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Vegan Collard Wraps with Kimchi and Sweet Potato Filling, Plus the Time I Met Scott Jurek in Person

I know it’s been forever FOREVER since the last time I posted a recipe, but it’s all going to change today! I’m particularly proud of today’s recipe for vegan collard wraps with kimchi and sweet potatoes because they seem to me like the healthiest food out there, with all of the veggies, fiber and probiotics – a perfect meal for springtime!

Collard Wraps with Kimchi and Sweet Potato Filling

Here’s the deal in our household: Rob eats almost all plant-based foods I put in front of him (a huge improvement from when we first met!), but there are a few things he won’t touch. Collard greens are one of those things. He’s not thrilled with kimchi either. I, on the other hand, like both quite a bit, even thinking of fermenting some kimchi at home in the near future.

So a couple weeks ago, when Rob was out of town on business, I knew it was my chance to experiment with both of those foods.

I’ve made collard wraps before – the time when Rob put his foot down and said he would never eat collards again – but the process of rolling the wraps turned into a mess, with tough leaves not wanting to fold neatly no matter what I did.

This time around, however, I got smarter and did some research on YouTube. This video turned out very helpful, and all of my wrap rolling troubles were resolved! I’ve also explained all the steps in the recipe below.

Vegan Collard Wraps with Kimchi and Sweet Potato Filling

Like with most of my recipes, the filling of these vegan collard wraps can be customized to your liking.

Don’t have black beans on hand? Use just about any other type of cooked beans, or even lentils if you so desire.

No kimchi available? Use some sauerkraut (preferably unpasteurized, with good bacteria intact), or just squeeze some lemon or lime juice onto the filling just before you roll up the wrap.

Don’t have a baked sweet potato? Microwave a raw one for 3-4 minutes and mash up the insides, or cube it and steam/boil  it for 10 min, or use some cooked squash.

As for kimchi, I’ve seen at least a few brands in stores here in the Pacific Northwest, but most brands either have non-vegan ingredients like fish sauce or tiny shrimp, or their ingredients lists feature some unpronounceable stuff that in my humble opinion has no place to be in healthy foods.

Thankfully, a local company called Britt’s Pickles makes amazing vegan kimchi (they even have two types – a ginger-infused and a black garlic-based varieties), sauerkraut and pickles. If you live in Seattle area, I highly recommend their products (and no, they aren’t paying me to say that). I used the ginger-infused Market Kimchi for these wraps.

Collard Wraps with Kimchi-Sweet Potato Filling
Yield: 8 wraps

Vegan Collard Wraps with Kimchi and Sweet Potatoes

Vegan Collard Wraps with Kimchi and Sweet Potatoes

Healthy, delicious and light, these vegan collard wraps with kimchi and sweet potatoes make a light yet filling lunch or dinner. If you find a particularly large bunch of collards, just double or triple the filling, and make as many wraps as you’d like. These collard wraps will keep in your fridge for 2-3 days. Dairy free, egg free, gluten free, soy free, meat free, vegetarian.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Assembly Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 large collard leaves, rinsed and patted dry
  • 1 large baked or steamed sweet potato (or 2 medium-sized), cooled
  • ½ cup vegan kimchi*, any kind - about 1 Tbsp per wrap

For the Black Bean Salad:

  • 1.5 cup canned or cooked black beans
  • 2 Tbsp red onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley/cilantro, chopped
  • ½ avocado, chopped (optional)
  • Dash turmeric, black pepper and ground ginger

Instructions

To prepare the collard leaves:

  1. You can watch this video for detailed descriptions, or follow the steps below.
  2. Set a steamer basket over a pot of water, cover with a lid, and bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, place a collard leaf on a cutting board, cut out the thick stem leaving about 2-3 inches on top to prevent separating the leaf in half. Repeat with the remaining collard leaves.
  3. Working with one leaf at a time, place each leaf into the steamer basket with boiling water, close the lid, and let the leaf steam for no more than 10-15 seconds. Take the leaf out using tongs, place on a plate, and repeat with the rest of the leaves.

To prepare the filling:

  1. Peel the cooled baked sweet potato and slightly mash in with a fork. It doesn’t have to be mashed completely smooth. Set aside.
  2. To make the black bean salad, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, from black beans to ground ginger. Stir lightly to mix, set aside.

To assemble the wraps:

  1. (You can refer to this video again, or follow the steps.) Place one steamed leaf on the cutting board. Cut the top part that was holding the leaf from separating in two halves. Slightly overlap one half of the leaf over the other, with a seam running down the middle of the leaf.
  2. Place about 2 Tbsp of mashed sweet potato, 1-2 Tbsp of the bean salad, and 1 Tbsp of kimchi* along the widest part of the collard leaf. You may need more or less filling depending on the size of your leaf – try not to overstuff it, as it may be hard to roll the wrap! Your wrap should look like this before you start rolling it up:
  3. Now, if you’ve ever rolled a burrito, the rolling part shouldn’t confuse you too much. Place the bottom of the leaf (the part closest to you) over the filling, tuck in the sides, and roll up the resulting pocket to form a neat little wrap. Repeat with the remaining leaves.
  4. To serve, cut the wraps in half diagonally, or bite into them burrito-style. Enjoy!

Notes

*I used Market Kimchi by Britt’s Pickles, a local company based in Seattle, but obviously feel free to use your favorite kimchi (check that it doesn't contain seafood to make sure it's vegan).

No kimchi available? You can use sauerkraut if you can find a good kind, or just squeeze a bit of fresh lemon or lime juice onto the ingredients of each wrap before you roll it up. See more tips for substitutions in the post above the recipe.

Recommended Products

This recipe contains affiliate links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through affiliate links on my blog, I receive a very small commission that helps me run this blog, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

2 wraps

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 160Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 132mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 8gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g

Please note that the provided nutritional information data is approximate.

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As you may remember from my previous post, it was my birthday last week. Thank you so much everyone for your congratulations and kind words both here on the blog and on Facebook!

The whole week felt special because of all of the comments on my birthday post rolling in. And then on Saturday another exciting thing happened – Rob and I met the legendary vegan ultramarathoner Scott Jurek in person at Seattle REI!

Scott was in town to give a talk about his recent running adventures in the Himalayas and in the Snowdonia region in the UK. I randomly saw his post on Facebook announcing this event, and knew right away that I wanted to go.

Back in the day, it was reading Scott’s book Eat and Run (as well as Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run before that, in which Scott Jurek was a prominent character) that gave me the determination to go vegan, first to improve my athletic performance and later to help animals.

Scott Jurek in REI Seattle

Scott, myself and Rob after Scott’s talk at REI Seattle

So in a way, meeting Scott in person felt a lot like meeting the real Mickey Mouse in person, or your favorite character from a book that influenced you in so many ways. Scott turned out to be very down-to-earth, talking about running trails and the safety etiquette (it helped that his longtime sponsor Brooks has lots of trail running-specific equipment – they’re not paying me to tell you that either 🙂 ).

After the talk, he signed lots of books and took pictures with his fans. I was impressed that he took time to actually talk to each fan, so I thanked him for his book and the push it gave me to go vegan and get more interested in running.

He even remembered his visit to the Southern Alabama a couple years ago for a book signing – it was in our town, but we were away for the weekend that time – and suggested that I should get into ultramarathons, or at least run some trails here in the Pacific Northwest.

Question for you: Who (or what – a movie, a book) played a big role in helping you make a decision to go vegan/plant-based? If you’re not fully vegan yet but are thinking about making the switch, what sparked that thought in the first place? Please share below!

If you’ve enjoyed this post, share it with your friends on social media! And stick around for more awesomeness – subscribe to Vegan Runner Eats to receive the latest posts (I’ll send you a free copy of my vegan dinner recipe e-book as a thank you), or follow the blog on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

(This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through affiliate links on my blog, I receive a very small commission that helps me run this blog, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!)

author avatar
Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats
Alina first made a switch to a vegan diet in 2013 to optimize her athletic performance as a marathon runner. Eventually she embraced veganism as a way to be kinder to fellow living beings and the environment. Alina hopes that this blog helps its readers on their path to becoming vegan and making this world a better place.

Mike

Sunday 18th of August 2019

For me it would have to be The China Study. With the decks stacked against me genetically I figured I needed to do my best at prevention.

I love sweet potatoes, black beans and kimchi but it's not something I'd considered combining. I'll have to try it.

Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats

Monday 19th of August 2019

Awesome Mike, please let me know how these rolls turn out if you make them!

The Vegan Junction

Wednesday 13th of May 2015

Those sweet potato wraps look good. It looks like you've perfected the art of collard wrap rolling, while not skimping on how much you can pack in there. They look great! And congrats on your star-studded, "real Mickey Mouse" day. ;)

Alina

Wednesday 13th of May 2015

Thanks The Vegan Junction!

Brittany

Sunday 10th of May 2015

Scott is one person I must meet before I leave this earth. I just adore him and he seems so cool. I live across the water from Seattle, so I hope to stumble into him at Chaco Canyon Cafe sometime. These wraps look delicious!

Alina

Sunday 10th of May 2015

Thanks Britt! I'm sure you know that he used to live in Seattle. If you follow him on social media, you'll see when he announces coming back here. I randomly saw his announcement on Facebook a week before the event, and was glad I did!

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