Turkey Cabbage Rolls (Healthy and Easy!)
This recipe for Turkey Cabbage Rolls is out of this world! It has a delicious zing from the Roasted Red Pepper sauce, and you won't even remember that it is salt free. You can make these up ahead of time and freeze them or you can freeze the leftovers and the portion size is big - you might find yourself full for this meal.
Why You Will Love This Turkey Stuffed Cabbage
Taste, taste, taste. These do not taste like you have any restrictions, and they are easily stored or frozen for future meals. With no tomatoes, you have less concerns about potassium and phosphorus for your diet. This is truly a healthy stuffed cabbage roll recipe.
You will need the roasted red pepper sauce recipe, and I love to pair this with the Peas and Carrots recipe for a side dish that works well with this meal.
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Ingredients for Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey
- Ground Turkey - use the leanest version you can find in store, I used 92% lean
- Roasted Red Pepper Sauce - perfect replacement for the tomato sauce that is commonly used in cabbage rolls with ground turkey
- Cabbage - you will find these very easy to "roll" into healthy cabbage rolls that don't fall apart
- Celery, Carrots and Onion - adds flavor and crunchiness to the recipe and fiber as well as vitamins.
- Egg - using an egg to pull the mixture together and help it stay together so the roll is perfectly delicious
- Spices - the blend of spices makes the roll tasty without extra salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions For Making Cabbage Rolls
This recipe does have a few steps, but once you work through them, they are easy as making a pie.
- Preheat oven to 375' F. Dice carrots, onions and celery and set aside. Cook rice. In a 3 quart saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat, and fluff with a fork. Set aside until ready to combine with other ingredients.
2. Cut out core of cabbage and remove 12 leaves of cabbage from the head of cabbage. Fill a 5 quart pot with water and bring to a boil. Add leaves of cabbage , cover and reduce heat to low. Boil cabbage for 8 minutes. rolling it over while cooking to ensure all leaves are cooked. Remove cabbage from water and let cool in a strainer.
3. While rice and cabbage are cooking, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute for 3-4 minutes to soften
4. Add garlic and saute one more minute, then add turkey and cook for 6 minutes until fully cooked. Break up the turkey into smaller pieces so you don't have any large pieces of turkey. Drain any excess fat.
5. Once turkey is drained of fat, continue cooking and add pepper, paprika, chili powder and balsamic vinegar and ½ cup roasted red pepper sauce.
6. Add cooked rice to the mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg and then add egg to mix and stir/combine well.
7. Spray bottom of 9x13 casserole pan. Spoon ½ cup red pepper sauce into bottom of an empty 9x13 in casserole pan and spread out to a thin layer
8. Take cabbage leaves from strainer and add a little less than ½ cup turkey filling into the center of the 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 the dish is full and filling is gone.
9. Pour remaining roasted red pepper sauce on top of cabbage rolls.
10. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until cabbage is fully cooked.
Hint: You might be concerned about nutritional values for this recipe (which is in the recipe card). I have added the nutritional information for the roasted red pepper sauce to this recipe so you don't have to math.
Substitutions
You could substitute wild rice or brown rice for the white rice if you want more fiber, as long as you are not concerned about additional potassium in your diet. You can also take out the red pepper flakes in the sauce if it's too spicy for you.
Equipment
These are the 2 pieces of equipment that I use over and over again when it comes to recipes with chopped or sliced vegetables.
Storage
You can store the cooked cabbage rolls in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, when you cover them with plastic wrap. When you reheat them in the oven, ensure they reach an internal temperature of at least 165' F.
You can also freeze the leftovers after cooking for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1-2 days then cook according to the reheating instructions above.
Top tip
Use a little less than ½ cup per roll for filling inside the cabbage rolls. Also allow the cooked mixture of rice and turkey cool for 3-4 minutes before adding the egg to the mixture and mix well after adding.
FAQ about Ground Turkey Stuffed Cabbage
To prepare cabbage leaves for rolling, you first need to soften them to make them pliable. This can be done by blanching the whole cabbage head in boiling water for a few minutes until the leaves are soft enough to peel off without tearing. Some people also freeze the cabbage head and then thaw it, which softens the leaves and makes them easy to separate.
Yes, turkey cabbage rolls are an excellent make-ahead meal. You can prepare and assemble the rolls, then refrigerate them overnight before cooking. Alternatively, you can fully cook the rolls and then freeze them. To serve, simply thaw in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven or microwave. This makes them a convenient option for meal prep or for serving guests.
Absolutely, there are many variations to the traditional turkey cabbage roll recipe that cater to different dietary needs and preferences. For a low-carb option, you can use cauliflower rice instead of traditional rice. For added flavor, consider incorporating different vegetables like bell peppers or mushrooms into the filling. Spices and herbs can also be adjusted to suit taste preferences, and for those looking for a vegetarian option, lentils or quinoa can replace the ground turkey.
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PrintRecipe
Turkey Cabbage Rolls (Healthy and Easy!)
Delicious adaptation of traditional ground turkey cabbage rolls made for CKD patients
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven and Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Salt
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups water
12 large cabbage leaves
½ cup onion diced
1 cup carrot diced
¼ cup chopped celery
2 tsp minced garlic
8 ounces lean ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 egg
2 cups Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375'F
2. Dice carrot, onion and celery.
3. Cook rice. In a 3 quart saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat, and fluff with a fork. Set aside until ready to combine with other ingredients.
4. Cut out core of cabbage and remove 12 leaves of cabbage from the head of cabbage. If tough to remove them in one piece with minimal tears, microwave the head for 15 seconds at a time, up to 1 minute and peel off leaves. May need to do multiple 15 second rounds. [Alternatively you can boil the entire head of cabbage after removing the core and peel the leaves off after cooking] Fill a 5 quart pot with water and bring to a boil. Add leaves of cabbage , cover and reduce heat to low. Boil cabbage for 8 minutes. rolling it over while cooking to ensure all leaves are cooked. Remove cabbage from water and let cool in a strainer.
5. While rice and cabbage are cooking, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute for 3-4 minutes to soften
6. Add garlic and saute one more minute, then add turkey and cook for 6 minutes until fully cooked. Break up the turkey into smaller pieces so you don't have any large pieces of turkey. Drain any excess fat.
7. Once turkey is drained of fat, continue cooking and add pepper, paprika, chili powder and balsamic vinegar and ½ cup roasted red pepper sauce.
8. Add cooked rice to the mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg and then add egg to mix and stir/combine well.
9. Spray bottom of 9x13 casserole pan. Spoon ½ cup red pepper sauce into bottom of an empty 9x13 in casserole pan and spread out to a thin layer
10. Take cabbage leaves from strainer and add a little less than ½ cup turkey filling [to be exact, it's 3.3 ounce or 94 gm if you have a scale] into the center of the 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 the dish is full and filling is gone.
11. Pour remaining roasted red pepper sauce on top of cabbage rolls. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until cabbage is fully cooked.
Serving is 3 rolls per person
Looks Delicious! What sauce can I use instead of red pepper or tomato sauce. Cannot have any peppers - allergic, or tomatoes due to high potassium. Thanks!