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.
First, I rarely make a SpendWithPennies dish that isn’t easy and delicious. I recommend the website to all my beef customers. I’ve made this recipe several times and it has come out great every time and my picky eater wife loves it. I try to use fresh cabbage and diced tomatoes from my garden when I can. Either way, this recipe is a winner!
Followed this recipe and it turned out delicious! Next time, and there will most definitely be a next time, will double the amount of sauce. It was my first time making cabbage rolls. Thanks for the great recipe !
Great recipe, simple and tasty. Here is a suggestion for a much simpler way to prepare the cabbage leaves… sounds weird and you have to plan in advance… but put the whole head of cabbage in the freezer 1 week before you plan to make the dish. 2 days before, remove completely frozen cabbage from freezer, put in a bowl and cover with foil, leave on counter to defrost. Once defrosted, remove from bowl, pat dry and the leaves peel off very easily and in full pieces. They also will lay flat. Much easier than dealing with hot cabbage leaves that rip and tear. I know it sounds weird, I was skeptical too, but I tried it and it worked so well!
I save a step with regards steaming/ boiling cabbage by buying sour cabbage heads.(already prepared) can be purchased in most grocery stores.
less messy and the leaves come off very easy. sour taste adds to the dish.
I have never tried using sour cabbage in this recipe. Thanks for sharing Joyce!
very tasty and it was the first time I used tomato soup instead of a sauce. I will do it again with the soup
Ukrainian golupsi absolutely contains meat. My family has never served a rice only variant and all across Ukraine these are sold at small stores, markets, gas stations, cafes and are never without a meat of some kind. Perhaps you’re thinking of dolma, which is exactly rice only and is a middle eastern dish. Traditional polish and Ukrainian variants must st minimum include
Tomato paste and either pork rice or beef, a certain soft non sour cabbage is used.
so I had some trouble with perfect leaves of cabbage,and so I laid them out at the bottom,and tucked the top around the edges. it looks like cabbage pie! I also added Cajun seasoning and paprika to the mix while using ground turkey as well! my pie came out delicious,and I hope this helps those that can’t get that perfect roll down!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS
The stuffed cabbage looked great. I emailed it to my husband. He said he’d make it for me! Thanks.
I made a double batch and followed the directions as written. My family loved them. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe. I will be using it again many times in the future.
Unremarkable, flavorless recipe. The sauce really needed to carry more of the dish’s zest but instead tastes like bland tomato sauce from a can. I was looking for my childhood favorite but this recipe isn’t it.
Sorry to hear that this wasn’t quite what you were looking for, Michele. Thanks for trying our recipe.
Where are your temps?
I bake these at 350°F.
Hey Holly: I have not tried this recipe yet but it’s sounds just like the cabbage roll recipe I have been looking for! I love the tomato soup. My mother used it on her meat loaf and I use it in my beef chilli.!!! I always rinse the can with white vinegar to tang up my chilli. Your recipes are amazing. You always have so many great tips. Thank you for making cooking fun and easy!
Hello,
I see the calories, but how many per serving?
The nutrition information listed beneath the recipe card is per serving. For this recipes that is ⅙th of the recipe.
Great recipe for my starting point. I used ground turkey and Jimmy Dean all natural sausage. Added chopped fresh sage and dill to onions and garlic, added parsley and basil to the sauce along with black olives, a bit of balsamic vinegar and some Worcester. Put the cabbage in hot water after removing the core and peeled leaves with tongs as able. First try after 2 minutes in boil only got about 5 leafs off before too raw. I just set peeled leaves on plate for a minute and ready to roll. Thanks again!
Holly! I’ve made Stuffed Cabbage Rolls for many years. I like to try new recipes on occasion, and I just made your recipe. O M G soooo good, though I’ve never used Diced Tomatoes I LOVE IT! I WILL be making this recipe again. I’ve printed and saved it! Thank You!
Thank you so much, Holly! Made your cabbage rolls tonight and they are super delicious – exactly what I was hoping for. Also, first time I’ve ever made cabbage rolls ever and your directions and recipe is excellent. The only thing I changed is I used long grain brown rice cooked in chicken broth and added finely chopped mushrooms to the filling mix with a splash of wine. Everything else as per the recipe. Next batch, I’ll increase the sauce by a cup or so – only because I love it and would be delish on mashed potatoes on the side, otherwise perfect just for the cabbage rolls. Excellent recipe!
I always enjoy your recipes. I adjust things here and there to my liking. This one I used a spoonful of lower sodium Better than Bouillon Beef Base. A vodka marinara instead of tomato sauce, extra garlic and Tragers Garlic and Rosemary Seasoning blend. The bouillon and seasoning blend have enough salt so I omit that. This was delicious and comforting.
Those sound like delicious substitutions, Aaryn! Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely excellent!
Definitely going to keep this recipe, thank you for sharing.
very good
I have never put a can of diced tomatoes in the filling. No no no
I’m sure your recipe is delicious too Linda. This is my version—I hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is delicious. It was my first (and last) time making cabbage rolls. After rolling 26 and swearing as the leaves ripped or the stuffing fell out I decided enough was enough and turned the rest into a cabbage roll casserole. I did look at your Casserole recipe and followed your layering style. the cabbage rolls were delicious but the casserole was deadly…baked with some marble cheese on top. This filling is so good that today I made another batch and am going to use it all for casseroles and stock my freezer with them for those winter nights that I don’t want to cook.
thank you this is my first time making them can’t wait to eat thém tomorrow for dinner God bless