Healthiest Slow-Cooker Quinoa Cabbage Rolls

Makeover dinner with the healthiest cabbage rolls you can make. This slow-cooker recipe updates a comfort-food classic by swapping white rice for protein-packed quinoa. And, we’ve trimmed the fat by replacing some of the ground beef with chopped mushrooms. Since using cabbage as our “roll” isn’t enough to satisfy our cabbage cravings, we snuck its fermented counterpart (sauerkraut!) into the sweet and tangy sauce, too. These fix-it-and-forget-it cabbage rolls are the key to an impressive yet worry-free supper.

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Servings	Prep Time	Cook Time
6	10minutes	9hours

Servings	Prep Time
6	10minutes

Cook Time

9hours

• Course Dinner, Lunch
• Cuisine Casseroles, Meats

Ingredients

• 1 head savoy cabbage leaves separated and tough end of rib removed
• 1½ cups tomato sauce low-sodium variety
• ½ cup sauerkraut low-sodium variety, drained and rinsed well
• 1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz/794 mL), drained well
• ½ tsp paprika smoked sweet variety
• 1 tsp paprika smoked sweet variety
• 1 tbsp honey
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 8 oz mushrooms coarsely chopped
• 1 cup quinoa cooked
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup onion finely minced
• 1 cup carrot finely grated
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• ½ lb ground beef extra-lean
• ½ lb ground turkey extra-lean
• Salt and pepper to taste
• parsley fresh flat-leaf variety, chopped, to garnish

Servings:

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients 1 head savoy cabbage leaves separated and tough end of rib removed 1½ cups tomato sauce low-sodium variety ½ cup sauerkraut low-sodium variety, drained and rinsed well 1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz/794 mL), drained well ½ tsp paprika smoked sweet variety 1 tsp paprika smoked sweet variety 1 tbsp honey ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce 8 oz mushrooms coarsely chopped 1 cup quinoa cooked 1 large egg 1 cup onion finely minced 1 cup carrot finely grated 1 clove garlic finely minced ½ lb ground beef extra-lean ½ lb ground turkey extra-lean Salt and pepper to taste parsley fresh flat-leaf variety, chopped, to garnish Servings: Units:MetricUS Imperial

Course Dinner, Lunch Cuisine Casseroles, Meats

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Boil cabbage leaves for 2 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, sauerkraut, tomatoes, ½ tsp of the paprika, honey and Worcestershire sauce. In a food processor, pulse mushrooms until they resemble ground meat in texture.
3. In another bowl, combine mushrooms, cooked quinoa, egg, onion, carrot, garlic, 1 tsp of the paprika, ground beef, ground turkey and pinch each of the salt and pepper. Scoop about ⅓ cup (75 mL) of the ground turkey mixture into the centre of each cabbage leaf. Roll up leaves, tucking in ends. Place in a slow cooker, smother with tomato sauce and cover with lid.
4. Cook on low heat for 8 to 9 hours or on high heat for 4 to 5 hours. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
5. Serve cabbage rolls with tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parsley. 

Recipe Notes

Per serving: 308 calories, 22 g protein, 11 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 34 g carbs, 8 g fibre, 90 mg cholesterol, 333 mg sodium

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