Healthier Homemade Runzas made with ground beef, cabbage, and seasonings that contain just 253 Calories per runza! A dinner your whole family will ask for over and over again.
Runzas. Mmm, hey there!
Can I begin to count the reasons why you should try these delicious runza sandwiches?! As a Nebraska native, I can fully appreciate the greatness of a runza sandwich. There were many cold nights on the football field growing up that started off with a runza. They warmed me up instantly.
A little secret: This healthier version contains 253 Calories and 5.5 grams of fat. The Runza from the actual Runza fast food restaurant contains 530 Calories and 20 grams of fat.
The filling is simple yet special! Ground beef and cabbage are the perfect match in this cute little runza. It’s all about balance and portion size. And these little runzas will have you at hello!
You can go to the trouble of making homemade dough but when I mention I am making homemade runzas, my family isn’t in the mood for waiting around. Just keep your rising dough out of sight! For this recipe I like to use Rhodes yeast dinner rolls. You can find them in the freezer section at the grocery store and it is in dough form. Three to five hours ahead of time, let the dough rise and thaw. Then when it’s time to brown the hamburger and cook it with the cabbage your dough will be ready for you. No better way to do it.
I absolutely love it when I get rave reviews from my five year-old. I mean it’s great from my husband too but it just doesn’t happen as often from my kids so when it does it is HUGE!! And he just LOVED these runzas. He keeps asking me when we are going to have them again. Aww, moments like these I just have to savor.
Healthier Homemade Runzas
Ingredients
- 12 frozen dough dinner roll balls I used Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls dough
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cups green cabbage chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Let Dough Rise
- In a 9x13 baking dish, arrange frozen roll dough and let rise for 3-5 hours or according to package instructions.
Runza Prep
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- In a large skillet, cook ground beef and chopped onion for 7-10 minutes over medium high heat or until beef is cooked through. Add chopped cabbage and cook for another 5-7 minutes to allow the cabbage to soften a bit.
- Add salt, garlic powder, and black pepper and stir.
- Reduce heat to medium low. Stir occasionally.
- On a floured surface, roll out dough of two dinner rolls to 1/4 inch thickness.
- Add 1/2 cup ground beef mixture to center of dough. Bring sides of dough together over filling and pinch sides together all along opening and fold the ends under to make sure they don't open in the oven.
- On a greased baking sheet, place runzas seam side down. Spray tops of runzas with olive oil spray or non-stick cooking spray.
- Let rise 10-15 minutes on baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until runzas are golden brown.
Notes
More Delicious & Healthy Dinners
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti Squash
