Lahanodolmades – Greek style cabbage rolls stuffed with rice, vegan version

Lahanodolmades – The best vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with rice you’ve ever had! You simply must try this traditional Greek recipe!

What is Lahanodolmades?

Lahanodolmades is a Greek traditional food made with wraps of cabbage leaves and a rice filling. In Greece every household cooks this dish a little differently but there are two main variations, one with minced beef and rice as a filling and a vegan meatless option.

The meatless, vegan version of Lahanodolmades is very popular during lent / fasting while the minced meat version is what you will most likely get served if you order this dish at a Greek tavern.

What Cabbage to choose for Lahanodolmades stuffed cabbage rolls?

For this recipe, you will need 2 big and flat Cabbages. Usually their top leaves have a light green color. If the Cabbage is small or round or mostly white in color it is not good for Lahanodolmades or any cabbage rolls because their leaves are not big enough for wrapping and they are often crumbed up inside.

Round Cabbage

Flat Cabbage

The video has subtitles in English, Greek, and more than 30 languages.

Lahanodolmades – Greek style cabbage rolls stuffed with rice, vegan version

Prep: 20m | Cook: 45m | Total: 1h 5m | Serve: 6-8

Ingredients:

2 Cabbage, large and flat
200g Rice, medium grain or risotto rice, washed and drained (1 teacup)
2 Carrots, grated
2 ripe Tomatoes, 1 cubed, 1 grated
2 Onions, very finely chopped or minced
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup Dill, finely chopped
1/3 cup Spearmint fresh, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Spearmint dry
Juice of 2 Lemons, 1 in the filling and 1 at the end inside the pot
1 teacup of Water, (approximately 200ml)
5 Tbsp Olive Oil divided, 2 into the rice filling and 3 to pour inside the pot
70g Tomato paste, for the filling (2 Tbsp)
2 pinches Salt
1 pinch of Pepper

Instructions:

Start by making the filling because the rice needs to be rested so that it can absorb all the aromatics that we will add and enhance its deliciousness.
Wash the rice by changing 3 waters until the water comes out almost clean.
Grate one tomato and cut the other into small cubes or put it in the food processor with the pulse function.
Grate the carrot and put it in a bowl together with the tomatoes, rice, garlic, chopped parsley, dill, fresh Spearmint, dried Spearmint, juice of one lemon, 2 pinches of salt, 1 pinch of pepper, and 2 Tbsp of Olive oil.
Mix well and let it rest covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes at room temperature for the rice to absorb the juices and enhance its flavor.
Cut the cabbages in half with a large knife and remove the heart from the base of each cabbage. This helps to be able to easily peel its leaves.
Add the halved cabbage to a pot with boiling water with its base facing down, close the lid of the pot, and bring to a boil (the water does not need to cover the cabbage).
As soon as it boils, count 5 minutes and start removing the leaves one by one with the help of a fork and spoon (watch the video).
Stack the cabbage leaves to a plate and let them rest until they are cool enough to start filling them.
If the stems from each cabbage leaf are too hard then take them out with a knife, if they are soft, then you can simply squeeze them with your finger to flatten them.
Add 1 tsp from the rice stuffing in each cabbage leaf and wrap tight cabbage dolmades. If the cabbage leaf is too big, cut it in half and if it is too small, join it with another small one to make a dolma.
It would be good to wrap them in a plate that can collect any juices from the filling because these juices are full of flavor and we will pour them into the pot after finishing the wrapping.
Place the cabbage hearts that are too small to use at the bottom of the pot and lay the dolmades on top of them. (It is best if they don’t come in contact directly with the pot so they are not scorched).
As soon as they are ready, pour the juice of 1 lemon (in each pot)*, the juice from the filling together with 1/2 cup of water (maybe a little more), and the olive oil, and cover them with a plate so they don’t bounce while boiling in the pot.
Simmer (3/9) for 40-45 minutes and check with a fork if they are easily pricked then they are ready.
Serve the Lahanodolmades with feta cheese or mayonnaise or yogurt or Tirokauteri sauce.
Cabbage rolls are even tastier the next day after they have rested in the fridge for many hours. They can be eaten hot or cold.

Notes:

You will most likely not need the leaves from both cabbages. It usually takes me 1.5 cabbage to fill the pot. But if you accidentally buy round cabbages then you will definitely need both.
If you add all the Cabbage rolls into one large 6-liter pot then 1 lemon will be enough. If you divide them into 2 pots then you should put the juice of 1 lemon in each pot. And you should do the same with Olive Oil.