Serves a Crowd

Stuffed Cabbage

January  2, 2025
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0 Ratings
Photo by Noah Tanen
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This simple stuffed cabbage recipe is hearty, delicious, and ultra riffable. It’s also a complete meal, baked directly into a casserole, and makes excellent leftovers. Green or savoy cabbage will work best here, and feel free to use a mix of ground pork, beef, or even lamb. The recipe below calls for all pork, but whatever you prefer or have on hand will do. —Noah Tanen

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Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup short grained white rice, rinsed and drained
  • 2 pounds ground pork
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 whole cabbage head
  • 1 28 oz. can tomato puree
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • fresh dill and sour cream, for serving (optional)
Directions
  1. Start by par-boiling the rice. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the washed rice. Let boil for 5 minutes before draining and running under cold water. Set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. For the filing, add the ground pork, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, chili flakes, chopped dill, and egg to a large bowl. With clean hands, mix thoroughly until incorporated. Set aside.
  3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, use a paring knife to cut the core out of the cabbage. Add the whole head of cabbage to the water, and let boil for 2-3 minutes. The outer leaves of the cabbage will start to come loose, and you should be able to peel them away and out of the water with a pair of tongs. Set aside and repeat the process, letting the outer leaves become soft before removing. You should have enough filling for 12-14 cabbage rolls. Any leftover cabbage can be removed from the water and saved for another recipe.
  4. Once the cabbage leaves are cool, add about 3 tablespoons of the filling to each. Holding the cabbage leaf lengthwise away from you, fold in the sides and roll into a tight log. Set aside and repeat with each leaf, keeping the seam side down.
  5. Add the can of tomato puree to a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour half of the sauce into a 9 x 13 baking dish and spread evenly across the bottom. Add the cabbage rolls, seam side down and packed tightly together. Add ½ cup of water to the remaining sauce and pour evenly over the arranged cabbage rolls. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and put into the preheated oven for 1 hr, or until the rolls are cooked through and the tomato sauce is reduced. Serve immediately, with optional sour cream and extra fresh dill to garnish.

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Recipe by: Noah Tanen

Test Kitchen Content Creator at Food52

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