Cabbage Dolma (with Vegan Option)

This amazingly delicious Assyrian Cabbage Dolma recipe can be made vegan-friendly by replacing the meat with an additional cup of rice. Traditionally, these stuffed cabbage rolls are served as-is, but I like to serve it with a garlic and dill yogurt sauce and a spicy tomato sauce. See the Swiss Chard Dolma recipe for more info!

Stuffed cabbage rolls are prepared by many cultures, including Assyrians, Arabs, Armenians, Russians, Poles, and Greeks. In fact, I even have a Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage recipe!

Assyrians call this dish "Dolma't Chalama" which translates to "Cabbage Dolma." Although I could try to claim that Assyrians were the first to make dolma, I'm not going there. Similar to Ukrainian borscht, cabbage rolls are appreciated throughout the world.

The flavorful stuffed cabbage roll filling is enhanced with the sour and slightly sweet tomato sauce the dolma cooks in. The result is tender cabbage rolls that just melt in your mouth!

Jump to:

• 😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
• 🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
• 🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
• 🥬 How to Make Cabbage Dolma
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips
• 🍽 More Stuffed Vegetable Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Cabbage dolma is one of the tastiest dishes you'll ever taste!
• This recipe is gluten-free and can be made vegan by replacing the meat with an additional cup of rice.
• This stuffed cabbage rolls recipe is enough to feed a hungry crowd and great to take to a potluck.
• Cabbage dolma is a great dish for meal prepping!

🛒 What You Need For This Recipe

🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions

• Cabbage: 2 large green cabbage.
• Meat: Chuck roast or stew meat, diced into small pieces. We don't use ground meat here.
• Rice: Jasmine rice or basmati rice, which cooks faster.
• Tomato Paste: You'll need tomato paste for the filling, the sauce, and the optional spicy tomato sauce.
• Herbs: Fresh Italian parsley and cilantro.
• Spices: Salt, black pepper, paprika, allspice, curry, citric salt (which can be replaced with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice), and dill weed (fresh dill would be even better!)

*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card!

🥬 How to Make Cabbage Dolma

Step 1: Carve the core out of the cabbage using a sharp knife or a serrated grapefruit knife. Discard the core. Add the cabbage to a large stockpot and cover it with water. Boil until the leaves begin to soften and pull away from the cabbage.

Step 2: As the leaves change color and become soft and pliable, use tongs to carefully pull away the outer leaves, and place them on a platter.

Pro Tip: Avoid overcooking the leaves which will cause them to fall apart. Continue to strip the leaves away until you’re left with the smaller leaves in the center.

Step 3: Remove the thick veins from the center of the larger leaves, then slice the large leaves into smaller pieces. Use the spices to line the bottom of an 8-quart Dutch oven. This step is necessary so that the Dolma does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Pro Tip: Another option is to line the bottom of the pot with steak... yum!

Prepare the Filling

Step 4: Wash rice, to remove starch and add to a large bowl. Chop parsley and cilantro and add to the rice. Add minced onion, garlic, chopped beef, and filling spices. Finally, add the tomato paste and oil. Mix thoroughly until combined.

Pro Tip: If making vegan cabbage dolma, replace the meat with 1 cup of additional rice.

How to Roll Cabbage Dolma

Step 5: Place approximately 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of each cabbage leaf portion and roll up to enclose the filling. There's no wrong or right way to roll the dolma, just avoid making them too big. That is frowned upon!

Step 6: Place dolma rolls in the leaf-lined Dutch oven, seam-side down. Arrange them in rows until the bottom is covered. After you are done with each layer of dolma, sprinkle with a teaspoon of dill (optional). Continue until you have used up all the cabbage and the filling mixture.

Step 7: Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. The dolma will release some of its juices and will steam the rice.

Prepare Tomato Sauce

Step 8: While the dolma is steaming, whisk tomato paste, water, sugar, citric acid, salt, cayenne pepper, and vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat.

Step 9: Pour sauce over the dolma and cover with the lid. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and if you have a heat diffuser, add it under the pot. Simmer dolma until the juices are absorbed and the rice is tender. This can take anywhere from 1 to 1½ hours. 

Pro Tip: Although you're going to want to dig in, have patience. You must allow the dolma to cool for a little bit, or it will fall apart when you're dishing it out.

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips

• If you run out of cabbage leaves and still have filling remaining, you can use onions. Just peel a medium-sized onion, slice the ends, and make a slit halfway through the onion. Boil for approximately 25 minutes. Strip the onion layers and stuff them with the remaining mixture.
• If you want to make vegan dolma, simply replace the meat with 1 cup of additional rice.
• Store stuffed cabbage rolls in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
• Some recommend freezing the cabbage instead of boiling it before stuffing it. Although freezing the cabbage does soften it, the cabbage ends up being undercooked since it's not cooked before stuffing.

Here's a video of me and mom making cabbage dolma; Check out how sassy she was!

🍽 More Stuffed Vegetable Recipes

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