Stuffed Cabbage Rolls – cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and ground pork with a tangy and spicy tomato based sauce seasoned with herbs and spices. A great make-ahead weeknight meal or for special gathering
Aside from spinach, cabbage makes it to my top 5 favorite leafy vegetables. Although it’s kinda tricky to work on it sometimes, I’d still put down my skillet for cabbages. I usually saute them and tossed them with other ingredients, either meat or veggies, just like this Caribbean Corn Beef and Cabbage and this popular Southern Fried Cabbage.
But this Stuffed Cabbage Rolls has been a new favorite to me. It is pure comfort and pretty creative to serve when you have guests coming over.
You will love how deeply flavored the stuffing is – it’s a meal on its own! Wrapping it in soft cabbage leaves make it a healthy-ish choice for a weeknight meal. Can well all just agree as early as now how creative this Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are?
This dish is said to originate in parts of Europe, Iran, West Asia and Northern China with a variety of fillings and were either baked, simmered or steamed with an accompaniment of a sauce.
In some places, these stuffed cabbage rolls are also known as “pigs in a blanket” and also “Jewish cabbage”. Here in the U.S., cabbage rolls are prominent in Cajuns and Louisiana Creoles in the southern part of the country where they are filled with ground pork, rice and chopped vegetables and stuffed into parboiled cabbage leaves with a tomato-based sauce.
How long to cook cabbage?
While others would simply place the whole cabbage in the freezer and thaw it to soften, I do love mine parboiled. In this recipe, I boiled a raw cabbage for about 4-5 minutes, remove from the stove and pour in hot water and add ice water. Just enough to hold the filling without easily tearing off.
When tossed into the tomato sauce mixture, I let the stuffed cabbage cooked undisturbed until tender for about 35-40 minutes over medium-low heat.
You’ll definitely going to love the soft cabbage leaves wrapping a roll of well-seasoned ground meat, rice and veggies. And the sauce? It’s a winner! Here IÂ used my favorite homemade Creole Seasoning HEREÂ to add depth in flavor and dash of cayenne pepper for an added heat. Oh boy, I just wanna smother an entire plate of rice with this sauce.
This would also be a perfect centerpiece on St. Patrick’s day, if you’re in the U.S. Serve it alongside with this Oven Roast Red Potatoes HERE. Happy cooking!
Tips and Notes:
- You can replace ground pork with beef or a half of both.
- For a low carb option, you may replace rice with cauliflower rice. It’d still taste good!
- Store leftovers in airtight containers and place in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can make the sauce and stuffed cabbage ahead of time stored separately and placed in the fridge for up to a day ahead.
- If desired chop the remaining cabbage , saute with salt and pepper , then serve with the cabbage .
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 10-12 Cabbage Leaves
- ½ pound (226.8 g) ground pork (replace with beef)
- 1 Tablespoon (8.4 g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (2.1 g) smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons (1.6 g) thyme
- â…“ cup (38.3 g) finely chopped onions
- 1 Large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5.7 g) salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon (1.3 g) Chicken bouillon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon (2.7 g) white pepper
- 2 tablespoons (7.6 g) parsley
- â…“ cup (85 g) cooked rice
Tomato Sauce Sauce
- ½ cup (75 g) diced onion
- 1 teaspoon (.80 g) thyme
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) minced garlic
- ½- 1 15 ounce canned tomato Sauce
- 1 teaspoon (0.9 g) creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon (1.8 g) white pepper
- ½ teaspoon (0.9 g) cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (2.1 g) smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup (45 g) chopped green pepper
- 1-2 teaspoon beef or chicken bouillon (optional)
- 1 -2 cups (240 g) chicken broth
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water. Carefully remove core from head of cabbage, discard leaves that are discolored or torn.
- Add raw cabbage and boil for about 4-5 minutes or until leaves are pliable tender. Remove from stove , then pour hot water out and add ice water , let it cool.
- Once cooled remove about 10-12 cabbage leaves. If desired, use a paring knife to cut away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through- makes it easier when folding. Set Aside.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef and pork, then add garlic , paprika, onions egg, salt ,white pepper, parsley , chicken or beef bouillon and rice . Mix well.
Assembling
- Place about ¼ -⅓ cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and tightly roll up, tucking in ends. Secure with toothpicks .Repeat process until all the meat mixture is used up. Set aside.
Tomato Sauce
- In a large saucepan, add about 1/4 cup oil, bring to medium heat.
- Add chopped onion, thyme and garlic to the oil, stir for about a minute.
- Next add tomato sauce, creole seasoning , white pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika. Stir the pot frequently to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pot.
- Add salt and bouillon according to preference with about 2 cups of stock. Bring to a boil and let it simmer to blend all the flavors- about 15 minutes or more –stirring occasionally. Salt and adjust seasonings.
Stove Top Method
- When the sauce .is ready, place the stuffed cabbage seam-side down in single layer in the sauce. Spoon some of the sauce over the top of the stuffed cabbage so that they’re covered. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat undisturbed until tender , about 35-40 minutes.
Oven Method
- Place the cabbage rolls, seam-side down, on top of the tomato sauce (I used a 12 inch pan) or a casserole dish , if using one (9″ × 13″ baking dish would work), seam side bake at 350 degrees F until filling is cooked through, about 45 minutes, or until tender.
- Serve warm with rice.
Nutrition Information:
How to Make Cabbage Rolls
Fill a large pot with water.Carefully remove core from head of cabbage, discard leaves that are discolored or torn.
Add  raw cabbage and boil for about 4-5  minutes  or until leaves are pliable  tender. Remove from stove , then pour  hot water out and add ice water , let it cool. Once cooled remove  about 10-12 cabbage leaves .If desired  use a paring knife to cut away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through- makes it easier when folding . Set Aside.
In a large bowl, combine ground beef and pork, then add garlic , paprika, onions egg, salt ,white pepper , parsley , chicken or beef bouillon and rice . Mix well.
Place about ¼ -⅓ cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and tightly roll up, tucking in ends.
Secure with toothpicks .Repeat process until all the meat mixture is used up. Set aside
In a large saucepan, add about 1/4 cup oil, bring to medium heat. Add chopped onion, thyme and garlic to the oil, stir for about a minute. Next add tomato sauce, creole seasoning , white pepper,  cayenne pepper and paprika. Stir the pot frequently to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pot.
Add salt and bouillon according to preference with about 2 cups of stock. Bring to a boil and let it simmer to blend all the flavors- about 15  minutes or more –stirring occasionally. Salt and adjust seasonings.
When the sauce .is ready, place the stuffed cabbage seam-side down in single layer in the sauce.
Spoon some of the sauce over the top of the stuffed cabbage so that they’re covered. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat undisturbed until tender , about 35-40  minutes.
Mischa (down in TX) says
This was an GREAT dish!!! I doubled it to freeze some for a later meal! The sauce was the best I’ve had in a while and one that i would use on other dishes. Thank you for the recipe!! Best stuffed cabbage recipe I’ve ever had!
imma africanbites says
Awesome! I’m glad you like it, Mischa. Thank you for taking the time to let us know.
Mischa (down in TX) says
This was an GREAT dish!!! I doubled it to freeze some for a later meal! The sauce was the best I’ve had in a while and one that i would use on other dishes. Thank you for the recipe!!
Jasmina Boberic says
I am coming from a country where is this traditional dish, it’s called SARMA.
Traditionally would be used sauerkraut and neat would be pan fried with onion and spices like for bolognese before rolled up. Then placed in dip tray and covered with pancetta topped up with water an slow cooked in the oven for 3 or 4 hours on low 180temp.
We dont add tomato sauce but water gets thickened while cooking and gets sourness and smell from sauerkraut, and thickened with bit flour and smoked paprika fried in olive oil, and pored over just before finished cooking
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you for sharing, Jasmina!
Dawn Thompson says
I made this recipe for my parents last Sunday and we all loved it!
I doubled the sauce and meat mixture amounts and ended up with 10 stuffed rolls.
I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes and parsley flakes to the sauce.
For the meat mixture, I purchased a package of meatloaf mix – beef/pork/veal.
Best stuffed cabbage recipe that I have ever tried!!
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear it was a hit. Thanks for taking time out to share this with us.
Chanty P says
Delicious! I grew up eating cabbage rolls but have never made them myself. I decided to try making them using your recipe and they turned out so good! I didn’t have all the ingredients listed, so I left the ones I didn’t have out, but the cabbage rolls still turned out great! Thank you, Imma!
ImmaculateBites says
I absolutely love Cabbage rolls! I am so glad you were able to make it work with the ingredients you had and it was still a hit! Thanks for stopping by, Chanty!
Jay says
Do I cook the meat and rice before I stuffed the cabbage or no
imma africanbites says
Hi, Jay. You use cooked rice and raw ground pork or beef. Mix it up along with other spices and seasonings and stuff it in the cabbage rolls. Next, cook the tomato sauce as per direction then when the sauce is ready you simmer the cabbage rolls in it or bake them, whichever you prefer. Hope this clarifies everything. Enjoy!
Kelly says
This is delicious, as someone coming from a Polish family I am still always looking for ways to spice things up and the blend of spices in this dish are delicious. I never liked Golabki with a more plain tomato sauce as a kid. Anyone not willing to try a different variation is just missing out for sure! My husband was obsessed with these!
Dee says
Polish Golabki prepared the same way with ground beef or pork and rice, egg and onion rolled inside a cabbage leaf with tomato sauce or soup or crushed tomatoes are the original and do not need to be doctored up with various spices. or other ingredients to change them. We do not want ours to taste like caribbean or Louisiana style.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing
Stanley says
Well, I personally like a little spice and enjoy the change. Fusing cultures produce the best foods. Sometimes polish food is as bland as commenters like Dee.
Laura says
I love this recipe just the way you have it :-p yum
Lucy says
Hi,
im just wondering when you cook them do you leave the toothpicks in or do you remove just before you put them in the sauce?
🙂 thank you.
imma africanbites says
Hi, Lucy. You leave the toothpicks on and remove it after cooking them.
Woo says
Am trying this tonight. Love to try new recipes.
Tracy says
What size can of tomatoe sauce? Regular or large 28oz?
ImmaculateBites says
15 ounce canned tomatoe sauce