No summer cookout is complete without a tray of stuffed cabbages! Tender cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, seasoned ground meats, and a rich tomato sauce make this the perfect summer comfort food. Plus this freezes beautifully!
Childhood Memories
This dish, God this dish brings back so many childhood memories that I sat here for 30 minutes in a daze just remembering some of them. There was the time we were harvesting cabbages from our garden and we each got to pick a single plant that we were in charge of to take care of.
Whoever grew the biggest cabbage won. The prize was Mom would cook our favorite dessert to go with her famous stuffed cabbages. That summer I ended up winning.
This cabbage was so huge that I couldn’t lift it. I know I have a picture of me trying to hold it on my lap. I’ll dig it out to share the pic once my arm is better.
I have so many countless memories where our kitchen was soooooooooooooo hot (we didn’t have AC growing up and we only had window fans) and Mom had 3 large canning pots on the stove with boiling water.
She’d make hundreds of stuffed cabbages. I can still remember that hot cabbage smell and hot/wet air in the kitchen. Dad would use the tongs to pull out the leaves and put them in the colander and my Mom, sister, and I would each trim the stems.
How do you refer to these? Some know them as cabbage rolls. Others know them as halupki and others a golumpki. What do you call them?
Ingredients needed to make Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage rolls
Growing up as poor as we were, Mom went with what we had on hand.
- Meat – ground beef and ground pork
- cabbages from our gardens
- Tomato Soup – yes like the canned condensed stuff – soup, not sauce. Using tomato sauce made the dish a bit too “tangy” whereas tomato soup is more mellow on the palate. You want the cabbage to be the star, not the “sauce”.
- Tomato paste – as that will help thicken the juices and keep it more gravy-like
- onions/garlic/seasonings
- cooked rice
How to soften cabbage leaves
To make these, well they aren’t hard but they do take a little bit of time to make. Cabbage leaves, unlike lettuce leaves, you just can’t peel off of the head.
They are hard and if you try to peel them off they’ll crack and or tear. You don’t want that. For these, you want luxurious full leaves. Now everyone has their favorite method to remove the leaves.
Freezer method
Some folks use the freezer method where you put the cabbage head in a brown paper bag and put it in the freezer.
Then once it’s partially frozen you remove it and as it softens the leaves pull off. I don’t like that as I find freezing the leaves messes with the composition of the cabbage leaf. It makes it almost mushy and its integrity is compromised.
Boiling the head of cabbage
For mine, I go with the way Mama taught me.
- Fill a large stockpot with water and bring it to a boil.
- Then take a paring knife and remove the core.
- Carefully add the cabbage into the pot (USE TONGS and go slow!) and boil it for a few minutes checking the leaves.
- In stages, I will slowly pull off the leaves and place them in a colander to drain. Be gentle as you do not want to rip the leaves. This can take 3-10 minutes to do a whole head depending on the size of your cabbage.
How to Shape Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Growing up in Pittsburgh most of the weddings I went to as a kid were ones where the families made the food. We were poor people and hiring a caterer was unheard of plus honestly, no one could match my Mama’s cooking.
At these receptions, you had your mandatory staples – fried chicken, rigatoni, ham, potato or macaroni salad, and stuffed cabbages. Mom always was asked to make her cabbages (along with cookies for the cookie tables).
Pittsburgh weddings “require” a cookie table at receptions. Oh sure there’s a cake, but there must also be 1-2 cookie tables with copious amounts of cookies.
Anyway, let’s talk about making/shaping these cabbage rolls.
- Make sure the leaves are cool enough to touch but not cold. Cold leaves are hard to roll and they will/may tear.
- Use a paring knife to shave away the thick center stem from each leaf. Essentially you’re flattening out the leaf so that the big rind is gone BUT do not cut all the way through.
- Lay a single large leaf down with the cut side facing you.
- Add some of the meat and rice mixture to the lower third part of the leaf – think like when you make a burrito
- Fold the sides in, grab the bottom of the leaf, and roll up snugly like a burrito.
- Repeat until they are all rolled.
Chef’s Tip about using the smaller cabbage leaves
Obviously, as you pluck more leaves off of the cabbage head they will get smaller and smaller. You have 2 choices here:
- When the leaves are small, place 2 leaves side by side but overlapping to create one larger leaf. Stuff and roll up like a larger stuffed cabbage. Or,
- Place them in the pans with the stuffed cabbage rolls as extra cabbage.
Tomato Soup?
This is how the Slovak side of my family has been making it for generations. If you want something else, go for it. That’s not this recipe and I have yet to find another recipe as amazing as this one.
But with the tomato soup, it’s the traditional can of condensed tomato soup. No, you do NOT dilute it or mix it with water when you add it.
Cabbage has a high water content so as it cooks down, that water will combine with the thick condensed and help thin it out. Using the tomato paste will keep from making the ‘sauce’ from getting too thin. You should have a gravy that coats the stuffed cabbages rather than well, spoons of watery soup.
Cooking Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbages
One thing to keep in mind when making these is that they will need to cook for a few hours for the cabbage to get super tender. You don’t want the cabbage to have firmness or bite. You want to be able to pretty much cut it with a fork.
But back to these cabbages…
These to me mean summer. Gardens are growing, families are having cookouts and kitchens are full of people making these.
As I was saying earlier, there were at least 4 of us making these as it was a job. Often my Mom’s best friend (and neighbor) would come over and help us. Often they’d split the bounty and ingredients.
Mom would make the rice, cabbage, and other stuff while Mrs. H. would bring the ground meat(s).
Making Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbages Keto-Friendly or Gluten-Free
Oh, rice – I love you but I hate you at times. This is where you do have some liberties.
Some easy substitutes could be:
- Cooked Quinoa
- Cauliflower Rice (raw)
What other meats can you use in these stuffed cabbage rolls?
Mom used a meat mixture that was all ground beef or a mixture of ground beef and pork. I tend to personally like the addition of the ground pork as it gives the dish a bit more richness to it however you can totally go with all ground beef if you wish.
If you want a lighter variation of this you can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken.
One thing to keep in mind about meat substitutions
Ground turkey or chicken is very lean thus little fat. You will need to add in some fat in it (add some ground dark meat) to the mix to avoid it from drying out.
How to Freeze Mom’s Classic Stuffed Shells
I make mine the way Mom did – a big batch at once so I have enough for a meal and plenty for the freezer. When cabbage is in season, it’s the perfect time to fill up that freezer for winter meals.
Roll, Bake, and Freeze
- This is the method all of the prior generations on my Mom’s side did and how I do it. Once the stuffed cabbages are done baking, allow them to cool completely.
- In a freezer-safe container, add a layer of tomato soup on the bottom. Place a layer of cabbage rolls, and another layer of tomato soup and then place the lid on.
- Double-wrap the container in plastic wrap then foil. Again, this is what Mom did.
- Place in the freezer for up to 6 months.
When it comes to the containers I use I use one of two items:
- Stackable, BPA-free freezer containers like these
- Freezer-to-Oven glass containers like these
How to reheat Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
As I mentioned, when fresh cabbage is in season, I make a big tray like this just for the two of us but half of them I freeze.
To reheat, I’ll take one of the containers out of the freezer and allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight.
When I’m ready to reheat I’ll do the following:
Stored in a Freezer-to-Oven container
- Remove the foil and the plastic wrap.
- Bring the container to room temperature (typically while the oven is heating up). Just make sure the dish is not cold when you put it in the oven else it could crack.
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and rack in the middle.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil.
- Place the room-temp container on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any overflow.
- Bake for 350F or until the centers are hot.
Stored in a non-ovenproof container
- Remove the foil and the plastic wrap.
- Transfer the stuffed cabbages to a lightly sprayed baking dish.
- Add in some tomato soup on the bottom, place in the cabbage rolls, and top with a little more tomato soup.
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and rack in the middle.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil.
- Place the room-temp container on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any overflow.
- Bake for 350F or until the centers are hot.
What to serve with Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
In my world only 2 things go absolutely PERFECT with these:
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes (creamy or chunky)
- Homemade bread
What else goes well with this?
What do you serve with it?
Slow Cooker Instructions
You can absolutely make these in the slow cooker if you do not want to heat up your house by turning on the oven.
- Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Follow the instructions below how explain to you how to add them to the pan in layers.
- Add in soup, a row of stuffed cabbage rolls, some of the smaller leaves, and repeat – soup, cabbage, leaves ending with the last of the tomato soup.
- Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 1/2 hours
- Category: Stuffed
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Comfort food
No summer cookout is complete without a tray of stuffed cabbages! Tender cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, seasoned ground meats and a rich tomato sauce make this the perfect summer comfort food. Plus these freeze beautifully!
Ingredients
- 1 large size head cabbage (about 3–5 pounds)
- 1 lb ground beef (or 1 1/2 lbs if not using pork)
- 1/2 pound ground pork (omit if using all beef)
- 1 medium onion, chopped small
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups cooked, cooled white rice
- 3 10.75 ounce cans tomato soup (if using a deep dish pan with a 3” side use 4 cans)
Instructions
Prepare the cabbage
- Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling, salted water. Cover and cook 3 minutes, or until softened enough to pull off individual leaves. If the leaves do not pull off easily, return the cabbage to the pot to boil a minute or two more. When the leaves are cool enough, use a paring knife to shave away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through.
Make the meat mixture
- In a large bowl, add the ground beef, pork, rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs, ketchup, tomato paste, and parsley. Mix gently to combine. Add in 2/3rd of a can of tomato soup (almost 3/4 of a cup) and mix.
Assemble the cabbage rolls
- To stuff the leaves lay down a single large leaf with the cut edge facing you (where the stem was) and place about a 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in the lower third of the leave. If the leaf is huge add more, if smaller add less meat. Fold the sides of the leaf over the meat and roll the cabbage up (like rolling a burrito). Repeat until all of the leaves are stuffed. If you have extra meat just roll it up as meatballs and place it in the baking pan with the stuffed cabbage.
Prepare to bake
- Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the center.
- In a large deep dish (4” at least) baking pan (or two 9×13” glass pans), spread out the remaining soup from the open can on the bottom of the pan. Open up a 2nd can pour out 1/2 of it and spread it out until the bottom of the pan is covered in a light coating.
- Place a single layer of stuffed cabbages on the bottom of your pan. Add the remaining half of the 2nd can of tomato soup. If you have leaves that are too small to stuff or are badly torn, add them on top of the soup.
- Add the 2nd layer of stuffed cabbage (you must make sure you have a 1/2” gap at the top of your pan and stuffed cabbage. It cannot go over the top of the pan. Top with the remaining can of tomato soup and spread out evenly.
- Spray the underneath of a large piece of foil. Place foil side down on the pan and close tightly around the dish. Place the pan on a larger cookie sheet to catch any spillovers.
- Bake for 3 – 4 hours or until the cabbage is tender when pierced with a knife. (I start to check mine after 2 hours 45 minutes).
- Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Aleta says
I have never made cabbage rolls before, believe it or not, and yet they are one of my husbands favourite dishes! I do lasagna with cabbage leaves but have never made these. I’ve pinned this recipe for next week! My husband is going to be so excited!
TKWAdmin says
Oh you’re going to be the best spouse ever when you make these! Tee Hee!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Amy says
These look amazing! I have great memories of my grandma making this dish for when we would visit. I can’t wait to try this recipe and re-live the memories!
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Amy! I can’t wait for you to try these!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
There really is nothing like recipes from Mom! Can you believe I’ve never had these? Apparently they’re a comfort food classic, and I’m missing out!!
TKWAdmin says
Oh Kylie you will fall in LOVE with these after the first bite!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Loreto Nardelli says
Thank you for sharing those wonderful childhood memories. I grew up in an Italian family, however we had a lot of Ukrainian friends and I exactly know about making lots of cabbage rolls. My mom and her friends made hundreds and shared them with friends and into the freezer they went. I love the texture and taste of the cabbage and filling paired with that rich tomato sauce. However when you described swirling the stuffed cabbage in those delectable mashed creamy potatoes i was taken over the edge of indulgence! Lol.
Great post!
Loreto
TKWAdmin says
I can’t wait for you to try these Loreto and most definteily make mashed potatoes with it! It’s EPIC!
Tatiana says
These look so amazing! I’ve never had stuffed cabbage before so I’ll have to try it out! Thank you!
TKWAdmin says
You’re most welcome!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Lizzy says
This is such a warming, classic recipe – I feel like these would be perfect for a potluck, to share some heritage and bring something other than dessert for once
TKWAdmin says
OMG yes these rock at a potluck! If you have a friend going with you, have them bring the mashed potatoes. You both will be the stars of the dinner!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Carol Kizner says
My mom was Ukranian/Polish and she always made these with tomato soup. These are definitely authentic. The only difference was, she used less ground beef. I think the reason was she came from a very poor family. Thanks for a really good recipe!
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Carol!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Mary SJ says
My wonderful mother-in-law’s recipe is so similar, right down to the undiluted tomato soup! She taught us to cook these in batches in our trusty pressure cooker with a rack in bottom for 15 minutes then cool the cooker slowly under cool water until the safety drops. We would then resume with the next batch. Scrumptious! Nowadays, folks buy and use instant pots so you could probably cook them in one of them.
TKWAdmin says
This is one dish I’ve not made in the IP. I use mine multiple times a week but there are a few dishes that I feel you need that long, slow cook to get that deep flavor. I’ll have to try it though and see.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Tim says
Turned out great, I added a couple Tbs of Worcestershire to mine. Seemed to enhance the flavors more.
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Tim! I really appreciate it! Oh great idea about adding that!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Judy says
Have you tried cream sauce yet? My recipe is similar to yours up until the sauce. Mine sauce is made with cabbage water and condensed cream of celery soup. My family has done the taste test as I made half and half and the cream sauce won.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Judy!
Interesting, I haven’t. To me I always went with a red/tomato sauce. Sounds interesting!
Best Kitchen Wishes!