Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are the perfect comfort food, made with cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, pork, rice, and spices, baked in a savory tangy tomato sauce!
I love cooking with cabbage because it has a lot of flavor while also being cost-effective. For more cabbage recipe ideas, check out this Instant Pot Cabbage and Instant Pot Cabbage Soup!
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a classic comfort food for cold weather, made with ground pork and beef mixed together with onion, spices, and rice rolled in cabbage leaves and baked in a tangy rich tomato sauce. This is traditionally a Polish dish, but you can find this recipe made a few different ways across Eastern European countries.
For the slow cooker version of this recipe, check out Crockpot Cabbage Rolls! This dish does need some extra prep time, but it makes a generous amount of cabbage rolls, and is perfect for when you want leftovers for lunch the next day.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Cabbage. This recipe is usually made using regular green cabbage. You can also use savoy or red cabbage. Just remember that a red cabbage will also change the color of your dish to purple/red. Avoid Nappa, because this type of cabbage will wilt too much during the cooking process.
Choose a large cabbage head, so the leaves are big enough to stuff with the filling without breaking apart. You can also use two smaller heads of cabbage and fold the leaves over each other.
Meat. The filling is made out of a combination of lean ground beef and ground pork. You can also use only ground beef or only ground pork, but the combination of the two is really tasty.
Onion. A sweet onion like Vidalia works well in this dish, but a regular white or yellow onion will also work.
Egg. The egg is a binder, which helps to hold everything together. The yolk also adds some fat and flavor.
White Rice. This recipe can be done two ways: with instant rice, or with regular rice that you cook first. You can also use up leftover cooked rice from the day before with this dish.
If you’re going to use instant rice, just stir it into the meat mixture without cooking it first. The rice will absorb the liquid released from the meat and cabbage and cook while the cabbage rolls are baking.
For regular rice instead, try cooked jasmine or basmati rice. For more flavor, you can cook the rice in beef or chicken broth before adding it to the recipe.
Tomatoes. This recipe uses canned crushed and diced tomatoes for the tomato sauce. If you want to thicken up the sauce, you can also use a few tablespoons of tomato paste. Just whisk everything together before adding it to the cabbage rolls.
Sugar. This is used to balance out the savory flavors in the dish, and cut down on any bitterness from the cabbage. It helps cut some of the acidity from the tomatoes, too. You can use granulated sugar, but brown sugar will also work well and add some more depth of flavor.
Worcestershire Sauce. This adds a nice savory flavor that balances out the sweet tangy flavors of the tomato sauce. Make sure the one you’re using is gluten free, because this ingredient can vary by brand.
We’re adding this for flavor, but you can substitute with a gluten free soy sauce in a pinch.
Fresh Parsley. Fresh chopped parsley is added to the sauce, and also to the meat mixture. You can also reserve some of the parsley to top the dish after it comes out of the oven.
Spices. We’re using simple spices, just some garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and paprika. Paprika is the main flavor we’re adding to the sauce. You can also add minced fresh garlic to the sauce.
How to Make Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. While that’s heating up, use a pairing knife to cut the core out of the bottom of the cabbage. Using tongs, slowly lower the cabbage down into the boiling water. Wear oven mitts and be very careful not to splash the water! Using the tongs, remove each leaf from the cabbage as it begins to pull away and place it into a strainer. This method removes each leaf is they cook, so the inner part of the cabbage isn’t too raw. Discard any pieces that are too small in the center, drain the cabbage water and set the pot aside. Dry the leaves of cabbage with paper towels as-needed.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the beef, pork, rice, onion, egg, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and spices. Work the meat together until well-combined (similar to meatballs). In the pot we just drained, whisk together the tomatoes, parsley, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and spices.
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with extra virgin olive oil, then ladle a layer of sauce into the baking dish, covering the bottom.
- Lay a piece of cabbage down on a flat surface. Cut the bottom of the stem off (using a V shape, about 1-inch), so the leaf lays flat. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of the filling mixture onto the center of the leaf. Fold both sides inwards, then roll the leaf over the meat mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place rolls seam-side down into the casserole dish on top of the tomato sauce mixture, making a single layer of cabbage rolls. Ladle some more sauce on top of the rolls, until they are all completely covered.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 60-90 minutes, or until the rolls are cooked through. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, with extra parsley or parmesan cheese for topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
To soften a head of cabbage, it takes about 10-15 minutes. I like to pull the outer leaves away from the cabbage one at a time, to make sure they are all cooked enough. Once the leaf pulls away from the cabbage head easily, it is ready. This method can add a few more minutes to the cook time, but you’ll have tender cabbage leaves and won’t have any pieces that are too raw.
Stuffed cabbage rolls are made from ground meat mixed with seasoning and rice, rolled in cooked green cabbage leaves. They are then baked in a tangy tomato-based sauce made with sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and paprika. They’re known as a comfort food, and are the perfect thing to serve for dinner during cooler weather.
What to Serve With Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Storage
Refrigerate leftover cabbage rolls for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Freeze leftover cabbage rolls for 2-3 months in an airtight container.
Recipe Variations
- Try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat. Or add some red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce to this stuffed cabbage rolls recipe.
- This is usually made with a mixture of beef and pork. You can also make this recipe using lean ground turkey or ground chicken for the meat filling, or use all beef, ground Italian sausage, or ground pork.
- Instead of making homemade tomato sauce from scratch, you can use a few cans of gluten free tomato soup.
- Instead of adding the seasoning separately, try using a few teaspoons of Italian Seasoning instead.
- Try adding other veggies to the meat mixture like mushrooms, spinach, or bell peppers.
Cooking Tips
- The center leaves of the cabbage head may be too small to use for this cabbage roll recipe. You can discard these, or cut them up and serve them on the side with cooked leftover filling and a bit of sauce.
- When you’re boiling the cabbage, remove the leaves using tongs and grab the cabbage leaf closer to the base, where it is thicker. This will help prevent them from breaking. It will only take a couple of minutes for the cabbage to soften.
- Serve these over rice with fresh parsley, extra sauce, and sour cream.
- I am using a casserole dish to make these because you want a deep dish that will hold the sauce without spilling in the oven.
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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
For The Rolls
- 1 large head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
- 1/2 pound ground beef, lean
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 medium Vidalia onion , chopped
- 1 cup white rice, cooked
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, gluten free
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For The Sauce
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, (1 large can)
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes, (1 large can)
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley , chopped
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, gluten free
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Equipment
- 1 9×13-inch casserole dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Using a pairing knife, remove the core from the bottom of the cabbage. Using tongs, slowly lower the cabbage into the boiling water, being very careful not to splash the water.
- As each leaf begins to pull away from the cabbage, remove it with the tongs and place it into a strainer. Try to grab the leaf from the bottom stem area to avoid breaking it. Once done, discard the center of the cabbage and any remaining water in the pot.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the beef, pork, rice, onion, egg, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and spices. Work the meat together until well-combined.
- In the pot we just drained, stir together the tomatoes, parsley, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and sauce spices. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish, and ladle some of the sauce into the baking dish, covering the bottom.
- Place a cabbage leaf on a cutting board. Cut the bottom of the stem off (using a V shape, about 1-inch), so the leaf lays flat. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of the meat mixture onto the center of the leaf.
- Fold both sides inwards, then roll the leaf over the meat mixture. Place seam-side down into the baking dish. Repeat until you have a full layer of rolls in the baking dish.
- Pour the remaining sauce on top of the cabbage rolls, and cover the baking dish in tinfoil. Bake for 60-90 minutes, or until the rolls are cooked through.
Notes
- Make sure the Worcestershire sauce you’re using is gluten free, as this can vary by brand.
- When you’re boiling the cabbage, remove the leaves using tongs and grab the cabbage leaf closer to the base, where it is thicker. This will help prevent them from breaking. It will only take a couple of minutes for the cabbage to soften.
- I am using a casserole dish to make these because you want a deep dish that will hold the sauce without spilling in the oven.
Nutrition
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