Country Cabbage Rolls

These country cabbage rolls are one of my favorite meals. My mom used to make them all the time, and I’ve continued the tradition with my own family. These are balls of mixed beef, onion, and rice that have been wrapped, or rolled up (hence the name), in soft cabbage leaves. They’re baked in a delicious tomato-based sauce that turns what may sound like some rather bland ingredients into a very satisfying and savory meal. You can think of these as cabbage-wrapped dumplings, in a way!

Don’t be put off by the long cooking time. While this isn’t exactly a quick country cabbage rolls recipe, most of the cooking time is when the rolls are in the oven, and you’re not actively cooking. You will have some cooking, such as sauteing an onion and mixing ingredients. But the bulk of the time is inactive for you. You can start these cooking way ahead of mealtime and spend the two hours of cooking time doing something else or preparing another dish for the meal.

The ingredients are simple to find, and honestly, you may have most of them now. The process to make these is also straightforward. When you have the time, give these a try. I think you’ll find the cooking process is a lot simpler than you thought, and that this best country cabbage rolls recipe was well worth it.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• These family friendly country cabbage rolls aren’t really spicy and don’t have unusual ingredients that could turn off picky eaters. If you need a dish that everyone in your family can eat, this is a good choice.
• Making these cabbage rolls doesn’t require a lot of special cooking techniques, so these are really good, easy country cabbage rolls for beginners just learning their way around the kitchen.
• This is an economical meal that your budget will absolutely adore, too.
• I’m a big fan of being able to put vegetables into meals wherever I can, and these cabbage-wrapped, onion-filled cabbage rolls are perfect for that!

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours | Servings: 8

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Ground beef

1 Large head of cabbage

2 C. Cooked rice

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

½ Medium onion chopped

3 large eggs

2 Cans tomato soup

1 Can diced tomatoes

1 Can chicken broth

½ tsp. Garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Ground beef: Use leaner ground beef here such as 85/15. Fattier ground beef could make the dish too greasy. You’re not going to have the chance to drain away fat after cooking the beef.

Cabbage: You do want to use green cabbage here. While you could easily use purple cabbage, the leaves can leach purple color into adjacent foods, making the interior of the roll look a little strange.

Cooked rice: Don’t use uncooked rice here. Cooked rice ensures that the finished rolls will be soft and tender.

Tomato soup plus diced tomatoes: The diced tomatoes give the soup more texture, so don’t think that there are too many tomatoes and that you have to remove some. Use both the diced and the soup.

How to Make It

Step 1. Place the cabbage in a pot of boiling water on the stovetop, turning it often with tongs, or a knife stuck into the core. Remove the outer leaves as they become tender little by little, and set aside. You could try boiling separate leaves, but you’d have to be very careful not to let the leaves become overcooked and mushy.

Step 2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onions until they begin to become tender. This won’t take long.

Step 3. Add the ground beef, cooked rice, onions, eggs, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste to a mixing bowl, and use your hands to combine it well. If you’re not a fan of getting raw meat on your hands (not everyone likes that texture), wear food prep gloves.

Step 4. Place one-third of a cup of the meat mixture into each cabbage leaf. Fold the edges into the middle, and fold the ends in to form a packet around the meat mixture. It won’t look exactly like a cylindrical roll, but it’s close enough.

Step 5. Put the filled cabbage leaves open side down into a 9×13 baking dish. That helps keep the rolls closed during cooking. Putting them seam up allows the rolls to open.

Step 6. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 7. Mix together the tomato soup, diced tomatoes, broth, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Step 8. Pour the tomato mixture over the cabbage rolls in the casserole dish.

Step 9. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours.

Step 10. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Tips for Success

The instructions say to put one-third of a cup of filling in each cabbage leaf. Follow that rule. If you put more in, the meat might not cook all the way through. If you put less in, the cabbage roll could at the very least become overcooked, if not tough or even burnt.

Don’t skip the step where you cover the baking dish with foil before cooking. The foil will help stop sauce from bubbling out of the baking dish. You’ll be glad you covered the dish the next time you go to clean your oven.

Storage & Reheating

You can store leftover cabbage rolls in the refrigerator. Just be sure that the container or bag you use can be sealed airtight because you really don’t want the smell of boiled cabbage to travel throughout your refrigerator. Also, use a shallow container, and place the rolls on one single level only. Don’t try to stack them. You can keep them in the refrigerator for up to four days, and you should reheat them in the oven.

Can you freeze the rolls? Well, the cooked rolls won’t freeze or thaw very well. The cabbage can end up mushy, and the texture can be off. But you can freeze the uncooked rolls assembled without sauce in an airtight freezer bag. When you’re ready to cook those, put them in the refrigerator to thaw and then bake as usual. Be sure to place the rolls on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm them up before wrapping them for longer freezer storage.

Serving Suggestions

For a healthy country cabbage rolls version, serve these with side salads like this Summer Kidney Bean Salad or this Marinated Cucumbers, Onions, and Tomatoes dish. Serve some hearty bread on the side, such as rolls or thick slices of homemade bread. You can also serve the rolls on their own as a simple country cabbage rolls meal. With homemade country cabbage rolls ideas for what else you’re going to serve at a meal should not be difficult to find.

Yum!

Notes

These cabbage rolls are from a Mennonite kitchen, and in fact, you’ll see a lot of recipes actually entitled “Country Cabbage Rolls Straight From a Mennonite Kitchen.” Mennonite recipes tend to be simpler and very hearty. It’s the type of food you might associate with a farm family. However, the dishes are perfect for any kitchen!

Now, remember to save this recipe on Pinterest for later 🙂

Country Cabbage Rolls

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

4.29 from 14 votes

Review Recipe

Ingredients 

• 2 lbs. Ground beef
• 1 Large head of cabbage
• 2 C. Cooked rice
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• ½ Medium onion chopped
• 3 Large eggs
• 2 Cans tomato soup
• 1 Can diced tomatoes
• 1 Can chicken broth
• ½ tsp. Garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place the cabbage in a pot of boiling water on the stovetop, turning it often with tongs, or a knife stuck into the core.
• Remove the outer leaves as they become tender little by little, and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onions until they begin to become tender.
• Add the ground beef, cooked rice, onions, eggs, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste to a mixing bowl, and use your hands to combine it well.
• Place ⅓ of a cup of the meat mixture into each cabbage leaf, fold the edges into the middle and fold the ends in to form a packet around the meat mixture.
• Put the filled cabbage leaves open side down into a 9x13 baking dish.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix together the tomato soup, diced tomatoes, broth and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.
• Pour the tomato mixture over the cabbage rolls in the casserole dish.
• Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours.
• Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 602mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g

Author: Laura