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
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! © 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.
