If you have not tried this recipe yet, give it a go and let me know what you think!

Cabbage is not only good for you, thankfully, it’s tasty, too. Fairly easy to locate it in the produce aisle of your favorite supermarket, once blanched, you can make so many things with cabbage leaf wrappers, from egg rolls to little packages of tasty, beef fun.

I know that I love coleslaw, and I am such a fan of the ferment (in the form of sauerkraut), but I’d never played with them, blanched them, or used them to wrap up some savory innards. That said, these easy cabbage rolls were inspired by the phenomenal Deb at Smitten Kitchen. I am glad she shared how fun and easy it is to use savoy. I am a bit of a chicken sometimes.

Easy Italian Cabbage Rolls

1 large savoy cabbage
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup canned, unsweetened coconut milk (you can use heavy cream instead)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
16 ounces lean ground beef
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp fresh-ground pepper

2 15-ounce jars (3 cups total) of no-sugar-added, store brand pizza sauce + 1/2 jar hot water

Toothpicks (preferably flat)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Slowly and gently peel 12 intact, cabbage leaves (if a couple rip slightly, that’s fine. They can be pinned back together.  Blanch a few leaves at a time for about 1 minute in the boiling water, until wilted and soft, and spread out on towels to cool until you’re ready to bring the magic.

For the filling, place flax seed meal in a large mixing bowl and pour coconut milk over the top. Let sit for a few minutes (the flax seed meal will thicken), then combine with a fork. Incorporate the hamburger, parsley, Parmesan, garlic, salt and black pepper with a fork.

Lay your blanched cabbage leaf on a cutting board. Form the filling mixture into 12, roughly 2″ balls. Wrap the cabbage leaf around each ball and secure  with a toothpick (use two, placed in an “x” if one isn’t enough). Repeat with remaining leaves and hamburger mixture.

Bring the sauce and 1/2 jar of water to a gentle boil in a 12″ saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add cabbage packages and  cover the pan. Gently simmer for 20 minutes (my 12″ pan is so large that I use a cookie sheet to cover the pan. With makeshift, metal lids, be sure to use an oven mitt to remove the cover when checking the cabbages or you’ll burn/scald your hands). Remove the toothpicks and carefully turn the rolls over, cooking them for another 20 minutes. (To remove the toothpicks, I typically use a large spoon to gently hold the cabbage packages down and use tongs to remove each toothpick; then I carefully flip all of the cabbage packages over.) Remove the lid and simmer for another 15 minutes to thicken the sauce slightly. Serve hot.

Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

Makes 12 rolls.

Per cabbage roll + 1/4 cup sauce: 152 Cals.; 10 g Carbs.; 4 g Fiber; 6 g Net Carbs. ; 11 g Protein; 9 g Fat
Per cabbage roll and 2 Tbsp sauce: 132 Cals.; 8 g Carbs.; 3.5 g Fiber; 4.5 g Net Carbs. ; 10.5 g Protein; 9 g Fat
The sauce adds to each serving: 40 Cals.; 6 g Carbs.; 1 g Fiber; 5 Net Carbs.; 1 g Protein, 0 g Fat