Baked Napa Cabbage Rolls with Meat and Creamy Garlic Sauce

If you love classic cabbage rolls but want something lighter, these napa cabbage rolls are for you. Tender napa leaves wrap around juicy seasoned ground meat, bake up in the oven, and get finished with a cool, garlicky sour-cream sauce. At just 71 calories per 100 grams, this is a dinner you can feel good about — and the whole family will ask for seconds.

Ingredients

• 1 head napa cabbage
• 10 ml olive oil
• 500 g (1.1 lb) ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, or a mix)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• Salt, black pepper, and your favorite spices, to taste
• For the sauce: 5 tablespoons sour cream
• Green onion, chopped, to taste
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Instructions

1. Mix the chopped onion into the ground meat. Season with salt, pepper, and spices; knead well.
2. Separate the napa cabbage into large leaves and rinse them.
3. Place a portion of the meat filling on each leaf and roll up snugly.
4. Arrange the rolls in a baking dish and brush lightly with olive oil.
5. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until the meat is cooked through and the cabbage is tender, about 30–35 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, stir together the sour cream, green onion, garlic, pepper, and hot sauce.
7. Serve the hot cabbage rolls with the creamy garlic sauce.

Tips

Blanch the cabbage leaves for 1 minute if they feel stiff — they will roll much easier. The sauce also works as a dip for roasted vegetables. Nutrition (per 100 g): 71 kcal | Protein 7.5 g | Fat 2.5 g | Carbs 4.1 g.