Easy Cabbage Rolls
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How to Make Easy Cabbage Rolls
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My grandma was directly from Poland so Cabbage Rolls is a dish I’ve enjoyed my whole life. Grandmas kitchen always smelled incredible… and there was always something amazing to eat!
Cabbage rolls can vary depending on the origin, the Polish version usually contains meat and rice while the Ukrainian version generally contains only rice. I use a combination of beef & pork for the best flavor but you can use any type of ground meat for these easy cabbage rolls. While the tomato soup may not be typical, it softens & sweetens the tomato sauce slightly and tastes delicious!
This great dish is amazing left over as well… should you be lucky enough to have any left!
Items You’ll Need For This Recipe
* Meat Chopper Tool * 9×13 Pan * Large Sauce Pan *
My grandma was directly from Poland so Cabbage Rolls is a dish I’ve enjoyed my whole life. Grandmas kitchen always smelled incredible… and there was always something amazing to eat!
- 1 head green cabbage
- 1 lb ground pork (or ground turkey)
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 2 small onions , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups + 1/3 cup tomato sauce or pasta sauce , divided
- 1 can tomato soup
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Boil cabbage leaves about 2 minutes or until soft. (See note below for removing leaves). Set aside to cool.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Cook rice according to package directions but reduce cooking time by 5 minutes so the rice is slightly underdone. Set aside.
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Cook beef, pork (or turkey), onions, garlic & seasonings until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Add in rice, diced tomatoes, 1/3 cup of tomato/pasta sauce, salt & pepper. Stir in egg.
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Mix tomato sauce and tomato soup in a bowl. Spread a very thin layer of the tomato sauce mixture in a 9x13 pan.
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Remove or thin any thick stem on cabbage leaves. Lay the cabbage leaf flat and add 1/3 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.
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Pour sauce over the cabbage and cover tightly with foil. Bake 75-90 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
To remove leaves from head of cabbage, cut approx 1/4" off the bottom of the head and place the whole head of cabbage in boiling water. Boil about 2 minutes. Peel off the softened leaves. Place remaining head back in the boiling water and repeat until all of the leaves are removed. Remove any tough stems from cooked leaves.
Note, if you have some smaller leaves and still have filling leftover just overlap the leaves as needed. The rolls will still cook up perfectly.
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
More Recipes You’ll Love
* Cabbage Roll Soup * Lazy Cabbage Rolls * Crock Pot Cabbage Roll Casserole *
Holly
Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!
Hola hermosa! Estos rollitos de col polacos se llaman “Golabki “,no entiendo porqué no le llamas por su nombre. Te felicito por querer reproducir la comida de tu abuela, no se deben perder las tradiciones pero los nombres también son importantes ya que cada país, especialmente Europa del este, tiene su propia receta y nombre para estos por ej; En Rumanía a los rollitos de col les llaman “Sarmales “y la base es la misma pero los condimentos diferentes. Saludos
Thank you Wendy. I’m happy to be able to share my grandmother’s recipe with you :)
Delicious!!! I used venison burger and ground beef!!!
Great idea Bobbi!
When making cabbage rolls…put your head of cabbage in a plastic bag or wrap with plastic wrap and put in your freezer 1 or 2 days ahead. Take cabbage out and put in colander with bowl underneath to save a mess, and defrost. Do this about an hour before you want to start preparing your cabbage rolls. Your cabbage will peel off like a dream and be wilted and soft so you can roll with great ease!! Works like magic. I’ve been doing this for years. Love it.
That’s a great tip Sandra, thank you for sharing!
Make cabbage rolls withe lean ground beef, uncooked rice ,chopped onions and minced garlic ( how much depends on you ? I like lots. Steam the cabbage in large stock peeling off leaves sa they softened . Used Taiwnese cabbage but find it is quite thin. I do them in a turkey roaster, get about 40 to 50 at a time . I use tomato juice, takes about three cans to cover them. About 3 hours at 350. Uses about 9 lbs of meat. I freeze them in batches for meals later on . Just keep juice in bags for reheating when you want
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing Roger
You did not say to put your cabbage roll recipe if it should be in a casserole or baking sheet!!!
Rodger mentioned he puts them in a roasting pan.
This will make a great Keto friendly recipe. All I have to do is remove the rice and we are all set. Thank you. Great recipe, clear instructions and beautiful photos. Gosh have I got a craving now.
Enjoy it!
Cinnamon Vogue ~ Just so you know, you can use Miracle Noodle Rice in place of regular rice. Miracle Noodles are actually called shirataki noodles, which are derived from the Konjac plant. You should be able to find them at any health-conscious market (PCC in the Seattle area, Whole Foods, etc., but you can also find them online at Vitacost, Thrive Market, Lucky Vitamin, and Swanson Vitamins). Miracle Noodles come in various forms (spaghetti, fettuccini, angel hair, and rice). Google them and check them out. This is a HUGE find for peeps steering clear of pasta and rice. And they are SUPER easy peasy to use. Cheers. :)
Thank you for the tip Dana!
My mother made these in Dutch oven pot on top of stove. She also added lemons and sugar. A sweet and sour sauce. Really good. Held cabbage with toothpicks. Served with rice.
That sounds yummy! Thank you for sharing Jeanne!
Is the tomato soup condensed?
Yes the soup is condensed soup. You do not need to dilute it.
How many cabbage rolls did you get out of this recipe? I left out the rice and tomatoe soup bc I’m low carb’n it. I got 8 rolls by following your recipe. I see it serves 6, just want to know if 1 serving is 1 or 2 rolls. Thanks.
This recipe made 12 cabbage rolls for me, so 2 per serving. Yours are just a bit bigger than mine were I guess :) So one serving would be about 1 1/2 of your rolls. Enjoy Toni!
Toni, you can check out Holly’s Easy Low Carb website for more low carb recipes!
Regarding the soup. We don’t eat many processed foods especially canned soups as most contain ridiculously high amounts of sodium along with other unfavorable ingredients (natural flavors for one, which is an MSG alias. MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overstimulates brains cells to death. Most people are unaware of this. There are over 100 MSG aliases hidden in processed foods). Is there a healthy, minimally processed tomato soup perhaps we don’t know about? Thanks in advance.
I would suggest looking for an organic or MSG free soup and checking the ingredients list to see if it is a fit for your personal choices.
The problem is (with most processed foods) the MSG aliases are just that. Aliases. They won’t disclose that it is MSG. These are ingredients listed under different names SNUCK in as one thing when it’s actually MSG (hence ‘hidden’ under different names). This is why it’s good to steer clear of most processed foods. I’ll most likey have to leave this out or juice my own tomatoes and use that. Well, thanks anyway.
In this case it might be best to skip the canned soups and create your own homemade tomato sauce. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
If it were not for the pork, this might be a kosher recipe. This is a traditional stuffed cabbage recipe that has been honored for many years. It is my favorite way to make cabbage rolls. Glad you posted it.
Thank you!
Made these tonight and they were the BEST cabbage rolls I’ve ever had! I used only fresh made sausage bc that was all I had but followed everything else and they turned out so good! The tip for cooking the cabbage helped big time too!!! Thanks for the recipe
I’m so glad you loved them!
So good especially the next day. I used stewed tomatoes crushed by hand in the meat mixture gave a sweetness & used crushed tomatoes with the soup to pour over. Everything else the same. I will try the freeze of the cabbage head next though. Thanks for sharing..yummy!
You’re welcome Donna! Happy to hear that you love :)
I could not find the “note” on small cabbage leaves. The recipe is close to my mothers and sounds be a winner.
Sorry about that! If you have some smaller leaves and still have filling leftover just overlap the leaves as needed. The rolls will still cook up perfectly.
Wow! Best ever. I did make a few exchanges; I used a meatloaf blend that our local Stater Bros markets carry for the meat, which provided a perfect blend of spices, and used a spicy red pepper pasta sauce. Served over a bed of Basamati steamed rice and everyone just loved it. Thanks!
Great time saver! I’ll have to look for a meatloaf blend, I’ve never heard of it!
can I leave out the diced tomatoes or substitute something else?
I have only made the recipe as written.
My Mom passed away last year but my sister’s and I have her recipes which we love to make and share. The ‘old recipes ‘ are truly a treasure. I started a cookbook of my own several years ago. I’ve tweaked a few of my Mom’s recipes which stuffed cabbage was one. My Mom approved, much to my delight. I now make them for other’s with the ‘original story of my Mom’. If you have a ‘family recipe’ please write it down to share with future generations, otherwise, they will be buried with you…
Such a special memory! I agree, family recipes are such a treasure.
Cabbage roll lasagna
Cook onion and bell pepper with ground sausage and ground Chuck beef. drain grease set a side. Pour grease in pot for cabbage. Peel cabbage head. boil for 10-12 min
Set a side. Keep broth for rice. (Measure and add to pot for rice. Prepare one box of Zatarain’s Jambalaya rice. With Frozen mixed vegetables. When cooked set aside. Take 1cup broth mix and 3 cups spaghetti sauce of choice. Add 2 eggs to mixture. Set aside.
In baking pan pour a thin base of sauce. Layer cabbage. Meat.rice. shredded cheese. A bit more sauce. Layer again cabbage. Meat. Rice. Cheese pour the remainder of the sauce mixed. Bake 15-20 mins 400° measurements to desired taste.
Very yummy.
Sounds delicious!
Made this recipe yesterday, and it turned out super tasty. I only used 1lb ground pork, as I didnt have any ground beef, I increased the dill (actually I used dill seed), I added more fresh parsley, I omitted the can of tomato soup, I added 3 diced, fresh tomatoes (as they were staring me in the face on my counter), I added roasted garlic/red pepper spice, and finally, I didnt precook the rice (used white basmati) but simply increased the liquid and simmered the rice with the cooked pork, while the cabbage was boiling (so the rice was basically al dente when I stuffed the cabbage leaves).
And voilà, the result was great! Thanks so much Holly!
So glad you enjoyed it Katherine!
I am lookin my at this recipe, and wonder if everything is already cooked except the egg, why is the cook time so long? I have sen recipes that stuff the cabbage leaves with a RAW meat mixture, and cook 45-60 min at the same temp. IS there a reason? Thanks!
To soften the cabbage and blend the flavors… that’s how my Grandma made it. :)
My recipe also calls for the meat to be raw in the cabbage rolls. My family put uncooked Minute Rice in the meat. My recipe got destroyed a decade ago. I was hesitant to go completely by memory so thank you for posting this recipe. It has always been a hit!
You’re welcome Patty! I’m so happy you found the recipe you’ve been looking for!
I’m just curious why the long cook time since everything is already cooked?
It blends the flavors and the cabbage is softened but not quite cooked.
These were very good! I just made a couple of changes. I used pork sausage instead of ground pork, one part sausage to two parts ground beef. Did not include the diced tomatoes, and did not cook the meat but mixed the raw beef and sausage with the cooked rice, onions and garlic. Also, I added 1-2 tsp. of worcestershire sauce to the tomato mixture. My grandmothers recipe is very similar (she was Slovak), but instead of a red sauce called for sauerkraut and a bacon and onion gravy. Both versions are delicious!
Thank you for sharing your tips, I’ll have to try pork sausage in this recipe!
The cabbage rolls were fantastic!
Too much rice! Should have only used 1/2 cup uncooked rice, not one full cup!
As rice is the main filling on this recipe, it should have quite a bit. Depending on the size of your head of cabbage you may have extra filing leftover.
My mama made cabbage rolls often and so delicious… Only difference in recipes above is that she did not cook the rice first and rolled it up raw… The rice cooked perfectly with the meat in 90 minutes! One less step. She also used 1 can of tomato juice to simmer in. Super delicious!
What a great tip for saving time on cabbage rolls! Thank you for sharing!
just substituted ketchup for pasta or tomato sauce. more like my mom used to make. really good stuff
I am so glad you were able to make this recipe like your mom used to!
Can i make this recipe by doing everything the same but not cook the meat and spices first? Can i just mix the uncooked meat with the other ingredients and put the uncooked mixture into the cabbage rolls and bake?
I haven’t tried this recipe without cooking the meat first so i can’t say for sure how it would work.
Lovely recipe. Tweaked it a bit with gf breadcrumbs and a little parmigiana. Really lovely.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Loved this recipe. The tomato soup cut down on the acidity of the tomatoes, wonderful rich flavor, like I cooked the sauce all day.
TIP I love this tip. I put my whole head of cabbage in the freezer the night before making cabbage rolls, take out of freezer next morning, thaw, the leaves are pliable and easy to handle you do not burn your fingers on boiled cabbage leaves. Also freezing the cabbage you don’t steam or boil out all the nutrients
Great tip, thank you for sharing!
Loved it!!! Had quite a bit of mixture left, so we warmed it up and added a block of cream cheese to it….AMAZING dip!
That sounds like a delicious dip!
My mother and grandmother made cabbage rolls also and of course, so do I! We are of Polish descent. We don’t cook the meat either, like one comment said, mix with cooked rice and seasonings. The one tweak which takes these rolls over the top is our tomato sauce which consists of stewed tomatoes crushed by hand in a bowl, mixed with a can of tomato soup and a cup or two of sour cream. You can double the sauce and no one will complain! Just makes a really delicious sauce. Baked in oven for 2 or 3 hours until everything is tender.
The addition of sour cream would be amazing.
Is this for condensed tomato soup? I have a can of condensed, so I’m not sure if I should dilute it first. Thanks!
Yes the soup is condensed soup. You do not need to dilute it.
Your recipes never cease to amaze me. They always appear low calorie, healthy, taste wonderful and are easy, quick, and inexpensive to make! I am never disappointed. You are my favorite recipe person on the web.
This looks awesome, will have to try this soon
Thank you for the recipe. My mother always made the best. I lived on golambki and pierogi. now if you could do the recipe for farmers cheese pierogi if you have it. Life would be grand if I learned to cook both. World’s worst cook. wish I had the talent.
Thank you for sharing. Very similar to my grandmothers recipe. Except she also added a little brown sugar and lemon juice to the tomato sauce!! I will be making this soon!!
Can you please tell me how to boil the head of cabbage? Do I put the cabbage when the water is boiling or, do I put it pot of water and let it boil? How long do I cook it? Thanks
To remove leaves from head of cabbage, cut approx ¼” off the bottom of the head and place the whole head of cabbage in boiling water. Boil about 2 minutes. Peel off the softened leaves. Place remaining head back in the boiling water and repeat until all of the leaves are removed. Remove any tough stems from cooked leaves.
I would like to make these the week before I need them. What is the best way to make them ahead of time? :)
You can make them as directed and freeze before baking. I would defrost them in the refrigerator overnight.
My family recipe uses sauerkraut in the cabbage rolls, too. I have yet to see a recipe that uses thhat ingredient. My ethnicity is German, Polish. Has anyone used sauerkraut in their cabbage rolls?
I haven’t but it sounds amazing, I’m going to hve to give it a try!
I use sauerkraut in my cabbage rolls because that’s how my mom made them.
You can also buy sauer cabbage that is just like sauerkraut for making cabbage rolls with and it simplifies having to add it to the mixture.
My sister and I were just talking about how we loved our mom’s recipe and wished we would have paid more attention before she passed. She never had anything written down but I know that she used tomato soup and I haven’t had any that have compared to hers yet. Just one question…… can I use minute rice?
You can but it will likely take on a softer texture. I wouldn’t cook it all the way.
I hesitated posting, but hopefully someone else won’tmake the same error. Your recipe ingredient list calls for one cup rice. Then the instructions say to cook the rice according to pkg directions. I then added all the rice into the meat mixture, but it was far more than a cup. I didn’t realize the error till I started mixing and thought it looked dry. I added some tomato sauce and a splash of tomato juice, but these are super “ricey”. We will eat them, they will still be good. But I have enough filling to easily make 10 more!
However, when posting ingredients, it would help to say ‘1 cup “cooked” rice. In addition, you should be specific about the tomatoes. I wasn’t sure if they should be drained or not. I didn’t drain, but it was anyone’s guess.
They smell great though! I froze the other half and we will surely eat those too. Thanks for sharing.
I am super picky when it comes to cabbage rolls (my grandma made them all the time) and let me tell you, these were the bomb! I made them almost exactly as the recipe stated minus one or two tweaks in flavour,
Thanks for the awesome recipe. Will be making this one again soon!
I’m so glad you loved them Donna!
I pretty much only make these ones now, super easy recipe to follow with max flavour. I add more tomato sauce because that’s how I roll (I like em saucy) these are now my go to
Thanks Holly !
Very very close to my own recipe, except I cook mine in a pressure cooker. I may try baking next time. I also use tomato soup, it really gives the best flavor.
I agree, I love how the tomato soup flavors the tomato sauce!
Holly I have even used V8 juice in them also (kinda tantalizes the flavor too!) injoy
Oh yum! That would be great!
I accidentally bought spicy V8. Do you think I should use it or save it for the soup or casserole?
If you don’t mind a little bit of heat, I would say use it!
I Can’t wait to try .
Holly – I’m a busy real estate agent. Think this could be put in a crock pot instead of the oven? Would you make any changes to do so?
Although I haven’t tried it, I do think it would work. You’ll just want to ensure there is enough liquid so it doesn’t dry out.
yes we have done it make sure your setting is on low. (sorry Holly for stepping on your toe’s like this!)
Great suggestion, thank you for sharing!!
I love cabbage roll I going to use your way
My mother added a couple whole cloves and a bay leaf or two to the sauce, plus a quart jar of tomatoes and the can of tomato soup.
We have an egg allergy in the home. Do you think it can be left out or what alternative do you suggest?
You can leave out the egg in this recipe. It serves as a binder but it should work out fine without it.
I’ve made cabbage rolls using another recipe. Yours sound great so I will try it. Sure wish to receive other recipes from you. May I have your web site address?
Enjoy Sam. My website is http://www.SpendWithPennies.com
Love this going to make it soon
Is there anyway for a video
We usually make it using an old Ukraininan recipe where it’s cooked in the Dutch oven. Except we mix raw ground meat (beef, or pork, or turkey, or mixture) with coked rice and seasonings. After we fill the Dutch oven with the rolls, we put prepared sauce on top and add some water from cooked cabbage until cabbage rolls are barely covered. We cook it in the oven 450 degrees, then we lower it to 350 after aboot 30 min and continue for another hour or so.
But I have to say your recipe sounds interesting. When you say ‘Cook beef, pork (or turkey), onions, garlic & seasonings until no pink remains’. Do you mean in the skillet or soup pan?
I have to try this and see how different it tastes!
I cook the meat mixture in a skillet. Enjoy!
Hi Mila,
Would you be willing to share your Ukrainian recipe with me. I grew up in a predominantly Ukrainian area of Saskatchewan and always loved it when I would get to eat their cabbage rolls.
Thank you so much!!
Hi Holly,
Your recipes are great as well. In fact I use many of your recipes often.
However, there is nothing like a childhood favorite. Would you be able to send my message above on to Mila for me?
It would be greatly appreciated.
Michelle
Thank you so much Michelle. Mila should be notified that she has a response on her comment and will be able to reply to you!
I just recently tried cabbage rolls for the first time and they were delicious! I was wondering if you would be willing to give me your Ukrainian recipe Mila?
Can Mila send her recipe ? I’m Slovak& Ukrainian, and her recipe is very similar to my mom’s. Unfortunately my mom is turning 95 in 2weeks,and it’s too late for me to get her recipe!! If it’s possible to get Milas recipe I’d be very very gratefull.
Thank You☺
Very goid!
Another easy way to soften your cabbage is to freeze it for about a week then thaw it in fridge for 2 days, the leaves will be soft and easy to work with.
Great tip, thank you!
Does it really take a whole cabbage to make these? Seems like there would be lots of cabbage left over unless you used a very small head of cabbage?
I use the larger outer leaves and usually end up using most of the cabbage.
Could I make these ahead of time and put them in the fridge until I’m ready to cook tonight ?
Yes, these can definitely be prepped ahead. If they are cold from the fridge you may need to adjust the cooking time by adding about 15-20 minutes.
I would love to do this recipe but would like to know if this could be done in a slow cooker?
I haven’t cooked this in a slow cooker but I think it would work just fine!
I make mine same ingredients but I cook in pressure cooker and use only tomatoe soup put extra cabbage in bottom of cooker helps to have the metal rack comes in them just takes about half hr once pressure is up turn to med heat
Yum, thank you for sharing Carol!
I fix mind last time in crock pot and they did good about 4 hrs or so ,I just kept checking them at 4 hrs.cook longer if needed ,I might use the oven today help with the heating g in the house if u want
Sorry. When I posted my comment, there were no other comments there. Apparently Margot already gave that tip.
no harm all are excellent tip’s I think we will give it a try next time!
Instead of boiling my cabbage leaves, I put he whole head into the freezer. When is has frozen solid, remove it and let thaw. No need to boil. It is best to freeze it overnight. I have done it this way for years and it works fine for me.
Years ago one of my clients who was a Polish lady told me to just freeze the cabbage and when it’s time to make cabbage rolls pulled out of the freezer the night before lay in the sink and the next day it’s thawed out you just cut the core and the leaves just fall off and you don’t have to boil it been doing this for over 30 years
Thanks for this wonderful tip. I haven;t made c-rolls because of pealing of it. I will ry this this weekend and get back to the site to let everyone know how I did. Take care.
Hi, how long is overnight and how long to thaw b4 rolling please and thank you.
dave
These are delicious!!! Does anyone know how to get the nutrition info?
I’m sorry I am unable to provide nutritional information. You can enter your ingredients here to calculate your calories.
this is a comfort food, just thinking of them makes my mouth water, add a side dish as a side salad or with homemade mashpotato, a little taste of Heaven!
The tomato soup may not be gluten free
Could I freeze half of these? Would you assemble and then freeze? Can’t wait to try. Yumm
This recipe freezes really well. Yes, I would assemble all of them and freeze half before baking.
About how many rolls will this recipe make?
This makes 12 cabbage rolls (about 6 servings).
We are having an International dinner at church this weekend. Even though I’m not Polish, I grew up in Detroit with Polish friends and ramen my Mom making this. So happy to find your recipe! I’m trying it and hope it’s a hit!
Thank you Jenn! I’m sure you will love it! :)
These look ABSOLUTELY yummy! I’m putting these on the menu this week!
This is a great recipe. Very close to my dear mother’s down to the tomato soup. Thanks for the memories and the great recipe. Will try it very soon.
I put my head of cabbage in a steamer in the
Cool cut off the rib.microwave and as I it turns 5 min at a time I peel off the outer put head back and continue till all are off.copl cut off rib.put in freezer till.im ready to next step. It may even be a day or week.later. they defrost quickly. Add my meat rice mixture.roll easy. Put in roaster or whatever pan. I boil crushed tomatoes with a pinch of baking soda. Pour some of the tomatoes on bottom of pan. Add my rolls pour rest of tomatoes over and bake. Depending on how many is the time frame. 40 takes about 1 /1/2 hours.
Freeze cabbage No Boiling. Fantastic. Thaw fill cook. I boil mine long with lots of added water