Simple Cabbage Enchiladas Recipe
I LOVE enchiladas… they are so delicious and always seem to hit the spot. So of course, I had to find a way to incorporate them into my new way of eating. Since I’m not eating grains, I had to get creative as I needed something other than tortillas to wrap up my enchiladas with. I looked in my fridge and noticed a big head of cabbage… perfect! 🙂
Simple Cabbage Enchilada Recipe
yield: 4 SERVINGS
Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
- Shredded Chicken (I used leftovers from a rotisserie chicken we had)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 (4 ounce) cans of chopped green chiles
- Fresh cilantro
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 4 green onions, chopped
- Shredded cheese (optional)
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2
For the Sauce:
Add the chicken broth to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and mix in the sour cream and green chiles, heat thoroughly but do not boil and make sure to stir often. Let simmer for just a bit and the sauce should thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
3
For the Enchiladas:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel the cabbage leaves - make sure to peel them gently, as you don't want them to tear. I ran the cabbage under warm water as I was peeling. This helped a ton. Throw the cabbage leaves into the pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Remove and set on a paper towel to dry.
4
Mix the shredded chicken with chopped fresh cilantro and shredded cheese (optional). I also seasoned well with salt & pepper.
5
Spread the enchilada sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Then take your cabbage leaves and place the chicken mixture inside of them and roll up. Place each cabbage roll in the baking dish.
6
Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over them. I also topped with shredded cheese.
7
Bake at 350° for about 20 to 30 minutes.
* Please note that I have started incorporating dairy products back into my diet, so that’s why I decided to concoct a sour cream enchilada sauce. You can always substitute this sauce for more of a red sauce if you are trying to stay away from dairy products.
Bet this would be good with eggroll filling too!
thanks for an added extra idea that sounds yummy to.
This recipe was delicious. We had it last week and we are making it again for this week. It was incredible. You made a pregnant lady very happy. I have been craving enchiladas but we eat primal so that has proven difficult. This recipe is exactly what we needed! Thank you!
Or a Kahlua pork filling is what came to my mind!
Do you drain the chiles first?
Wow! Love your recipes…we are on a low carb diet and this is perfect!! Can’t wait to make it!
Me Too!
But, how were they? You never said how they tasted in the end. Details!
They were so yummy! In fact, if you want some honesty, my hubby and I almost ate the whole pan! 😀
Collin, you are too funny! And….you are already small, so you do not need to lose weight, but staying healthy is great.
You do inspire your readers in many ways, and we love seeing the videos with you, and all the recipes with photos. Thanks.
Thanks so much for sharing. My 2 kids were put on a low-carb diet this week for pre-diabetic signs. I am going to try this for sure!!
This is what i was thinking! Good for diabetics, yet still mexican!
Sounds like Mexican cabbage rolls 🙂
oh my gosh I am so glad you posted this…. I am on no grains also…THANK YOU!
I am sorry if you explained this already… probably about a million times now, but are you staying away from grains/ dairy as a personal choice or medical? I am considering the Paleo diet due to my daughter’s dairy allergy and over all general health. I’m just having a hard time convincing my family to jump on board, but I have only been able to convince them to get rid of the dairy. Looking for some pointers and advice.
lol, I was just wondering this too. I can see staying away from grains if one is allergic but I can’t help but think that cutting out grains completely for any other reason would cause one to miss out on some good nutrients. Just my personal opinion. I believe that there are no “bad” foods, it’s just learning to eat the proper amounts of each one. 🙂
Eating this way has been more of a lifestyle change for me. I also feel so much better when I’m not eating gluten. My energy is up… my digestive issues are pretty much gone and the list goes on.
I eat a ton more veggies and fruits now! I LOVE it! 🙂
But Collin, how are you doing with eating dairy?
I am actually still feeling great… for me I feel that consuming gluten has been the big issue and since removing it completely from my diet… well, I really can’t put into words how much better I feel! 🙂
I am also trying to incorporate dairy slowly back into my diet and not consume large amounts.
I also notice a HUGE difference when I cut out gluten. Colin have you tried baking/cooking with oat flour (ground up oats) and you can still use corn tortillas :o)
Oats have gluten in them.
Gluten free oats do not have gluten in them. You just have to get the ones labeled gluten free.
Dawn no expect here..but I can tell you I don’t miss the dairy myself.. (except) I do miss my yogurt..but it’s no biggie.. I just eat more oatmeal w/ friuts and nuts in the morning instead of yogurt…I buy Trader Joe’s dairy free ice cream sandwiches, So Delicious Ice cream and their coconut milk and I do very very little cheese egg and still like my butter..but have gone to coconut oil some..I am not totally dairy free..but I can tell you.. substituting cows milk for coconut, rice and almond milk for 2 years now..has really helped me with digesting dairy better.. I eat egg if it is cooked in something..same as cheese.. I have fibromyalgia..not sure who it was that suggested going to a chiropractor for NUCCA..but I did about 2 months ago..and it’s has made a difference..the doctore will help me work on my diet next.. Then will do food testing.. TRUE Sage food tesing..in near future. Then I will know for sure about food allergies..allergiest tells me I am not allegic to foods..but with the SAGE testing..it is more accurate.
I just made chicken enchiladas for the first time, but the cabbage is a nice touch…I’ll have to try this next time!
Hi Collin,
I’m just curious—how come you need to eliminate dairy and then add it back in your diet? Is it to see how you feel or is it a cleansing process? TIA!
Hi Mary,
For 30 days, I followed a pretty strict Paleo diet. Basically I eliminated all grains and dairy… and mainly consumed meat, fish, chicken, veggies and fruits. Since then I have started to incorporate dairy back into my diet and it seems to be going well – which is great since I am a HUGE fan of all things dairy! 🙂
You can read more about this here (scroll to the bottom of the post):
https://hip2save.com/2012/02/23/cajun-jambalaya-with-cauliflower-rice-recipe/
Thanks for your reply and your link for more info. I wonder if you are allergic to gluten and never knew it?Thanks for the recipes–they all look delicious and I’m glad you are feeling better 🙂
Mary.. that brings my point about the SAGE testing (Delayed food sensitivity) to mind. Even though allergist said I am not allergic to any of the foods I have digestive issues with.. doesn’t mean you aren’t ‘TRUELY’ allergic to them.. read the link below.. I do not get any compensation for telling or referring folks..it’s testing I am considering..only insurance won’t pay for it.. urghh!!!!! So saving my money to get it done at the wellness center I go to https://www.foodallergytest.com/faq.html
Colin I’m just starting to experiment with Paleo recipes, how long into the 30 days did you start to feel more energetic? I feel like in a withdrawal period lol
To C: Cabbage rolls (eggrolls) are great! Fill cabbage leaves with eggroll filling and steam, then serve with peanut sauce. Been eating them since I can remember. Yum!
Yummy! I am going Paleo as well due to some health issues (adrenal fatigue and possible Hashimoto’s). How long have you been eating this way? My kids do better as well. We never ate a lot of processed foods, but sugar is a sneaky one. They have better moods and focus if they have a protein-rich breakfast, especially. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I have been eating this way since January of this year and I really don’t think I’ll ever go back to the way I used to eat… I’ve even got my hubby on board! 😉
For anyone with any digestive issues, check out http://www.Puristat.com. They have a ton of great articles, a small line of products and their best feature is a registered nurse that you can ask questions of – at no charge. They have helped me a ton with some issues I was having. I thought this might be helpful to some of you.
I have to try making these. I love enchiladas and will try this out this weekend.
I was just reading a recipe on making stuffed cabbage and they actually steam the whole head of cabbage by putting it in a pot with a couple inches of water with the stem down. Then it has you peeling the leaves carefully one at a time and that way it’s ready to fill. I wonder if that would be easier? But this looks like a great recipe I must try! 🙂
These look delicious! I’ll be printing this recipe for sure 🙂 Thanks for sharing Collin!
I have a litte tip for getting the cabbage leaves peeled. Wet the head of cabbage and put in a ziplock bag. Microwave for 5 minutes. It gives the cabbage just enough steaming to pull the leaves off whole.
Collin, this may seem like a silly question…but I am torn. I HATE cabbage but would love to TRY this if it doesn’t taste too “cabbage-y”. I am REALLY trying to dive in to different ways of cooking and trying to find different “vessels” to put the food in instead of tortillas, rice, and bread. So, could you taste the cabbage, or was is efficiently masked by the other spices and cheese?
Stuff those babies full of chicken, sour cream, salsa, guac and anything else you like… and I can almost guarantee the cabbage taste will be masked – BIG time! 🙂
Collin,
Just curious, if you are/were taking Vitamin D supplements to replace what you would have gotten from dairy?
Nope, no vitamin D supplements. I am outdoors a lot… especially during the weekends, so all of the sunshine sure helps! 🙂 I also eat a lot of salmon and some tuna fish, which are both great sources of vitamin D.
Whoa! Collin, why aren’t you eating grains? Of course if you don’t mind me asking. 🙂
See my comments above… 🙂
oooooooh gotcha, see THAT is a clear sign that I need to read more.lol Thanks for pointing that out for me. 😀
You metioned enchilada sauce I didn’t see it in the ingredients? It is different then the green chile’s? I normally use red sauce so I didn’t know if it needed to be greens. BTW ~ thanks I know what I’m cooking this week. I love extra veggie/healthy ways to cook.
wow, it looks like polish “GOLABKI”, but the polish ones are white rice and meat, covered with tomatoe sauce… SO YUMMY!
These look yummy!! im going to have to try them. 🙂 Now your going to need a new tab for all your recipes. 🙂
You might also consider using purple kale leaves for this at some point as an experiment. A raw vegan restaurant I used to love in LA made their wraps using these big kale leaves instead of flat bread. It worked really well. The purple kale is milder than other kinds of kale, and the leaves are flat so that things wrap well in it. It would be a totally different flavor than cabbage, but also super healthy.
Ooh! Thanks for the tip! I didn’t even think of kale! I know what I am trying this weekend…going to make cabbage and kale ones to see which one the family will like more! 🙂
That looks so delicious and healthy! Going to have to try it 🙂
Trying to get my son to eat more veggies, I will be trying this recipe this weekend! He loved the “spaghetti” squash I made a while ago, hope this goes over well.
Hi Collin! I used to follow your blog all the time a few years ago, but haven’t in the past year…going grain free has changed my couponing quite a bit. I was surprised and delighted to see your recipe come up on a recipe share group on FaceBook! So many of us are finding grains are a problem, eh? If you want to see how great I did in pregnancy without grains, here’s my blogpost, followed by another with a cabbage/fajita chopped salad recipe: https://cleangreenstart.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/best-pregnancy-ever/ https://cleangreenstart.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/crockpot-fajitas/
I don’t have any actual allergies gluten but I find I do feel better when I don’t eat it. But sin e my husband eats it i find myself continually falling back into eating. Were looking into getting pregnant in the next few months though and I really thought that trying to go grain free first might help. Did you notice a huge difference?
In Eastern Slavic cuisine it’s called “Golubtsy” – little doves. 🙂 Of course the filling is a bit different (ground beef with cooked chopper onions, shredded carrots, tomato paste and garlic, you can also add some cooked rice, and bake them under some tomato-y concoction). But in the end, no matter what the flavor, they are just the same old cabbage rolls.
Since I’m from Ukraine and these babies are nothing new to me, I think I have a trick to share that most people here might not know.
To make your life easier first take a big knife and make a deep slit in the cabbage all the way around its core, like you are going to cut it out. But you are only making a cylindrical slit, half the cabbage deep, so nothing will fall apart yet. After that you can just boil the whole cabbage a little in a big pot and as soon as it’s a bit softer the leaves will be very easy to take off. And to make the rolling process a bit easier, cut off the big hard veins from the cabbage leaves – just slice off the prominent parts, leveling the leaf’s surface. It will make the leaves a lot more pliable.
I hope I didn’t miss the same kind of advice in the previous comments and didn’t just waste all this time typing. 🙂 I know it’s a lot of hassle to deal with that cabbage when you make the rolls, so I just wanted to help. 🙂
I was just going to share this same tidbit. It really is easier to do this way and if you are worried about overcooking you can always put the cabbage leaves into a bowl of ice water as you peel them off.
Yum! Good idea!
We eat paleo, too, and we usually just use natural chicken lunchmeat as our “wraps”…that works nicely, too 🙂 I’ll have to try the cabbage, though, we do love cabbage (and it’s cheap!).
The hardest part of making enchilladas for me is thickening the sauce, as we don’t eat corn or wheat. I usually use arrowroot, but it’s not *exactly* the same & I don’t get the same thickness. Still delicious, though!
I’m sure other people have said this before, but instead of using sour cream, our family uses plain greek yogurt, we buy the big carton…….tastes EXACTLY the same, but way more protein than sour cream!!! Plus, if you keep some frozen berries in the freezer, just throw some in with the plain yogurt, let the berries thaw and you have a super easy, yummy and nutritous snack!!!!
Thanks, Collin, for introducing so many healthful recipes to us. I think that you do just as much of a service in bringing this to us as you do by highlighting the great deals that are all apart of Hip 2 Save. Thanks again!
Oh my goodness! Those look delicious! I totally thought you were making a Middle Eastern recipe there before I read about the enchiladas! Basically, you can make stuffed grape leaves with cabbage and it’s delicious as well!
Has anyone eaten Paleo when pregnant? Not sure if it would leave me lacking nutrients I need but I love the idea… If nothing else, I’ll wait til the baby comes to switch over and just keep Collin’s amazing recipes in my collection ’til then!! Thanks for posting 🙂
Hi Collin,
Thanks so much for posting this. I’ve already bookmarked it. This is a great idea. I bet you could use butter lettuce also and make wraps and dip them in some sort of sauce. It’s amazing how much cabbage and lettuce add to mexican foods. And there’s so many ways to go with mexican food, very versatile and awesome on the budget! We’ve started topping or putting our enchiladas on shredded lettuce and then have lime and pickled jalapenos on the side. It’s so good!
This looks great! Definitely will try it. We eat a Primal diet since we like a little cheese now and then although we don’t drink cows milk anymore. I saw some people questioning grains, here’s some info: I was tested for a gluten allergy and it was negative, but many people will tell you that test isn’t very reliable. Giving up grains is the best thing I could’ve done for my health, I never knew I could have so much energy. https://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz1tBOPGkJh
OMG Amazing, made it 2nite. Made hubbys half with tortilla. Next time I will make him try it. I do love cabbage, but it isn’t overwhelming where he couldn’t eat it. I used red sauce and added tomatoes. A+ thanx 4 all you do
The CHILES worry me. My daughter won’t eat anything spicy. How spicy is it? Looks so good. Is there a MILD version?
The chilis are not spicy. In fact I added chipotle peppers to spice it up for me.
Made this tonight and it was Great! You really could not taste the cabbage at all. My 12 year old daughter loved it too. You can adjust the taste to suit what you like.
My new favorite meal. I couldn’t get the sauce to thicken but it was still AMAZING!!
I’ve got these in the oven now. 🙂 I used ground beef instead of chicken, but otherwise I followed the recipe. My sauce didn’t thicken either. I’m looking forward to eating them!!! 🙂 Thank you!
I made these last night. My sauce was not thickening either. I ended up adding a very small amt of flour.
I have a question – the recipe calls for a head of cabbage. DO I use the whole thing, or do I just wrap each “enchilada” in one leaf, or are they wrapped in multiple? Thanks
Just wrap each enchilada. The recipe made 6 nice enchiladas. I used the first 6 leaves that came off the head of cabbage, they are the largest. I ran mine under running water to remove them. Don’t over cook them cause they will fall apart.
This sounds soooo good. Have to see if I can make it for one.
Sounds delicious, Thank you
To peel the cabbage easily, bring 4 qt of water to a boil with a little salt. Core the cabbage and toss in boiling water. As each outer leaf wilts, peel it off with tongs. Came from America’s test kitchen cookbook and works like a charm every time!! Great recipe! My family loves it!!
Looks great. I will definitely try it, but would appreciate it if you posted the carb count.
En español por favor gracias.
I tried this recipe and it was awesome. I added a very small amt of flour to the sauce to thicken it more, it just wasn’t getting thick for me. And I used American white cheese. I will definitely have again.
This was so good! I found the green chillis to be a bit boring in flavor so I did one can of green chilis and one can of chipotle peppers with Adobe sauce. The adobe sauce gave it the taste it was lacking, plus added some spice.
this is so good!!! thank you!!
Please don’t call this enchiladas, as a Mexican I find this atrocious, why not just call them Mexican inspired chicken cabagge rolls olease
Silvia on Dec 5,
Why be so offended by one recipe name?
There are bigger issues in the world than going on one’s website and calling foul over a name of a food dish that is widely misinterpreted around the world! Move on and stand up for something more critical.
I’m trying these enchiladas tonight!
Sincerely,
Lucia
(born & raised in Guadalajara, Mexico)
…..in fact, Silvia, this is a HUGE nod to our every day American culture and how much we have incorporated and celebrate everything Mexican!! As an Irish-German born and raised in Chicago and relocated as an adult to San Antonio, many of my Mexican friends are chefs who creatively highlight flavors from Mexico in delicious new ways that fit specific dietary requirements. One of my friends, an award winning chef in Austin (also a native from Guadalajara) creates enchiladas from tortillas made from ground quinoa. This is no less an enchilada than when wrapped in cabbage.
Its a new day. Silvia!! Continue to embrace and protect the heritage you’re so passionate for, but also embrace the new flavors and creativity of others!
Can you provide the nutritional information for this recipe? Thank you!