Asian Cabbage Rolls
These Asian Cabbage Rolls are filled with ground meat, cauliflower rice, egg and lots of veggies! The rolls are baked in the oven until tender and are durable enough to pick up and eat with your hands! These Whole30 Cabbage Rolls are Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
These Asian Cabbage Rolls are a fun cross between pork fried rice and Chinese lettuce wraps.
The filling of the rolls is made with cauliflower rice, ground pork (or chicken), shredded carrots, scallions and lots of fresh ginger.
The mixture is cooked until tender, tossed in a delicious Asian sauce and then rolled into cabbage leaves.
I added 2 eggs to the rice mixture to help bind everything together when baked in the rolls, but if you don’t eat eggs then they can be left out.
I used Savoy cabbage leaves but Chinese cabbage would work well too.
When preparing the leaves, run a knife along the stem to thin it out and make the leaf more pliable. You can also cut the thicker end of the stem off if it becomes difficult to roll.
Be sure to cover the dish with a sheet of tin foil before putting it in the oven because the cabbage leaves brown very quickly.
Truthfully when I made these Whole30 Cabbage Rolls I wasn’t expecting the rolls to be so durable and assumed that they would have to be eaten with a knife and fork. If your cabbage leaves are big enough then the rolls are incredibly easy to pick up by hand, which is great for dipping into the sauce.
I was also amazed how long the leftovers lasted, up to 5 days! So you can make a big batch of these and enjoy them as a packed lunch throughout the week.
Love healthy versions of takeout dishes? Here are a few others you might enjoy:
- Sweet & Sour Pork
- Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein
- Spicy Orange Chicken
- Pork Fried Rice
- Thai Basil Beef
- Moo Shu Pork
- Black Pepper Chicken
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Asian Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 head savoy cabbage
Filling
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 pound ground pork (or turkey/chicken)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
- 3 cups cauliflower rice
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/3 cup chopped spring onions
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 2 eggs
Sauce
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1-2 tsp chili flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and lightly grease an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
- Cut the end off of the cabbage and peel away approximately 8 to 10 leaves. Run a knife down the flat part of each leaf to thin out the stem and cut away the end part if it is quite thick (see photo above). This will make the leaf more pliable.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add in the onion and garlic and sauté for 4 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add in the ground pork and ginger and using a wooden spoon break the meat into crumbly pieces.
- Once the meat is fully cooked through, add in the cauliflower rice, coconut aminos, fish sauce, spring onions and carrot. Let everything cook for about 5 minutes before cracking in the 2 eggs and stirring well to ensure that everything is well mixed. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Place 2 to 3 spoonfuls of the pork mixture into the center of each cabbage leaf and roll them up like a burrito, folding in the two sides over the center and then rolling the other ends over top. Place the cabbage rolls seam side down in the baking dish. Once you have finished rolling all of the rolls, place a sheet of aluminium foil over the dish and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes.
- While the rolls are baking, in a bowl whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.
- After 30 minutes of baking, remove the tin foil from the top of the dish, brush each roll with some of the sauce and return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes until the rolls turn golden in colour.
- Sprinkle the rolls with sesame seeds and serve along side the sauce for dipping.
Nutrition
Do you think diced shrimp would work?
Amazing recipe. We used regular cabbage, which didn’t fold as well, but the meat, sauce, and vegetable mixture was delicious. Thank you!!!
What would you suggest as a make-ahead dish: cook and freeze, or freeze, then cook? Thaw first? I made cabbage rolls for the freezer last week from regular cabbage; the meat was raw and placed in the leaves before rolling. They are in the freezer and will be thawed before baking. Checking for ideas because I’ll be getting Napa cabbage the next two weeks in CSA. Thanks for your response.
Can I use white rice instead of cauliflower rice?
Definitely! Just be sure to cook the rice first
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This looks so good! What a great lunch meal prep for the week?
Would frozen cauliflower rice work for this recipe, or is fresh recommended?
Do you happen to have nutrition information on this? I am counting my macros.
Oh my!… you are so clever! I will make these tomorrow. Growing up in northern Canada my mom made all meat dishing with moose meat! Here in the Uk I’ve adapted all recipes to turkey so this is perfect. Thanks for all your daily inspiration. Karen Beebe
I made this recipe and it is delicious. I had a giant head of Napa cabbage from my garden and needed to do something other than simply sautée it. I made 9 rolls and had some filling left over. The flavors are a knockout.
I’m so envious that you grow napa cabbage in your garden!
Is the cauliflower rice cooked or raw?
you cook it when you add it into the pan with the meat
I did regular cauliflower, boiled it until tender and then broke it down with a spoon. Worked perfectly.
They are sooo delicious. However, mine looked like they were run over by a train. How did you roll them so neatly?
Haha oh no! I would say adding a lot of pressure when you roll to make sure they are super tight makes them look like that.
Do you think these are freezeable?
Can’t wait to try these. I am currently finding the ingredients, i.e. scd fish sauce, etc., they look delicious!
They are so delicious! Let me know if you make them!