Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole is a true comfort food go-to.
Nothing makes me think of my childhood and family more than Cabbage Rolls.
Growing up with Polish grandparents, they made an appearance at every occasion, from Christmas to Easter, weddings to baptisms!
On days when I don’t have the time to create cabbage rolls, I’m so glad I have a quicker version of this age old favorite that still delivers all the flavor I expect from the original dish!
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I’m sure most of you have enjoyed homemade cabbage rolls before. They’re delicious and truly a comfort food (not to mention budget friendly).
When I just don’t have the time to fiddle with boiling/freezing cabbage leaves and making the rolls, I turn to this simple lazy cabbage roll casserole.
There are a few steps in this recipe, but it is really easy to make! You’ll create a quick meaty sauce and while it’s simmering you can soften the cabbage in pan. Once softened, just simply layer and bake.
For the meat sauce layer I use a mixture of ground beef and pork because I find it gives the best flavor. Any ground meat will work, I’ve even subbed in ground turkey if it’s all I have on hand. If you do use ground turkey, I’d suggest adding in a beef bouillon cube to add some extra flavor.
I love the chunky tomatoes in this recipe but if you prefer a smoother sauce, you can simply substitute another can of tomato sauce for the tomatoes. Be sure to remove the bay leaf from the sauce before stirring the rice in, while it adds good flavor, it’s not good to eat! Long grain rice is traditionally used, but you can also sub in brown rice. Another tasty option is to substitute cauliflower rice in place of long grain rice make it lower in carbs and incorporate more vegetables into your meal!
The cabbage can be prepped ahead of time by chopping into ½” chunks and refrigerating in a zippered bag. Cabbage will keep for at least a week this way and is so convenient to have on hand (and also great to toss into vegetable soups and stir fries).
Another great thing about this cabbage roll casserole is that it can be prepared the night before (or in the morning) and then simply baked before serving. This makes it the perfect meal for guests and busy school nights!
This recipe does freezes perfectly so if you’re empty nesters or have a small family, this can be divided into 4 portions and frozen for future – a perfect meal ready and waiting!
Your family will absolutely love this Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole and you will love how easy it is! Homemade, ‘holesome’, hearty and healthy – the new definition of 4-H! It will quickly become a family favorite!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 8 ounces lean ground pork or additional ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 ½ cups cooked rice brown or white
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 head green cabbage chopped, about 8 cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13 pan.
- Brown ground beef, ground pork, onion and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Add tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, dill, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in rice.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook until tender-crisp.
- Place half of the cabbage in the pan. Top with half of the beef/rice mixture. Repeat layers ending with beef/rice.
- Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until hot & bubbly.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole
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Do you think I could make this on Wednesday night and refrigerate till Friday when company comes?
Yes, that should work just fine (you’ll want to make sure it’s well sealed).
trying this tonite, Made too much cabbage w/my corned beef St pats day. Great way to use up the left overs.
This recipe was so much easier than making cabbage rolls and the taste was phenomenal. My husband who was raised eating stuffed cabbage rolls love this.
I am so glad you guys loved this recipe Catherine!
Delish. Didn’t have any ground pork, so I only used a pound of 88% lean beef, and it was plenty. I took luxurious afternoon nap and woke up late, I forgot to precook my brown rice, so I used cooked minute white rice, which I upped to nearly 4 cups, which really worked well. This is my third attempt at an unstuffed cabbage roll casserole, (using different recipes) and both other times I didn’t like the “hardness” of the cabbage (second time it cooked all day in a crock pot!) so for this one I used 8 cups of shredded cabbage which I chopped a bit finer with my salad chopper, and this was perfect! I added some mozzarella the last 5 minutes, but it would be excellent without it. Loved the dill, don’t leave that out! Itsa keeper.
I’m so glad you loved it Liz! I agree, love dill in this recipe! :)
Made this and it was absolutely delicious, but am I the only one who thought there was a lot more prep time than what the recipe said? It says 20min. prep time but it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get this in the baking dish! I almost feel that making the actual rolls would’ve been more time efficient!
It’s in my oven! Will let you know how it turns out.
Hi Holly.. in Australia we call ketchup tomato sauce..is that what you mean when you say tomato sauce(ketchup?) Or do you mean say a passata type sauce?
I am referring to tomato sauce that is not ketchup. It is often canned and used in spaghetti and other tomato based meals. Passata is typically thicker than tomato sauce, but should work in its place. Let me know how it works out for you!
This recipe is my Favorite it makes Cabbage Rolls extremely easy to make
I’m so glad you loved it!
My family and I loved this recipe! My only change to the recipe was that I topped the casserole with shredded cheddar cheese before I placed it in the oven to bake. This will definitely become one of my go to meals!!
Seeing that this had five stars I decided to give it a try. I followed the directions perfectly and I am a good cook, but it was awful. Nobody in my family like that. I will never make this again.
Sorry this didn’t work out for you Gail, it’s one of our all time favorites!
What a great dish for today! 5 degrees and windy outside……Just made this, it’s in the oven as I write this post. It is very easy to make. The only complaint that I have was when I tasted the sauce it was a bit bland. I added 2 tsp lemon juice, 1tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 cup light brown sugar. It smells so good and I can guarantee that I will be making this again!
I hope your family enjoyed the recipe! It is perfect for a cold days dinner!
Made this and it was a great hit. Loved the left overs, tasted better after a few days.
We loved it! Easy to make, made a few tweaks as didn’t have tomato sauce or parsley, but it turned out amazing. The husband is fussy and he didn’t complain :-)
OMGosh!!!!! Thank you!! This recipe was so scrumptious! Well written and easy to follow. Used brown rice, and wouldn’t change a thing. Reminded me of my Mom’s Polish home cooking also
The whole family enjoyed this receipe.easy to make..
This is delicious! I have tried several recipes for stuffed cabbage rolls and they just never came out right. So when I saw this recipe I decided to give it a try and am glad I did. It is so good! My husband now asks me to make it at least once a month.
I make extra of the meat and rice mixture and use it for baked stuffed red peppers.
So glad you and your family loved it Joanne!
I don’t have ground pork, but I do have ground pork sausage. Would that be weird? I’m a horrible cook so I’m not able to make an actual judgement call on this.
I think it would definitely change the flavor. But, if you are a sausage fan, you may enjoy that change!
Who cares !!!
So many sour products and not mentioned about sugar which must be there !!!
There is quite a lot of sugar in condensed tomato soup!
I have frozen stuffed bell peppers before, after defrosting in fridge then baking, the rice was a mushy mess…. does this happen with freezing this Dish?
I haven’t tried freezing this dish so I can’t say for sure.