I have recently been playing around with cabbage. It’s such a versatile vegetable. One thing I have found I like doing is stuffing them. They make the best wraps! It’s a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. After making traditional cabbage rolls I wanted to play around with different things I could stuff into them. That is how Tex Mex Stuffed Cabbage Rolls were invented. A mix between a burrito and enchilada, stuffed with meat crumbles, rice, corn, cheese and seasoning. This is a great dish if you are looking for some healthy comfort food.
Tex Mex Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Equipment
- 9 x13 Baking Pan
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil Or similar
- 1 Yellow Onion Diced
- 2 Cups Cooked Rice Optional
- 1 Lbs Ground Beef I used Beyond Beef Vegetarian Beef Substitute
- 1 Can Corn
- 1 Can Diced Tomatoes
- 1/4 Cup Cilantro Chopped
- 1-2 Cups Shredded Cheese I used Daiya Cheddar
- 1 Oz Taco Seasoning
- 2 Cups Salsa
- 1 Head Green Cabbage
Instructions
- Start by boiling water for cabbage.
- Preheat your oven to 400.
- Cut the out the root/stem of cabbage and remove damaged leaves.
- Place head side down into boiling water.
- Remove the leaves as they start to peel away using tongs. Set aside to cool. Do this to all the leaves.
- In a large skillet or saute pan add in oil.
- Add in chopped onions and ground beef. Saute until beef starts to brown.
- Add in drained corn, diced tomatoes, rice and taco seasoning. Mix well.
- Finally add in fresh cilantro and shredded cheese.
- Take a 9 x 13 baking dish and put a thin layer of salsa on the bottom.
- Take each cabbage leaf and remove the thick stem on the bottom of the leaf.Lay the cabbage leaf flat and add 1/3 cup filling to the center of the leaf. Fold in the sides and roll the cabbage up. Place seam side down in the pan. Repeat with remaining cabbage.
- Add the remaining salsa on top, add additional cheese, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- When it's done pull from oven and let it cool.
- Top with additional salsa, cilantro, sour cream and avocado.
Tips For Making The Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage
Start by taking a large pot and filling it with water. You will want to bring you water to a boil.
Now you can start cutting your cabbage. Flip it over so you can remove the root. Similar to a cauliflower take your knife and cut around your root. Cut an x through the root making it easier to remove the root in chunks.
Once you remove the root remove the outer leaves that are brown or falling off.
Now submerge your cabbage head into the water head down.
Once the leaves become tender they will start peeling away. Remove them with kitchen tongs and set them aside to cool. Do this until all the leaves are removed.
Stuffing
To make your stuffing start by adding your oil to a pan. Add in your chopped yellow onion. At this time I would also add in a hot pepper. I didn’t have a jalapeno on hand at the time but if I did I definitely would have added it. I love heat!
Now you can add in your meat crumbles. I love using Beyond Beef ground beef for anything taco related. To me this is the closest meat substitute, it tastes great and it’s gluten free.
Once that your meat is broken up and browning you can add in the corn, diced tomatoes, cooked rice and taco seasoning. If you would like to use my favorite taco seasoning this is the link. https://jessdeliciousliving.com/quick-homemade-taco-seasoning/
Now you can incorporate your cilantro and cheese.
If you want this to be low carb I would skip the rice. Mix until well combined and take off heat.
Preheat your oven to 400. Take a large 9 x 13 baking sheet and coat the bottom in your favorite salsa.
Rolling Your Rolls
Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat surface. Use a small knife to cut a V-shaped notch to remove the thick part of the cabbage rib. Use 1/3 of a cup of the meat mixture and place in the center of a cabbage leaf. Now roll like you would a burrito.
Fold the middle leaf over the meat mixture. Now fold in the sides and roll up tucking in the extra cabbage along the way until you have a tight roll. Put the rolls in the pan face seal side down vertically in 2 rows in your pan.
For the smaller leaves you can overlap 2 of them to make a larger wrap. Repeat with remaining meat and cabbage leaves.
Once they are in your pan smother them with extra salsa, cover in aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. This is where you can also add additional cheese on top if you want.
These rolls don’t need to cook as long as regular rolls because all the filling is precooked and you want the cabbage to be cooked.
Garnish Your Tex Mex Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
When the are finished in the oven take them out and let them cool. Garnish with sour cream, lime, chopped cilantro and avocado.