Cabbage Rolls with Wild Rice & Mushroom Stuffing

These Cabbage Rolls are filled with a savory wild rice and mushroom stuffing. They are a delicious vegan and gluten free dinner meal!

Here’s some trivia for ya…. I live with two Russian roommates. These two beautiful, smart, and funny ladies are always inspiring me with their Russian culture and cuisine. They are incredibly considerate of others and I have adopted their tradition of not wearing shoes in the house – period, endofdiscussion.

And the food they talk about…it’s plov, shchi, and pelmeni. I mean, hello, those words even taste good as you say them. Even in our thick ‘mercian accents, and trust me they sound even better coming from someone who speaks the language.

As far as I can gather, Russia is all about their potatoes, cabbage, and sour cream when it comes to cooking. And we are all better for it. These Cabbage Rolls is lightly inspired by my roommates Russian roots and I think you will love it.

Traditional cabbage rolls, or Golubtsi,  are usually filled with either pork or beef, rice and various spices. To make my version plant based, I used wild rice as the main ingredient. The rice gets mixed with sautéed mushrooms and onions, plus herbs and spices. This mixture gets rolled in cabbage eaves, smothered in a rich and flavorful tomato sauce, and baked to perfection. A true Russian would top this with a hearty spoonful sour cream (my roommate has been known to go through a carton a week), but if thats nyet your jam, I skipped the cultured white stuff as well. These Cabbage Rolls are perfectly delicious on their own.

Cabbage Rolls with Wild Rice Mushroom Stuffing

• Author: Laurel
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 105 minutes
• Total Time: 120 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Entree
• Cuisine: gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian

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Description

These Cabbage Rolls with Wild Rice Mushroom Stuffing are filled with an herbaceous mushroom and wild rice mixture and then smothered in a flavorful tomato sauce. 

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup wild rice mix
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil OR olive oil
• 1 onion (, diced)
• 3 cloves garlic (, minced)
• 8 oz . mushrooms (, finely chopped)
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large head savoy cabbage (, leaves carefully removed)
• For the sauce:
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup water

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Instructions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
2. While the rice cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium. Add in the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, thyme, basil, pepper, and salt. Sautee until the mushrooms are cooked, bout 7-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan add in all of the sauce ingredients. Over medium heat, bring the sauce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. Add the cabbage leaves to a large bowl. Fill the bowl with boiling water and cover the bowl with a plate, lid, or even a cookie tray. Let sit for 10 minutes so the cabbage softens and becomes easier to roll.
5. While the cabbage sits, coat the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with a thin layer of the sauce. Combine the mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup sauce, and cooked rice.
6. Grab a cabbage leaf, shaking off the excess water and add 2-4 tablespoons of the filling mixture (more for larger leaves, less for smaller) to one end of the cabbage leaf. Roll the leaf up like a burrito, tucking in the sides. Line up filled and rolled leaves in the baking dish. Continue rolling and adding to the baking dish until all the leaves are filled. Cover with the remaining sauce and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until the rolls are warmed through. Serve.

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Notes

To make rolling the leaves even easier, you can shave off some of the ribs, like I do in this recipe here.