How to make Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe

In Italian, this would be better known as Cavolo Ripieno, which is a typical European style food, made with lots of vegetables wrapped in a thin and crunchy sheath of cabbage leaf. It’s a bit smoky in flavor, and of course, cheese is there to enliven the perfect Italian taste. You can also make it completely vegan, if you miss the cheese, or use Vegan cheese made of mainly soy, like tofu. That can be equally delicious, try it.

Other breakfast and snacks recipes you may like: Macaroni Cheese Balls, Veg paneer cheesy bites, Bread Dhokla Sandwich, Baked Italian Tokri, etc.

I love cabbage, and use it a lot in every day meals and snacks. This vegetable is so versatile, it goes well as everything, be it as a regular sabzi, any curry, salad, soup or stew or a tasty wholesome appetizer, such as the one that I am sharing with you today. I got the idea from one of my favorite celebrity chefs, Nita Mehta, and just had to try it out. And when I did, it was a complete hit in my family. The kids love it, their father loves it… what more can I ask for? Oh yes, I love it too J

Winter is round the corner, the season for the finest and diverse vegetables, and also the season for parties and get-togethers. So next time you are hosting a Sunday brunch at home, you can include these cabbage rolls, as a perfect appetizer or a side dish.

Here, I am toasting the whole cabbage leaves in a tawa, if that seems too time consuming then you can blanch them in warm water. However, remember that blanching cabbage leaves tends to soften them too soon, so pouring over the salted hot water instead of boiling the leaves in it, as ideal to have the crunchy cabbage at its best. Meanwhile, toasting gives the leaves this mild smoky flavor that will be missed if you blanch them. So you have two options, the choice is yours, do as you like.

One more thing I should mention is, make sure the cabbages are fresh and supple. I largely buy veggies fresh from the market instead of the frozen ones, as the former has the most enlivened taste. I cut off the stalk part of the cabbage leaf to make the wrapping more flexible, if you do that too, and then mix that portion with the veggies.

The Covolo Ripieno I mentioned earlier, is widely eaten in Italian cuisine, and often topped with a pesto, gravy or thick tomato sauce. I tried that once, but my children didn’t receive it as good as the dry rolls. If you like, you can top it with a sauce of your choice.

Enjoy this super healthy and delectable snack, and have them in lots, the more the better.

This recipe is a complete vegan and vegetarian recipe, if you don’t use cheese. I use to make this rolls regularly for our home cooking. I generally experiment with veggies usually broccoli or other veggies. I sometimes also change seasonings to give it a nice twist.
You can use haldi or turmeric as it is a very good anti-oxidant. Read here the benefits of turmeric. This makes it healthy too. You can add any ingredients for stuffing you like. You can also add raisins, cinnamon, cayenne or quinoa.

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Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

A very simple corn and veggies stuffed cabbage rolls.

Course Brunch

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 296 kcal

Author Reshu Drolia

Ingredients

• 4-5 cabbage leaves
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly crushed
• Olive oil to cook cabbage

For Stuffing:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp Ginger Grated
• ½ tsp garlic Crushed
• 1/3 cup onion finely chopped
• 1/4 cup French beans finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper finely chopped
• 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper finely chopped
• 1/3 cup green capsicum finely chopped
• 8-10 pieces olives chopped
• 1/3 cup sweet corns boiled
• Salt to taste
• ¾ tsp black pepper freshly crushed
• Pizza seasoning /Italian seasoning
• Red chilly flakes as needed
• 1 tsp vinegar
• Mozarella cheese optional

Instructions

1. Take one head cabbage and separate the leaves by cutting the stalk. Remove the hard part/ spine from each leaf so that it will become easy while rolling.
2. Wash the leaves and pat dry all the cabbage leaves.
3. Brush each cabbage leaf from both the sides with olive oil before cooking in pan.
4. Heat non-stick pan on medium high flame and cook one by one cabbage leaves from both the sides by pressing it with spatula till dark brown spots/patches appears on the leaf. This way it will give nice smoky flavor and also leaves will becomes soft and get rolled easily.
5. Take out the leaves to a plate and toss it lightly to make it flavorful by adding vinegar, salt and crushed black pepper.
6. To make stuffing heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, once the oil becomes slightly hot add grated ginger and crushed garlic, sauté it for few seconds.
7. Now add chopped onions, beans and sauté it on medium flame till onions become translucent and beans little soft (I have added beans first because it takes time to get soft).
8. Add chopped yellow and red bell pepper, boiled sweet corns, chopped olives, green capsicum and mix it well. Add salt to tatse to make the cooking fast and sauté veggies on medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook the veggies, let it be crunchy.
9. Lastly add pizza seasoning or Italian herbs’ red chilly flakes as needed (If you don’t like spicy food then skip it), vinegar and mix it until well combined.
10. Remove from the heat and let it slightly cool down.
11. Take one cabbage leaf at a time on a flat surface and spoon the stuffing/filling into the center of the cabbage leaves along the vein. Spread about 2-3 tbsp of mixture in each, depending upon the size of the leaves.
12. Grate some mozarrella cheese on top of the stuffing (if you don’t like can skip this step)
13. Roll the leaf with the filling into neat cylinder shape. Cut the rolls into 1 to 11/2 inch pieces. Now take a tooth pick, insert black olives, red bell pepper and insert the tooth pick in each stuffed cabbage rolls to seat it tightly.
14. Serve the Stuffed cabbage rolls at room temperature with schezwan sauce.

Recipe Notes

Take out the large cabbage leaves from the head of cabbage which are big enough to stuff. Cut the leaves with a sharp knife and pull out very carefully so that you get the whole leaves without damaging.
Chop up the remaining small and damaged cabbage leaves and use it to make any stuff.

Nutrition Facts

Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Amount Per Serving (1 pcs)

Calories 296 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 5g 8%

Sodium 342mg 14%

Potassium 1706mg 49%

Total Carbohydrates 60g 20%

Dietary Fiber 24g 96%

Sugars 31g

Protein 12g 24%

Vitamin A 32.7%

Vitamin C 488.2%

Calcium 36.9%

Iron 25.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Equipment Used:

Prestige Pan

How To make stuffed Indian cabbage rolls:

• Take one head cabbage and separate the leaves by cutting the stalk. Remove the hard part/ spine from each leaf so that it will become easy while rolling.

• Wash the leaves and pat dry all the cabbage leaves.
• Brush each cabbage leaf from both the sides with olive oil before cooking in pan.

• Heat non-stick pan on medium high flame and cook one by one cabbage leaves from both the sides by pressing it with spatula till dark brown spots/patches appears on the leaf. This way it will give nice smoky flavor and also leaves will becomes soft and get rolled easily.

• Take out the leaves to a plate and toss it lightly to make it flavorful by adding vinegar, salt and crushed black pepper.

• To make stuffing heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, once the oil becomes slightly hot add grated ginger and crushed garlic, sauté it for few seconds.

• Now add chopped onions, beans and sauté it on medium flame till onions become translucent and beans little soft (I have added beans first because it takes time to get soft).

• Add chopped yellow and red bell pepper, boiled sweet corns, chopped olives, green capsicum and mix it well. Add salt to tatse to make the cooking fast and sauté veggies on medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook the veggies, let it be crunchy.

• Lastly add pizza seasoning or Italian herbs’ red chilly flakes as needed (If you don’t like spicy food then skip it), vinegar and mix it until well combined.

• Remove from the heat and let it slightly cool down.
• Take one cabbage leaf at a time on a flat surface and spoon the stuffing/filling into the center of the cabbage leaves along the vein. Spread about 2-3 tbsp of mixture in each, depending upon the size of the leaves.

• Grate some mozarrella cheese on top of the stuffing (if you don’t like can skip this step)

• Roll the leaf with the filling into neat cylinder shape. Cut the rolls into 1 to 11/2 inch pieces. Now take a tooth pick, insert black olives, red bell pepper and insert the tooth pick in each stuffed cabbage rolls to seat it tightly.

• Serve the Stuffed cabbage rolls at room temperature with schezwan sauce.

Note:

• Take out the large cabbage leaves from the head of cabbage which are big enough to stuff. Cut the leaves with a sharp knife and pull out very carefully so that you get the whole leaves without damaging.
• Chop up the remaining small and damaged cabbage leaves and use it to make any stuff.

Are you making this recipe? I LOVE to see your creations, so snap a photo and tag @mintsrecipes on Instagram with the hashtag #mintsrecipes