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.
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
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