Stuffed cabbage rolls made from juicy pork and beef meatballs wrapped in tender fresh cabbage leaves and smothered in a tangy homemade tomato sauce. Make it ahead and pop it in the oven to bake for a quick and easy meal the whole family will love.
Cabbage has to be one of my favourite vegetables. It’s so versatile – there is so much that you can do with it. For instance, you can shred it with carrots and cover with a tangy dressing to make a coleslaw.
I also like to boil it until it is just cooked and then drain and mix in a tablespoon of cornflour until there are no lumps. Then I add a cup of milk and a knob of butter and boil until thickened. Add plenty of ground black pepper, and there you have it – instant cabbage and creamy sauce in one pot – delicious served with a roast.
I even eat it steamed and topped with a knob of butter.
So you can imagine my disappointment when not one, but all three of my children hated cabbage and refused to eat it. Until I presented them with stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce that
If you are a lover of cabbage you also might to like to try this sautéed cabbage recipe from WellPlated.com.
How do you make stuffed cabbage rolls?
Stuffed cabbage rolls are really easy to make. You just form minced pork and beef into meatballs and roll them up in cabbage
Ingredients
To make it easy for you to draw up your shopping list, I’ve listed the ingredients here:
For the cabbage rolls
- Cabbage leaves
- Equal quantities of beef and pork mince (250g each)
- Cooked rice (1 cup)
- 1 egg
- Chopped onion
- Minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped parsley
For the tomato sauce
- Sunflower oil
- Chopped onion
- Minced garlic
- Tomato pasata (not paste)
- Tin chopped tomatoes
- Brown Sugar
- Red Wine vinegar
- Chilli paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
This recipe uses rice instead of breadcrumbs as a filler for the meatballs. The rice helps to absorb the juices from the meat and tomato sauce as the dish cooks, and prevents it from being too watery.
Timing
This dish takes around 2 hours and 15 minutes to make and this may seem like a long time.
I’ve broken it down into the different steps so you can see where the time is used. You could also prepare this the day before and let it stand in the fridge overnight and then pop it in the oven the next day.
Some of the steps can be done simultaneously. For instance, you could start the sauce while the cabbage is softening, and roll the meatballs while the sauce is simmering.
- Prepare the cabbage – 15 minutes
- Mix ingredients for the meatballs – 5 minutes
- Roll the meatballs into the cabbage leaves – 20 minutes
- Prepare the sauce – 30 minutes
- Put into a baking dish – 5 minutes
- Bake – 1 hour
Prepare the cabbage
I used a savoy cabbage for this dish, but you can use any cabbage of your choice as long as the leaves are large enough to wrap around the meatballs.
You can either steam the cabbage or you can boil the cabbage in a saucepan large enough to take the whole cabbage.
The cabbage leaves need to be pliable enough to roll around a meatball.
You need to cook the cabbage just long enough for the outer leaves to pull away easily. If the inner leaves are still too hard to pull off, just continue cooking for another few minutes until they soften and pull away easily.
Steam – place the whole cabbage in a steamer and let it steam for about 8 minutes.
Boil – place the whole cabbage in a large saucepan of water and boil for about 8 minutes.
You will need about 16 cabbage leaves. Be careful when pulling them off the cabbage, they will be very hot.
If the inner leaves do not all come off steam or boil for a bit longer.
Steps to assemble
Mix the mince filling Slice the vein from the back of the cabbage leaf Place a ball of mince on the cabbage leaf Fold the bottom up and the sides in and roll Make chunky tomato sauce layer the cabbage rolls on the tomato sauce
Prepare the mince for the filling
Chop the onions and place with the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine.
I like to use half beef and half pork mince but you could use all beef if you prefer.
Note – the onions are quite coarsely chopped. They do not have to be as finely chopped as they would be for regular meatballs.
Trim the vein from the back of the cabbage leaf
Cabbage leaves have a thick vein running down the back which makes them difficult to roll. Just slice through this vein with a sharp knife to remove it.
Roll the meatballs
Take a spoonful of the mince mixture and form it into a short sausage shape.
Place on the base of a cabbage leaf.
Tip – keep a bowl of clean cold water next to you so that you can dip your hands. The meat will not stick to your hands if they are wet.
Form the cabbage rolls
Fold the bottom of the cabbage leaf over the meat and then fold both sides in.
Continue to roll until you have a sausage shape.
Note – If you run out of large cabbage leaves, you can overlap 2 smaller ones. The result will be the same .
If you are having difficulty in getting the cabbage rolls to keep their shape, you can secure them with a toothpick. Just remember to remove the toothpicks before serving.
Make the tomato sauce
Heat the oil in a saucepan (use a saucepan that has a lid).
Fry the onions gently in the oil until they start to soften. Do not allow to brown.
Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes with the saucepan lid on.
The sauce should be quite thick and chunky.
Assemble the dish
Spoon half of tomato sauce into a baking dish.
Arrange a layer of cabbage rolls on the tomato sauce.
Cover with the remaining tomato sauce.
If you only have a small baking dish, you can make more than one layer. Just cover each layer of cabbage rolls with tomato sauce and ensure you leave sufficient sauce to cover the final layer of cabbage rolls.
Bake the cabbage rolls
Cover the baking dish with a layer of aluminium foil and bake in a medium oven 175C / 350F for about an hour.
The cabbage should be soft and juicy and the meat should be cooked through. You can test by cutting one of the rolls in half. The meat should not be pink.
FAQ
You can assemble the dish and freeze before baking.
Cook from frozen, but allow an additional 30 minutes of cooking time.
Yes, you can freeze the leftovers and then defrost and reheat in the microwave.
I always use a mixture of beef and pork when I make meatballs because I think that pork adds a lot of
Yes, you can, provided you have a pan large enough to make sure the cabbage rolls are submerged in the tomato sauce. In this case I would simmer with the lid on for at least 45 minutes. Also you would need to watch that it does not dry out.
Equipment
You will need the following equipment to make this dish. I’ve included some links to Amazon in case you need to buy anything:
- Mixing bowl – for making the meatballs mexture
- Steamer – A steamer where the baskets do not have removable bottoms is much more convenient to use.
- Large Saucepan – if you are not using a steamer you will need this to soften the cabbage
- Baking dish – I like to use a baking dish with handles which means it is easier to take out of the oven
- Sharp knife – handy for slicing the vein off the cabbage leaf.
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Recipe – Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the Cabbage Rolls
- 1 large cabbage
- 250 g beef mince
- 250 g pork mince
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup chopped parlsey
For the Tomato Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup Pasata
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Chilli Paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the cabbage Rolls
- Place the head of cabbage in a steamer and steam for about 8 minutes until the outer leaves are soft enough to remove. Alternatively, boil the cabbage for about 8 minutes.
- Pull off about 16 cabbage leaves.
- Remove the vein from the cabbage leaves with a sharp knife
- Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly to combine.
- Take a spoonful of the mince mixture and form it into a short sausage shape.
Place on the base of a cabbage leaf. - Fold the bottom of the cabbage leaf over the meat and then fold both sides in.
Then continue to roll until you have a sausage shape.
For the tomato sauce
- Heat the oil in a saucepan (use a saucepan that has a lid).
Fry the onions gently in the oil until they start to soften. Do not allow to brown. - Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes with the saucepan lid on
Assemble and bake
- Place a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Arrange a layer of cabbage rolls on the tomato sauce.
- Cover each layer of cabbage rolls with tomato sauce.
- Cover the baking dish with a layer of aluminium foil and bake in a medium oven 175C / 350F for about an hour.
Notes
The cabbage leaves need to be pliable enough to roll around a meatball. If the inner cabbage leaves do not all come off steam or boil for a bit longer. Don’t forget to slice the back of the large vein away using a sharp knife. This makes it much easier to roll the cabbage leaves. If you have difficulty in forming the rolls, secure the cabbage with a toothpick. Just remember to remove the toothpick before serving. I like to use half beef and half pork mince but you could use all beef if you prefer. The cabbage rolls should be well-covered with the tomato sauce. The calorie count may vary depending on the fat content of your mince and also on the size of the serving portions.
The calorie count has been calculated using an on-line calculator and is provided for information purposes only. If the calorie count is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, please don’t forget to give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you’d like to get in touch, you can email me on [email protected] I’d love to hear from you.
Related Recipes
Why not try some of my other easy supper recipes, or try one of these other mince dishes:
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