Ok now, when we all have more time to spend home, let’s use this moment to cook some ultimate Babushka’s comfort food. Which is vegan Holubtsi aka Ukrainian stuffed cabbage rolls.
Honestly I was never a huge fan of this dish so now I am making not only vegan version of classics, but also an upgraded one. I made my cabbage rolls with soy meat and bulgur instead of rice, because, in my opinion, bulgur wheat gives much more deeper flavor to the dish. But if you like to keep the recipe gluten-free stay with rice version.
Also if you are sensitive to soy products, replace it with chopped cremini mushrooms. This is how we usually make vegetarian cabbage rolls. And it tastes bomb too.
If using dry soy mince, cover it with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes. In case you have larger soya chunks, boil them for about 7 minutes. Drain your soy meat and squeeze the liquid out. Pulse the chunks couple of times in a food processor until it resembles minced meat.
Meanwhile cook bulgur wheat in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
To peel the cabbage first cut out the stem. Put the head into a large pot with boiling water and blanch for about 3 minutes. Turn the head and cook for another 3 minutes. If your cabbage is young it might take less time to soften.
Take out the cabbage and let it cool. Gently peel the leaves and set aside. Use leftover cabbage in another recipe. You can throw it in soups like this Ukrainian Borsch.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft and translucent. Then add garlic and stir for a minute. Throw in grated carrot and sauté for 3 minutes or so.
Now add spices, cooked bulgur, soy mince, soy sauce, brown sugar and vegetable bouillon. Stir until all liquid is absorbed and remove from the heat.
Next heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Again sauté onion until soft and then add garlic and carrot. Cook for few more minutes. Add dried oregano, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, salt, black pepper and water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C).
Place 2 cabbage leaves on a bottom of Dutch oven. Scoop some of the filling onto a cabbage leaf and fold it into a roll. Place in the Dutch oven and repeat.
When sauce is ready purée it with immersion blender. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
Save about 1 cup of sauce for later and pour the rest on top of your cabbage rolls. Cover and put in the oven for 1-2 hours, the longer the better.
Serve vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with extra sauce on top or/and vegan sour cream.
PrintVegan Holubtsi (Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)
Vegan Ukrainian stuffed cabbage rolls with soy mince, bulgur wheat and tomato sauce.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
- Category: Main course
- Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients
Scale
- 14 white cabbage leaves
- 50g soy mince or TVP
- 2/3 C bulgur wheat
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 C grated carrot
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 C rich vegetable stock (or 1 better than bouillon cube dissolved in 1/2 C hot water)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- black pepper to taste
- oil for cooking
For the sauce:
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 C grated carrot
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 C water or vegetable stock
- salt and black pepper to taste
- oil for cooking
Instructions
- If using dry soy mince, cover it with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes. In case you have larger soya chunks, boil them for about 7 minutes. Drain your soy meat and squeeze the liquid out. Pulse the chunks couple of times in a food processor until it resembles minced meat.
- Meanwhile cook bulgur wheat in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
- To peel the cabbage first cut out the stem. Put the head into a large pot with boiling water and blanch for about 3 minutes. Turn the head and cook for another 3 minutes. If your cabbage is young it might take less time to soften.
- Take out the cabbage and let it cool. Gently peel the leaves and set aside. Use leftover cabbage in another recipe. You can throw it in soups like this Ukrainian Borsch.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft and translucent. Then add garlic and stir for a minute. Throw in grated carrot and sauté for 3 minutes or so.
- Now add spices, cooked bulgur, soy mince, soy sauce, brown sugar and vegetable bouillon. Stir until all liquid is absorbed and remove from the heat.
- Next heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Again sauté onion until soft and then add garlic and carrot. Cook for few more minutes. Add dried oregano, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, salt, black pepper and water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C).
- Place 2 cabbage leaves on a bottom of Dutch oven. Scoop some of the filling onto a cabbage leaf and fold it into a roll. Place in the Dutch oven and repeat.
- When sauce is ready purée it with immersion blender. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Save about 1 cup of sauce for later and pour the rest on top of your cabbage rolls. Cover and put in the oven for 1-2 hours, the longer the better.
- Serve vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with extra sauce on top or/and vegan sour cream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 rolls
- Calories: 181
- Sugar: 5.1g
- Sodium: 321mg
- Fat: 4.6g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 27.7g
- Fiber: 8.6g
- Protein: 8.7g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Haven’t made this yet, but I’d like to make it ahead for an event coming up. Do you think I could freeze the cabbage rolls, then thaw, add the sauce, and heat?
For the best result I suggest to freeze cabbage rolls before cooking them in the oven.
This was very good. We had it for dinner and then for lunch the next day. Would definitely make this again!
Thank you for your feedback!
Delicious! My mum and I loved these.
I’m glad you liked it!
Thank you for your feedback, Alycia 🙂
These were great! But I don’t know what whirling dervish can prepped them in 20 minutes!
Haha my mom can!
These are excellent! The spice blend tastes like sitting in front of a warm fireplace on a snowy day. I do everything by the recipe except I add 50% more spice to the filling blend.
Thanks so much for sharing this!
It’s a good idea to add more spices. Ukrainian cuisine may seem a bit bland if you’re used to spicy food 🙂