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.
Very nice!
My Ukrainian mother always made these, but did not cook meat ahead of time. Stuffed the cabbage raw.
We’ve always cooked them that way too, meat stays together better!
perfect!
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how much my family liked these. . Everyone, even my picky eater, who doesn’t like cabbage, ate them and said they were tasty. The filling would be easy to customize with favorite seasonings. such as Cajun or Italian.
Thank you for the recipe it was great
I can’t find an oven temperature is it 350’
Hi Carol, in step 2, you preheat the oven to 350F. Enjoy the cabbage rolls!
Could you possibly use cauliflower instead of rice to be low carb? If so how much should I use. My husband is diabetic so I wanted to see if anyone has tried this.
I have not tried myself, but other readers have used cauliflower rice with great results! I would love to hear how it turns out for you, Rebecca.
sams club sells bags of cauliflower rice, it’s blan bit it works great in these kind of dishes.
This came out absolutely delicious, but I thought the amount of rice was too much so only added about 2/3 of it. Very labor intensive but worth it.
I’m so glad that you posted this recipe ❣️ My mom has always made cabbage rolls and now my fiance and I know how to make it❣️ I’m about to put them in the oven and I’m sure that it will turn out great ❣️ Thank you, Kim and Ryan
So happy to hear that, Kim! I hope they live up to her cabbage rolls! ❤️
That’s really cute!
I added a. Little fennel, smoked Paprika and 4 lg garlic. I used to make the with sauerkraut instead of rice.
Taste wonderful. My family enjoyed them. Just curious if the nutrition content is per roll or for the entire dish?
The nutrition information is for ⅙th of the finished dish (usually two cabbage rolls).
Way too soupy and cabbage had no flavor after removing from oven. Will try it one more time and drain diced tomatoes/ cut soup mixture in half.
We would love to hear how it turns out for you after making those changes, Sue!
Love this recipe and have made it many many times over the years! Wondering if it can be assembled and stored in the fridge a day in advance, then topped with sauce and baked the next day?
Hi Kaye, if making ahead, I would prep up to step 6 and then pour the sauce overtop when ready to bake. Enjoy!
It’s not true about recipe stuffed cabbage that Ukrainian don’t use a meat. They always use a meat with rice
I meantioned that the Ukrainian version my friend Penny makes generally contain only rice – this does not mean ALL Ukrainian recipes don’t use meat. I was referring to a specific recipe.
Yep. My husband’s family is Ukrainian and they DO NOT use meat in their cabbage rolls. Mainly the reason is they make them for Ukrainian Christmas and there is no red meat allowed for the traditional meal. Only fish, borscht, potato perogies, rice cabbage rolls, and a several other meatless dishes. I prefer mine with meat but that’s how my not-Ukrainian mom made them when I was a kid. I think she did more of a Polish cabbage roll recipe from a friend.
Easy to make and delicious. Even with a small cabbage, I overlapped the leaves and they taste fantastic. My family loves them, too. Very authentic flavour, reminds me of the cabbage rolls I was raised on. Thank you!
Can someone tell me how much salt and pepper they use?
Start with a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Give it a little stir, then taste. If it needs more, sprinkle a bit more and taste again. Keep doing that until it’s just right.
I make this but use Heinz Ketchup for my sauce and just add a little water to it….My Mom taught me this and I love it this way.
I love cabbage rolls, although growing up we always called them pigs and blankets. Mine was a bit easier
Substitute regular rice for cauliflower rice , to make it keto friendly . works great .
just because your friend didn’t use meat doesn’t mean Ukrainians eat stuffed cabbage without meat. I’m Ukrainian and live in a Ukrainian community and have never heard of stuffed cabbage with just rice. almost always made with meat. On Christmas Eve because meat is not allowed I’ve seen people make them with buckwheat or mushrooms and rice.
I refer to “the Ukrainian version my friend Penny makes”, not all Ukrainian versions.
Its interest how people feel so strongly about something they immediately feel the need to correct someone even though THEYRE the ones who misread what she said