This simple recipe is a twist on cabbage rolls! It’s inexpensive, great for leftovers, nutritious and delicious! A great recipe for new vegans, penny-pinchers, and those who are short on time and like to keep the kitchen stocked with dinner-ready ingredients.

I love making this in the dead of winter when I want something warm and comforting to eat. The collards are in season and the rest of the ingredients can be found in your pantry! I added tomatoes because I had them on hand and they needed to be used, but you can certainly leave them out.

Hint: cook the rice and beans (if you’re not using canned beans) ahead of time so this recipe becomes a quick-throw-in-the-oven meal.

You can also change the entire flavor of this dish just my modifying the herbs and spices. I use cumin and chili powder in this recipe, but you can easily swap them out for Italian spices like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil.

Stuffed Collard Rolls

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Main Dish

Servings 3 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 15-oz can black beans (or 1 1/2 cup cooked from dry)
• 1 cup rice cooked
• to taste salt + pepper
• 6 leaves collard greens (approximately one bunch)
• 1 cup tomato chopped (optional)
• 1 can tomato sauce

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium pot, saute onions in olive oil for a couple minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute for one more minute.
• Add spices, beans, rice and tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Add salt + pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil (to blanch the collards). Wash collard greens and pat dry. Slice either side of leaves away from stems, discard stems.
• Blanch the collards by dropping them into boiling water for 30-60 seconds and promptly removing with tongs.
• Lay a leaf on a cutting board, fill with ~1/4 cup of rice & bean mixture, roll up and place in a baking dish. Repeat until all of your leaves + filling are gone and you've filled up the pan.
• Pour tomato sauce over rolls in pan, covering them evenly and completely.
• Cover pan with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

We had just a tiny bit of the rice & bean filling leftover, which was so delicious we couldn’t toss it. This mixture can serve as a meal on it’s own!