Vegetarian cabbage rolls are packed with mushrooms, lentils, and brown rice and simmered in a tomato sauce. They’re umami-filled and make a hearty main with over an hour of active time and a long, slow 45 minute bake in the oven.
You can make this recipe a day ahead, then bake it the following day for the ultimate convenience. This veggie stuffed cabbage roll recipe is vegetarian and vegan! [ watch a recipe VIDEO on the recipe card ]
New Traditions
As a new vegetarian, holiday gatherings were usually awkward for me. Familiar traditions were set aside for new and not so familiar when it came to food. I quickly realized there were many delicious ways to enjoy the holidays meat free.Â
Vegetarian stuffed cabbage rolls were one of the first recipes I discovered that easily made the holiday table festive and memorable. They’re a bit of effort, and the dishes required many, but in the end, these veggie cabbage rolls are worth the effort to make the holidays feel extra special.
  
  
Trying Something New
It was pierogis I tried at a local restaurant for Thanksgiving a few years back and a rather large head of cabbage from the farm that inspired these stuffed veggie cabbage rolls.
I love the idea of little packages of deliciousness that when cut into, they reveal the most flavorful of stuffings. These stuffed cabbage rolls make such a delightful vegetarian holiday main for all things holiday and special occasions.Â
And those pierogies? I whipped up a mushroom, potato and pea pierogie recipe for the blog!Â
  
 
  
At a Glance: How to Make Make Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls
- First, boil the cabbage, cool, then remove several layers of the outer leaves.Â
- Next, rehydrate the porcini mushrooms, drain, chop and set aside.Â
- Meanwhile, cook the lentils and rice.Â
- While the lentils and rice are cooking, saute the mushrooms and shallots.
- Continuing, in a food processor, add the mushroom mixture, bread crumbs, tomato paste, salt and fresh thyme leaves. Pulse to bring the mixture together.Â
- Next, mix together the lentils, rice and mushroom mixture and add seasonings and stuff the cabbage leaves and place in a baker.
- Last, make the tomato sauce, pour it over the cabbage rolls and bake.Â
While the vegetarian cabbage rolls bake, there’s plenty of time to whip up a salad or other side like mashed potatoes for sharing.
What to Serve with Cabbage Rolls
Mushroom stuffed cabbage rolls make a delicious, hearty meal. Make the side(s) light to keep these little vegan cabbage rolls center stage. I like to serve this recipe with Soft Sourdough Rolls and any of the following:Â Â
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pear and Thyme
- Winter Jeweled Salad
- Maple Roasted Cardamom Spiced Carrots and Apples
- Oven Roasted Rosemary and Garlic Baby Potatoes
- Butter Roasted Delicata Squash
- Roasted Beet and Apple Salad
- 15 Minute Pan Fried Asparagus
- Easy Roasted Beets
  
Traci’s Tips
- When boiling the cabbage to prepare for rolling, handle the leaves gently as they tear easily. To minimize this, after the cabbage has cooled, cut at the base and around the stem to release the cabbage leaves.Â
- Make ahead? Yes please! Prepare the stuffing and tomato sauce up to two days ahead and store separately in the refrigerator. Or, make rolls one day ahead without making the sauce. Cover the rolls in the casserole dish, and refrigerate. The next evening, make the sauce and bake as written.
- Portions: Depending on appetite, plan for one or two rolls per person. One is plenty for me, while Rob (my husband) always has two.Â
- Linda made these and noted: “I used Savoy cabbage which is a little easier to work with then white cabbage and I had excellent results.”
Mushroom Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (1.4kg) Head of Green Cabbage, go larger if 3lb is unavailable
- 1 oz (28g) Dried Porcini Mushrooms
- 1/4 C (50g) Long Grain Brown Rice
- 1/4 C (50g) French or Green Lentils
- 1 tsp Sea Salt, divided
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 Tbs Olive Oil
- 3/4 lb (345g) Cremini Mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thick
- 1/2 C (46g) Shallot, small chop
- 1/2 C (40g) Bread Crumbs, Panko or toasted sourdough
- 1 Tbs Tomato Paste, divided
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Fist Full of Fresh Thyme, divided
- 1 (14.5oz / 411g) Can Diced Tomatoes
- Reserved Mushroom Soaking Liquid
- Dry White Wine and/or Vegetable Broth, as needed
- Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Cabbage:
- Bring a large stock pot, large enough to hold a head of cabbage, of water to a boil. Add the whole head of cabbage and simmer for 9 minutes turning it over once 1/2 way through cooking since it will float. Remove the cabbage and set in a colander to cool. When cool enough to handle, gently remove the leaves attempting to keep them in tact as much as possible. To do this, use a pairing knife to cut around the base of the stem, releasing the cabbage leaves so you can gently pull them away from the head. You'll want to try and obtain at least 10, large in tact leaves for rolling. Set aside the torn leaves and/or other leaves which can be used to line the baking dish and/or eat for lunch the next day.The leaves closest to the core won't fully soften, so if more leaves are needed, you can place these individually in the pot of hot water to soften or store the remaining head in the fridge to be later used in a another recipe.
For the Stuffing:
- Rehydrate the Porcini: Place the porcini in a bowl. Scoop out 2 C (472g) of that very hot water the cabbage is cooking in and pour over the porcini mushroom. Cover the mushrooms with a lid and rehydrate 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the soaking liquid. Squeeze out as much soaking liquid from the mushrooms as possible. Rough chop the mushrooms and set aside.
- Cook the Lentils and Rice: In a small sauce pot bring 1 1/2 C (454g) of water to a boil. Add 1/4 tsp salt, bay-leaf, lentils and rice. Turn heat to low, put a lid on the pot and cook for about 35-40 minutes, or until rice and lentils are tender. The lentils will cook faster than the rice, but this is okay for our application.
- Cook the Mushrooms: In a nonstick saute pan add two Tbs of olive oil, heat until shimmering then add all the mushrooms. Give them a good stir then let them cook for about 2 minutes at a time before stirring again. We want to get a good sear on the mushrooms. Cook for about 13-14 minutes. Add the shallots about 3 minutes before the mushrooms are done.
- Process the Mushrooms: In a food processor, add the mushroom mixture, bread crumbs, 1 tsp of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt and fresh thyme leaves from about 7 stems. Pulse about 4 times, scrape down bowl and pulse again a few more times so that mixture comes together but is not pasty.
- Mix the Stuffing: When lentils and rice are done, scoop the mushroom mixture into the sauce pot the rice and lentils were cooked in. Add about 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper. Stir well to combine and taste for seasoning adjustment. Set aside.
For the Tomato Sauce:
- To the same pan you sautéed the mushrooms in, pour in the reserved mushroom broth. Simmer on medium for about 2 minutes. The broth will begin to cook down a bit. Stir in the remaining tomato paste until dissolved. Add 1/4 tsp of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir in the diced tomatoes and cook on low for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
To Assemble:
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly spray a large casserole dish with pan spray.
- Line the dish with 3-4 cabbage leaves, or enough to cover the bottom and most of the sides. If the leaves hang over the edges, this is okay. To lay them flat you may need to cut a notch a the base of each stem.
- For the remaining cabbage leaves, if the stem is tough and won't easily roll, cut a small notch out. Scoop about 1/4 C (40g) of the mushroom mixture and place it near the base of the cabbage leaf. Gently fold in the sides and start rolling, tucking in the sides as needed. Place in baking dish, seam side down, on top of the leaves. Repeat, adjusting the amount of filling as needed for smaller leaves, until all the filling is used. The rolls can be crowded, just not overlapping. If you run out of room, start another baking dish and line as with the first baking dish.
- Pour the sauce over and around the top of the rolls. The sauce should come just up the sides of the rolls, not submerged. Drizzle white wine and/or veggie broth over the top as needed.
- Give each roll a good few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt over the top. Lay 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme across the top.
- Bake, uncovered for 40-50 minutes until the tops are a bit golden with some a little crispy. Remove from oven, discard crispy thyme leaves and let set for five minutes before serving. Sprinkle fresh thyme over the top before serving.
- Store in lidded container in fridge for up to two days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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At what point are the shallots added?
Hi Oscar! Step 3. “Add the shallots about 3 minutes before the mushrooms are done.” I hope you enjoy the cabbage rolls!
I have made this recipe for maybe the past 5 new years. While I love it, it definitely takes a full 2 hours to make and thats using some shortcuts. I use canned lentils to save time, and I make the sauce and saute mushrooms at the same time. I also add half the can of the tomato paste to the sauce to really thicken it, otherwise it comes out too watery. Also I never find cabbage cooks fully when boiling it whole, so I opt to peeling off individual leaves and boiling those. Its all very time consuming but I only make this once a year and the good luck seems to work. Pairs well with mashed potatoes
Hi Cindy! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe. Thank you for sharing your tips!
Today I substituted the canned tomatoes with a quarter of a cup of the ginger garlic teriyaki sauce from this site, veg broth and 1TB corn starch to thicken the sauce. Still delicious and bit more savory. Would welcome other suggestions for tomato substitutions – thanks.
I expected it wouldn’t taste like cabbage rolls, but in their own right they were amazing I will make these again and again
Thank you for your note and star rating, Tammy! Super excited to hear you’re enjoying the cabbage rolls!
Gosh what a delicious recipe. I’m making it for my block party this weekend and want to flavors to blend after cooking. I used estaragon for the main flavor profile which is more southeastern European style. Totally vegan.
Hi Robert! Thank you for your feedback! So happy to hear you’re enjoying the cabbage rolls, and that you’ll be making it for your block party – what a great dish for sharing! Estaragon? Is that tarragon? Sounds absolutely scrumptious!
Hello Traci
I made your vegetarian brown rice with mushrooms cabbage rolls tonight, I usually make the standard Ukrainian cabbage rolls you know white rice ground beef and ground pork. but I came across your recipe I decided to made it instead just for something different I didn’t use cremin mushrooms I used Gourmet mushroom mix which worked out just fine, I was just letting you know what a nice change so much flavor I will make it again. thank you for posting it your new follower
Nancy
Hi Nancy! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! A gourmet mushroom mix is perfect for this recipe. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this flavor packed recipe! Thank you too for following! So happy you’re here! :D
I never baked my stuffed cabbage, always on the stove. do you think this would work?
Hi Amy! I’ve not tried this recipe on the stove top.. but, I’m afraid the bottoms would burn.
This looks so delicious, curious about it’s taste.
Oh my goodness this looks so good. I’ve bookmarked it and going to give it a try! I LOVE that there’s no heavy pastry involved and you’ve used cabbage leaves for the rolls.
I’m Polish so I regularly had homemade Polish food growing up, especially pierogi and stuffed cabbage. My grandmothers made everything from scratch. I was spoiled! If you want authentic Polish food but don’t have a Polish grandma, go to a Polish or general Eastern European restaurant. Unless they’re made in a Polish deli or shop, frozen pierogi frankly suck. The mass-produced stuff is just awful and not even close to the real thing.
My grandma stuffed her cabbage with rice and meat and served them in a rich tomato sauce. They were delicious. I have one vegan recipe already, and it is very good. I will try yours.
Julia Child recommended freezing the entire head of cabbage for 24 hours prior to use instead of boiling the leaves. She also used savoy cabbage instead of plain green. I’ve tried this and it works. My Polish grandmas are probably rolling in their graves, LOL.