Packed with umami flavor and nourishing ingredients, these Mushroom Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a hearty main for all occasions. vegetarian and vegan
I feel like I blinked and Thanksgiving was over. How was your holiday? Did you host, go out or share in the cooking? Was it a quiet Thanksgiving or did banter and family drama ensue?
We went out for Thanksgiving.
I figure for all the time prepping and cleaning coupled with the few opportunities of an extended period of time off from work, why not take a break?
And so we did.
We went to a little farm-to-table restaurant that served up the most delicious Thanksgiving menu I’ve ever experienced. The traditional turkey and stuffing was served, but for the veggie option they made mouth-watering pierogis stuffed with kale, onions, mushroom, herbs and a bit of cheese. A shallow broth cradled these little packages along with wild mushrooms, carrots, parsnips and herbs. Of course there was a generous serving of pan-fried Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, gravy and homemade sourdough.
Have you ever tried a pierogi?
I hadn’t until Thanksgiving. They’re little semi-circular dumplings filled with a sweet or savory stuffing, boiled, then pan-fried to impart a bit of a golden color and texture. They’re traditionally made for holiday celebrations.
I had never heard of them, but was excited to try something new.
It was those little pierogis and a rather large head of cabbage from the farm that inspired these little stuffed veggie cabbage rolls. I love the idea of little packages of deliciousness that when cut into, they reveal the most flavorful of stuffings. And they make such a delightful vegetarian holiday main for all things holiday and special occasions.
How to Make Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls:
- First, boil the cabbage in a large stock pot to soften the leaves. Drain and set in a colander to cool.
- Next, rehydrate the porcini mushrooms, drain, chop and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook the lentils and rice in a small sauce pot. Set aside.
- While the lentils and rice are cooking, saute the mushrooms in a bit of oil. Add the shallots and stir until fragrant.
- Continuing, in a food processor, add the mushroom mixture, bread crumbs, 1 tsp of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp salt and fresh thyme leaves. Pulse to bring the mixture together.
- 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.
What to Serve with Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls:
Mushroom Stuffed Cabbage Rolls make a delicious, hearty meal. Keep the side(s) light to keep these little vegan cabbage rolls center stage. I like to serve this recipe with any of the following or a seasonal salad:
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pear and Thyme
- Winter Jeweled Salad
- Maple Roasted Cardamom Spiced Carrots and Apples
- Roasted Beet and Apple Salad
A Few Vegetarian Cabbage Roll Recipe Notes:
- When boiling the cabbage to prepare for rolling, handle the leaves gently as they tear easily.
- 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.
- Freezer Friendly? While I’ve not frozen this recipe, I wouldn’t hesitate giving it a try.
- If planning for a dinner party, plan for 2-3 rolls per person.
More Cabbage Recipes to Love:
- Lentil-Mushroom Cabbage Roll Soup
- White Bean Cabbage Potato Soup
- Easy White Bean Cabbage Soup – by Making Thyme For Health
- Sesame Ginger Noodle Salad
- Winter Vegetable Noodle Curry – by The Bojon Gourmet
Mushroom Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Head of Green Cabbage 1.4kg
- 1 oz Dried Porcini Mushrooms 28g
- 1/4 C Long Grain Brown Rice 51g
- 1/4 C French or Green Lentils 50g
- 1 tsp Sea Salt divided
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 Tbs Olive Oil
- 3/4 lb Cremini Mushrooms stems removed and sliced thick, 346g
- 1/2 C Shallot minced, 46g
- 1/2 C Panko Bread Crumbs 40g
- 1 Tbs Tomato Paste divided
- 1 Fist Full of Fresh Thyme divided
- 1 Can Diced Tomatoes 272g
- Reserved Mushroom Soaking Liquid
- 3-4 Tbs Dry White Wine + Vegetable Broth as needed
- Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
To 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. Drain 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. You'll want to try and obtain at least 10, large in tact leaves for rolling. The torn leaves can be used to line the baking dish and eat for lunch the next day.
For the Stuffing:
- Place the porcini in a bowl. Scoop out 2 C (472g) of that very hot water for the cabbage and pour over the porcini mushroom, put a lid over them 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.
- 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 40 minutes, or until rice and lentils are tender. The lentils will cook faster than the rice, but this is okay for our application.
- 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.
- 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.
- When lentils and rice are done, scoop the mushroom mixture into the saucepot the rice and lentils were cooked in (space permitting). Add about 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper. Stir well to combine and taste for seasoning adjustment. Set aside.
For the Tomato Sauce:
- Wipe out the mushroom saute pan and pour in the reserved mushroom broth. Simmer on medium for about 2 minutes. The broth will begin to slightly thicken. 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 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.
- 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 the white wine over the top and if needed, add a bit of vegetable broth.
- Give the rolls a good few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Lay 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme across the top.
- Bake, uncovered for 45-50 minutes until the tops are a bit golden with some a little crispy. Remove from oven and let set for five minutes before serving.
- Store in lidded container in fridge for up to two days.
Notes
Nutrition is provided as an estimate (per serving) and courtesy. If this information is important to you, please verify it independently.
Sounds like you had such a lovely Thanksgiving, Traci! And I’ve never had pierogies, I absolutely need to change that!
I love your stuffed cabbage rolls. Mushrooms? Genius! I’m starting to get bored with making mushrooms the same way with pasta all the time, I’ll need to try this recipe soon!
Looks really good, but I have a problem with and am not ‘suppose’ to eat tomatoes. Can you recommend a different sauce for these?
Thx
Hi Mindi! I hear you, I’m not ‘suppose’ to have peanut butter so I have to stay away from that :( ! I’ve not tried cabbage rolls with any other sauce, but I imagine that the tomatoes and juice could be replaced with vegetable broth and perhaps more white wine. Adding a bundle of herbs for even more savory flavor would be delicious too. I’m thinking sage and thyme perhaps. Adding diced sautéed mushrooms would be fabulous as well. Making a slurry of cornstarch to thicken the sauce could work too. Try making a slurry first; one part cornstarch mixed with one part cold broth (you wont need much here), then add it to the mushroom broth just a tsp at a time while whisking, to thicken it. You want more of a sauce, not a gravy, so be careful here. I hope this helps! :D
Thank you for the great recipes, Traci!! This vegetarian option for cabbage rolls look amazing. We make them a lot here in Greece with avgolemmo (egg and lemon) sauce. Maybe Mindi could try that. My husband also uses an interesting technique for the cabbage. He freezes the whole head overnight instead of boiling..when defrosted, the leaves are ready to roll…?
Molly! Pardon my delay.. I somehow missed your brilliant suggestion! Thank you for this tip. I’ll give it a go next time I make this recipe!
You’re husband might be a genius! Please thank him for us
Yum!!! I’m polish so pierogi are a regular for the holidays and for whenever comfort is needed! Stuffed cabbage rolls are actually called GOLABKI in polish and at Christmas time my mother and I make a ton filled with rice, meat, and onions completely drowned in homemade mushroom sauce that my grandpa makes. TALK ABOUT COMFORT DURING THE HOLIDAYS! Can’t wait to show my mom this recipe, she will probably freak out! :) Have a great holiday!
Hi Kasia! Did your mom freak out!? LOL! Thank you for telling us about Golabki! How fun that you and your mom make so many during the holidays. Do you freeze them? The mushroom sauce sounds just amazingly delicious on cabbage rolls. I’d love to know your grandpa’s recipe! ;) Thank you my dear. You too have a beautiful holiday!
What a treat to go out to eat on Thanksgiving! It must have been lovely to have a break and your meal sound absolutely delicious! I too ADORE the idea of little packets/bundles of food. Just something very special about them that really resonates with me. I’ve never made stuffed cabbage rolls before. Think I need to change that ASAP!
A treat indeed! But we loved it so much, we may just make it a tradition! Yeah, I know, it’s like ravioli, a burrito or Stromboli… mmmm I’m getting hungry! Perhaps a round up of little packages of food is in order :D ! Thank you Liz!!
Hi Traci, found your site through Robyn’s. These cabbage rolls scream comfort to me, love this recipe. Happy Holidays to you!!
Hi Cheri! Thank you my dear! And Hoppy Holidays to you too! :D
Traci! I love stuffed cabbage and I have never even thought of doing a vegetarian version. This idea has really inspired me. Stuffed cabbages here I come :-)
We went out for Thanksgiving too! It was so nice to bypass all of the dishes and prep work. I finally got the chance to listen and participate in the table conversation rather than having to jump up every ten seconds to tend to something in the kitchen. I think we’ve started a new tradition. xoxo
I know, right? Mom used to make a version of these with meat and I loved them so much then, I knew I wanted to create a vegetarian version. So when I saw a recipe with an all mushroom stuffing, I was inspired and got to work. You’re going to love these Kathryn! Hooray for going out! No doubt it’s so nice to enjoy conversation and some good down time… without having to check on something every few minutes or wash the dishes! I like this new tradition! xx
Sounds like you had a wonderful quiet time on Thanksgiving. Your peirogi sounds yum. I’ve heard about it but have never tried it. So many things on the ‘to try list’.
You know that is what we always do, it’s just the four of us at home or we go out.
Coming to your gorgeous stuffed cabbage rolls, they are so beautiful and love that it’s so healthy too. I really need to make these sometimes. Yours pictures are always so well thought out my dear. Pinning this in a few places. Thanks for sharing.xx
I know, Asha, there are so many things to try and experience! Isn’t it fun!? And that’s the fun of going out.. trying new things I’ve never heard of is kinda like an extreme sport! I love it! Thank you for sharing and pinning Asha. Cabbage is so sweet and tender this time of year. I want to swim in it! :D
I love this idea, Traci!! I have never made cabbage rolls before, but it’s a genius way to make an elegant vegetarian meal. And I bet those mushrooms pack in so much wonderful umami flavor. I’ll never tire of them! And of course, your beautiful photography makes these look even more tempting :)
Your Thanksgiving sounds so fun! And what a delicious-sounding menu. Pierogis are quite popular in Chicago because of the big Polish population there, but I can’t say I’ve had too many of them. What I have had is a blintz – have you had one before? It’s a fun little dessert that is almost like a sweet pierogi. I love the cherry kind. You’ll have to be on the lookout for them!
By the way…we are heading to Big Sur and Point Loma tomorrow! Your post a few weeks ago inspired me to finally plan something!
Oh Julia!! I’m so excited for you! Hooray! Stop at Big Sur Bakery for some goodies for sure and if you can take a quick walk at Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park, it’s soooo worth it!! Of course I’m going to recommend Point Lobos State Park as well (we spent a full day there). I can’t wait to hear about your experience! Oh Julia, you must try cabbage rolls! You’ll love the flavors especially since you are such a mushroom fanatic. And I’ve not tried a blintz… but I’ve heard of them. They sound so good… I keep my eyes peeled! :D
I’m excited to try this recipe but it doesn’t say how you cook the rice and lintels. I like lintels but have never made them. Do you cook them with the rice together? I would like to make this for dinner tonight :) thanks
Hi Autumn! Check step number two. ☺️