Description
These Slow Cooker Mushroom-Lentil Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a hearty and comforting vegetarian dish featuring tender cabbage leaves wrapped around a flavorful mixture of lentils, brown rice, mushrooms, pine nuts, and golden raisins. Slow-cooked in marinara sauce, they deliver a perfect balance of earthy and sweet flavors, enhanced with fresh dill and garlic. Ideal for a cozy meal, these cabbage rolls are nutritious, satisfying, and easy to prepare in a Crock Pot.
Ingredients
Scale
Cabbage Leaves
- 1 head green cabbage (large outermost leaves removed)
Filling
- 1 cup brown lentils (cooked; about 1/2 cup uncooked)
- 1 cup long-grain brown rice (cooked; about 1/3 cup uncooked)
- 1/2 cup onion (diced; about 1/4 medium onion)
- 2 oz cremini mushrooms (diced; about 3/4 cup or 3–4 mushrooms)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted)
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp fresh dill (minced; plus more for serving)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Sauce
- 24 oz marinara sauce (or 3 cups of your favorite homemade marinara sauce)
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Boil Cabbage: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully drop the cabbage into the pot and let it boil for about 5 minutes to soften the leaves.
- Prep Cabbage: Transfer the cabbage to a colander set over a large bowl to drain and cool slightly. Remove the outermost layers of leaves until you reach leaves that are pliable and easy to roll.
- Gather Leaves: Repeat the boiling and draining process until you have 8 cabbage leaves. Pat the leaves dry with paper towels and set aside for filling.
- Mix Filling: In a medium bowl, combine the cooked lentils and brown rice, diced onion, mushrooms, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, minced garlic, fresh dill, olive oil, and kosher salt. Stir gently until all ingredients are well combined.
- Prep Cooker: Pour the marinara sauce and 1/4 cup water into a 3-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir to combine the sauce and water evenly.
- Wrap Rolls: Place a cabbage leaf flat on a clean surface, with the outer side down. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the mushroom-lentil filling into the center of the leaf. Fold the stem end up about one-third of the way, then fold in the sides. Roll the leaf tightly to encase the filling completely. Place the roll seam-side down on top of the marinara sauce in the slow cooker.
- Finish Wrapping: Repeat the rolling process with the remaining cabbage leaves and filling. Arrange the rolls in the slow cooker in one or two layers, stacking them gently on top of each other.
- Cook Rolls: Cover and cook on HIGH for 4–5 hours or on LOW for 8–10 hours until the cabbage rolls are tender and heated through.
- Serve Rolls: To serve, spoon some marinara sauce onto each plate. Carefully transfer the cabbage rolls one at a time from the slow cooker to the plate. Ladle additional marinara sauce over the top of each roll and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh dill if desired.
Notes
- Be careful when handling the hot cabbage leaves; allow them to cool slightly before rolling to avoid burns.
- To toast pine nuts, heat them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until golden and fragrant.
- For a gluten-free version, ensure the marinara sauce is gluten free.
- These cabbage rolls can be made a day ahead and refrigerated; reheat in the slow cooker or oven before serving.
- This dish freezes well; freeze cooked rolls individually wrapped for up to 3 months.
