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Paleo Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

These stuffed cabbage rolls are just like Grandma used to make, but with a little kick. by , updated Posted on

Paleo Recipe Paleo Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Marla Sarris
Marla Sarris is the founder of Paleo Porn, co-author of Pigskin Paleo (along with her husband Jeff), and project manager at SPYR. After tirelessly dedicating six years to teaching Mathematics at one of the top High Schools in the nation, she left her all-consuming career in pursuit of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. She continues to indulge her passion for teaching through Paleo Porn.

I may have mixed-and-matched my traditional foods a little in this recipe, but I love the way it turned out. Sofrito can complement just about any dish and these Paleo Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are no exception.

Those of us who have been living the Paleo lifestyle for a while have probably gotten used to substitutions.

Paleo Stuffed Cabbage RollsPaleo Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Whether it’s Paleo Bread, Paleo Tortillas, or cauliflower rice, we’ve gotten pretty good at taking a grain-filled recipe and making it Paleo-friendly. So it’s nice to have a recipe that hardly needs any modification to fit our needs.

Stuffed cabbage is a dish that has been around for millennia and has always consisted of basically boiled cabbage leaves wrapped around some sort of filling and then baked or slow-cooked.

Some varieties include some grains in the filling, such as rice or barley, but it’s not necessary, and obviously we didn’t do that here.

Mostly grains are just filler anyway, and we aren’t interested in filler food. Just the real stuff.

What is Sofrito?

Similar to a liquid, not chunky, salsa.

Sofrito is made from aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and sautéed or braised in cooking oil.

You can make your own Sofrito using this recipe prior to preparing your stuffed cabbage rolls or you can make your own salsa or buy a clean variety from the store if you’re in a pinch.

Putting It All Together

You can cook the cabbage rolls in any kind of sauce you want, but I enjoyed cooking them in Sofrito. It adds a fresh, crisp flavor to the meat and adds a healthy helping of veggies.

Feel free to change up the protein as well although I recommend ground beef, ground pork or ground lamb. I’ve tried this recipe with ground turkey and I believe the low fat content in the meat equates to less flavor overall. In other words the turkey came out kind of bland so I wouldn’t recommend you use ground turkey or ground chicken for this recipe.

Round Out Your Meal

You may think you’re already getting plenty of veggies in this dish with the cabbage and carrots and salsa, but you’d be wrong. Just to be safe, you should probably add a side of salad to this recipe or a side of veggies, if you haven’t already.

Paleo Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Yield: 15-20 Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 1lb organic carrots
  • 1lb grass-fed ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
  • 3 cups Sofrito or salsa

Directions

  1. Boil water in a large saucepan.
  2. While water is coming to a boil, cut the end off the head of cabbage by digging into the head of cabbage with a sharp knife in a circular motion. Remove and discard. Now, with soft fingers, gently remove the leaves off the head of cabbage. Don't worry if there is a tear or two, they will get covered up when you roll them.
  3. Once the water has come to a boil submerge 2-3 full leaves at a time into the boiling water. Boil the leaves for 2-3 minutes, or until they turn a brighter shade of green. Remove from water and transfer to a rimmed plate. Continue until all leaves are done.
  4. While the cabbage leaves are going, peel and chop the ends off the carrots. Using the shredding attachment on your food processor (or a box grater if you don't have a food processor) shred the carrots. Transfer shredded carrots to a large mixing bowl.
  5. Break up your ground meat with your hands and add to the bowl with the shredded carrots, oregano and sea salt. Dig in with your hands to mix everything together.
  6. Once all the cabbage leaves are all ready it's time to get rollin'! Grab a single leaf and chop off any hard end that still exists. Add a 1/4 cup of the meat/carrot mixture to the stem end of the cabbage and sprinkle a taste of sea salt on top. Fold both sides in on top of the mixture and start rolling from the stem toward the looser end. Place the cabbage roll flap side down inside a crockpot. Repeat this step until all the leaves are stuffed with meat and you either run out of one or the other.
  7. Pour the Sofrito or salsa on top of all the stuffed cabbage rolls.
  8. Turn the crock pot to Low and cook for 6-7 hours or until the inside of a cabbage roll reads 160°F on a meat thermometer.
  9. Remove items from crockpot and serve with your choice of veggie side. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge.
  10. Enjoy! :)

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