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!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage
- 1 cup long grain white rice uncooked
- 1 pound lean ground pork or ground turkey
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- 2 small yellow onions diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or, 1 tablespoons dried parsley
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 (14.5 ounce each) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 egg
- 1 ¾ cups tomato sauce divided
- 1 (10.75 ounce each) can condensed tomato soup
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, and ⅓ cup of tomato sauce. Stir in egg.
- Mix the 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.
I’ve made these a few times and they are delicious!
One of my favorite comfort foods. I love this recipe fast easy and just like my mom used to make😋😋
This cabbage roll recipe is so delicious! everyone in my family loved it!! I really like the tomato sauce and adding the condensed tomato soup, it adds a nice hint of sweetness but not too overpowering (other recipes I’ve tried have been too sweet for me)
The filling made so much that I went back to the grocery store to get another cabbage to make more I could stick in the freezer!
You do not need to cook meat first. Other than that. Recipe looks okay. Raw meat cooks perfect in oven for the time noted.
We find cooking it provides a better texture and flavor when making cabbage rolls, but it certainly works without precooking. Thank you for sharing your feedback Lezley!
Could you make them in a crock pot?
I haven’t cooked this in a slow cooker but I think it would work just fine!
Can rolls be made one day and cooked the next day?
Hi Terry, if making ahead, I would prep up to step 6 and then pour the sauce overtop when ready to bake. Enjoy!
This recipe is excellent and have made it before with regular rice but right now I only have minute rice that cooks in 5 minutes how would i use it in this recipe when it calls for the rice to be undercooked?
I wouldn’t recommend using minute rice, Isabella, as it will become overcooked as the cabbage rolls bake.
Great recipe. I have made cabbage rolls with my mother for years. She used a can of tomato juice instead of tomato sauce. We never used an egg. Can you please tell me if the egg is simply to bind everything together? I’m a little confused about how to use the egg and its purpose. Thanking you in advance.
Yes, the egg is for binding. You can leave it out in this recipe (or add a touch of bread crumbs if you’d like).
This was very good. Wanted more sauce though.
Do you add the egg to the beef when the pan is hot or after the cooked meat has cooled?
To avoid turning the egg into scrambled eggs you will want it to cool slightly. But with the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce being chilled/room temp they will help to bring the temperature of the overall mixture down to prevent this.
I made these cabbage rolls today & it’s the best recipe ever!
Thanks Holly for sharing this amazing recipe
♠️♠️♠️♠️
Excellent Holly!
Couldn’t ask for a better home style cabbage roll!
❤️
In the oven ,looks and smells fantastic! Will update
Why do you need to brown the meat when it’s in the oven for 75-90 minutes?
This is the way my grandma made cabbage rolls. It adds flavor that I like, but other readers have certainly made them without browning the beef first.
what would be the measurements of ingredients if I needed to make 30 rolls?
The number of rolls will depend on your cabbage. For 5 times the recipe, bring up the print page and adjust it there to get the full ingredients list.
Great recipe! I had a HUGE head of cabbage and cut the leaves in half which worked out great! I did not have a can of condensed so I used Pregresso Tomato and Basil soup. Tasted great! I love the spices and love the tip on left over meat mixture, although I might make a cheese and beef casadilla with it. Thank you for the recipe!
This is an AMAZING recipe! One of the easiest to understand and make!!
I made it the 1st time following the recipe but the second time I added diced bell peppers!
didnn’t know where to put this comment and I apologize. I’m hesitant about the can of diced tomatoes…..wouldn’t that make it watery…..do the tomatoes cook through? Thanks.
I have made this many times as written and not found it watery! They do cook all the way through as the tomatoes are already soft.
I have only made cabbage rolls a handful of times, British upbringing, we never ate them.
My husband grew up and loves cabbage rolls. I’ve made his mother’s recipe and they were okish.
Made these tonight and my husband said they were the best he has ever had. He did immediately say, “RIP Mom, I love your cabbage rolls but these were over the top delicious “.
I did follow the recipe but added more tomato sauce because I thought they needed more sauce. They actually didn’t but still delicious.
Served with mashed potatoes.
I am honoured! So glad you both enjoyed them :)
I added shredded mozzarella cheese in the meat mixture, add on top for the last 10 minutes of bake time.