Cabbage Rolls are a comfort food dish that takes the most modest of ingredients—cabbage, ground meat, rice, and tomato sauce—and stretches them to become a nourishing, hearty, and delicious dinner!
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5 Star Review
“Absolutely wonderful and healthy. Nice flavor, texture and color. And it’s so easy to make.”
— Hannah —
Cabbage rolls are a budget-friendly dinner to warm your soul.
Chou farci in France, lahanodolmathes in Greece, Polish gloabki (“little pigeons”), Ukranian holubtsi (also “little pigeons”), Arabic mahshi malfouf, Jewish prakas…cabbage rolls are a comfort food meal popular all around the globe!
- This cabbage roll recipe is influenced by Ukrainian and Polish versions.
- It’s made by wrapping cabbage leaves with a savory mixture of meat, rice, herbs, and spices. The meat filling is hearty, and the rice also provides bulk, making cabbage rolls a budget-minded meal that’s also supremely satisfying.
- Cabbage rolls are a bit of a project, but they are so satisfying and absolutely worth it! They also freeze and reheat like a dream—if you’re planning on making them, consider doubling the recipe to enjoy at a later date. (In a hurry? Try my shortcut unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup!)
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Cabbage. Green cabbage is what I used for this recipe, as it’s generally the easiest to find and most affordable. You can use savoy cabbage instead if you can find it. Napa cabbage is also fine to use, but you’ll want to make sure the head you select is big enough for rolling.
- Ground Beef. If you prefer ground turkey, go ahead and use that instead!
- Rice. I use long-grain brown rice for extra nutrition and also because I love the slightly nutty flavor it adds to the filling.
- Onion + Garlic. You want these to blend in, not stand out, so dice and mince them well.
- Spices. Dried oregano, nutmeg, garlic powder, bay leaves, salt, and pepper are what I used in this recipe.
- Tomatoes. Both tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes are used to prepare the savory sauce. The sauce keeps the cabbage rolls moist and blankets them in rich flavor.
- Honey. For a touch of natural sweetness to balance the acidity.
- Red Wine Vinegar. Adds depth and brightness to the sauce.
How to Make Cabbage Rolls
Prepare. Cook rice to al dente (photo 1). Core the whole head of cabbage and peel off any dirty leaves. Simmer the cabbage in a large pot of water for about 15 minutes.
Cook the Aromatics. Sauté the onion (photo 2). Add the garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, transfer to a bowl with the rice.
Combine. Add the beef, egg, herbs, and spices (photo 3), mixing to combine.
Prep the Leaves. Peel 12 larger, tender cabbage leaves from the head (photo 4). Trim any tough ribs off the leaves. Cut the remaining cabbage into strips. Scatter them in the baking dish.
Fill and Roll. Assemble the cabbage rolls by adding the beef mixture to the center of a cabbage leaf. Fold the sides inwards (photo 5) to create the sealed cabbage roll. Place them in the baking dish.
Make the Sauce. Pour the tomato sauce into the bowl that held the beef. Add water to one of the empty tomato cans, then pour it into the bowl. Stir in the tomatoes, spices, and herbs, then pour the sauce over the rolls (photo 6).
Bake. Cover the pan with foil. Bake cabbage rolls at 350 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Spoon the hot liquid over the top of each cabbage roll. Re-cover the dish and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. ENJOY!
What to Serve with Cabbage Rolls
- Salad. Cabbage rolls are a hearty meal on their own so a light side dish like Creamy Cucumber Salad or Chickpea Salad is perfect.
- Potatoes. Another comfort food fave, you can’t go wrong with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes or Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
- Vegetables. Add some more veggies to the mix with Roasted Cauliflower or Air Fryer Broccoli.
- Bread. Soak up that tomato sauce with Rosemary Olive Oil Bread or Roasted Garlic Potato Rolls.
Cabbage Rolls
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 cabbage rolls
Video
These classic cabbage rolls are stuffed with savory meat and rice, then baked in a rich tomato sauce for a cozy, comforting dinner.
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Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked long-grain brown rice rinsed and drained*
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
- 6 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 medium head green cabbage 1 ½ to 2 pounds—DO NOT use a larger head or the leaves will be difficult to cook through, difficult to roll, and it will be harder to stem
- 1 pound lean ground beef I used 90% lean
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano divided
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- ¼ cup chopped parsley divided
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Place one of the oven racks in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered on low, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, until the rice is partially cooked (it will keep baking in the oven). Strain the rice through a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water to remove any excess liquid and starch. Place in a large bowl and set aside. Keep the pot handy (no need to clean it).
- Meanwhile, core the cabbage: Peel off any dirty leaves from the cabbage head. Sit the cabbage on your cutting board so the stem side is facing directly upwards. Using a paring knife, make 4 cuts that are each 1/2-inch away from the core so that the cuts form a square. Make each cut at an angle so that your knife is pointing down towards the core as you slice. Shimmy the knife through each corner of the square shape to help loosen the core. Then, pull on the cabbage stem area to remove the core. You may need to wiggle your paring knife around the square again to help loosen it. Discard the core.
- Simmer the cabbage: Fill a large pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium-low heat such that the water simmers. Carefully lower the cabbage (with its core side facing the bottom of the pot and the top of the head facing up) into the pot and cover it. Let simmer for 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon or handheld medium sieve, carefully lift the cabbage out of the water. Let cool until you can handle it safely, 10-15 minutes.
- To the now-empty pot you used to cook the rice, add 2 tablespoons of oil and the onion. Sauté over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the onion-garlic mixture to the bowl of rice.
- Add the ground beef, egg, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. With a fork or your hands, mix to combine, making sure not to overwork the meat. Only mix until just combined. Set aside.
- Place the semi-cooled, cooked cabbage on a cutting board. Peel 12 larger in-tact leaves off of the cabbage (peel from the core side for easy removal). Trim any tough, thick ribs from the stem side of the cabbage leaf by using a paring knife to cut a V shape around the rib to remove it. (Don’t cut off too much or it will be hard to roll.) Set aside.
- Quarter and chop any remaining cabbage into thin 1/4-inch strips. Scatter evenly over the bottom of the baking dish.
- Assemble the rolls: Add 2 heaping tablespoons of the beef mixture to the center of a cabbage leaf (it's OK if the leaf is still a little damp).
- Fold the sides of the leaf inwards to cover the meat, then begin rolling from the stem side, until you have a cabbage roll.
- Place seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining cabbage until you have 12 rolls. If there is any leftover beef mixture, roll it into small (about 1-to 1 1/2-inch) meatballs and arrange them in the pan in between the rolls.
- To the now-empty bowl that held the beef mixture, add the tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup water to one of the empty tomato sauce cans, swish around, and add the water to the bowl. Mix in the crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, bay leaf, vinegar, honey, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Stir gently to combine.
- Carefully pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Lift the cabbage rolls a bit to ensure the sauce gets distributed beneath them.
- Spray a piece of foil large enough to cover the pan with nonstick spray. Cover the pan tightly with the foil, placing it spray-side down. Place onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until the cabbage is nearly fork tender and easily cuts with a paring knife, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and carefully uncover the pan. Use a spoon to ladle the hot sauce from the bottom of the pan over each cabbage roll. Recover the pan securely with foil and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- *If you prefer white rice, you can swap the same amount of long-grain white basmati rice. White rice cooks more quickly than brown, so you’ll only need to simmer for about 12 minutes to par-cook it; strain, rinse, and use in the recipe just like the brown rice.
- TO STORE: Cover and refrigerate leftovers, or place them in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm cabbage rolls in a baking dish in the oven at 350°F or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE A SMALL PORTION: Freeze leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- TO FREEZE A FULL DISH: Cover the pan with foil, then wrap in plastic wrap a few times (or place the individual cabbage rolls in a large freezer bag). Defrost in the fridge overnight (if you are defrosting an entire pan, this can take 1 1/2 -2 days). Reheat covered in a 350°F oven for about 25-30 minutes (make sure you remove any plastic!).
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cabbage roll (of 12)Calories: 173kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 12gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 39mgPotassium: 614mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 566IUVitamin C: 38mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 3mg
Any suggestions to make this vegan or vegetarian
Thanks
Hi Eileen! No, I’m sorry I don’t. Here is a link to all of my vegan recipes https://www.wellplated.com/category/recipes-by-diet/vegan/ I also have a great deal of vegetarian recipes on the website as well.
Hi Erin,
I always enjoy your recipes but I have noticed that you don’t include the amount of sodium in the nutritional breakdown.
As someone on a low sodium diet, I would appreciate that information
Thank you,
Mary
Hi MK! I stopped including sodium info because it can vary so much depending upon what products you used, and I found a lot of conflicting info online, so ultimately I didn’t feel comfortable publishing it because sometimes it wasn’t even in the ballpark. If you’d like to calculate it yourself, there are lots of free tools online (myfitnesspal.com is popular). I hope that helps!
I feel the same way MK! I am following a low sodium diet and always check the ingredients for signs of sodium. If any canned products are used like tomatoes or beans, I always choose “no sodium” varieties. If the recipe states to add a 1/2 tsp of salt, I leave it out or only add 1/8, etc. I look for lower sodium varieties of cheese too. Sodium can really add up!
Hi Margaret! I stopped including sodium info because it can vary so much depending upon what products you used, and I found a lot of conflicting info online, so ultimately I didn’t feel comfortable publishing it because sometimes it wasn’t even in the ballpark. If you’d like to calculate it yourself, there are lots of free tools online (myfitnesspal.com is popular). I hope that helps!
I’m trying to add more veggies to my diet and this looks like a great way to do it! Lots of veggies, but lots of meat too! Even my kids loved them so much. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you so much.
Yay! Thank you Chloe!
I used hot Italian sausage mixed with ground beef and it was awesome, my husband and I enjoyed it very much. The sauce! Its all about the sauce and my mind is spinning with ideas for how I can use the recipe for many other dishes as it is a beautiful, rich, tomato ‘gravy’. Mine is not as attractive as yours but definitely super tasty! Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed it, Lauren! Thank you!
Absolutely wonderful and healthy. Nice flavor, texture and color. And it’s so easy to make. Used my own homemade chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock. I toast some sourdough bread and make a spinach salad to round it out! Thanks so much!
So glad you enjoyed it, Hannah! Thank you!
I love cabbage rolls, but have never dared to make them. I’ve always been intimidated by the cabbage, and that’s because I didn’t know the secret. Cooking the full cabbage beforehand!! Juicy looking cabbage rolls and I can’t wait to make some for dinner.
So glad you enjoyed it, Veronica!
Do you cook the beef before mixing it with the rice?
Hi Bethany, in our recipes if something requires precooking, or cooked at all, we would have that written out in the recipe. If you check the recipe card and post you’ll see the step by step photos showing how you make the mixture and wrap it in the cabbage leaves uncooked. Hope this helps! Enjoy the cabbage rolls!
I just made the stuffed cabbage rolls. They were excellent. I seem to be short on time so I made the meat mixture one day and I put it in the freezer for about a week actually and then I thought it out in the refrigerator and then I made the cabbage rolls the sauce and rolled them up. It was so so so good thank you for that recipe. A HUGE favorite with family
Great to hear, thank you Jeanie!
It took forever to get the cabbage cooked, even then it wasn’t soft enough for me. I really didn’t like the nutmeg, that’s way to strong…i usually cook mine on the stove for 4 hrs, but i have trouble burning so looked for a baked version. Needless to say 1 1/2 hrs can’t make the cabbage that soft. Would not make ag ain.
I”m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe, Valerie. Did you boil the cabbage first as stated in Step 4? This helps quicken the time it takes to get the cabbage cooked. Hope this helps!
The results would have been better had I not forgotten the egg. The instructions are confusing to follow. But worst of all was the very misleading timing. It took me, with my husband’s help, well over an hour to prepare! This is a challenging recipe and I am an experienced cook. It needs to be made much clearer, with the the ingredients kept separate for each stage. Disappointing as the recipe would be good if it was more clear.
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe, Sharon. The ingredients are listed in order as they are used in the directions. Is there anything specific that you think could be clearer? We also have step by step photos in the directions to help you visually see how things are progressing. We’d love to help troubleshoot this further for you!
I didn’t expect to love these as much as I did. Cabbage isn’t usually my go-to, but once everything cooked together, it worked. The sauce soaked into the rolls just enough, and the filling stayed flavorful. It’s not flashy, but it’s really satisfying.
So glad to hear, Eleonor! Thank you!
These reminded me a lot of the cabbage rolls my grandma used to make, but a little lighter. The sauce soaked into everything and kept the rolls moist. It’s definitely a comfort food meal that makes your kitchen smell amazing while baking. I will definitely make this again. Thank you!
Enjoy Sandie!
Really enjoyed making these cabbage rolls. They take a bit of time to assemble, but the end result is totally worth it. The flavors are hearty and comforting, and it made for a nice homemade meal.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Gracie! Thank you!