Trader Joe’s makes some pretty incredible spring rolls. If you’re in the mood for something on the sweeter end of the spectrum, check out their Mango & Sticky Rice Spring Rolls. If you’re looking for something savory, you might be interested in their Vegetable Spring Rolls.
But today we’re not reviewing any spring rolls. Instead, we’re sampling something that we’d say is spring-roll-adjacent, the Trader Joe’s Beef Cabbage Rolls.
We have to admit, we were a little nervous to try these out, as Money.com put these on their “5 Things You Should Never Buy at Trader Joe’s” list. So let’s these bad boys to the test and see if they’re the flatulence-smelling disaster that Money claims they are. (The review Money was referring to actually comes from the website Become Betty, and you can read that review by clicking this link.)
Anyway, these cabbage rolls are super easy to cook. Simply cut a slit in the package and then pop it into the microwave for three to four minutes. (Well, we actually went with five minutes; we started with three and a half and ended up putting them back in for another minute and a half because they were still cold around the edges.)
Now, the first thing you’ll notice when you pull the package out of the microwave is that it’s got a pretty substantial amount of water in the bottom by the time these are done. It’s certainly not the most appealing first impression — in fact, all that water leaves these looking sickly and soggy.
That sogginess persists when you start digging into these cabbage rolls. You’ll absolutely need a fork for these, as they’re no finger food. If you try picking one up with your fingers, it will fall apart and leave your hand soaked in cabbage juice. Ew.
If you love steamed cabbage, you might find these cabbage shells to be delightful. We don’t. In fact, we find the soggy cabbage to be quite off-putting here.
Inside those shells, however, there’s actually a pretty tasty blend of seasoned ground beef, rice, and carrots. Of course, the cabbage juice seeps into this portion of the meal and completely ruins what’s otherwise a pretty decent mix.
The package claims that a single roll is a serving. We find that a little bit ridiculous, especially since Trader Joe’s didn’t give us any options for splitting or resealing the package (some of their spring rolls come in a plastic bag, which makes each package easy to split up into multiple servings).
One cabbage roll contains 110 calories and 220 mg of sodium. That means if you eat all four, you’ll be consuming 440 calories and 880 mg of sodium — if you can stomach four of these, that is.
We don’t think the Trader Joe’s Beef Cabbage Rolls are a complete disaster, but we’re certainly not going to eat them again. The filling is quite good, but the cabbage shells ruin absolutely everything they touch. With a better shell, these would have possibly been pretty tasty, but then they would no longer be cabbage rolls.
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in these Trader Joe’s cabbage rolls, check out our package scan below.
