Sweet & Sour Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Lentils
Softened cabbage leaves are stuffed with a delicious lentil and cauliflower rice mixture, then rolled, topped with an easy homemade sweet and sour sauce and then baked to perfection. This vegan and gluten-free stuffed cabbage recipe is delicious, nutritious and meal prep friendly.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 231kcal
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
LENTILS: I used cooked black baby beluga lentils. Green or brown lentils will work In this recipe. Red or yellow won't. You can also use 1 ½ cups (one can) beans. Mash them a bit with a fork and incorporate into other ingredients as directed.
CABBAGE: First choice savoy cabbage, second choice green. Red cabbage isn't a good choice, it will create a weird color throughout the dish.
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
Serving: 1g | Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 302mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 24g