This stuffed cabbage rolls recipe is cabbage leaves filled with beef and rice, coated in a homemade tomato sauce and baked to perfection. A comfort food classic that’s hearty, delicious and simple to make.
I’ve been eating stuffed cabbage since I was a child, and I’ve been working on this recipe for a long time to create the ultimate rendition of cabbage rolls. Serve your stuffed cabbage rolls with a side of mashed potatoes and broccoli, and watch the rave reviews pour in!
I grew up eating cabbage rolls, and I’ve had enough in my time to know the difference between a good cabbage roll and a less than stellar cabbage roll. My version of cabbage rolls features a flavorful beef and rice filling, and the rolls are cooked in a simple homemade tomato sauce for fabulous results.
How do you make stuffed cabbage rolls?
The first step is to make your filling. The filling is a combination of ground beef, cooked rice, onions, garlic, egg and seasonings. Everything gets mixed together to form the base of your dish.
The meat mixture gets wrapped up inside cooked cabbage leaves, then the cabbage rolls are layered in a baking dish on top of homemade tomato sauce and baked. This dish takes over an hour to bake because to want to make sure your meat is cooked through, so plan accordingly!
How do you get cabbage leaves off the head?
If you try to remove raw cabbage leaves from the cabbage head, you’ll want to slice off the root end and very carefully peel the leaves off to avoid tearing. Sometimes tearing is inevitable no matter how careful you are, so I’ve found the best method is to cook the head of cabbage first. Cut off the root end, then submerge your cabbage head in a pot of boiling water until the leaves are tender and can easily be peeled away.
Tips for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- You’ll need to cut thick part of the cabbage leaves away before you start rolling them up. I’ve found it’s easiest to take a paring knife and cut a V-shape out of the bottom of each leaf to remove the tough rib.
- Place the cabbage rolls seam side down in the baking dish.
- The homemade tomato sauce does contain brown sugar and vinegar, as cabbage rolls are traditionally baked in sweet and sour style sauce. If you don’t want to use brown sugar, you can omit it, but the flavor won’t be as authentic.
- Cabbage rolls can be assembled and stored covered in the fridge for up to 8 hours before you plan to bake them.
How long do you bake stuffed cabbage rolls?
You’ll want to plan on baking your cabbage for a minimum of one hour. The cabbage should be tender and the meat cooked all the way through. I typically start checking at the hour mark, but have found that sometimes it can take as long as 1 hour 30 minutes for cabbage rolls to be ready.
Cabbage Roll Soup
Love cabbage rolls but don’t want to go through all the effort of peeling and folding and baking? Try my easy and wildly popular cabbage roll soup instead!
These stuffed cabbage rolls may be a little more work than your typical dinner, but they’re totally worth it the extra effort!
More great dinner options
- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
- Pizza Stuffed Shells
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Beef Noodle Casserole
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Video
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes do not drain
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
For the cabbage rolls
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves chopped, divided use
- 1 egg
- 1 head cabbage
- cooking spray
Instructions
- For the tomato sauce: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper to the pot.
- Stir in the brown sugar and red wine vinegar. Bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the sauce is simmering, assemble the cabbage rolls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Immerse the cabbage head in the boiling water. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until cabbage leaves are pliable. Peel 12 large leaves off the cabbage.
- Place the ground beef, rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of parsley and egg in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat surface. Use a small knife to cut a V-shaped notch to remove the thick part of the cabbage rib.
- Shape 1/3 of a cup of the meat mixture into a log shape and place in the center of a cabbage leaf. Roll the cabbage leaf around the meat mixture. Repeat with remaining meat and cabbage leaves.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Coat a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray. Place 1/2 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Place the cabbage rolls, seam side down, in the dish. Top with remaining sauce.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 60-90 minutes or until cabbage is tender and meat is cooked through.
- Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, then serve.
Tanya says
I made this exactly as written and it’s delicious! I used kitchen shears to trip off the hard spines on the leaves. and then roughly chopped the leftover cabbage and added it on top the sauce before layering the stuffed cabbage rolls over it. Perfect!
Next time, will make the rice and meat filling in advance, and also the sauce so it’s not so labor intensive. It took me over an hour to get it all assembled.
Bevin says
Delicious, thank you for the recipe!
Melissa says
Made with venison. My family loved them!! Thank you for the awesome recipe.
Dawne says
I have been craving some good ole fashione’d stuffed cabbage; These were delicious, still feel like it missed something and was too sweet, not quite sure but there was something that just was a little off from what I remembered as a child. Don’t get me wrong, they are DELICIOUS and my whole family thought so too. Definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing!
Pam massie says
They are in my crock pot right now😋
Ashley says
Love this recipe
I added poultry season and chilli powder and some brown sugar
It was amazing my children and husband loved it
I also used salsa instead Of a tomato sauce
Sharon says
My husband and I loved this. I will definitely make this again.
Dana W Wagenhals says
Can you prepare these the night before? I’ve made these once before and used minute rice instead of regular rice.
Sara says
Yes that should be fine!
patricia says
Just made these cabbage rolls tonight with ground bison.
It was AMAZING. Such a delicious blend of flavors.
My very picky husband said this was the most delicious meal we’ve had in a while
Bookmarking to make again and again!
D. Fant says
Awesome recipe!!!
Barbara Allman says
I just made these tonight! They were delicious. I seriously did not expect them to be as yummy as they were. The only changes I made were: balsamic vinegar instead of wine vinegar (all I had); canned diced tomatoes instead of crushed; brown and wild rice mixed instead of white. I didn’t quite have a whole head of cabbage but managed to get quite a few large ones, and then some smaller, which worked out perfectly. My husband loved them too! Thank you.
Jess says
I was looking for a traditional recipe (not using tomato soup,lol), and this brought me back to my childhood helping my Mom stuff the rolls. I also used ground venison with this recipe and because the meat is sooooo lean and stronger flavor, it came out amazing!
Debbie says
I use tomato or v8 juice. Really steps it up. I put Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, and whe nI dont mind using packaged food an envelope of liptons french oniopacket
Melanie says
Recently, I had been craving my Grandma’s Stuffed Cabbage that I haven’t had in decades. I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! So flavorful with the perfect amount of tangy and a little bit of sweet. My entire family, who had never had stuffed cabbage before, all loved it. So excited to have found this recipe! I paired it with some creamy mashed potatoes too – Yum! The only change I made to the recipe was using ground turkey since I don’t eat red meat. THANK YOU for sharing!
Barb Springer says
This is the absolute BEST stuffed cabbage with red sauce. I’ll be making this again and again
Jane DeRose says
Make the dish tonight. It was my husband’s first time having the dish and my first time since 5th grade! We absolutely enjoyed this dish. I used cooked quinoa instead of rice, and fire roasted diced tomato instead of crushed tomato (it’s all we had). Also, I did not cut the thick part of the cabbage out. Everything tasted so great! We had black beans with the dish. Will definitely be cooking again AND we have leftovers for the next couple days (if they last that long). Thanks for sharing!
Sara M Gougeon says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Absolutely loved it!
Lisa says
I always add ground pork, to mine, and it’s delicious!
Kay says
Can you freeze them once cooked? There are just two of us!
Sara says
yes that’s fine!
Linda Menzie says
The cabbage rolls were great!!! I served them with fluffy mashed potatoes a d steamed greens ( broccoli,carrots, broccoli rabe, asparagus etc. With a mixed green salad and crusty bread!! Yummy and so easy!! PS the Brown Sugar and vinegar make all the difference!!
Karen says
This turned out great! I randomly bought a head of cabbage today because I like cabbage but I wasn’t sure what to do with it, then I came across this recipe. Thanks for the detail and a different dinner idea! Husband really liked it, son didn’t. But he’s not a fan of anything different. 😝
Debbie says
If your bot in a hurry to make this mewl, you can freeze the heads of cabbage for about a week. When its thawed the leaves come apart real
easy . No need to cook it