Anyone who thinks that making cabbage rolls is a time consuming and difficult task, read this post. In under 10 minutes of prep time, my Easy Whole30 Cabbage rolls were ready for the oven. How can that possibly be when you have to boil water and remove the cabbage leaves one by one? Well, keep reading and I will tell you how to make these without even having to boil water.
First, let's take a minute to talk about the health benefits of cabbage.
Why is Cabbage Healthy (according to WebMD)
- It's packed with nutrients. Half a cup of cooked cabbage has about a third the vitamin C you need for the day. It also gives you doses of fiber, folate, potassium, magnesium, vitamins A and K, and more.
- When it is fermented, it makes natural probiotics that nourish the bacteria in your gut. Those bacteria help your body fight germs, take in nutrients, digest food, and control anxiety.
- It's loaded with antioxidants such as well-known ones like vitamin C and manganese. But cabbage really shines when it comes to plant chemicals called phytonutrients, a cell-protecting force.
- Due to its chemical makeup, cabbage can help to ease swelling in your tissues. This helps protect you from other health issues because inflammation is linked to things like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Cabbage is great for digestion. It has 1 gram of fiber for every 10 calories. That helps fill you up, so you eat less. It also keeps you regular, and it could help lower your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol and control your blood sugar. Cabbage also has nutrients that keep the lining of your stomach and intestines strong. Its juice also can help stomach ulcers heal.
- It May Help Keep Cancer Away. That's because of something called glucosinolates, special sulphur-containing substances that your body turns into cancer fighters.
Have I convinced you to eat more cabbage yet?
Now, let's move on to the Easy Whole30 Cabbage Roll recipe
Cabbage rolls, also known as holishkls (Jewish), sarma (Czechs, Croatians), golabki (Polish) as well as many other names depending on where they are made, have been around for over 2000 years. Depending on the region, each recipe is unique but still contains the basic foundation of a cabbage roll stuffed with meat.
On my first round of doing the Whole30, I decided to try my hand at cabbage rolls from A Family Feast. Delicious as it was, it took over 2 hours to make! Although I love to cook, I still am grounded in "efficiency" and 2 hours was NOT an efficient use of my time.
Fast forward 2 years later and I decided to try to come up with my own Whole30 approved cabbage rolls. Once again, my criteria for most of my recipes are:
- Whole30 approved
- easy to make
- simple ingredients
- limited "kitchen" time
So, with that in mind, I set off to create a Whole30 approved, healthy, easy, cabbage roll recipe!
How to make Easy Whole30 Cabbage Rolls
Step 1: Peeling the cabbage leaves to make the rolls
In the past, this was one of the most time-consuming steps. However, I discovered a trick to help speed things up...freezing the cabbage! Seriously, if you put the entire head of cabbage in the freezer, the leaves are easily peeled away from the head of the cabbage. Since you are going to bake the cabbage for about 1 hour, the leaves do not need to be precooked.
See how easily they come off from the head? No boiling of water necessary!
Once you have the required number of leaves peeled, set them aside and begin working on making the filling.
Step 2: Making the cabbage roll filling
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat, riced cauliflower, egg, garlic and spices. I use my hands to get all the ingredients well incorporated.
Next, lay a cabbage leaf on a cutting board. Grab a baseball size amount of filling and place it in the center of the cabbage leaf.
Fold the left part of the leaf over the meat, then the right part of the leaf and then roll the leaf to surround the meat.
Step 3: Assembling the casserole
In a cast-iron skillet or another ovenproof skillet, pour a little of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Tightly pack the cabbage rolls in the skillet and add some additional sauce to the top.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes.
Absolutely delicious with easy to find and a limited number of ingredients, these cabbage rolls are sure to please your whole family!
If you like this Easy Whole30 Cabbage Roll recipe, here are some other ones to try!
- Chicken Spinach Artichoke Dip (Whole30, Dairy Free, Keto)
- Macho Nachos (Whole30, Paleo, Low Carb)
- 10 Minute Beef and Broccoli (Whole30, Low Carb, Keto)
- Whole30 Sausage Breakfast Balls (Keto, Gluten Free, Nut Free)
- Slow Cooker Cuban Steak - Ropa Vieja (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Whole30 Bacon Ranch Spaghetti Squash (Keto, Low Carb, Gluten Free)
- Spaghetti Squash Crust Taco Pie (Whole30, Low Carb, Dairy Free, Gluten Free)
Quick and Easy Cabbage Rolls
Anyone who thinks that making cabbage rolls is a time consuming and difficult task, read this post. In under 10 minutes of prep time, my Whole30, low carb cabbage rolls were ready for the oven.
- Total Time: 1 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 cabbage rolls 1x
Ingredients
- 6 large cabbage leaves
- 1 lb ground turkey (see note)
- 12 oz package riced cauliflower (or rice your own)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- 25 oz tomato sauce (see note)
Instructions
- Place the head of cabbage in the freezer overnight or for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large cast iron skillet or any other large oven proof skillet or baking dish.
- Remove the cabbage from the freezer and gently peel away the top 6 leaves. Place leaves to the side.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, egg, cauliflower and seasonings.
- Take 1 cabbage leaf and place on a cutting board. Place ½ of the pasta sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Take approximately ¾ cup of the meat mixture and form into a ball. Place in the center of the cabbage leaf. Fold the left part of the leaf over the meat mixture, then the right. Next, take the bottom part of the leaf and fold it over the left and right half. Roll from the bottom and place in baking dish.
- Repeat with remaining 5 cabbage leaves. Add remaining pasta sauce to the top of each cabbage roll.
- Place in preheated oven for 1 hour. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Use any type of meat or to make them vegetarian, use TVP or replace the meat with cauliflower
- I can by frozen organic riced cauliflower from Trader Joe's which I let thaw before using. Check your local grocery store for frozen riced cauliflower but if you can't find it, click on this link to learn how to rice your own.
- Luckily, there are MANY Whole30 compliant marinara sauces in the stores today. Here are 4 brands that I really like: Rao's Marinara, Kirkland Organic Sauce from Costco, Silver Palate Marinara as well as Mezzetta Napa Valley Marinara.
- Feel free to add cheese to the top of some of the cabbage rolls if there are people in your family not on Whole30.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours
- Category: Main Meals
- Cuisine: Whole30, Keto, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cabbage Roll
- Calories: 232
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Fat: 11.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.3 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 17.4 g
Sarah says
It worked! I was always burning my fingers trying to peel the cabbage leaves from a boiling hot cabbage. I was too impatient to let it cool, even a little. Thanks for the tip.