Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey

This recipe for Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey 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 that is a cabbage recipe for kidney disease.

We provide safe and easily implementable CKD dietary information, basing all our advice and meal plans on solid nutrition science that meets national guidelines for CKD patients. As a Registered Dietitian with a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition, I have completed a comprehensive internship and the required credentialing exam, ensuring professional expertise. My passion for homemade cooking began at age 12, learning from my grandmother on a gas stove, enriching the meals I create for CKD management.

Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey

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 cabbage recipe for kidney patients.

If you need a soup to go with this recipe, try our Cauliflower Pumpkin Soup. I do love to pair this with the Peas and Carrots recipe for a side dish that works well with this meal.

You'll love to know that this sauce was a part of our St. Patrick's Day meal. You'll also love the other options we cooked with it. Peas and carrots, Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, and Buffalo Cauliflower Dip.

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Ingredients for Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey

close up of Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey Ingredients.
  • 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. Only you are making a renal diet cabbage recipe.

Step 1 of turkey Cabbage Rolls cook rice
  1. 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.
Step 2 remove cabbage leaves and boil.

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.

step 3. add vegetables and cooked to soften turkey cabbage roll.

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

step 4 add turkey and cook

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.

step 5 add seasoning and roasted red pepper sauce to turkey-cabbage rolls.

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.

step 6 add rice and egg and combine well turkey cabbage rolls.

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.

Step 7 Add roasted red pepper sauce to bottom of pan.

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

Step 8 make cabbage rolls and put into pan turkey cabbage rolls.

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.

Step 9 pour remaining red sauce on top

9. Pour remaining roasted red pepper sauce on top of cabbage rolls.

Step 10 bake turkey cabbage rolls 30 minutes.

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.

Perfectly Done Turkey Cabbage-Rolls

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

Are there any variations to the traditional turkey cabbage roll recipe?

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. These are all ways to make ground turkey stuffed cabbage that you might try.

Can turkey cabbage rolls be made ahead of time?

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.

How do you prepare the cabbage leaves for rolling?

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.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

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Cabbage Rolls with Ground Turkey

cabbage rolls that are done plated on a blue plate with sauce

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5 from 1 review

Delicious adaptation of traditional ground turkey cabbage rolls made for CKD patients

  • Author: Mathea Ford, MBA, RDN, LD
  • 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

Scale

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

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One Comment

  1. Gotta EAT says:

    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!