Cabbage Roll Lasagna
This Cabbage Roll Lasagna is full of whole food ingredients and delicious too!
To any of you that think this “healthified” lasagna recipe isn’t for you.
You are wrong. There is no way around it.
You can tell me it isn’t for you AFTER you try it.
Then and ONLY then will I entertain the thought that this recipe “isn’t for you”! 😉
I am SO excited to finally share this recipe with you all! Sarah Koontz is the inspiration behind this Cabbag Roll Lasagna. She made it. Loved it. And NEEDED me to make it!
The two months leading up to me making this recipe, Sarah must have asked me 59,000 times if I had tried it yet and what my thoughts were. Finally, I prepared it. Holy guacamole! No wonder she was on my case, it was AMAZING!
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This simple and super healthy fake out lasagna is PACKED and I mean PACKED with flavor and so filling. Just as filling as a typical lasagna. Honestly!
I knew I loved cabbage, but layering it with rice, tomatoes, ground meat, and Italian spices created something spectacular.
If you are looking at the list of ingredients and recipe steps for this Cabbage Roll Lasagna and feeling overwhelmed let me help.
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Blanch your cabbage the day before and store in the fridge. blanching the cabbage is THE SECRET to this fake out lasagna. It takes the bite out of the cabbage and leaves you not missing typical noodles at all!
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Store a few pounds of browned ground meat IN YOUR FREEZER for recipes such as this. (Just saute the onion and garlic in your pan before you add in the thawed browned meat.)
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Use leftover rice or prepare the rice days before and STORE IN THE FRIDGE.
With these shortcuts you will have your gluten free lasagna oven-ready in a snap!
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Now without further adieu, here is the delicious Cabbage Roll Lasagna recipe!
Cabbage Roll Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cabbage, 1 head of cabbage or 1/2 of a large one
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey or any ground meat will work
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can (15oz) petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning spice blend
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheeseor cheese of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a glass 8x8 or 2 qt casserole dish lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Cabbage Layer (Noodles, if you will)
- Start boiling a large pot of water. While your water heats, roughly chop the cabbage into 2 inch x 2 inch pieces. Blanch it in boiling water for 4 minutes. Then drain and rinse cabbage in cold water to stop the cooking process. Place the blanched and cooled cabbage on a kitchen towel to dry further while you prepare the meat filling.
Meat & Rice Filling
- Heat a pan on medium-high heat and add the Tbsp of oil, ground meat, onion, and garlic. Cook until the meat is browned.
- Next, stir in remaining ingredients: tomato sauce, drained diced tomatoes, cooked rice, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture starts to simmer. Remove from heat.
Layering the Ingredients
- Finally, lets start layering! Place half your cabbage mixture in the bottom of the pan. Next add ½ of your meat mixture, other half of cabbage, then the final layer being the remainder of the meat mixture.
- Place in your oven for 30 minutes then add the ½ cup cheese to the top and bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the sides of the casserole are bubbling.
Yummy lasagna!
This sounds very much like a cabbage soup my landlady shared with me this past winter; if the lasagna is anywhere near as good as her “Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup” is, then I’m going to double the recipe to share with my minister and his family, knowing they’d probably want to add some of their home grown vegetables to it. It sure reads as something good, especially if I double the Parmesan cheese!
Hi Joyce! Yes, it is very similar to stuffed cabbage soup..only in pan form! Ha! I hope you and your minister enjoy this recipe as much as we do. 🙂 Blessings!
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I will give it a wirrl this weekend. I usually make moussaka. As it similar and pasta free.
Hey John! I certainly hope you like it! Will you do me a favor and let me know your thoughts after you enjoy it? 🙂 Blessings!
This was amazing! We added a few extra veggies and used ground venison and quinoa! Delicious!
Woohoo! It sounds delicious 🙂 I have yet to try quinoa in it but we use ground venison or buffalo in most meals too. Thanks for letting me know your recipe experience, Jena! Blessings!
Have you ever tried adding cottage cheese in addition to or in place of rice?
Hi Katie, I have not tried that. Have you? How did it taste? 🙂
I would love to make this! Is this freezable, either in individual portions or in a pan?
Absolutely! I think freezing in individual portions is genius that way you can throw one in your lunch box each day 🙂 Thanks for your comment and be sure to stop back and let me know how it turned out!
This recipe is delicious, healthy and easy to make. Everyone who eats it asks for the recipe.
Alice, I am so happy that you love this recipe too! Thank you for taking the time to bless me with your comment 🙂