One Pot UnStuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls ; A No-Fuss Plant-Based Meal

The weather has cooled off a bit, and I'm already thinking of heartier foods! One of my favorites is stuffed cabbage BUT it's way too labor intensive for me to want to sit and roll the cabbage, so I make an "unstuffed cabbage roll " version instead, which is an easy one pot plant-based (GF) recipe with no rolling involved!

Vegan Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls: Easy, Healthy, and Delicious

If you are looking to add more high fiber plant-based meals to your diet, this one-pot meal is a crowd pleaser. Big on flavor and nutrients, it's a perfect choice for a busy weeknight or even a cozy weekend dinner. Eat it as a meal by adding chickpeas or a side dish with your any meal. It is gluten-free and oil-free as well.

The cookbook is over 40 years old and has been well used!

Back in 1979, as chairperson and editor of a fundraiser, I published a cookbook for a local charitable organization called Hamilton Hadassah. (It was located in Hamilton, NJ).  I collected recipes from the membership, edited, found a young high school student to design  the cover. Once published, the membership sold the cookbooks to friends and family, and we raised a significant amount of money to donate to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. One of the recipes that I submitted to our community cookbook was for my mom's stuffed cabbage rolls which she mainly made on holidays because it was so much work.

My mom's cabbage roll recipe was sweet and sour and made with sauerkraut and raisins in her cooking sauce. Although my recipe is vegan and  my mom's recipe was made with chopped meat, I adapted her recipe and made vegan version.

"Impossible Burger" or "Beyond Burger" would work perfectly in her recipe as far as taste and texture, but I find the fat of the content of "fake alternative meat" way too high and unhealthy for me to want to use. So instead use a lower fat plant-based protein such as tofu and or chickpeas. I've made it both ways. 

 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of chopped onions

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 jar of organic salsa (mild, medium or hot)

optional: 1/4-1/2  cup of tomato paste for thicker sauce

2 jars (from empty salsa) of vegetable broth or water

2 cups of white cabbage, chopped  

3 tablespoons of dark raisins, soaked in 1/2 cup of water for 15 minutes 

1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 block of tofu, crumbled

3 cups of sauerkraut 

Optional: 1 cup of cooked chickpeas 

2 cups of white or brown rice, cooked (should be still warm and recently cooked)

Directions: 

Sauté onions in a large wide rimmed skillet or Dutch oven with 1/4 cup of water or broth for 5 minutes, stirring. Add garlic and sauté another 3 minutes stirring. Add white cabbage, salsa, raisins with water, vegetable broth, tofu, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until cabbage is soft, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and add sauerkraut and optional chickpeas. Mix into mixture and cook and additional 3-5 minutes until sauerkraut and optional chickpeas are hot. Add mixture to a casserole dish and top with rice.  

Vegan Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Are A Hearty Healthy Meal

1. Healthy and Nutritious
   This dish is packed with wholesome ingredients. Cabbage, a key ingredient, is rich in vitamins C and K, fiber, and antioxidants. The addition of chickpeas provides a hearty dose of protein and fiber, while tomatoes and spices add depth and nutrients. It’s a balanced meal that’s both satisfying and nourishing.

   

My Notes: 

1. Sticky white rice is my favorite rice to eat with this dish 

2. I sometimes add a little ketchup while cooking or before serving to each dish but not necessary.

3. The recipe is versatile. Using more or less sauce . it doesn't have to be perfect measurements. Sometimes chickpeas and sometime crumbled tofu. It comes out a little differently every time I make it.

4. Squeeze out some of the water before crumbling tofu (I use my hands to crumble the tofu). 

5. All recipes on this blog since 2022 are naturally gluten-free, plant-based, and oil-free. 

6. Can you make this in the Instant Pot? Yes, but I have not developed the recipe yet. Should be easy but don't overcook the cabbage.

The Great Gatsby on Broadway

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is playing on Broadway in NYC. This week was 2-for-1 week at participating Broadway theaters, and we were able to get our 7th row orchestra, 1/2 price tickets weeks in advance by mail.

Living an hour and half away (or even less time if we catch an express), we usually take the train. It's a pleasant ride. When we arrive in Penn Station in NYC, we still have a 20 minute walk to the theater district.

Our matinee was at 2:00 PM. We arrived in NYC around noon, so we had time for a quick lunch. Directly across the street from our arrival at Penn Station is the newly renovated Moynihan Train Hall that services the New York Long Island trains. Its main entrance is the old post office building which in itself is a spectacular structure. It looks similar to the photo below.

The inside renovation of the massive building is clean, modern, and stunningly beautiful. They have a wonderful large food court which is where we had our lunch. 

We were so hungry and the lines were so long to order food, I forgot to take any photos of the inside of the station and the food court itself.

There is an interesting selection of food stands, and I was able to get a vegan vegetable curry over white rice with gluten-free soy sauce at an Asian stand. 

My husband (who is not vegan nor gluten-free) had a pastrami sandwich from a deli stand, which he said was the best he ever had. Our friends had knishes and pastrami sandwiches. Everyone was happy, and we all ate together at one table in the lovely food court.

After lunch, we walked directly to the theatre.

We enjoyed  seeing The Great Gatsby! Perhaps not the best Broadway Show I've ever seen, but certainly up there with the good ones. The scenery and acting was superb, and the talented singer's voices were over the top! I found their singing voices powerful, beautiful, and mesmerizing. No complaints!

Walked by the home of the famous New York Times Newspaper building on our way
 back to Penn Station 

On the walk back to the train from the theatre, we stopped at Amorino Gelato which is a franchise that is also in Paris, Barcelona, Milan, NY, and San Francisco. 

Photo from the website

The first time we were introduced to this unique gelato shop was on our trip to Paris this past May 2024. Click here to see more of the unusual and interesting shapes of their ice cream cones they create. 

I ordered a medium cup of gelato that I shared with my husband. I was able to choose 3-4 flavors in our medium cup. I choose mint, a special variety of chocolate, and stracciatella. Not every gelato was vegan, but I cheated.  Our friend got one of the specialty designer cones in the shape of a large rose and it was composed on five flavors that he selected!!

All of their gelato is gluten-free, but not the cones or cookies. They also had vegan choices of gelato, but it more like a sorbet.

We arrived home in time for a late dinner. Since I had salads in mason jars and some leftover lentil soup, we were able to eat a fairly healthy meal (after our gelato splurge). 

It was a glorious day in every respect. The weather was sunny, about 79 degrees during the day, and no humidity. The show was great, we enjoyed some good food and dessert, all with the company of good friends. 

Have you been to Broadway show lately? What live theatre shows have you seen lately? 

Discovering Jicama: The Crunchy, Versatile Veggie You’ll Love

Is it a potato? A brown beet? a turnip? No!! It's a jicama!!

Have you even tasted jicama? 

It's a root veggie that you might have seen in your local grocery store or farmers' market, but never knew what to do with it. It's not pretty on the outside, but it is crunchy and delicious and slightly sweet on the inside. Like a carrot, it can be eaten raw or cooked. 

In My Kitchen September

I'm joining Sherry at Sherry's Pickings for  her "IN MY KITCHEN" September, 2024 blogger share!

It's hard to believe that the summer is almost over and we are already welcoming in the month of September.  

Not a lot going on in my kitchen right now but I'll share what I've got!