Best Stuffed Grape Leaves Recipe (Dolmas/Sarma)
These stuffed grape leaves (dolmas/sarma) are a classic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dish filled with ground meat, uncooked rice, and fresh herbs, then gently cooked until tender. Includes a vegetarian option and pairs perfectly with sour cream, or a squeeze of lemon juice for authentic flavor.
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 184kcal
Ingredients
- 16 ounces jar of grape leaves
- 16 ounces ground pork or beef or a combination of both
- ¼ cup rice
- 1 diced onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 lemon we will use the juice
- 2 cups water or chicken/beef stock or enough to cover the stuffed grape leaves in the pot
- For serving: Sour cream or yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
Prepare the grape leaves:
- Take the leaves out of the jar and rinse them.
- Remove the stems so you can have a smooth leaf surface to work with.
- Note: For a pound of meat, I used only half of the leaves in the jar, but if you cook for a crowd and want to use them all, double the amount of meat, rice, and everything else.If you have leftover leaves, put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them for later use.
Make the stuffing:
- Put all the ingredients, meat, onions, rice, and spices, in a bowl. Mix everything well to combine.
Roll the stuffed grape leaves:
- Grab a leaf and spread it flat on your work surface.
- Place a teaspoon of meat mixture on the leaf but on the other side of the stem.
- Fold the end of the leaf over the meat once, then fold over the left and right sides of the leaf.
- Continue to fold the leaf like you would roll a cigar by pushing the edges inside, so the meat doesn't come out. Keep wrapping the stuffed grape leaves until you finish the meat mixture.
- Before you start placing the rolls into your cooking pot, spread 3-4 leaves on its bottom. This will prevent the rolls from sticking to the bottom.
- Fill up the pot with the rolls. Add the juice of one lemon into your pot and the water/stock, just to cover the stuffed grape leaves.
- Use aluminum foil to cover the pot if you don't have a lid.
- Place the pot inside the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 350F or until the rolls are tender and the rice is cooked inside.
- Note: Serve with a nice glass of light white wine, a good slice of bread, and some sour cream.
Notes
For the vegetarian/vegan version of the filling:
8 ounces mushrooms
¼ cup rice
One onion
Two tablespoons of tomato paste
Two tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons tomato paste How to make vegetarian/vegan stuffed grape leaves: Use a food processor to grind the mushrooms. Mix the mushrooms with dried thyme. Chop the onion. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the chopped onion until translucent. Mix the rice with cooked onion and mushrooms. Taste for salt and pepper. Follow the same steps as above for the recipe that uses meat. Instead of making a sauce with lemon juice and mint, use tomato paste and water to boil the stuffed grape leaves. Serve with sour cream on top.
¼ cup rice
One onion
Two tablespoons of tomato paste
Two tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons tomato paste How to make vegetarian/vegan stuffed grape leaves: Use a food processor to grind the mushrooms. Mix the mushrooms with dried thyme. Chop the onion. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the chopped onion until translucent. Mix the rice with cooked onion and mushrooms. Taste for salt and pepper. Follow the same steps as above for the recipe that uses meat. Instead of making a sauce with lemon juice and mint, use tomato paste and water to boil the stuffed grape leaves. Serve with sour cream on top.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 265mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 12492IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 2mg
