If you’re searching for an easy lamb, raisin, and rice stuffed grape leaves recipe, this beginner-friendly version skips the fuss. This is a sweet and savory twist on classic dolmas.
Tired of bland fillings in many traditional stuffed grape leaves? Fear not – the addition of raisins not only adds sweetness and juiciness but they help balance the richness of the lamb..
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Two methods of preparing these stuffed grape leaves are covered.
- Flexibility as the stuffed grape leaves can be cooked ahead.
- Step by step instructions how to master the roll to make perfect little bundles every time.
- Pro tips included such as ‘what happens if a leaf tears’ and ‘how to prevent them from unrolling when cooking.’
- No special equipment required to make these exotic treats.
- Lots of suggestions for add ins to truly customize these grape leaves.
What are Stuffed Grape Leaves and What are Dolmas?
Historians trace stuffed leaves back to 1st-century A.D. Greece, where ancient cooks wrapped sweetened soft cheese in fig leaves. This leaf-wrapping ingenuity soon spread to the rest of the Mediterranean and into Persia. It wasn’t long before these regions’ local ingredients began influencing dolmas. Grape leaves were used, rice was incorporated along with spices, grains, herbs, and meats. With the spread and popularity of these stuffed grape leaves across the Ottoman Empire, they became known as Dolmas (turkish name meaning “to stuff”.) Today, the term stuffed grape leaves and dolmas is interchangeable.
Ingredients
- Lamb: ground, fresh.
- Raisins: or similar dried fruit such as chopped dates or apricots, currants, or sultanas.
- Onion and garlic cloves.
- Grape leaves: can be purchased in larger supermarkets and specialty food stores.
- Rice: short grain rice.
- Lemon: used for zest and later in cooking.
- Olive oil: only needed if the lamb is very lean (less than 10% fat).
- Scallions and parsley.
- Seasoning: coriander, cinnamon, dried chives and dried oregano.
- Broth: or stock, preferably chicken but beef and vegetable can also be used. (Not pictured.)
- Potato: used during cooking and not an ingredient of the dolmas. (Not pictured.)
Two Approaches How to Prepare Lamb and Raisin Dolmas
The first method fully cooks all the stuffing ingredients, shapes the mixture into small sausage-like rolls, and wraps each one in a grape leaf.
The second method only precooks some of the ingredients with the goal of having a more tender texture.
There is no right or wrong method, it is entirely a personal choice.
Method 1: How to Prepare the Filling: Fully Cooked for Deeper Flavor
Fully cooking all the stuffing ingredients ensures it is safely cooked, and decreases the final cooking time for prepared dolmas. Pre cooking the stuffing provides a more flavorful stuffing.
Using a grater, remove the zest from the lemon and grate the garlic. Peel and dice the onions. Chop the parsley leaves and scallions. Grind the cardamon if using whole kernels.
In a pre heated pan, heat the oil (if needed) and fry the ground lamb until it is brown and has a minimum temperature of 160°F / 71°C.
Add the diced onions and sauté them with the lamb.
The grated garlic is added to the pan and sautéed.
Add in the dried and fresh herbs along with the spices, lemon zest, scallions and salt and pepper.
Mix in pre rinsed rice to the pot.
Finally, add the broth, and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the filling to cook for 10 minutes. Let the filling cool until it’s easy to handle.
Method 2: How to Prepare the Filling: A Quick Partial Cook for Perfect Texture
With this method, only the onion, garlic and coriander see the inside of a frying pan. By not cooking the meat and rice at this stage, a more favorable texture is created.
Chop parsley, scallions and zest a lemon.
Peel and dice the onion. Add oil to a preheated pan and add the onion to sauté.
Grate the garlic cloves and add to the pan along with ground coriander.
Gather together the stuffing ingredients – raw lamb, herbs and spices and the cooked onion and garlic.
Add all the ingredients, including pre rinsed rice, into a bowl.
Mix well to combine.
How to Stuff and Cook the Filled Grape Leaves
Soak the jarred grape leaves in cold water for 3-5 minutes.
Remove a leave and spread it out flat on a wooden board.
Take a scoop of filling, form it into a sausage shape and lay in the center of the leaf close to where the stem was.
Wrap one side of the leaf over the center.
Then wrap the other side over to enclose the stuffing and start to roll.
With the grape leaves stuffed, they are ready to be cooked.
Cooking Stuffed Grape Leaves
In a large pot, place a layer of sliced raw potatoes on the bottom. Gently layer the dolmas on top of the potatoes.
Ensure all the dolmas are seam-side down in the pot.
Slice the lemons that were zested earlier. Layer them on top of the dolmas. Gently pour the broth into the pot. Find a plate that fits inside the pot and invert it over the dolmas. Place a lid on top of the pot. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 45 minutes if using the raw filling (method 2), or 10 minutes if the filling is fully cooked (method 1).
Flavor Variations:
- For a vegan alternative, substitute the lamb with tofu and use vegetable stock. Follow the Method 2 option and cook stuffed grape leaves for 10 minutes.
- Spice up your stuffing by adding chili flakes!
- Make it more kid-friendly by adding fewer spices and more raisins.
- Swap out the lamb for beef or seasoned pork.
- Pair with tzatziki for dipping.
A Tip From Me
After zesting the lemon for use as a stuffing ingredient, don’t forget to save the zested lemon. Get a double use out of the lemon by slicing the zested lemon and layering the lemon slices on top of the stuffed grape leaves as they cook.
Grape leaves can tear easily when they are being stuffed. Patch any torn leaves with extra leaf bits. Once they are uniformly rolled, no one will notice the patches.
Always handle and cook the stuffed grape leaves with the seam side down.
Pack the dolmas snugly into pot when cooking.
Use a plate on top of the grape leaves during cooking, this will prevent them from unrolling.
Save the potatoes used at the bottom of the pot during cooking. They will be full of chicken broth and fresh lemon flavor. I recommend lifting them out of the pot and placing them into a preheated (425°F / 220°C) air fryer. Air fry until the potatoes are golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. They pair nicely with the stuffed grape leaves.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers – hopefully!
Yes, give them a rinse under cold water to clean them. Plunge them into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute, then remove from the pot of hot water and plunge them into a bowl of iced water for one minute. Remove from the iced water and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel.
Bring the stock to a boil, then lower heat to low / medium to simmer gently. The cooking time is around 45 minutes to an hour. The internal temperature of the lamb stuffing should be at least 160°F /71°C. Remove a grape leaf from the pot to test it. Check for tender rice and easy to chew grape leaves.
Yes, stuffed grape leaves can be frozen with cooked or uncooked filling for up to 3 months. Layer them, seam side down into a freezer storage box with a tight fitting sealed lid. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature (if cooked) before eating.
The rice needs more cooking time. It is best to check a grape leaf to see how tender the rice is near the end of the cooking process. If further cooking is required, then check the liquid level and if needed, add more hot stock. If this is a concern, use Method 1 for the stuffing preparation where the rice is fully cooked in the stuffing.
These Chorizo and Chick Pea lettuce cups would be a wonderful accompaniment.
Easy Lamb Raisin and Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 10 oz short grain rice
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon
- 3 scallions
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp whole coriander
- 50 grape leaves
- 6 oz raisins
- 1 tbsp dried chives
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley about 4-6 sprigs of parsley
- 40 oz chicken broth
- 1 potato
Instructions
- Using a grater, remove the zest from the lemon and grate the garlic. Peel and dice the onions. Chop the parsley leaves and scallions. Grind the whole cardamon.
- In a pre heated pan, heat the oil (if lamb is lean) and fry the ground lamb until it is brown and has a minimum temperature of 160°F / 71°C.
- Add the diced onions and sauté them with the lamb for 5 minutes, then add grated garlic.
- Add in the dried and fresh herbs along with the spices, lemon zest, scallions and salt and pepper. Mix into the meat. Then add pre rinsed rice to the pot.
- Finally add 8oz (235ml) broth, and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the filling to cook for 10 minutes. Let the filling cool until it's easy to handle.
- Soak the jarred grape leaves in cold water for 3-5 minutes.
- Remove a leave and spread it out flat on a wooden board.
- Take a scoop of filling, form it into a sausage shape and lay in the center of the leaf close to where the stem was.
- Wrap one side of the leaf over the center.
- Then wrap the other side over to enclose the stuffing and start to roll to form the stuffed grape leaf.
- In a large pot, place a layer of sliced raw potatoes on the bottom. Gently layer the dolmas on top of the potatoes with their seam side down.
- Slice the lemons that were zested earlier. Layer them on top of the dolmas. Gently pour the remaining broth into the pot. Find a plate that fits inside the pot and invert it over the dolmas. Place a lid on top of the pot. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
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