This stuffed cabbage rolls recipe is one I enjoyed from my grandma’s kitchen for years and years.
Tender cabbage leaves are filled with a beef and rice mixture and baked in with a simple tomato sauce.
This dish can be made ahead of time and reheats and freezes well.
Types of Cabbage Rolls
This cabbage rolls’ recipe comes from my grandma and my mom. My grandma immigrated from Poland so we have enjoyed many cabbage dishes or even just simple fried cabbage. Between pierogi and rouladen, Grandma’s kitchen always smelled incredible and there was always something amazing to eat!
There are many many different ways to make cabbage rolls based on family tradition and location. Polish cabbage rolls usually contain meat and rice while the Ukrainian version my friend Penny makes generally contain only rice.
While some add raw meat and rice and cook them with the cabbage, our family has always pre-cooked the rice and meat.
Ingredients in Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage
We use a head of regular green cabbage and boil it in a large pot of water to make it tender. Many people freeze the whole head of cabbage and thaw it to eliminate the boiling step but I find the cabbage isn’t as tender this way.
Meat Mixture
My grandmother always used pork in her cabbage rolls so I use a mixture of beef and pork. You can use just one or the other (or any ground meat). Cooked long-grain white rice is added to the meat along with an egg to help it hold together.
Sauce
Most Polish cabbage roll recipes are covered in tomato sauce or tomato juice. We love the addition of a can of tomato soup to tomato sauce. It may not be typical but it softens & sweetens the sauce slightly and tastes delicious!
How to Make Cabbage Rolls
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage until tender.
- Cook rice slightly undercooked per the recipe below. Brown the ground beef and pork while the rice is cooking. Combine remaining filling ingredients
- Add the filling to cabbage leaves and roll. Place seam side down in a casserole dish.
- Top with the sauce and bake.
Tips for Great Cabbage Rolls
- For the most tender cabbage leaves, boil them in salted water.
- Cut 1/2 inch off the head of cabbage, the leaves will fall off as they cook.
- Once boiled, use a small knife to cut the thick stem of the leaf (image above).
- Overlap smaller leaves and fill, even if they’re not pretty, they’ll cook perfectly.
- You may have leftover filling depending on the size of your cabbage. Extra filling can be added to tomato soup, or stuffed in zucchini or bell peppers.
- Cabbage rolls can be frozen before or after baking.
More From Grandma’s Kitchen
- Homemade Pierogi
- Cabbage and Noodles
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- American Goulash Recipe
- Beef Rouladen
- Homemade Borscht
Did you make these cabbage rolls? Leave a comment and rating below!
Easy Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 pound ground pork (or ground turkey)
- ½ pound ground beef
- 2 small onions diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dill weed
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14 ounces) with juices
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups + ⅓ cup tomato sauce divided
- 1 can tomato soup 10.5 ounces
Instructions
- Boil cabbage leaves for about 2 minutes or until soft. (See note below for removing leaves). Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook rice according to package directions but reduce cooking time by 5 minutes so the rice is slightly underdone. Set aside.
- Cook pork (or turkey), beef, onions, garlic, & seasonings in a pan until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Add in rice, diced tomatoes, & ⅓ cup of tomato sauce. Stir in egg.
- Mix remaining tomato sauce and tomato soup in a bowl. Spread a very thin layer of the tomato sauce mixture in a 9x13 pan.
- Remove or thin any thick stem on cabbage leaves. Lay the cabbage leaf flat and add ¼ to ⅓ cup filling to the center of the leaf. Fold in the sides and roll the cabbage up. Place seam side down in the pan. (See note for small leaves). Repeat with remaining cabbage.
- Pour sauce over the cabbage and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 75-90 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Once boiled, use a small knife to cut the thick stem off the leaf (image above).
- Overlap smaller leaves and fill, even if they're not pretty, they'll cook perfectly.
- You may have leftover filling depending on the size of your cabbage. Extra filling can be added to tomato soup, or stuffed in zucchini or bell peppers.
- Cabbage rolls can be frozen before or after baking.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner
Cuisine Polish© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Can I freeze the leftover filling for later ?
Absolutely Sara! The filling, and the made cabbage rolls, freezes really well!
I use bacon instead of beef or pork, i make the best cabbage rolls!!
amazing
These look just like the ones my mom made. Intend to try the recipe very soon
The best
Love the recipes Thank you!!!!
At what oven temperature do we cook the cabbage rolls
Hi Cristela, you cook them at 350°F for 75-90 minutes. The full cooking instructions can be found in the recipe towards the bottom of the post or by using the jump to recipe button at the top of the page! Enjoy.
What constitutes a serving? Your prot seems ok but fat and carbs seem awfully high, especially with just on cup of rice ( 40 gm carb/cup) .
I made this for workout diet and on paper it looks great, not sure how all the vices are measured back in. I used beef and turkey which will lower fat.
Hi Doug, our nutrition information is an estimate calculated using a program and generalized ingredients (not brand specific). I would suggest using a program and entering your specific ingredients to get the most accurate information.
As for the rice, 40 g carbs per cup is for cooked rice, this recipe calls for uncooked rice which has about 148g per cup (as it cooks up into 3 cups). Hope that helps.
Great
I love your recipe. I always use tomato soup with tomato sauce. They look amazing.
I use tomato soup as well and it’s delicious
I made this recipe and we loved it!!
Thank you for sharing
Used Jasmine rice and it added an almost creamy, risotto type element to the dish. Really awesome recipe. Used only about 1/2 the mixture to make 8 rolls in a 8×11 pan. Froze the rest. Now I only need to buy a head of cabbage to have them again. Thanks. Btw, hit em with fresh parm right before serving- delish.
I have always used raw meat to stuff the cabbage rolls to let it cook in the sauce. Have I been doing it wrong this while time?
Definitely not, Lynette! I am sure that method works well too. For this recipe we cook the filling first before making our cabbage rolls and it turns out great!