Inspired by Slovak holubky (or halupki), this recipe for slow cooker vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with sauerkraut, tomato sauce, brown rice and tempeh bacon is packed with savory, sour flavors. They’re absolutely delicious!
I’ve never met a cabbage roll that didn’t require effort to put together. If you’re gonna make these bad boys, you need some time to do it. That said, it isn’t hard to execute. Nice and meditative. A bit like making pierogi.
So, what goes with this vegan tempeh cabbage rolls recipe? Mashed potatoes. A big, huge mound of mashed potatoes topped with some melted vegan butter. Get a little of the roll, the sauerkraut tomato sauce and some mashed potato in every bite.
A few things…
- ・If you use Easy Tempeh Bacon for this recipe, make sure the tempeh marinates overnight or even two nights, if possible. You want it to be potent, so it can carry the flavor.
- ・After pulling off the outer leaves of the cabbage, you’ll be left with the inner leaves and part of the core. These parts do not work well for folding cabbage rolls, but do not throw it out! Save it and use it to make Vegan Cabbage and Noodles.
This vegan stuffed cabbage rolls recipe is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it, as well 💚
Discover additional UVK recipes, like Slow Cooker Tempeh Sauerkraut Stew, White Beans and Sauerkraut, Vegan Sauerkraut, White Bean and Barley Soup, Avocado Cucumber Carrot Sushi with Sweet Chili Sauce, Smoky Lentil Sauerkraut Buns, Vegan Collard Green Rolls with Smoky Jackfruit and Sweet Potatoes and more.
Slow Cooker Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Sauerkraut Tomato Sauce
2 heads of green cabbage
1 ½ cups short grain brown rice
1 ½ cups finely chopped onion
4 Tbsp vegan butter
1 uncooked batch of Easy Tempeh Bacon, crumbled up (OR use store bought, like Lightlife Smoky Tempeh)
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
28 ounce can of tomato puree
1 cup sauerkraut, drained (but reserve ¼ cup of the brine)
1. First, you need to get two pots of water on the stove. Fill a large pot with water for the cabbage. And then, add 4 cups water to a medium saucepan for the rice. Put both on the stove and bring to a boil. While you are waiting for the pots of water boil, core the cabbage (see photo above).
2. When the medium saucepan comes to a boil, add the rice and paraboil it for 15 minutes. Drain the rice in a colander, and then, dump it into a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Later, you’ll return to this rice to make your vegan cabbage rolls filling.
3. When the large pot comes to a boil, add one of the entire heads of cabbage. Push it down with a wooden spoon, so it’s totally submerged (air bubbles will rise to the surface of the water, as the water seeps in).
4. After ~3 minutes of boiling, edge your wooden spoon (or spatula) between one of the leaves and the head of the cabbage and push a little. The leaves should be soft, and easily come away (see photo above). This entire process should take less than 5 minutes.
5. Remove the cabbage head from the boiling pot using two wooden spoons (see photo above). And place the boiled cabbage on a plate lined with a paper towel, and give it a chance to cool a bit.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 with the second head of cabbage. Once you remove the second cabbage head from the boiling water, keep the pot of boiling water. You may need it to soften some of the leaves, if they are not pliable enough for folding the vegan cabbage rolls.
7. Once you’ve boiled both cabbage heads, gingerly pull off the outer leaves, and stack them on the plate covered with a paper towel. You’ll want 12-15 leaves–depending on the size of the leaves.
8. If one of the leaves feels a little too “crisp”, put it back in the boiling water for a few seconds. The leaves need to be easy to fold. The innermost part of the cabbage does not work well for making vegan stuffed cabbage rolls, so reserve it and use it in another recipe (see recipe notes for a suggestion).
9. Now, that the leaves are ready to use, let’s go back to working on the vegan cabbage roll filling. In a skillet, add the onion, vegan butter and a dash of salt. Sauté over medium-high heat until the onions are transparent (or ~6 minutes).
10. Add the tempeh bacon, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder to the skillet. Stir around for ~3 minutes over medium-high heat. Then, add it to the mixing bowl with the rice. Stir to combine everything together. Set aside.
11. It’s time to prep the slow cooker with the sauerkraut-tomato sauce for the vegan cabbage rolls. In the bottom of a slow cooker or crockpot, add ~⅓ cup of the tomato puree and ¼ cup of the sauerkraut. Mix together and spread evenly across the bottom.
12. Finally, it’s time to fold the vegan cabbage rolls. Run your knife along the midrib of the cabbage leaf and shave it down (see photo above). This will make the leaf much easier to fold.
13. Turn the leaf over, so the area where you shaved part of midrib away is facing down. Put 2-3 Tbsp of the vegan cabbage roll filling in the center of the leaf.
14. Fold up the bottom part of the leaf and fold over one side.
15. Fold over the other side. It should create a pouch around the filling.
16. Roll it up, and trim away any excess leaf.
17. Place the vegan cabbage roll in the slow cooker. Repeat this process until you have one layer of rolls across the bottom of the slow cooker. Don’t be shy about squeezing them in there.
18. When you have one layer of vegan cabbage rolls in the bottom of the slow cooker, spread ⅓ of the can of tomato puree and ½ cup of the sauerkraut over the rolls.
19. Then, finish folding cabbage rolls until you create a second layer of rolls. It may not be a layer that completely covers the first layer in the bottom of the slow cooker, and that’s ok.
20. Cover the second layer of vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with the remaining sauerkraut and tomato puree. Pour the ¼ cup of sauerkraut brine over the top. Secure the slow cooker lid, and cook on HIGH for 3.5-4 hours.
21. Remove the lid, top with fresh parsley, and serve slow cooker vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with a big pile of fluffy mashed potatoes.
2 responses to “Slow Cooker Vegan Cabbage Rolls with Sauerkraut Tomato Sauce”
I can almost smell it from the great photos! Looks yummy.
Thank you!