Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I will be honest with you all, I have never had a cabbage roll with meat. These are the only ones I have ever had and they are so good, I have no desire to wander elsewhere. And guess what, my kiddos and Andy like them too. Emma, the resident meat lover couldn’t even tell what it was. I made her eat the whole thing before I told her. Because they are covered with tomato sauce, I often serve it with some kind of pasta, usually spaghetti. The other day I served it with homemade mac and cheese. Always a hit. That way, Beau (who did not like the cabbage rolls – no surprise there!) was satisfied.

Okay, enough of the suspense! You want to know what’s in them, right? Nuts! That’s right, the recipe calls for 1 cup of ground nuts. Now, the original recipe says cashews but guess what? I don’t like cashews so I use walnuts. However, my favorite way was when I used a mixture of walnuts and pecans. So really, you could use any version of these three nuts. If you love cashews, by all means, use them. My father-in-law is allergic to walnuts so if was I was going to make this for him I would use a mixture of pecans and cashews.

If you are a vegetarian or just looking to incorporate more meat-less meals into your dinner rotation, this is a fantastic recipe. I love cabbage and look for any excuse to work it into our meals. Give this a try, it’s a good one!

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Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Ground nuts, rice, onions, and eggs are rolled in wilted cabbage leaves, covered in tomato sauce and baked.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword cabbage rolls, stuffed cabbage rolls, vegetarian, vegetarian stuffed cabbage rolls

Prep Time 20 days

Cook Time 40 days

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 green cabbage
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 1 cup ground nuts (cashews, walnut, pecans) about 1 3/4 cups whole nuts
• 1 cup cooked rice 1/2 cup uncooked
• 1/2 cup grated cheese cheddar or monterey jack
• 1 tsp parsley
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-3 cups Tomato Sauce your favorite for spaghetti

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and grease a 9 x 9 inch pan. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom. Begin to cook the rice. Place 12 cabbage leaves in a pot of boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove from water and let dry.

2. Saute onions in the butter until translucent. In a food processor, grind about 1 3/4 cups of whole nuts. Whirl until they are fine and not long chunky. You want them to come together a bit. Mix onions with ground nuts, rice, cheese and parsley.

3. Add beaten eggs, ketchup and salt. Mix well.

   Place two tablespoons of the mixture on each leaf. Fold leaves from the four sides like a burrito and place in the pan. Pour remaining tomato sauce or as much as you want over the cabbage rolls. Bake for 40 minutes.