Vegan Enchilada Rice and Bean Cabbage Rolls! Whether you’re a cabbage roll lover or craving bold Mexican-inspired flavors, these vegan enchilada rice and bean cabbage rolls are sure to become a new favorite.

Discover the irresistible goodness of these Vegan Enchilada Rice and Bean Cabbage Rolls—a mouthwatering plant-based twist on classic Mexican flavors! Packed with hearty beans, tasty rice, and an aromatic  enchilada sauce, these cabbage rolls are wrapped in tender, steamed cabbage leaves for a wholesome, satisfying meal.  Full of deliciousness and packed with nutritious ingredients, they’re a plant-based delight that promises to please your taste buds and impress your guests.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Let me tell you, these Vegan Enchilada Rice and Bean Cabbage Rolls are absolutely crazy delicious! Packed with flavorful beans, hearty rice, and that irresistible enchilada-inspired seasoning, each tender cabbage leaf wraps up a little bit of Mexican-inspired magic. They’re officially in our Top 10 favorite dishes of the year!

If you’re searching for a plant-based meal that’s both satisfying and full of flavor, you absolutely gotta give these a try.

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: These Vegan Enchilada Rice and Bean Cabbage Rolls are a tasty Mexican enchilada flavored dish is full of deliciousness.
• Time Commitment: Making cabbage rolls in general is very time consuming. This dish is no more time consuming than making traditional cabbage rolls.
• Number of Cabbage Rolls: This recipe makes approximately 12 to 16 cabbage rolls, largely dependent upon the size of the cabbage leaves and the amount of filling used in each leaf. You may wish to use a little more filling in the larger leaves and less filling in the smaller leaves.
• Liquids Separated: The reason we are placing some liquids on the bottom of the Instant Pot with the chopped cabbage is to create a bridge to hold the cabbage rolls off the bottom of the pot. Then after all the cabbage rolls are placed on top of the chopped cabbage, pour the enchilada sauce mix over top. We realize that these liquids will eventually mix together, but using this method helps prevent the spices in the enchilada sauce from immediately sinking to the bottom and possibly getting the Instant Pot Burn Notice.
• Cooked and Refrigerated Rice: Cooked and refrigerated rice works best when making this dish.  If you use recently cooked rice, it will be too gummy and sticky. Using cooked and refrigerated rice (preferably made the day before or earlier in the day) allows the rice to dry out enough to showcase distinct individual grains of rice making a better textured dish.
• Spiciness: These cabbage rolls are delicious and mildly to moderately spiced. They are not “spicy”. Feel free to increase the spices if you wish.
• Enchilada Sauce: We used our Enchilada Sauce.  Feel free to use your favorite enchilada sauce recipe or store-bought enchilada sauce.  3 cups = 24 oz. Be sure to select a mild enchilada sauce, if purchasing store-bought enchilada sauce.  If using store-purchased enchilada sauce (in 10 oz.) cans, this will be slightly more than 3 cups, it is fine to use the full 3 – 10 oz. cans to prevent any waste.
• Chopped Green Chiles: Be sure to select mild chopped green chiles and not the hot ones, unless of course, you want to ramp up the heat on this dish.
• Beans: You can pretty much use just about any bean you enjoy in this recipe.  We suggest sticking to pinto beans, black beans, or kidney beans. We enjoy the creaminess of pinto beans.
• Thin out the Center Vein: Thin out the main, thick center cabbage vein that runs down the center and thin it out to match nearly the same level as the cabbage leaf. Set aside. This helps in several ways. It makes it easier to roll the cabbage leaves and it also makes the cabbage rolls very tender without biting into a thicker vein.
• Savoy Cabbage versus Green Cabbage: We kitchen tested this recipe with both savoy and green cabbage. Most enjoyed the green cabbage while others enjoyed savoy cabbage. Using a savoy cabbage eliminated the need to boil the cabbage leaves. Savoy cabbage leaves have a slight ruffled texture and are a lot more flexible (when raw) than green cabbage. You may still need to thin out the main cabbage vein. Therefore, you don’t need to boil the cabbage leaves if you use a savoy cabbage. If you use a green cabbage, you will need to follow the recipe instructions and boil the cabbage leaves until they are flexible enough to roll without cracking or breaking. Important Note:  Savoy cabbage leaves may tend to blow out in the Instant Pot.
• Chopped Green Chiles: Chopped green chiles also known as hatch chiles, be sure to select a mild one.  If you want more heat, select the hot ones.
• Chili Powder: Feel free to use your favorite chili powder, just be sure to select a mild one and not one that has a lot of heat to it.
• Tahini: The tahini acts as a tempering agent to take the bite out of the enchilada sauce. Since we do not use oil, the tahini helps in this manner. If you wish, you can add up to 1 Tablespoon of tahini.  You can also leave it out with the understanding that this will influence the overall flavor.  Feel free to substitute with other nut or seed butters.
• Strain the Enchilada Sauce using a Slotted Spoon:  To avoid a chunky sauce when serving, you may find it necessary to strain the sauce over top of a colander or use a slotted spoon to strain out the chopped cabbage at the bottom. It’s ok if you wish to skip the straining altogether, just note that we strained it for photography appearances.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This dish can be frozen.

Pantry Products:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Equipment:

• Instant Pot (or large Dutch Oven)
• Large pot (for boiling the cabbage)

If you try this delicious twist on cabbage rolls, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Vegan Enchilada Rice and Bean Cabbage Rolls

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 30 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 Minutes
• Yield: 6 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Instant Pot
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Discover the irresistible goodness of these Vegan Enchilada Rice and Bean Cabbage Rolls—a mouthwatering plant-based twist on classic Mexican flavors!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Base Ingredients:

• 1 medium-to-large green cabbage (3.10 to 4.2 lbs.) *
• 1 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth *
• ½ cup water
• 2 cups rough chopped green cabbage (from above) *

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] pinto beans, drained and rinsed *
• 3 cups cooked and refrigerated brown rice *
• 1 – [ 4 oz. can ] chopped green chiles, undrained (mild or hot) 

Filling Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon regular chili powder *
• Pinch to ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) * 

Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 cups enchilada sauce *
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 teaspoon tahini *
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *

Sauce Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

Serving Ideas:

• Vegan sour cream
• Avocado chunks
• Chopped tomatoes
• Salsa
• Guacamole
• Shredded lettuce

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Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

1. Bring a large pot full of water to a boil.  (Fill about 3/4 up with water.) Add a sprinkle of sea salt.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, turn the cabbage up-side-down and carefully hollow out the core by taking a sharp knife and slice in about an inch or two deep all around the core. Then begin to cut out the core. Pull the core out by chiseling the core with a sharp knife going in about 2 to 3 inches.
3. Examine the cabbage head and remove any damaged outer leaves.
4. When the water is at a full boil, place the cored cabbage into the boiling water. Allow to boil for 3 to 4 minutes (timing starts when you place the head into the water), then start to use tongs to loosen the outer cabbage leaves, one at a time, then carefully remove them and place them on a baking sheet (or plate). You will need to continue this process efficiently removing each leaf as it becomes loosened. If any get stuck, use a sharp knife to loosen them at the core.  You want to keep the leaves whole and undamaged.  Once you have removed the majority of the leaves (approx. 12 to 16 leaves), you will be left with a small head. Remove the remaining cabbage head from the boiling water and set aside.
5. Examine the individual boiled cabbage leaves to shave down the thick center vein. This will make it easier to roll the leaves and prevent them from cracking open. Thin it out level with the cabbage leaves. Continue until all the leaves have been thinned, then set aside.
6. Now place all the individual shaved cabbage leaves back into the boiling water for 5 minutes to blanch them further so they are softened and easy to work with. After 5 to 6 minutes, remove carefully, and place onto a baking sheet to cool.
7. In a large bowl, place all the Filling Ingredients and Filling Spice/Herb Ingredients, mix well, then take a potato masher (or fork) and mash until the bean/rice mixture is very slightly cohesive, about 15 mashes with a twisting motion.  Do not create mush. (See notes)
8. In another large bowl, add all the Sauce Ingredients and Sauce Spice/Herb Ingredients, whisk really well to fully mix, set aside.
9. Take the remaining small cabbage head (left over from removing most of the leaves) and give it a rough chop, approximately 1-inch pieces. Measure out 2 cups, set aside. (You may have some left over).
10. Place the one cup of vegetable broth and ½ cup of water on the bottom of the Instant Pot, then add the two cups of chopped cabbage, spread it evenly over the bottom.  This will help prevent the cabbage rolls from sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot and to avoid the Instant Pot Burn Notice.
11. Place a cabbage leaf on a cutting board (or flat surface), then place 1/3 cup of the bean/rice filling in the center-lower end of the cabbage leaf and roll up like a burrito. Start to roll, then fold in the right side and left side over top of the filling. Then using your fingers to hold the filling inside, roll up the cabbage leave into a roll. Place the roll seam side down in the Instant Pot (on top of the chopped cabbage leaves).  Repeat until all the filling is rolled into cabbage rolls then placed tightly together in the Instant Pot. It is important to place the cabbage rolls in the Instant Pot tightly together to prevent them from blowing out.  In other words, fit them together tightly inside the instant pot so that they do not unroll and blow out.
12. Thoroughly stir and mix the Enchilada Sauce Mix once again, then pour the sauce evenly over top of the cabbage rolls. It’s fine if the cabbage rolls are not completely submerged; however, the liquids should at least touch the top layer of cabbage rolls.
13. Set the Instant Pot to Manual Pressure High for 15 minutes. When finished, press Cancel and then do a Quick Release. (The timing is for an 8 quart IP, consider using slightly less time if using a 6 quart IP).
14. Once all the pressure is released, remove the lid, allow to sit for 5 minutes undisturbed, then carefully remove the cabbage rolls from the Instant Pot using two large-slotted spoons, arrange on a serving platter, pour the sauce over top (without the chopped cabbage that was on the bottom of the IP) and serve topped with chopped avocados, diced tomatoes and/or salsa.

Oven Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Follow the Instant Pot Instructions from Steps 1 through 10, except instead of using an Instant Pot, use a Dutch Oven with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Place in the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the cabbage leaves are perfectly tender.
4. Once the cabbage rolls are tender, remove from the oven, remove the lid, allow to sit for 5 minutes undisturbed, then carefully remove the cabbage rolls from the Dutch Oven using two large-slotted spoons, arrange on a serving platter, pour the sauce (without the chopped cabbage that was on the bottom of the pot) over top and serve topped with chopped avocados, diced tomatoes and/or salsa.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  6

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