The (soon-to-be) Eighth Grader picked these out from Lightlife. The original recipe is for 12 rolls, but one large head of cabbage had about 8 good leaves to use, so we had some leftover filling. If you plan on making 12, you’ll probably want to pick up 2 heads of cabbage. These we actually pretty easy to make and were really flavorful and delicious, not to mention healthy. One roll is only 275 calories! You can also customize these rolls to suit your tastes—mix it up by adding your favorite ingredients. Next time, I’ll try mushrooms and zucchini. Keep in mind, the recipe calls for cooked rice, so you’ll want to get that going first. Also, you’ll need to steam the leaves ahead of time as well.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg Gimme Lean “beef”
2 Tbs olive oil
8-12 cabbage leaves
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 C cooked rice
15-oz can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2-4 Tbs water
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers and cook until tender.
Add the Gimme Lean. You could chop it up before adding it, or just dice it up with a spatula in the pan. You’ll want small clumps, or pieces. Add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper and continue cooking until the “beef” begins to brown.
Add the rice…
In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, and cider vinegar. Reserve a 1/4 cup; set aside. Add the remaining sauce to the pan and combine it well with the veggie mixture. After you’ve drained the cabbage leaves, pat them dry. Lay a leaf out flat and add about a 1/3 cup of the mixture in the center.
Fold in the sides, then roll up. You can also secure it with a toothpick if needed, but I found that these rolled up fine and stayed put.
Place the rolls in a 9×13 baking pan. Pour about 2-4 Tbs of water int he bottom of the pan to keep the leaves moist.
Mix 2 Tbs of water with the reserved 1/4 cup of sauce and pour it over the rolls.
Cover and bake for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!
- 1 pkg Gimme Lean "beef"
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 8-12 cabbage leaves
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 C cooked rice
- 15-oz can tomato sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tbs brown sugar
- 3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- 2-4 Tbs water
- Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers and cook until tender.
- Add the Gimme Lean. You could chop it up before adding it, or just dice it up with a spatula in the pan. You'll want small clumps, or pieces. Add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper and continue cooking until the "beef" begins to brown.
- Add the rice.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, and cider vinegar. Reserve a ¼ cup; set aside. Add the remaining sauce to the pan and combine it well with the veggie mixture. After you've drained the cabbage leaves, pat them dry. Lay a leaf out flat and add about a ⅓ cup of the mixture in the center.
- Fold in the sides, then roll up. You can also secure it with a toothpick if needed, but I found that these rolled up fine and stayed put.
- Place the rolls in a 9x13 baking pan. Pour about 2-4 Tbs of water int he bottom of the pan to keep the leaves moist.
- Mix 2 Tbs of water with the reserved ¼ cup of sauce and pour it over the rolls.
- Cover and bake for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!
