Cabbage Roll Casserole is a super easy meal that you can prepare any day of the week.
Cabbage Rolls are delicious! I grew up on cabbage rolls made by my mom and grandma!
Recently, I’ve been making a cabbage roll casserole… so much quicker than rolling up the rolls themselves and equally delicious!
Here is one of my favorite things about recipes! You start with one thing and along the way the recipe gets tried and modified and shared and passed on. Finally, you may end up with something else that was just as wonderful or sometimes even better!
Last week, a reader had asked me if my Cabbage Roll Casserole recipe would work in the slow cooker… I hadn’t tried it! Well, Sue tested it out and I knew I had to try it out right away! I had a couple of different items in my pantry so I modified it a tiny bit further but let me tell you, the results were AMAZING!! This is my favorite cabbage roll dish yet! So a special thank you to Sue for inspiring this yummy recipe, you won’t be disappointed!
If you’re looking for another hearty dinner idea, be sure to check out my Cabbage Roll Soup recipe!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef or ground pork, or a mixture of the two
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion diced
- 15 ounces tomato sauce divided
- 1 cup water
- 10.75 ounces condensed tomato soup 1 can
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¾ cup long grain white rice uncooked
- 1 medium head cabbage
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese optional
Instructions
- Brown beef or pork, onion, garlic and seasonings over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain.
- Add 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup water and ½ can of tomato soup and diced tomatoes to the beef.
- Stir in rice, and mix well until heated through. Remove from heat.
- Chop cabbage into 4 wedges and remove core. Chop into chunks (mine were about ¾"x1 ½").
- Layer ½ of the meat mixture and ½ of the cabbage in the slow cooker. Repeat layers. Place half the meat and then half the cabbage in cooker.
- Combine the remaining tomato soup, remaining tomato sauce and ⅓ cup water. Pour over top of cabbage.
- Cook on low 4-6 hours or just until rice is cooked. Once done, turn slow cooker off, sprinkle cheese on top and let sit 10 minutes to set and melt cheese.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole
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I love my cabbage rolls, But I have never had them without sauerkraut. It would work here,just add it in layers, with one on the bottom
I am so going to try this! Always make stuffed cabbage rolls, and sometimes you just don’t feel like boiling and rolling! I also add cooked crumbled bacon in my rolls, so I will add to this dish as well!! Adds a wonderful flavor to the meat..
Thank you for a crock-pot recipe!!
tTHIS LOOKS SO GOOD, CAN I SUBSTITUTE 2 CANS OF TOMATO SOUP AND ELIMINATE THE TOMATO SAUCE, AS THAT REALLY BOTHERS MY STOMACH? ALSO CAN I USE PEPPER JACK CHEESE INSTEAD OF MOZZERELLA?
Any cheese would work in this recipe. I have not tried substituting the tomato sauce, if you do try it, let us know how it works for you!
Making this in my crock pot right now! My 6quart bowl is stuffed full! No way me & hubby and one child can eat it all tonight… Since its already started cooking I dont want to take any out to freeze but wondering if I can freeze it after its cooked?? I do that with chili and homemade soups quite often but unsure if I can do that with this?? :)
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe but I have frozen regular cabbage rolls before and it worked perfectly… so I think it would work!
Why pre cook the meat? It will cook in the slow cooker, save a step.
I agree with you however it may take a little longer to cook. This is how I am doing mine right now as I missed the cook first step.
I cooked my ground beef beforehand, mainly because I wanted to drain the grease.
Thank you for sharing this sounds delicious. I wonder pasta work the same as I’m not a rice fan? Maybe some bowties or rotini?
I haven’t tried it with pasta, I’ve only used riced cauliflower before! I’d love to hear how it works for you!
I don’t eat rice soI am going to substitute orzo pasta.
I love cabbage rolls and this is a great recipe. Hope you have a great week and thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Your post has been pinned with the party!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
I am making with a Spanish twist…(because I made Spanish rice last night and a homemade black bean and corn salsa) ….so all that is going in the pot, and the meat is a round steak I had marintated and grilled for the burittos….sounds good in theory! We shall see! :)
I think it sounds delicious!!! :)
Thank you for this recipe I made it meatless using MorningStar crumbles and I used two thirds of the head of cabbage, there was just too much to go in the crockpot.
It was absolutely delicious I really enjoyed it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Melanie!
I’ve been seeing cabbage roll recipes popping up lately, and I love that yours is a casserole…and in the slow cooker! Definitely giving this a try. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Joy! We really love this recipe too!
Looks so easy that I am making it for dinner!
Enjoy Tracy!! :)
Do you think an extra can of tomato sauce could be substituted for the tomato soup? I am not a fan of tomato soup.
Yes, I think it would work but I do find tomato soup has some sweetness to it so it may need a touch of sugar added. I’d love to hear how it works for you!
Thanks! I am going to try it next week. It looks so good! I can’t wait.
Both of these recipes (crock and non-crock) sound really good! Thought I’d give this one a try first, as I like crock recipes in the (hot) summer. I did notice you changed the cheese type for this one vs. the original recipe. Wondering why? Does Mozzarella lend better in the crock than the Gruyere or Jack from the original recipe? Thanks for posting this. I’m anxious to try it!
To be honest JoAnne, I think either would work equally well. I personally changed it in the second recipe because it happened to be what I had on hand and I thought the mozzarella would have a milder flavor than Gruyere. (I do love Gruyere however in this case I wanted to try something milder.)
Hi! I love the sound of this recipe but was wondering what size crock pot you used…if smaller than a 7 quart, could you double the recipe? Thanks!
Mine was a 6 qt and it was pretty full. If yours is small I might suggest 1½ x at the most.
About how many servings does this make and can it be frozen for another meal?
This recipe makes about 8 servings.
I have not frozen this before but I do think it would work! I would actually prepare it exactly as directed up to the baking part ensuring that the pan you choose isn’t too deep. Freeze it covered and well sealed.
To bake it, I would try cooking right from frozen and add an additional 45min onto the cooking time. Double check that the center is hot before adding the cheese mixture.
Please let us know how it works for you!
Hey holly?
I am making this right now, I am just wondering how long it usually takes for the cabbage to cook in the slow cooker
I usually cook this recipe 4-6 hours in the slow cooker (because you also need to cook the rice).
I use this recipe but I do change it up a little. I use all of the items but I drain the diced tomato and add 6oz of a stout beer. The beer really adds an extra layer of flavor to this dish. DO NOT use a light beer or an IPA. Use only a stout, dark ale or a black beer.
That sounds delicious!
I am so anxious to make this one. I make the Un-stuffed Cabbage Roll which is great. We love any dish with cabbage. Thanks for sharing.
Can it be made in a casserole dish and frozen? (Instead of crock pot). Probably an obvious answer but I don’t know. Learning. Thanks
While I haven’t tried freezing it I do think that would work. However, I have made it as a casserole and it is wonderful! You can get the Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe here!
I have frozen and it was delish!!!!
I was wondering if you did freeze it and how it turned out! I think it would be fabulous and not take as long to cook. When cabbage is frozen it breaks down somewhat so it’s “cooked” more when it thaws.
I learned this when making the rolled cabbage rolls. Instead of boiling the cabbage head and pulling off the partially cooked leaves you freeze the head and when it’s thawed the softened leaves come off easily.
I’m making this recipe today as is except for the thyme and paprika (we never used these seasonings in our rolls also, I don’t have thyme). I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic!
Oh, and why would you put mozzarella cheese on it? My Polish mother would be rolling in her grave! It truly Isn’t necessary.
You don’t have to put it on there. I’m sure your Polish mother would be gracious…I know my grandmother would. It’s something lost on people today.
Hi,
I’m about to make this but I’m unsure of one of the ingredients. The recipe says 1 can of tomato sauce. What exactly is that??? I’m in Australia and a can of tomato sauce is not something we’re familiar with. A can of tomato paste (concentrated tomato) maybe but not tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce is a mixture of crushed tomatoes and seasonings. You can make your own using this recipe here if you can’t find it.
Making tgis as we speak. What size crockpot do you recommend?
I use a 6qt slow cooker for this recipe.
Do you have tomato puree? We have both where I live. I use either of them when making spaghetti.
Also a thick tomato juice can be used instead of canned tomato sauce. We always used our canned tomato juice for our cabbage rolls.
Please review this recipe and make the correct changes. Can not follow recipe as written.
Which part are you having trouble with Sue?
I think it might be that step #3 doesn’t specify that it’s talking about the cabbage… that confused me for a minute.
I have it all in the crockpot now, can’t wait to try it tonight!
Thanks Naomi! I added that in! :)
what if I dont have long grain rice can I use instant
You can however the cooking time (and water ratio) may be different.
Do you think I could use brown rice? (trying to use up items in my cupboard).
Yes, that should work just fine. You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly to ensure the brown rice is cooked.