and the pineapple juice, I think it will still be sweet enough.