Cabbage Dumplings in Gravy
This Cabbage Dumplings in Gravy (Vegan, Gluten-Free) are easy to prepare and flavorful. Scrumptious shredded cabbage, seasoned with spices, formed into balls, and baked. Then served smothered in a spicy and flavorful tomato curry gravy.
As a novice vegetarian, I found it challenging to fit in during Holiday gatherings. When it comes to food, old practices were set aside in favor of new and unfamiliar ones. Soon, I realized there are also many great meat-free ways to celebrate the holiday.
Cabbage Dumplings/Balls is one of the first dishes I explored that can quickly transform an ordinary holiday table into something festive and unforgettable. These Cabbage Dumplings/Balls may require some extra time and effort, but in the end, they’re worth it to make the holidays feel incredibly special!
This recipe is so amazing it takes cabbage to another level. Just like my Cabbage Curry and my Cabbage Soup recipe, so simple yet so delicious.
This recipe is my version of Cabbage Kofta that I had at an Indian restaurant years ago. You may be asking what is a kofta? A kofta is a meatball or vegetable ball served with spicy curry/gravy.
These crispy, vegan, gluten-free cabbage balls dipped in creamy, spicy, nutty, and flavourful gravy are perfect for the Thanksgiving menu. Cabbage dumplings/balls are also delicious without gravy. These balls are a very gratifying snack for both kids and adults. These Crunchy Cabbage Dumplings/Balls go perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee.
You can also prepare Vegan Lentil Meatballs and Vegan Tofu Meatballs
“Try these cabbage dumplings/balls to treat yourself with something as healthy as delicious.”
Are Cabbage Dumplings/Balls Healthy?
Apart from its delicious taste, these Cabbage Dumplings/Balls are incredibly healthy, as the base ingredient is cabbage. Cabbage is a nutrient-dense vegetable that is low in calories, high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Additionally, cabbage is rich in fiber and antioxidants, such as polyphenols and sulfur compounds.
Antioxidants shield the body from free radical damage. A free radical is a molecule that is unstable due to its odd number of electrons. When their levels reach an abnormally high level, they might cause damage to your cells.
Cabbage is a good source of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that may help against cancer, heart disease, and vision loss. Additionally, vitamin C improves the absorption of nonheme iron, which is abundant in plant-based foods.
Antioxidants found in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage have been shown to prevent chronic inflammation.
This crunchy vegetable is rich in soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber benefits the digestive tract’s health by increasing the volume of feces and promoting regular bowel movements.
Cabbage contains potent antioxidants known as anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments found in plants. A number of studies have linked eating foods high in this pigment to a lower risk of heart disease.
Potassium assists in maintaining a normal blood pressure level. Increasing your diet of potassium-rich vegetables such as cabbage may aid in the reduction of high blood pressure.
Apart from cabbage balls, the gravy is also healthy. It contains healthy ingredients like cashew and coconut milk. Both are extremely nutritious and possess many health benefits.
How To Prepare Cabbage Dumplings/Balls?
There’s a bit of overlap in tasking to make this recipe, but it flows easily from one step to the next. Give yourself plenty of time to pull this Cabbage Dumplings/Balls recipe together, but in case you need a make-ahead option, I’m sharing some suggestions in the recipe notes.
To prepare these cabbage balls, you’ll require the following ingredients:
Ingredients
For Dumplings/Balls
- Green cabbage – you would be amazed how delicious cabbage is in these vegan meatballs, soft and flavorful.
- Coconut oil – you can substitute with avocado oil
- Onion – adds flavor, use white, yellow, or red onion.
- Garlic – boost flavor
- Cumin powder and Coriander– add a deep earthy flavor.
- Chickpea flour or Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour – acts as a binder
- Water – add in case the dumplings aren’t binding properly, starting with 2 tablespoons.
- Salt – makes all the flavors pop
For The Gravy
- Coconut oil
- Onion, finely chopped
- Garlic, minced
- Ginger, minced
- Tomato, chopped
- Curry powder
- Paprika
- Coconut milk
- Water
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt, or to taste
- Cashews
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
Start with preparing the Cabbage Dumplings/Balls:
- Place cabbage in a food processor and pulse until finely shredded. Transfer shredded cabbage into a bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set it aside.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, add onion, garlic and cook until onion is soft.
- Stir in coriander, cumin and cook for another minute.
- Add shredded cabbage and cook, while stirring, for about 5 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Transfer cabbage to a bowl and let it cool.
- Stir in chickpea flour and mix well to form a dough. You may need to add water if the dough isn’t holding together.
- Shape cabbage dough into equal-sized balls. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 25- 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the gravy.
To Prepare The Gravy
- Heat oil or water in a large saucepan on medium heat, add onion, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger, cook for about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add curry powder, paprika ( add 1/4 cup chickpea flour only if nut-free), constantly stirring for about 1 minute.
- Stir in coconut milk, water, cayenne, and salt to taste. Cover saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes; meanwhile, blend cashews with water.
- Add cashew mixture to curry gravy and stir. Cook until thicken.
- Turn off heat, add Cabbage Dumplings, and stir. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Delicious served with rice or potatoes.
Recipe Notes
- If you like a nut-free gravy, substitute chickpea flour for cashew. If you don’t mind, then you can use cashews to thicken the gravy.
- To make the gravy dairy-free, low in calories and fat, I used coconut milk. You may, however, substitute any other plant-based milk of your choice.
- Garnishes are completely optional; you can use roasted seeds or nuts, coconut cream swirls, Thai basil, etc. Leave them out if you don’t have any of these; it’s delicious on its own.
- You can refrigerate the leftovers in an air-tight container for 4-5 days. When you want to use it, reheat over low heat or in the microwave until thoroughly warmed.
- You can store the baked cabbage balls without gravy in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator and for a month in the freezer. Then whenever you want to eat prepare the gravy, stir in the stored cabbage balls and serve. In this way, you can save time.
Try this Cabbage Dumplings/Balls recipe for a wonderful taste experience! And, don’t forget to share your feedback with me by leaving a comment below!
Note: If you prefer nut-free gravy, use chickpea flour instead. If you don’t mind then leave the chickpea flour out of the gravy and blend cashews with water to add at the end to thicken.
More Amazing Cabbage Recipes Try these:
- Vegan Southern Fried Cabbage
- Jamaican Steamed Cabbage
- Curry Cabbage
- Roasted Cabbage Steaks
- Vegan Cabbage Soup
- Vegan Southern-Style Coleslaw
- Vegan Colcannon
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Cabbage Dumplings in Gravy
Ingredients
Cabbage Dumplings/Balls
- 4 cups green cabbage finely shredded
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour or gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup water (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For The Gravy
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 cup cashews plus 1/2 cup water or chickpea flour if nut-free
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Place cabbage in a food processor and pulse until finely shredded. Transfer shredded cabbage into a bowl and set aside. Preheat oven 400ºF/200ºC. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, add onion, garlic and cook until onion is soft. Stir in coriander, cumin and cook for another minute. Add shredded cabbage and cook, while stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.
- Season with salt to taste. Transfer cabbage to a bowl and allow to cool. Stir in chickpea flour and mix well to form a dough. You may need to add water if the dough isn’t holding together.
- Shape cabbage dough into equal sized balls.Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 25- 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the gravy.
To Prepare The Gravy
- Heat oil or water in a large saucepan on medium heat, add onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook for about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add curry powder, paprika, ( add 1/4 cup chickpea flour only if nut-free) stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, water, cayenne and salt to taste. Cover saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes, meanwhile blend cashews with water. Add cashew mixture to curry gravy and stir. Cook until thicken. Turn off heat, add Cabbage Dumplings and stir. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
These were so delicious! I doubled the recipe like many others and was able to get 12 balls. I think I would change the number of servings in the recipe to 2, which would be 3 balls a piece if just making one serving. My husband can’t eat tomatoes so I subbed canned beats, which seemed to be a good swap. We also made the nut free version. I couldn’t believe how delicious the cabbage balls are. The chickpea flour bakes up so nicely. Oh, I didn’t cook them as long…I think my oven runs hot and I only needed to cook them about 15 minutes. Thank you so much. I’m sort of obsessed with your blog right now. So far I’ve tried 2 recipes and looking forward to the third! Thanks for giving so many options for food intolerances, too, by the way!!
Thank you Laura, I’m so happy you adjusted the recipe to make it your own. I need to remake it and definitely double this recipe. Thank you for your feedback.
I got a cabbage in my CSA box and found your recipe looking for something to do with it! I’m so glad I did because I also doubled the recipe and got great reviews from hubby and son. Son made sure there were no leftovers, lol. This is a keeper, thanks so much for sharing! I look forward to checking out your other recipes as well.
Nancy, I’m so happy you found my recipe. I’m happy you, your hubby, and son enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us.
I had some cabbage I needed to use up. I made a double recipe of this tonight to use up all of the cabbage, and I’m glad I made a double recipe because it is sooooooo good! Look forward to exploring your website and seeing what other recipes you have!
Leslie, I’m so excited that you enjoyed them and you made a double batch. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
One of our favorite recipes. Tasty and healthy. I always double it because one batch of it is never enough.
Jacqueline, I’m so happy you enjoy it. Yes most people double the recipe.
Michelle – just wow! This is the first of your recipes I’ve made, stumbled across it looking for some interesting ideas for cabbage, but it wont be the last. My husband and I adored this dish, we used the chickpea flour in the sauce instead of cashews as you suggested, and served over brown rice with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice – so delicious. I think I’ll make another batch tomorrow and pop them in the freezer for tasty ‘heat up’ meals. Thanks again!
Laura, I’m so excited that you and your hubby enjoyed it. You are welcome. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Hi Michelle, I loved this recipe! I found it as I needed to use up my extra lockdown cabbage. I was initially sceptical (not sure why… seemed odd to have cabbage balls maybe). My husband and I just loved it. I added some green peas to the gravy and a tiny squeeze of lime juice, and served with red rice. Yummy. Thank you!
Rhonda, I’m so happy you and your hubby enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your adjustments.
I just made this for dinner. It was delicious! After tasting the dumplings right from the oven, I had to make another batch because they were so good. Thank you for sharing the great recipe!
KT, that’s awesome, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. The recipe should really be doubled.
This recipe is simply deliciously. We did combined with black rice and your cabbage soup. Amazing đŸ˜‹đŸ˜‹đŸ˜‹
Delicious recipe! Totally a keeper. Tried this today for lunch and loved it! đŸ˜‹
Quinzy, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you.
This looks so delicious, will like to make it this week! Can I substitute the curry (it doesn’t go down well with my tummy) with cumin you think and still taste great?
Wendalyn, thank you, I only made it as written. However I like cumin so you could try.