Remembering my mother’s stuffed cabbage rolls and finding her recipe in a stack as thick as a book was a happy coincidence. I just purchased a beautiful head of cabbage and was uncertain what I wanted to make with it, but it was too pretty to pass up. So, when I came across the recipe it was a no-brainer.
I’ve tweaked it a bit for my own preference and used brown rice instead of white rice (the texture is better and it’s healthier, folks), and instead of only using tomato soup, I mixed it with a large can of crushed tomatoes.
My stuffed cabbage rolls recipe made 12 rolls, which was plenty for the three of us and a had a few leftover for lunch the next day. If you’re looking for an easy St. Patrick’s Day meal, this one’s it!
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 cup of dry brown rice
- 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 10 ounce can of condensed tomato soup
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe – Directions
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
Peel off the individual leaves from the cabbage head. I chucked the first couple and used the lighter leaves. Boil for 10-15 minutes until you see the leaves start to wilt. Remove from the stove and drain the water out of the pot. I then added cold water to the pot to stop the wilting process. Leave the cold water in the pot for 20 or so minutes and drain thoroughly.
Boil one cup of brown rice according to package directions. Mine called for one cup of brown rice and two cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Double check times and ratios with your particular brand.
Once the rice is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed, add to a medium-sized bowl.
Next, brown one pound of ground beef. Mine was the 80/20 type, but go ahead and use whatever kind you’re comfortable with.
Drain off all of the grease and add the cooked ground beef to the rice. Stir until combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the tomato soup and crushed tomatoes until combined. There will be a few small chunks, so don’t worry if you see some.
This is what the two cans will look like mixed together.
Add 3/4 cup of the tomato mixture to the beef and rice and stir together. This will not only keep the mixture moist, but it binds everything together.
Using a tablespoon, take a heaping spoon of the beef & rice mixture and place it on the inside of a cabbage leaf.
Tuck in the sides of the leaf and roll into a pretty little package.
Add each cabbage roll to your pan. Don’t worry about packing them in, it will keep mixture inside of the leaves.
Add the tomato mixture over the top of the rolls and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when the tomato sauce is bubbling nicely.
Remove from the oven, let sit for 10 minutes, and plate. Make sure to spoon some of that tomato sauce over the top.
Tasty by themselves, we made skin-on, mashed red potatoes as a side dish.
This dish is easy and affordable. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Have you ever made stuffed cabbage rolls from scratch or do you have a favorite, old-fashioned recipe for them? If you do, please let me know in the comments section below how they differ from my recipe. And until the next recipe, happy eating!