Vine leaves and vegetables stuffed with tomato-and-pomegranate rice, packed tight and steamed until sweet-sour and tender.

Where does Iraqi Dolma come from?

Iraqi Dolma is a Iraqi dish from Baghdad, Iraq.

Can Iraqi Dolma be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Iraqi Dolma recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Iraqi Dolma take to make?

About 135 minutes total (60 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 6.

Recipe

Name: Iraqi Dolma
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: 2 cups medium-grain rice; 1 lb ground lamb; 1 jar vine leaves (jarred), rinsed; 3 + 3 + 4 onions + bell peppers + tomatoes (to hollow and stuff); 3 tbsp tomato paste; 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses; 1.5 cups total parsley + dill + mint, chopped; 1 tbsp baharat; 1 tsp turmeric; 1/4 cup lemon juice; 1/2 cup olive oil

Asia → 🇮🇶 Iraq → Baghdad

Iraqi Dolma

Iraqi · advanced · serves 6

prep 60 min · cook 75 min

~476 cal · 25g protein · 59g carbs · 15g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Platter of stuffed vine leaves and vegetables in red sauce

🇮🇶 Baghdad

Iraqi dolma isn’t just stuffed leaves — it’s a whole pot of stuffed everything: onions, peppers, tomatoes, and vine leaves layered over lamb bones, weighted, and flipped out as a tower. The pomegranate molasses is what makes Baghdad’s version sing.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 6 —

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2 cups medium-grain rice

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1 lb ground lamb

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1 jar vine leaves (jarred), rinsed

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3 + 3 + 4 onions + bell peppers + tomatoes (to hollow and stuff)

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3 tbsp tomato paste

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3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

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1.5 cups total parsley + dill + mint, chopped

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1 tbsp baharat

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1 tsp turmeric

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1/4 cup lemon juice

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1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

Mix the rice, lamb (or mushroom mix), herbs, baharat, turmeric, half the tomato paste and molasses, oil, and salt into the filling.

Hollow the onions (simmer to loosen layers), peppers, and tomatoes; roll the filling in vine leaves and stuff the vegetables loosely — rice swells.

Line a heavy pot with tomato slices; pack the dolma in tight, standing layers.

Whisk the remaining paste, molasses, lemon, oil, and salt into 3 cups water; pour over and weight with a plate.

Simmer very low 70 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid nearly gone. Rest, then invert onto a platter — the whole tower, sweet-sour and glistening.

Baghdad family-feast tradition.

Ratings & reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Baghdad. Tigris kitchens layering rice, meat, and sweet-sour depth.

🗺️

Iraq. Mesopotamia — arguably where cooking was first written down.

🌍

Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →