Cabbage Rolls

4.75 from 8 votes

These delicious Cabbage Rolls are stuffed with ground meat and rice then baked in a simple tomato sauce for an easy comfort meal.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2 12

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Ukrainian

Total Cost: $15.49 recipe / $1.94 serving

Servings: 2 rolls each

Author: Olena Osipov

Ingredients

1 large head cabbage* $3.36
1 Tbsp olive oil $0.22
2 large onions, finely chopped $1.40
4 cloves garlic, minced $0.16
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning $0.30
2 tsp salt $0.06
2 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper, divided $0.34
1 lb. ground beef extra lean** $8.46
1 lb. ground pork $2.27
1 cup white rice, uncooked, rinsed & drained $0.49
1 28oz can tomato sauce $1.63
4 cups chicken broth, low sodium $0.52

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Bring a large stock pot with salted water to a boil. Add a head of cabbage to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Use a large fork to partially lift the cabbage from the water, then with a paring knife, remove the softened outer leaves. Place the cabbage back in the pot and repeat until all leaves are removed.
Preheat a large skillet on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the Italian seasoning and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring a few times. Transfer the onions and garlic to a large bowl.
To the same bowl, add the ground beef, ground pork, uncooked rice, salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper and mix well using your hands.
Remove the thick stem on the cabbage leaves. Lay the cabbage leaf flat, add 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup of the filling in the center, tuck in the sides and roll the cabbage up. Place the rolls with the seam side down in a large Dutch oven***. Repeat with remaining ingredients, overlapping two smaller leaves if needed to hold the filling.
In a large bowl combine the tomato sauce, chicken broth, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir the ingredients together, pour the mixture over the cabbage rolls and cover with a lid.
Bake them for 90 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 15 minutes and serve hot with sour cream and dill (optional).

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Notes

*Buy a large head of cabbage, so you have larger leaves to work with and extra ones, just in case. If you do not love boiling cabbage, consider buying savoy cabbage. Its leaves are soft and require no pre-cooking before rolling.

**I recommend using a combination of ground beef and ground pork for maximum flavor. However, you can use only ground beef or ground pork if that’s all you have. If you want to make this recipe leaner, mix ground chicken or ground turkey with a more high-fat content ground meat like ground beef or ground pork. Cabbage rolls made with only poultry will turn out dry.

***If you don’t have a Dutch oven, a large, deep baking sheet tightly covered with a double layer of aluminum foil will work. Your cabbage rolls will need a bit more cooking time, though.

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