One of my favorite things to order when I go to Mediterranean restaurants is Stuffed Grape Leaves or Dolmas. I’ve always shied away from making them at home because they seemed like they would be complicated and a jar of grape leaves is pretty pricey. Since I have a nice week-long break between semesters, I decided to challenge myself with making them to see if they really were all that expensive.
The verdict? Very inexpensive and pretty easy to make! The hardest part was unraveling the “cigar” of rolled-up grape leaves from the jar. The taste was spot on. They were exactly the tangy, herby little bundles of joy that I get from the restaurant. Sure, my rolling technique leaves a bit to be desired but once they’re in your mouth who cares what they look like!
There are many versions of Dolmas out there, some with meat, some without. I usually order the vegetarian kind when I’m out so that’s what I went for here. After looking at a ton of recipes, I decided to work off of this recipe by Emeril Lagasse because it seemed closest to what I’ve eaten before.
My Adaptations
I made a few changes, of course, to meet my budgetary needs. First, I nixed the pine nuts and golden raisins because they’re both fairly pricey. Some day when I have some disposable income, I’ll definitely give them a shot, but not today. Also, I decreased the amount of olive oil because, again, it’s pricey. The end result was still fairly oily (as they should be) so decreasing the olive oil didn’t seem to hurt. I still used fresh mint because that is absolutely essential to this recipe. I only used about 1/4 of the pack which cost $1.99 and will be freezing the rest. Mint is excellent in iced tea or even just water… or maybe I’ll make some mint juleps!
Try These Authentic Dolma Recipes
Since the version below has been adapted for my kitchen, please check out these authentic recipes below. You might learn some cool facts about the history and culture behind this delicious dish while you’re at it:
- Iraqi Dolma from Hungry Paprikas
- Greek Dolmades Recipe from My Greek Dish
- The Best Dolma Recipe from Seven Spice Life (Youtube)
Oh, BTW, you can eat these alone but they are AMAZING when dipped in some cool, creamy Tzatziki.
Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Servings 10 3 eachIngredients
- 1 jar 40 each grape leaves ($5.99)
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.25)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided ($0.20)
- 1 1/2 cups long grain rice, uncooked ($0.45)
- 6 Tbsp lemon juice, divided ($0.32)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp 1-2 sprigs fresh mint, minced ($0.49)
Instructions
- Finely dice the yellow onion and mince the garlic. Cook them in a skillet with 2 Tbsp of olive oil over medium/high heat until they are soft and translucent. Transfer them to a mixing bowl to cool.
- Add the rice, mint, salt and 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) of lemon juice to the mixing bowl with the cooked onions and garlic. Stir to combine well.
- Gently unroll/unfold the grape leaves from the jar and lay flat on a clean surface (3 or 4 at a time). Place 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp (depending on the size of the leaf) of rice mix at the bottom near where the stem would attach. Roll the grape leaves by first folding the bottom up, then the right and left sides in then rolling all the way toward the top (see photos below). Do not roll tightly as the rice will expand when the Dolmas cook in the next step. Continue to fill and roll each grape leaf this way.
- As you roll the grape leaves place them in the bottom of a wide pot, seam side down, very close together (see photos below). If you fill the bottom of the pot in a single layer and still have more, you can start a second layer.
- Drizzle the reamaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice over top of the Dolmas in the pot. Fill with water just until the Dolmas are covered. Place a large plate or dish on top of the Dolmas to hold them down and keep them from unraveling as they boil. Place the pot over high heat, bring to a boil then reduce the temperature and simmer until the rice is soft (about 30-40 minutes). Add more water as needed. Gently remove the Dolmas from the pot after cooking. Reserve any left over liquid to be poured over any left over Dolmas while they are stored in the refrigerator.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Stuffed Grape Leaves – Step By Step Photos
Cook the diced onions and minced garlic in olive oil until they are soft and translucent.
Let the onions and garlic cool slightly then combine with the uncooked rice, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, salt and minced fresh mint.
Carefully unravel the grape leaves from the jar; they will be tightly stacked and rolled into “cigars”. Place a little bit of rice near the bottom of each one and roll…
To roll the grape leaves, first bring the bottom of the leaf up over the rice filling, then fold in the sides and finish by rolling all the way up to the top of the leaf. The three steps are shown, left to right. Don’t roll tightly, the rice needs room to expand.
Place the Dolmas in the bottom of a pot, seam side down, close together. Make a second layer if needed. Drizzle 2 Tbsp more of olive oil and lemon juice over top. Pour on enough water to cover the dolmas.
Add a large plate, dish or inverted lid on top of the Dolmas to hold them down and keep them from unraveling while boiling. My dinner plates were too large to fit in the pot so I used a small plate for the center, a glass lid for the dolmas around the outside and then I ended up having to put another plate on top of the lid to hold it down. As the water boiled, steam was getting trapped under the lid and lifting it up, which means it was not holding the Dolmas down. The extra plate on top fixed the problem!
Boil the grape leaves until the rice is tender (30-40 min). Serve the Dolmas warm, room temperature or cold and make sure to have a little Tzatziki for dipping!
What lemon juice do you use? I couldn’t get fresh squeezed lemon juice for anywhere near your price if I just bought lemons and squeezed them, and I really don’t like lemon juice from concentrate. The price of lemons and limes has been skyrocketing where I’m at (like around $1 each!) and in order to keep budget friendly i’ve been mixing true lemon with water sometimes, (I don’t know if you’re familiar with the product, I like to keep it on hand in case I’m out of lemons because it’s a pantry product) and lately I’ve been doing it more and more because It hurts me inside to spend a whole dollar on a lemon! I’m hoping you have found some other alternative? btw, lovely plating, really like the cucumber cuteness.
I’m sure mine was from concentrate and I probably bought it at Walmart… but this post was from 2010 so I can’t say for sure. :) Four years probably made a big difference in price as well.
The meat will steam as the rice cooks. No need to precook it.
My Turkish MIL makes hers with currents and pinenuts in them and they are to die for…
Try adding some (browned) ground lamb and Middle Eastern 7 spice mix to the rice. It will make it much more authentic, and still budget friendly.
I want to a little ground beef to them. Should I brown it before I mix it in with the rice mixture or can it go in raw and cook with the rice?
I think I would definitely brown the beef first.
Thanks, Beth! Meant to tell you I LOVE your site! I always try to promote it to friends. Everything I’ve made has been a keeper, with my husband and toddler gobbling it up. One night I was making something and my husband said, “At first I thought this sounded really weird, but hey, that girl’s recipes haven’t failed us yet so I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” And of course, it was. Can’t wait till your cookbook comes out! Keep on creating these cheap, tasty dishes. :)
you do not need to brown it
In Turkey, the essential is that making them thinner :)
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! I made these last night, and the only problem I encountered was the fact that the rice was still a bit hard, even after cooking for about 50 minutes. Is there a reason the rice is not cooked before hand? I used brown long grain rice, and I’m wondering if I should have used white rice? They tasted good otherwise. Thanks!
Sarah, yes, brown rice takes much longer than white rice to cook (because it has that hard brown shell on it and does not absorb moisture as well). The only reason the dolmas need to be cooked in the pot after being wrapped is to cook the rice. When you sort of steam it like that (already wrapped in the grape leaves) it gives it extra flavor. If you cook it ahead of time, it might get mushy after cooking them again wrapped. For brown rice you might try cooking them first and then just not cooking as long after they’re wrapped… but that might take some experimentation :)
We always add lamb to ours.
I always had a problem with mine not unwrapping during the boiling process. I tried cooking mine in a steamer basket, and that worked much better, they didn’t unwrap for me. I made sure to add the lemon on top (never did olive oil before, otherwise my recipe was the same) and I couldn’t tell the difference between steaming and boiling. Maybe if someone else is struggling on this step they might want to try steaming as well.
You can use fresh grape leaves–which are delicious–but they have to be the young, Spring leaves or the veins get very tough and not delicious. You can home can grape leaves in brine, though(my grandfather did) and I’ve heard tell you can freeze them. My mom says that Thompson seedless grapes have the best leaves for dolma. Also, my grandfather’s recipe has about 8 onions in it! You could never tell once it’s cooked, though. And he didn’t use raisins or pine nuts either and he was from the “old country.” He did use cabbage leaves and as stated above, they are also delicious that way. I’d garnish with lemon slices.
I absolutely love these, If you want to cut down the cost you ccan replace the grape leaves with white cabage. The taste is amazing.
I love these…your recipe looks easy enough for me to finally try to make my own! Thanks!
Do you know if these are freezable? I can’t imagine eating that many at one time!
It’s even cheaper to pick your own grape leaves from wild vines. Just blanch them in hot water and you’re good to go!
Wow! My husband is Lebanese and one of his favorite food include grape leaves. Oh how I wish I could prepare this for him. I saved it on my file and hopefully I could meet my mojo to cook, sigh…