Vegetable Roll-Ups with Homemade Peanut Sauce

I have been trying to eat less meat lately, and I’m surprised at how easy it has been. While I usually replace meat with seafood or eggs, I switched it up and made my own version of vegetable roll-ups with homemade peanut sauce. I modified a few recipes I found online to make them work best for my palette, but the peanut sauce it what makes this dish. It is simple to make, has no refined sugar in it (it is sweetened with honey), and will go great with a few of my past recipes. It would be a great alternative sauce to serve with Vietnamese spring rolls or a great base to rice noodle stir fry.

I made these vegetable roll-ups with homemade peanut sauce as my dinner, but they would also work great as an appetizer. You can serve them buffet-style and let people choose what goes in them. You can serve with hummus, bean sprouts, or even shredded chicken or shrimp to give more options.

Shopping List

• Carrots, cut into strips
• Cucumbers, cut into strips
• Head of cabbage (you can also use collard green leaves)
• Cilantro
• Peanuts
• Cooked rice or quinoa

For the peanut sauce…

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I use the gluten-free version)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

• Prepare the carrots and cucumbers by washing thoroughly, peeling, and then cutting into matchsticks.
• Wash the head of cabbage then remove the leaves so they stay whole (they’ll sit like a cup or bowl).
• Arrange the fillings (rice, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and peanuts) in the cabbage leaf and roll up similar to a burrito. If you are using a collard green leaf, remove the long part of the stem to make it easier to roll.
• To make the peanut sauce, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, and honey in a food processor. Blend until creamed together. I have this mini food processor and love it.

These roll-ups aren’t the best if made ahead of time (they can get soggy). I recommend prepping everything and then keeping it in the fridge. Combine everything just before you eat it!