Delicious quinoa turkey cabbage rolls are filling, light, and healthy with 18 grams of protein in each 214 calorie sauce covered roll.
After countless tries at making this dish, I’ve finally got a fabulous recipe for cabbage rolls that I can’t wait to share with you all!
There’s something about the sauce, the cabbage, the filling, and that dollop of sour cream that warms you up like traditional comfort food, when really, its a deceptively light and healthy dish. Just writing two sentences about them was enough to make me saunter over to the fridge and check for leftovers, but unfortunately they must’ve all gotten gobbled up. * sad sigh*
Luckily, this is a recipe that will make it onto our dinner tables on a regular basis so I’m sure it won’t be long until these tasty cabbage rolls are back in my life. For weekday meals, I normally shoot for some kind of one dish casserole like my easy enchiladas or black bean quinoa casserole. Although all of these are tasty as can be, this recipe has a unique flavor profile that I find myself craving.
All deliciousness aside, I’m not going to lie to you – these cabbage rolls do take a little extra effort than your standard casserole, BUT I promise that your work will be rewarded! Once you get the routine down, they’re really no sweat at all and you’ll find yourself, like me, craving this Eastern European classic more often than not.
Although there are a few steps to this recipe, there are also a few short cuts built in too. For one, I normally just use my favorite jarred marinara sauce to cut down on the prep time. Don’t get me wrong, homemade marinara sauce usually can’t be beat, but sometimes, you’ve gotta cut a few corners to make a recipe manageable for a weeknight dinner.
And to think, it all starts with cabbage, an often overlooked character in the veggie world. I admit, cabbage isn’t always my go-to favorite, but in this case, its merely a vessel for the savory, hearty filling and sauce ensemble, which are the real shining stars of this recipe.
Regardless of which part is best, the seamless cohesion of ingredients come together in neat single-serve bundles that are low in calories and high on flavor. The cabbage rolls themselves are dairy free, but I absolutely love serving with sour cream. I love it so much that I added sour cream to the ingredient list. Trust me, you’ll love it too!
If you’re dairy free, maybe find a dairy free sour cream option? Topping the piping hot cabbage rolls with cool, creamy sour cream is part of what makes this dish so delightful. Don’t skip this step. You can use plain yogurt if you want to be ultra healthy, but the dairy really makes this top notch.
The gluten free-ers can rejoice though, because using quinoa makes the recipe completely gluten free. I personally could not care less about a touch of gluten, but I know a lot of you don’t have that luxury so I thought I’d point out that this recipe is safe to add to your meal repertoire.
This recipe is totally flexible too. Easy enough for a weeknight meal, but impressive enough for company. No matter how and who you serve them to, these cabbage rolls are a fun change of pace from the standard casserole. There’s no arguing that fact.
If you’re intimidated by the rolling part of this endeavor, don’t be. Its easy as 1, 2, 3. Well, 1, 2, 3, 4 to be exact. After boiling the cabbage and removing the leaves, you plop some filling down into the inner part of the roll, fold it over, tuck in the ends, and fold the top down.
It goes really fast and is much easier than rolling tortillas in my opinion. The cabbage holds together well and is pretty easy to work with.
Don’t mind how gross the stuffing looks there or how weird my hand looks. Its totally delicious and holding a camera and a cabbage roll at the same time is more challenging than it sounds.
PS – If anyone has a burning desire to buy me a tripod, I’d merrily accept it.
After slopping some sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish, put each cabbage roll in, folded side down and repeat. When the dish is full, cover with sauce and pop it in the oven. Yup, its as easy as that.
Yeesh, now I’m starving. Will someone feed me please? 😉
Turkey Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 20 oz. lean ground turkey
- 1 large head of cabbage
- 2 large carrots (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp. oil (I use olive or coconut)
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt (adjust to your preference)
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1.5 tsp. paprika
- 2 tsp. worcestershire
- 1 egg
- 12 oz. marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Rinse quinoa and add with broth to a sauce pan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 3-4 minutes before removing lid. Do not let quinoa sit longer while covered or it will get mushy.
- Heat a large pot of salted water separately over high heat to bring to a boil. Add whole head of cabbage, cover and reduce heat to low. Boil cabbage for 10 minutes and then remove from pot using oven mitts or two large spatulas. Set aside to cool.
- While quinoa and cabbage are cooking, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot and sauté for 3-4 minutes to soften. Add garlic and sauté a minute longer before adding turkey. Cook turkey for 6-7 minutes until fully cooked. While cooking, use a spatula to break the turkey up into small pieces. You do NOT want large pieces of turkey, only small crumbles.
- While turkey cooks, add worcestershire, salt, pepper, paprika, and 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce. Add cooked quinoa to turkey mixture and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning levels if desired. Add egg and stir to mix in.
- Spoon about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into a 9 X 13" casserole dish and spread out to thinly cover the bottom of the baking dish.
- Peel leaves from cabbage carefully to keep intact. Scoop 1/2 - 3/4 cup turkey filling into the center of a cabbage leaf. Fold the bottom half over the filling and then tuck the sides in. Fold the upper half over and lay seam side down in the prepared casserole dish. Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves until dish is full and filling is gone (typically 10 rolls).
- Spread remaining marinara sauce on top of cabbage rolls and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream or plain yogurt.
Notes
Nutrition
Do not attempt these rolls with savoy cabbage. It is a much more fibrous style of cabbage than the standard round heads typically found. I attempted this with savoy style and it was not enjoyable to eat. The stuffing is tasty. The carrots gave it a sweeter nod than my husband liked. If I tried this one again I would probably add some chili powder and possibly use a fradiavolo sauce to give it some zip. I liked the sour cream suggestion – that was very yummy in this dish.
Taste was phenomenal, however the cabbage was dry and tough.. When I reheated for leftovers I steamed them… that fixed them. When I make this again I will instead of putting these in the oven I will just steam them and once steamed I will put the sauce over them… If your cabbage is not fully cooked it will be tough and rubbery…. that was not enjoyable. YOUR FILLING though…..IS TOP #1…
Hmm, mine weren’t rubbery at all! Sorry to hear it turned out that way for you. The hot water rinse was an attempt to make the recipe faster to make but steaming is definitely the traditional and best way to go. Happy to hear you liked the filling!
Wow, you’ve nearly read my mind!!!! I finally had my first cabbage roll (at age 41, with Polish influences all around me!) and probably would never have tried them… but was invited to a dinner party where they were served, and was raised to ALWAYS eat your full served portion, thank the chef profusely and ask for the recipe.
My husband and I were amazed at how delicious they were! I’m trying to lose a bit of weight (crazy how the pounds pack on after your 40th bday) and the recipe was fairly calorie-packed… with sugar, white rice, ground beef/veal/pork and LOTS of oil.
So I figured I’d try to “dream up” a healthier version, and also google one. Our recipes are nearly identical! I opted to shred my carrots, use a mix of Quinoa and brown rice, add a bit more garlic , minced sweet onion and my own red sauce. For the sauce I just opened a can of tomato puree, added a bit of tomato paste, and a couple dashes of Worcestershire.
I also froze my cabbage the day before and defrosted it (it softens it without the extra pot and headache… and because its ME cooking, burned hands LOL).
Otherwise followed your instructions and Bam! What a delicious, much healthier version of my new favorite dish!!!
Thanks Christy, for helping my “vision” become a reality!!!
Hi Jessica! I’m absolutely stoked that you liked the recipe and can’t wait to try your variations! Especially that frozen cabbage idea – I’m mind blown! 🙂
I made this came out great the only thing I changed was I used turkey Italian sausage(just took it out of the casting and ground it), also add parm to the mix and ommited the carrots used red bell peppers instead instead of sour cream used Greek yogurt. Sooooooo goooddd and part of my diet
Using turkey Italian sausage would add a ton more flavor! Great idea!
It’s high in sodium and need to watch my sodium intake for health reasons. Is there any way to lower the sodium in this recipe?
I’m actually not sure Ashley. If you are used to eating with less salt then it may work for you. Salt levels are all based on preference. Good luck with the new diet!
Yes. Use Herbox NO sodium chicken broth, and tomatoes with no salt.
Good to know! Thanks for the tip!
Hi Christy,
I made this for my daughter and we all loved it! She is home from college and has requested I make this dish for her while she is home. There was a link for your favorite jarred marinara you like to use. I’m pretty sure I used that link last time. Now when I click on the marinara it takes me to a dead link within a webpage. Do you know the recipe for the marinara or have a good suggestion? Thanks!
So happy that you all loved this recipe! I didn’t realize the link was dead – thanks for letting me know! It was the Simple Truth brand and I updated the link to show which one but honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Any good sauce will do!
Delicious Love these rolls. I freeze my head of cabbage for 24 hours then let stand for 24 hrs then the leaves separate very easily. No need to boil Thank you for this recipe
Very cool! I’ve never heard of that method but can’t wait to try it!
I followed recipe exactly but cabbage leaves were very tough but dish was quite tasty. I wonder why? Any idea??
Hmm, I haven’t had that experience before. Perhaps the water wasn’t hot enough when you prepared the cabbage or maybe there wasn’t enough sauce on top? Its hard to say what when wrong for you here, but I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. It normally turns out great!
Wow, made these last night and they are an instant new favorite! I am aking the leftover filling and will stuff sweet peppers this afternoon! Amazing it’s healthy eating!! Thanks so much Christy!
Glad you liked them Jay! 🙂
I made these. And I will share that these hit the CHARTS!!!!
I made up my quinoa with some fresh, and finely, chopped portobellos, and also added.some chopped celery to the mix at the same time as the carrots and onions.
Just before done, I added a few slices of portobello, as well, because I didn’t want them to end up in the garbage. Afte
After the 30 minutes, I grated some fresh parm and chopped some parsley, and I PROMISE YOU, THEY WERE A HIT. I ALSO ADDED FRESH RICOTTA.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I served on a bed of the remaining quinoa and with a side of broiled bread!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Daaang lady! Your additions sound so good! I love the idea of adding all those veggies to the quinoa like that and serving it with bread is a must! Got to soak up all those juicy red sauces. 🙂
Ohhhh I wish I’d read everyone’s comments before I posted my own… what a great idea! I’m going to be adding minced mushrooms to mmine next time, and probably some finally chopped, cooked spinach as well!!! Woo-hoo, you have a lovely fan base Christy!
This might be a dumb question, but when you bake them do you need to cover them with foil or a lip or something or just keep them uncovered? I can’t wait to try this!
Not a dumb question at all! I didn’t cover mine and loved the way they turned out but I bet covering would help keep them soft and might speed up the cooking time. I honestly just didn’t think about it when I was making the recipe. I’m definitely going to try covering next time though!
I made this recipe on Sunday. I added some finely chopped celery and carrots. The cabbage rolls were so delicious, and the leftovers were great. I actually used the leftover cabbage rolls for breakfast – I sliced them up into thin slices, heated them and made some delicious cabbage roll sandwiches. I ran out this morning, unfortunately. It may soon be time to make more!
Oh nice! I like the sandwich idea. 🙂
This turkey cabbage roll recipe looks so good and am bookmarking it to make it 🙂 I loovee cabbage too it’s easily one of my faves in veggies.
Hi Christy, I made the recipe and they were delicious. I had to try it as it looked so good. This is now my go to recipe for cabbage rolls. I like the turkey but you can also even make this recipe with beef which I might try next time around.
So happy that you liked the recipe Ana! You can certainly make this with ground beef or even ground chicken. You might need to adjust the seasonings a bit but overall, the same recipe works pretty well with any ground meat. Enjoy!
I made this recipe over the weekend and my husband and I loved it! Healthy and delicious. I had leftovers for 3 days and it was as good as the day I made it. I will definitely make it again.
Awesome! I love this recipe too. Such simple flavors but so delicious together. 🙂
Hi. Do you think that this could be prepared and then frozen? If so should it be baked before freezing? I’m always looking for delicious meals to prep ahead. Thanks.
I haven’t tried yet, but if I did I would slather in sauce and then freeze before baking. The leaves might get a little watery when you defrost and bake, but it doesn’t seem like it would freeze too poorly. That being said, I haven’t tried it so I can’t vouch for that method. Good luck!
My family loves this recipie and they are from Louisiana. That says a lot!
Awesome! Always reassuring to get kudos from Louisiana. 😉
So happy to have found your recipe. Most of them call for raw meat and I cooked my turkey beforehand. Thanks for the save!
So happy to hear that Joanne! 🙂
do I need to use the whole cabbage roll? I’m hoping to free the meat for a second meal 🙂
Do you mean use the whole cabbage? I normally have some of the inner leaves and center leftover which you could use for something else. Hope that helps!
Made these last night and they were delicious! I’ve been craving cabbage rolls and came across your recipe. Couldnt even tell a difference between my regular beef and rice cabbage rolls and this healthy version. Great recipe!
Glad you liked them Haley! Its one of my favorite recipes.
This might be a dumb question, but I am new to cooking with cabbage. Do you just put the whole head of cabbage in without pulling it apart to boil?
Not a dumb question at all! Cabbage can be a tricky one. I just boil it all whole and then peel the leaves off. I can’t vouch for it, but could see it working fine to do it the other way though and it would probably mean you would only need to boil the leaves for a few minutes. If you do try it that way, let me know how it works! I love any trick that shaves a few minutes off cooking time.
This is not a dumb question at all! Unfortunately, I did not ask the question before I cooked the cabbage, and I followed the recipe assuming that I was supposed to peel the cabbage leaves off the head first. The problem with this is that if you follow the instructions and cook it for 10 minutes the leaves are way too soggy and pretty much disintegrated when I pick them up. Has been just went to the store to get another head of cabbage while I sit here with all of the ingredients ready to finish the recipe. LOL
I just updated the recipe to make it clearer that you need to keep the cabbage head whole. Thanks for the feedback ladies! 🙂
Hi. I just read a helpful. Hint Rap the unwashed head in foil a freeze it for 3 days. The immerse the unwrapped head into a bowl of warm water for about 30 minutes.
Slice off the stem slightly. Pull off leaves gently under running warm water (gentle flow). Let cool slightly if warm or ca refrigerate the leaves for later. Only a couple of days.
Found in a Sunset issue.
Lisa
Wow, thanks Lisa! I’ll have to try that next time!
I crosscut the bottom where the core is and run a knife around it to partially remove some core and the leaves will loosen easier. I put a tad bit of water in a microwave safe bowl cover with Saran Wrap and microwave for 10 mins. Cool and pull leaves off. ** I have a 1100 watt microwave so use you best judgement on time.
Wow, thanks for the detailed guidance on this! You can always steam in a pot, but I just hate taking that extra step if you don’t have to.
what a healthy and delicious dish! think this would be perfect for dinner tonight – thanks for the recipe.
You’re very welcome Thalia! These cabbage rolls have kind of become my obsession lately. Who knew cabbage could taste so good? 😉