- SERVES
- 6
- COOK TIME
- 1 Hr 45 Min
If you're looking to spend a cozy night indoors with a meal that'll fill your belly with old world comfort, then you'll love our Old-Fashioned Stuffed Cabbage. This stuffed cabbage recipe features hearty ground beef, tomato sauce, and rice to make this a dinner recipe you'll love coming to the table for. We've carefully crafted this recipe so that it produces rolls just like Grandma used to make, so they're sure to be a hit at the dinner table tonight. This is the best stuffed cabbage roll recipe we've ever had, and we know you'll love it!
As a bonus, this is also a super easy recipe. All you have to do is combine your favorite ingredients, make your cabbage rolls, and then let the whole thing cook in the oven until bubbly and delicious. We even have a great tip below for preparing your cabbage leaves without steaming them. It will save you time, and it couldn't be simpler. Be sure to check it out!
What You'll Need
- 1 large cabbage, cored
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, not drained
- 3 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup cooked rice, cooled
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
What to Do
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a boil over high heat. Place cabbage in water, cored-side down; cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Steam 20 minutes, or until cabbage leaves pull apart easily. Drain and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes and their juice, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice; mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons tomato mixture; mix well.
- Place 1 cup tomato mixture in bottom of prepared baking dish. Peel a cabbage leaf off the head and cut off thick stem. Place 1/4 cup meat mixture in center of leaf. Starting at core end, make a roll, folding over sides and rolling loosely. Place seam-side down in baking dish; repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and meat mixture. Spoon remaining tomato mixture evenly over top of cabbage rolls and cover.
- Bake 1-1/4 hours. Uncover and cook 10 additional minutes, or until beef is no longer pink.
Notes
- Instead of steaming the cabbage, an easy way to peel the leaves is to core the cabbage, freeze it overnight, thaw it completely, then peel away...easily!
- Wondering what goes with stuffed cabbage rolls? Well, we like to serve ours with crusty bread, to soak up every last bit of the sauce!
- Don't forget to try our other cabbage recipes, too! You can find some of our favorites in our collection of 35 Easy Cabbage Recipes.
If you enjoyed this old-fashioned recipe, be sure to check out our collection of 12 Traditional German Recipes You Can't Miss.
Did You Know? Stuffed cabbage, also often referred to as "cabbage rolls," is eaten all over the world, though it's most popular in Eastern European cuisine. While our version is stuffed with ground beef and rice, some cultures prefer to use other meats, such as lamb or pork. You can also choose to make the rolls with everything from eggs to veggies and top them a flavorful sauce. The options are basically endless! Whether you make them our way, or make them another way, one thing is true across the board: you need to start with large cabbage leaves. After all, the larger the leaf, the easier it is to roll (and the more you can stuff inside, too!). Did you grow up eating baked stuffed cabbage? How does your family's recipe differ from ours? Let us know in the comments below!