---
title: "Soğan Dolması: How to Make Stuffed Onions in Turkish Cuisine — A Step-by-Step Recipe with Pomegranate Molasses"
description: "Styler (RBC-Ukraine) publishes a step-by-step recipe for the Turkish dish Soğan Dolması — stuffed onions with meat, rice, and pomegranate molasses. The recipe was adapted from a video by Instagram cook Beatriz Contreras."
date: 2026-09-12T07:22:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/soan-dolmasi-stuffed-onions-turkish-cuisine-recipe
tags: [turkish-cuisine, stuffed-onion, soan-dolmasi, recipe, cooking, pomegranate-molasses]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Soğan Dolması: How to Make Stuffed Onions in Turkish Cuisine — A Step-by-Step Recipe with Pomegranate Molasses

![Soğan Dolması stuffed onions baked in a round pan, glazed with pomegranate molasses and garnished with herbs — Turkish recipe](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/12/soan-dolmasi-farshirovannyi-luk-turetskaya-kuhnya-recept/soan-dolmasi-farshirovannyi-luk-turetskaya-kuhnya-recept-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Soğan Dolması is a traditional Turkish dish in which a meat-and-rice filling is wrapped in boiled onion layers and simmered in a sauce with tomato paste and pomegranate molasses
- The onions are boiled for about 10 minutes, separated into layers, filled with seasoned meat and rice, rolled into rolls, and simmered for 35–40 minutes under a plate
- The recipe was adapted by Styler (RBC-Ukraine) from a video by Instagram cook Beatriz Contreras; the dish is served hot with a garlic yogurt sauce

Stuffed onions may seem exotic or experimental to many, yet in Turkish culinary tradition the dish known as Soğan Dolması holds a perfectly classic place. Delicate onion layers are carefully wrapped around a filling of ground meat and rice, after which the rolls are simmered in a rich sauce based on tomato paste and pomegranate molasses. The result is a juicy, aromatic dish with a distinctive sweet-and-sour profile, served hot and traditionally accompanied by a garlic yogurt sauce.

### Preparing the Onions: The Key Step Before Forming the Rolls

The process of making Soğan Dolması begins with working with large onion bulbs. They are peeled and each one is given a single vertical cut down to the middle — this allows the onion to be easily separated into individual layers after cooking. The onions are placed in salted water and boiled for about ten minutes, until they become sufficiently soft. After that, the onions are removed, cooled, and carefully separated into layers, which will later serve as the "wrapper" for the filling. It is at this stage that the dish demands patience and care, since the layers must remain intact.

### Filling and Forming the Rolls

For the filling, ground meat is mixed with washed rice, finely chopped onion, and minced parsley. A tablespoon of tomato paste and pepper paste are added to this mixture, along with olive oil, dried mint, salt, black pepper, and cumin. The resulting filling is placed on each onion layer — about a tablespoon — and rolled into a tight roll. The finished rolls are laid in the pot seam-side down so that they do not unroll during cooking. According to the publication Styler (an RBC-Ukraine project), the recipe was adapted based on a video from the Instagram blog of the cook Beatriz Contreras (@beatrizcontreras.31).

### Sauce, Simmering, and Serving

The sauce is prepared separately: in a bowl, a tablespoon of tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, and warm water are mixed together. The rolls in the pot are poured over with this sauce. To keep the onions from floating and to preserve their shape during simmering, a small inverted plate is placed on top. The pot is covered with a lid and cooked over low heat for 35–40 minutes. The finished Soğan Dolması is served hot; in Turkish tradition the dish is accompanied by a garlic yogurt sauce, which balances the richness of the meat filling and the sweetness of the pomegranate molasses.

### Context and Origin of the Recipe

The material on which this article is based was published on the Styler platform — an entertainment and lifestyle project of RBC-Ukraine specializing in trends, recipes, and tips. The publication notes that forming the rolls takes some time, but the cooking process itself is not difficult. The dish Soğan Dolması is part of the broader dolma tradition in Turkish cuisine, where various vegetables and leaves are used as "containers" for a rice-and-meat filling. In this case, the onion performs the same function as grape or bay leaves in classic dolma, but it gives the finished dish its own sweetish and mild flavor.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Soğan Dolması Turkish-Style: Stuffed Onions with Meat, Rice, and a Sweet-and-Sour Sauce](https://styler.rbc.ua/ukr/deliciously/so-an-dolmas-po-turetski-farshirovana-tsibulya-1789146705.html) - Единственный предоставленный источник. Содержит полный пошаговый рецепт, описание ингредиентов, время приготовления и подачи. Ссылка на Instagram-блогера Beatriz Contreras. Таймстамп публикации согласуется с текущей датой (сентябрь 2026). Противоречий с другими источниками не выявлено, так как альтернативных версий не предоставлено.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is Soğan Dolması and where does it come from?
**A:** Soğan Dolması is a traditional dish of Turkish cuisine in which a meat-and-rice filling is wrapped in boiled onion layers and simmered in a sauce with tomato paste and pomegranate molasses. The dish belongs to the broader dolma tradition, where vegetables and leaves serve as the "container" for the filling.

### Q: How long does it take to prepare stuffed onions?
**A:** Boiling the onions takes about 10 minutes, and forming the rolls requires additional time for careful work. The simmering itself lasts 35–40 minutes over low heat. In total, the whole dish takes roughly an hour including preparation.

### Q: What spices and sauces are used in the recipe?
**A:** The filling is seasoned with dried mint, cumin, black pepper, pepper paste, and olive oil. The simmering sauce consists of tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, and warm water. When served, the dish is traditionally accompanied by a garlic yogurt sauce.

### Q: Who is the author of the video on which the recipe was based?
**A:** The recipe was adapted by Styler (an RBC-Ukraine project) based on a video from the Instagram blog of the cook Beatriz Contreras (@beatrizcontreras.31).