These unstuffed cabbage rolls taste just like the traditional recipe with a fraction of the effort. Lightened up with ground turkey and served over cauliflower rice for a low-carb meal.
You may have heard of stuffed cabbage rolls, but what about “unstuffed cabbage rolls”?! I personally love this version because it’s lightened up and so much easier than the classic recipe. You can make this dinner in a fraction of the time it takes to make the traditional stuffed cabbage, which requires boiling the cabbage leaves and rolling the meat inside. And, trust me it is still equally delicious!
Traditional cabbage rolls are made up of cooked cabbage leaves holding a variety of fillings. There’s typically a mixture of ground pork and ground beef, rice and some sort of tomato product. It’s a common dish in many areas of Europe, West Asia and Egypt. I’ve never actually made traditional cabbage rolls, but Isaac’s mom makes them. She’s been making them for years and if you asked her she’d probably tell you they are a breeze to whip up, however I know they are time consuming.
To make these unstuffed cabbage rolls a bit lighter, I used ground turkey instead of beef or pork. And instead of brown sugar that most recipes call for, I used apple sauce for a hint of sweetness. Last but not least, I served the unstuffed cabbage rolls over cauliflower rice, which packs in more veggies and keeps this dish low-carb.
This lightened up, easy version of cabbage rolls requires less than 15 ingredients.
Okay, I have to get this off my chest. Why is cabbage such an underrated vegetable?! I personally love cabbage. Maybe the lack of color makes people think of bland, nutrient-less lettuce, but interesting enough, cabbage isn’t in the lettuce family, it’s actually a cruciferous vegetable, like broccoli and cauliflower. It’s packed with nutrients, specifically vitamin K, vitamin C and folate. It’s also high in fiber and antioxidants. It has a neutral flavor (in my opinion) and can be eaten raw or cooked. (Source)
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This recipe is always a winner in my house. My boyfriend and I love it! Its super easy, fairly cheap to make and always goes well with left over rice. I think it tastes better the next day. We top with our favorite hot sauce!
Woo! Love to hear this, Miah! Thank you so much for sharing, I appreciate it so much.
Hi! What do you recommend as a tomato substitute for this recipe? I can’t eat tomatoes.
Hey Jessica! The tomatoes and tomato sauce are two big components to the flavor of this dish, so I’m not quite sure what the best subs would be.
I was so excited to try this recipe! I had all the ingredients on hand, not to mention that it sounded way easier than making traditional stuffed cabbage rolls but not skipping out on all the flavor! Win win right? Wrong!!! I hesitated before adding the cinnamon and that’s where it all went wrong. The flavor is not right. No one liked this dish in my house. I won’t be trying it again and it makes me hesitant to try your other recipes. It was a sad evening for the 6 of us. 🙁
I feel like you may have added way too much cinnamon because I can barely taste it when I make this dish. Maybe you added apple sauce with cinnamon in it already?
Hey Kait – I’m so sorry this recipe wasn’t a hit with your family. Cinnamon is a common ingredient in unstuffed cabbage rolls. It must just be a personal taste preference. I appreciate you trying this recipe and I hope you give some of my other recipes a try!
Very tasty! Almost everyone had seconds. We ate it with some fresh rolls. I used homegrown ground beef and homegrown garlic. This recipe did right by these precious ingredients.
Woo!! So glad this recipe was a hit!! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
This was so delicious! I was looking for something new-to-me to make and I’m so glad I picked this. Loved all the flavors! And, I cannot wait to eat the leftovers! Your recipes never disappoint 🙂
Ahh yay! So glad you loved this recipe, Shannon. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me. <3