Vegan Cabbage Rolls with Sauerkraut (2024)

Published by: Adina December 17, 2019 · Last modified: October 19, 2023 19 Comments

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Cabbage rolls with sauerkraut, rice, and vegetables, these vegan stuffed cabbage rolls will melt in your mouth.

Melt-in-your-mouth vegan cabbage rolls with sauerkraut; a recipe you have to try if you like cabbage rolls.

We love them. Sauerkraut cabbage rolls, vegetarian cabbage rolls, traditional Romanian cabbage rolls, Savoy cabbage rolls, and so on.

I have rolled hundreds of cabbage rolls (or vine rolls) over the past 10 years, and there wasn't one recipe I didn't like.

Cabbage rolls are traditional Romanian comfort food, the famous sarmale stuffed with ground pork and rice, cooked for hours on low heat until they are soft and almost falling apart.

This recipe for sauerkraut cabbage rolls filled with rice and vegetables is a typical Romanian fasting time vegan cabbage roll recipe.

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What kind of sauerkraut do I need?
How to prepare the filling?
How to fill sauerkraut rolls?
How to cook vegan cabbage rolls?
How to serve sauerkraut rolls?
More stuffed rolls
Vegan Cabbage Rolls with Sauerkraut

What kind of sauerkraut do I need?

The sauerkraut used to make these rolls is an Eastern European kind of sauerkraut, which is fermented whole in huge barrels. It is sour and very salty.
To make this vegan stuffed cabbage, I bought a whole head of fermented cabbage from the Russian food store. Otherwise, I suppose any Eastern European food store will have some.
The cabbage weighed about 4.5 oz/ 2 kg, and I was able to make about 50 rolls out of it.
Don't think that 50 are way too many; they are quite small, so you can eat quite a few in one go, and this kind of dish tastes even better when reheated a couple of times.
We had enough for 3 meals, and I was not tired of them in the end; I loved eating them every day.

How to prepare the filling?

This kind of sauerkraut is sour and very salty. That is why you should always soak the sauerkraut before using it. Otherwise, the dish will be too sour and salty.
You should separate the leaves before soaking them.
Separate the cabbage leaves very carefully, trying not to break them too much. If you break them here and there, don't throw them away; you will also need them later.
Only throw away the hard middle of the cabbage. Cut the lower part of the leaves, where the stem is very thick (see pictures).
Cut the larger leaves into halves, in the middle where the thick stem is. Discard the thick stem.
Leave the smaller leaves whole, but cut the thick stem as well as possible so that the leaves will be easy to roll.
Wash and soak the leaves in cold water for about 20-30 minutes.

How to fill sauerkraut rolls?

Drain and shake the cabbage leaves well to remove the excess water before filling.
Place one on the working surface, and place a little filling more or less in the middle of the leaf.
Fold one side of the leaf over the filling, then fold the lower part of the leaf over.
Now fold the other side of the leaf over.
Roll the leaf to form the cabbage roll and tuck in the open end of the leaf.
If some leaves are too small, you can build a cabbage roll from two nicely arranged leaves on top of each other.
Don't make the rolls too full or too tight; the rice needs enough space to swell.
You will not be able to use the smallest leaves from the middle of the sauerkraut to make rolls; they are too small.
Chop this core and all the leftover pieces of sauerkraut into fine stripes.

How to cook vegan cabbage rolls?

Take a large oven-proof pot/ Dutch oven (the Amazon link opens in a new tab) and place about half of the cabbage strips on its bottom in an even layer.
Add one or two bay leaves and a generous sprinkle of dried savory (or dried thyme) and dill seeds on top (the Amazon links open in new tabs).
Arrange the cabbage rolls in the pot (I had two layers of cabbage rolls) and add more bay leaves, and savory and dill seeds between the layers.
Top with the remaining chopped cabbage.
Mix the hot water, pureed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper in a jug. Pour enough of this liquid into the pot to barely cover the cabbage rolls.
Keep the rest, which you might need to add from time to time during the cooking process if the liquid cooks down too much.
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours or until the cabbage and the rice are soft.
Preheat the oven during the last half hour of the cooking time to 350°F/ 180°C.
Place the pot in the oven and cook for another 20 minutes or so or until the cabbage is nicely colored on top and the liquid has cooked down some more.

How to serve sauerkraut rolls?

The vegan stuffed cabbage rolls can be served the day you cook them, but like any other cabbage rolls, they taste better the next day. And the next day. And the next day.
Keep refrigerated in between.
You can serve the cabbage rolls with white bread or polenta–mamaliga (Romanian style) or with crusty brown bread or just as they are.

How to Cook Basic Polenta – Mamaliga
Easy Yogurt Soda Bread
Garlic Sour Cream Sauce
Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

More stuffed rolls

Sarmale - One of Romania’s national dishes: amazingly comforting, stuffed cabbage rolls with ground pork and rice slowly cooked for hours.
Vegan Cabbage Rolls - Delicious and satisfying vegan cabbage rolls filled with amaranth, sweet potatoes, and many spices and seeds.
Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls - Vegetarian and gluten-free cabbage rolls stuffed with millet, tomatoes, and feta cheese.
Stuffed Vine Leaves with Ground Meat - This traditional Romanian recipe for vine leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice and served in a deliciously smooth sauce.
Syrian Stuffed Vine Leaves - Deliciously sticky, tender Syrian stuffed vine leaves with a lemony and garlicky rice filling and cooked over a bed of chicken legs.

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