The vegan cabbage rolls can be stuffed in a thousand ways thanks to Savoy cabbage, which is very flavorful and versatile. As you may know if you have followed me for a long time, I love cabbage rolls in general and before I stopped eating animal products I made them in various ways, with meat or rice, etc. Wanting a tasty filling I thought of using potatoes and smoked tofu, and they turned out delicious.
In fact I have already tried making this recipe: the Cabbage Rolls with Meat, in a vegan version are not yet on the blog: I simply used textured soy mince and they are delightful. I will make them again soon and write all the steps. But this time I really wanted to use potatoes. So instead of using boiled legumes I thought smoked tofu would go well. And so it was!
These rolls make a complete meal as they contain both carbohydrates and protein. I would still add a side of vegetables because you can never have enough. And they are very light: only 2 Weight Watchers ProPoints per roll. The preparation is very simple: let’s see how to make them.
You can find some other recipes that might interest you here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 rolls
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 8 leaves Savoy cabbage
- 14 oz potatoes, peeled (they will be about 15 oz with the skin)
- 7 oz smoked tofu
- 1/2 onion
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (measured teaspoons)
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast (measured teaspoons)
- 1 bunch parsley
- A few leaves basil
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste spices
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- Total points = 16 WW points
- Points per 1 roll = 2 WW points
Tools
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Pot
- Baking tray
- Colander
- Tea towel
- Skimmer
- Potato ricer
- Aluminum foil
Steps
We can cook the potatoes and the cabbage together so we save time, gas, and also avoid washing two pots. Let’s see how…
First, remove 8 intact leaves from the cabbage. If any piece breaks, keep it for the filling. Remove the tougher central rib from each leaf and wash them all thoroughly.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Place them in a large pot with cold lightly salted water.
When the water starts to boil, add 2 cabbage leaves.
Using a skimmer, keep the leaves immersed in the water for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then drain them and place them on a clean tea towel to cool.
Repeat until all the leaves are blanched. When the potatoes are also soft, drain them and start preparing the filling.
Smoked tofu is available in all health food stores and in many supermarkets. For example, I believe Lidl in Italy sells it under the Vemondo brand.
If it is packed in water, squeeze it lightly with your hands, as it will be crumbled. There is no need to press it like classic plain tofu.
In a bowl, mash the potatoes together with a bit of salt and pepper, nutritional yeast, half a finely chopped onion, nutmeg, chopped herbs and spices to taste.
Then add the crumbled smoked tofu and any cabbage scraps cut into small pieces.
Press everything well using the potato ricer. You can also use a food processor but pulse intermittently to avoid ending up with a puree!
Adjust salt if necessary and when the ingredients are well combined, press and divide into 8 roughly equal portions.
Take one cabbage leaf, place a portion of filling inside and close it by rolling and folding the edges inward.
You can cook them either in the oven or in an air fryer. In an air fryer, if it is not large enough, you may have to do it in two batches.
Once all the rolls are ready, use 1 teaspoon of oil to grease the bottom of the tray you will use for cooking.
Place the rolls on the tray and brush them evenly with the second teaspoon of oil.
Cover the tray with a sheet of aluminum foil.
AIR FRYER COOKING
Place the tray in the basket and cook at 320°F for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook at 356°F for another 5 minutes or until golden.
These are the right times for my air fryer, which is a Philips XXL. If yours is different, it may take a little longer.
OVEN COOKING
Place the tray in a preheated oven at 392°F for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue at 356°F for another 20 minutes or until golden.
Here are our vegan cabbage rolls with potatoes and smoked tofu ready to serve.
They turned out truly delicious. Tender and flavorful thanks to the smoked tofu that has a flavor similar to scamorza cheese. Okay, they don’t melt like cheese, that’s true, but they are really tasty and also much lower in fat, as tofu is low in fat.
These vegan cabbage rolls were approved at home. Since I stopped eating animal products, it’s always a nice challenge to adapt recipes I used to make into a vegan version. But this time it went well and we happily devoured them.
Try them yourself and tell me if you liked them below or in my Facebook Club.
Enjoy your meal!
By Giovanna Buono
Preparation and storage
As usual for many dishes, these rolls are better if they rest a little. So you could prepare them in advance already cooked and reheat them when needed.
You can certainly prepare the whole tray the day before and then bake it the next day. I did this and they were excellent.
I haven’t tried freezing them but I believe that once prepared they can be frozen in a container and then baked straight from frozen for about ten extra minutes covered with foil and then the rest of the time until golden.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
What is nutritional yeast?
In this recipe you’ll also find nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It is widely used in vegan cooking as it gives a cheesy flavor to dishes. For more information read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it and why! You can omit it but in that case add spices to taste to give more flavor to these vegan cabbage rolls.
