These Cabbage Rolls are simply the best!! Stuffed with beef, pork, and rice and baked up in a slightly sweet tomato sauce to perfection. This comfort food is actually easier to make than you think, especially with our wonderful tips.
I had such a craving for this dish because we hadn’t had them for so long. I love cabbage, have you ever tried Roasted Cabbage, truly heavenly?
We don’t make the cabbage rolls too big or too heavy. They are sweet and yummy, and my family goes crazy for them!!
The key to a great cabbage rolls recipe is to start the night before! Once you have your cabbage cooked and cooled, it’s simply a matter of rolling them up and making the sauce.
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Ingredients For This Recipe
Simple ingredients are in stuffed cabbage rolls, nothing exotic here. The combination of flavors though is so comforting and hearty.
You will only need to shop for a few items as some you will have already at home as they are staples in most pantries.
Ingredients
- Large cabbage
- Extra-lean ground beef
- Lean pork
- Cooked rice
- Onion
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- Paprika
- Onion, diced
- Canola oil
- Hot water
- Tomato sauce
- Brown sugar
- Lemon juice
What is the Best Way to Soften Cabbage?
I love this method that Amber’s Polish grandmother showed me years ago. It works like a dream and has your cabbage ready for you in the morning—no need for impatience and burnt fingertips with this method.
- Take the head of cabbage and remove the core; place in a large pot.
- Fill the hole with vinegar and salt. Fill the pot with water to the top of the cabbage but not flowing into the core.
- Bring water to a boil, turn the stove off, cover, and leave overnight.
- The next morning your cabbage is cooled and ready to work with. Perfect leaves will be soft and pliable! Some of the outer leaves may be too large, and you can cut them down to size if possible.
How To Make Cabbage Rolls
- Actually, making cabbage rolls is much simpler than it appears. One nice advantage with them is that you don’t have to cook the meat ahead of time.
- Just simply combine the ground meats, rice, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 4 Tbsp. onion, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. paprika.
How to Roll Cabbage Rolls
Rolling these up is very easy. The cabbage, now that it is cooked, is very pliable and easily rolls for you.
- Take an appropriately sized handful of meat for the size of cabbage leaf and place at the core end of the leaf.
- Roll the tucking sides of the leaf in, and place it on a platter seam side down.
- Continue with remaining leaves.
How Long to Cook Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage rolls do take some time to cook, so you don’t want to do these on a day that you are rushed for dinner. This type of recipe is perfect for a Sunday dinner where you have more time to spend in the kitchen and allowing them a couple of hours to cook. Although making and freezing ahead of time does then lend to a very quick dinner. I will explain this further on.
- In a medium saucepan or frypan over medium-low heat, add canola oil. Add the onion and cook, season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. paprika, and saute until translucent.
- Place the onion mixture in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Add hot water and stir to combine.
- Place cabbage rolls on top of the onion mixture, arranging smaller ones on the second layer.
- Mix tomato sauce with brown sugar and lemon juice, pour over the cabbage rolls.
- I definitely like to use tomato sauce as opposed to diced tomatoes or tomato soup. Use a plain sauce, nothing with too many flavors. The plainer, the better.
- Cover and bake at 325F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the sauce is coming out too thin then cook with the lid off.
Why are My Cabbage Rolls Tough?
If your cabbage rolls are too tough, it means that you have not cooked them long enough. My method to start with, letting the cabbage sit overnight, starts to get the cabbage nice and soft.
But if they are still not soft enough after cooking, it means that you need to return them to the oven and cook for longer. Cooking it to the 2-hour mark will yield more tender rolls, but if you still want them to be more tender, then continue cooking and checking every 15 minutes.
Keeping them covered while cooking will help with them being more tender also.
What do You Eat Cabbage rolls With?
Cabbage rolls can be a feast all to themselves. When you think about it, they are veggies, protein, carbs all rolled into one delicious package.
But some of you may want to eat them as a main with other side dishes such as:
- Cheese Spaetzle (Kaesespaetzle)
- A Large Green Salad with a Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing
- Perogies
- Extra Crispy Roasted Potatoes
- Honey Dijon Roasted Carrots
- Pan Fried Kielbasa or Your Favorite Sausage
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Is it Better to Freeze Cabbage Rolls Cooked or Uncooked?
I have frozen cabbage rolls both ways, cooked and uncooked. If I have leftovers from a large batch that I have cooked for a crowd, then I will freeze them after I have cooked them. They do tend to fall apart more with cooking, freezing, thawing and reheating though.
If I make a larger batch for just us to enjoy, then I will freeze servings in zipper bags. Later I will make the onion mixture and tomato sauce to cook them in.
I find this latter method to be better if you have planned ahead. I then take out a zipped bag of rolls and place them in a casserole dish with the cooled onions on the bottom and let them defrost. Then before putting them into the oven, I top with the tomato sauce and bake covered as the recipe says.
You can then have cabbage rolls any night of the week. I love utilizing the freezer in this way to provide us with smaller meals at the ready.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 large cabbage
- 1 1/2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef
- 1 lb. lean pork
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
- 4 Tbsp. onion finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp. paprika
Sauce
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 Tbsp. canola oil
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 680 ml. can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Core cabbage and place in a large pot.
- Fill the hole with vinegar and salt. Fill the pot with water to the top of cabbage but not flowing into the core.
- Bring to a boil, turn the stove off, cover and leave overnight.
- The next morning your cabbage is cooled and ready to work with, perfect!
- Combine meat, rice, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 4 Tbsp. onion, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. paprika.
- Take an appropriately sized handful of meat for the size of cabbage leaf and place at the core end of the leaf, roll tucking sides of the leaf in and place on a platter seam side down.
- Continue with remaining leaves.
- Saute the diced onion in the canola oil with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp. paprika, until translucent.
- Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Add hot water and stir to combine.
- Place cabbage rolls on top of the onion mixture, arranging smaller ones on the second layer.
- Mix tomato sauce with the brown sugar and lemon juice, pour over the cabbage rolls.
- Cover and bake at 325F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- If the sauce is coming out too thin then cook with the lid off.
Comments & Reviews
Cheryl Voelk says
This is an excellent cabbage roll recipe!
We love the sauce!
Perfection
Tara Noland says
So glad you enjoy these cabbage rolls, they have been our favorite forever!!
Bob says
My cabbage rolls turned out in a watery tomato sauce, not at all like your pictures. Where did I go wrong?
Tara Noland says
I have made this so many times, sometimes the cabbage is full of water and you will get a thinner sauce. If that happens you can cook it without the lid/cover to get a thicker sauce or cook it partway with the lid on.
Debb says
My recipe is a lot better. Hamburger, rice, green pepper, onion, cabbage, two cans of condensed tomato soup and of course rice. It’s the best stuffed cabbage you’ll ever eat and it’s easy and fast.
Tara Noland says
Enjoy yours then. You wrote rice down twice?
Bj Williams says
I don’t add onion, I add onion powder instead.
I don’t want to add rice, is this alright?
Tara Noland says
Just make sure not to put the cabbage rolls directly into the casserole but add some sauce as they may stick. As for the rice I do like some or the meat tends to become a harder block inside. The rice lightens it up but that is my preference.
Lorena Hoffman says
I wish I had seen this recipe before making a different recipe today. Why did my meat filling seem too solid and heavy? I will definitely follow this recipe next time.
Tara Noland says
You might have compacted it too much before rolling the rolls or making them too tight. You can also add more rice to loosen it up too.
Dennis Prah says
If the rolls are to hard. The meat or the cabbage. If it’s the meat, you packed the meat to tight, didn’t put enough rice in, or way over cooked them. If you cabbage is to tough, you didn’t cook them enough !
Donna says
This is great idea if you are just making one recipe. I am cooking for a large group – how do you adapt if you are wanting to use more than one cabbage?
Tara Noland says
Just double or triple the recipe. Plus use the inner leaves of the cabbage to make smaller ones which will make more.
Leslie says
How much vinegar and salt to put into the core before boiling the cabbage?
Tara Noland says
I just eyeball is but like a tsp of salt and 2-3 Tbsp of vinegar.
Rogers Hornsby says
What does the salt and vinegar do and do you taste the vinegar in the cabbage rolls you make?
Tara Noland says
There isn’t enough to really taste but it kind of brines the cabbage and makes it more pliable. Works like a charm and then your cabbage is ready to go the next morning for you.
Noshing with the Nolands says
No chives, just for the picture!!
Pam says
These look yummy! I love the ties – green onions?