A few years back, my great aunt gave me some cookbooks. They were mostly herbal/hippie books that didn’t have any pictures. I’m a sucker for a pretty recipe book. These were not pretty and the majority of the recipes looked weird…which is saying a lot coming from the girl who puts Swiss chard in everything. But one book caught my attention: The Green Thumb Cookbook. It organizes the recipes by garden produce. Seemed like a book worth keeping, considering the huge garden in the back yard.
Keeping that book was definitely worth it when I discovered this recipe. It’s by far our favorite way to eat cabbage. It’s so sweetly savory. The combination of tomatoes and cabbage, with a bit of beef in there too, is so tasty. I’ll also let you in on a little secret. There will be tomato-y juices leftover. Store those juices in a jar in the freezer, labeled “for soup”, and the next time you whip up a pot of stew, throw in those juices. Delicious. I actually do this with a lot of random leftover bits and juices. My soups are never the same!
I will not lie and say this dish is easy. While the steps aren’t complicated, it takes some time to remove the cabbage leaves and roll them up. But it’s well worth it. I think you’ll love it.
The green beans are in now. I’m off to find a recipe in that cookbook which features the crunchy things. I’ll let you know if I find one that’s not weird.
Adapted from The Green Thumb Cookbook, page 63
1 medium head cabbage
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 T uncooked brown rice
2 T chopped fresh parsley (2 t dried)
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 egg
1 3/4 cups plain tomato sauce
1 cup canned tomato chunks
2 T honey
1/2 cup grated Colby cheese, optional
Put the head of cabbage in a pot. Cover with water. Remove the cabbage and bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat. Submerge the whole head of cabbage in the boiling water and cover. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the beef and onion. Turn off the heat. Add the rice, parsley, salt, pepper, and egg.
When the cabbage is done “cooking”, remove it from the water onto a cookie sheet with sides (to catch any remaining water). Very carefully, remove 12 leaves. Cut the thickest part of center rib out of each leaf, about 1 or 2 inches. There will be a little V in the middle of each leave. Divide the meat filling between the leaves and roll up jelly roll fashion, but tucking in the ends so the filling stays put. Place the rolls in a deep casserole dish.
Pour the tomato sauce, tomato chunks, and honey over the rolls. Cover and bake at 350 for about an hour and a half. Remove the lid, sprinkle with cheese, and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let set a few minutes before serving.
Serves: 4 – 6
Zoe, this looks great! I’ll leave out the ground beef, of course and use brown rice, but I’ve been looking for a stuffed cabbage recipe and I will definitely try this one. Also the idea about saving the juice for soups is terrific…I wonder why I never thought of that??? LOL I hate throwing food down the drain and try to use everything.
My order came yesterday, thanks. I didn’t talk to Mike yesterday but his probably got there, too. Blueberry Buckle today! YAY!
So glad your order arrived safely! And you know what? I think I might make a blueberry buckle today, too. Sounds perfect with some cold milk poured on top.
Oh, and I do use brown rice. Not sure why I typed plain rice! I’ll edit that. If you leave out the beef, you may wish to use more rice and a little more liquid. The beef is the bulk of the filling so there wouldn’t be anything to fill the cabbage with 🙂 I wonder if you couldn’t stuff them with a rice/bean mixture. That way you’d still have a complete protein. Let me know if you give it a try!
Put on some good music, pour a glass of wine and groove on fussing over the cabbage leaves. This is exactly how I do mine (little V’s and all) and if you approach it like a combo of meditation and art form, it’s a very enjoyable process.
Thanks, a rice/ bean mixture is right up my alley. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I core the cabbage first to make it a bit quicker to cook and shave the tough end, rather than cutting. Makes them easier to roll. I also add whole grain rice & regular oatmail. so many different ways and the end is usually pretty darned tasty!
Coring it…good idea! Thanks!
Wait, are you saying it’s easy or not easy? It looks great.
well, I guess it’s easy but it’s just a little messy and time consuming.
I is time consuming, but the end product is well worth it.
The cabbage rolls look yummy! I just harvested a couple heads of cabbage this week. I can hardly wait until the green beans are ready. I planted my late on purpose because of an upcoming vacation so I won’t have any until mid-July. Anyway, we enjoy them lightly cooked then tossed with feta cheese and dill. A friend shared the idea, it’s easy and soooo delicious. Another favorite is the Hot German Green Bean Salad from Simply in Season.
These beans sound delicious! I’ll have to look up that SIS recipe, too. Thanks!
I made these cabbage rolls tonite for dinner……is it possible that the 2 teaspoons of salt is an error in your recipe? Mine were REALLY salty!!
We enjoyed them anyway, but in the future, I will cut way back on salt! 🙂
Oh no! I checked the recipe and the original calls for 3 teaspoons! What tomato products did you use? I don’t salt my home-canned ones very heavily. If you do, maybe cut back on the salt in any of my recipes that call for canned tomatoes 🙂 I ought to write about my home canned tomato products on my “About my Ingredients” page. Hopefully other people aren’t having the same issues 🙂
I’m out of my own canned sauce, so I used unflavored tomato sauce from the good old GIANT!! Also bought canned tomato chunks. Neither was salted or flavored. Not to worry! I’ve made a note on the recipe for next time!
I saw these at the grocery store and thought “who eats these?!” 🙂
Ha! I guess only weirdos like myself 🙂
[…] Brad isn’t a huge fan of cooked cabbage (unless it’s rolled up with beef), he eats this without complaining. I’m sure my kids won’t say I fed it to them all of […]
I do the quick version which is just cutting up the cabbage and throwing it in a pan, adding browned hamburger, seasonings, cooked rice, and diced tomatoes. Heat thru till cabbage is tender and serve. Of course the rolled up babies look better but the taste is the same.
Do you know if you can use bok choy cabbage?
I don’t know much about bok choy! I doubt it would be terrible…probably just different!
[…] Savory Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Green […]
Hi… would you be able to give me the info on that Green thumb cook book please as I have searched and there are a few from different authors and think that I would love to see if I can get a copy…
Sure!
Title: The Green Thumb Cookbook
Author: the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming, edited by Anne Moyer
Published by Rodale Press, Emmaus PA in 1977
Here’s an Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Green-Thumb-Cookbook-Anne-Moyer/dp/087857168X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351798831&sr=8-1&keywords=the+green+thumb+cookbook
[…] Savory Stuffed Cabbage, Aussie Potatoes, Green Beans, […]
This are called Goulpokies in my worls! I am of Polish decent, my maiden name is Kielbasa!!!
*world
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
thanks soo much for the book details…
ok im a begginer cook and the single T confuses me not sure if its Teaspoon or Tablespoon!!!!!
Capital T is a tablespoon, lowercase t is a teaspoon 🙂
[…] Stuffed Cabbage Casserole (this, except instead of rolls, I just use chopped up cooked cabbage and mix it all together), Aussie […]
In most cabbage roll recipes (also called Holubkys) sauerkraut is placed on top of the tomato. It is delicious if you like sauerkraut. Don’t be scared to add that ingredient. It makes all the difference.
Really?! We LOVE sauerkraut but it does sound strange to put fermented cabbage on top of fresh cabbage 🙂
[…] 4 – 6Adapted by ZoeDawn(https://zoedawn.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/savory-stuffed-cabbage-rolls/) from The Green Thumb Cookbook, page […]
I’ve read that if you want to make cabbage rolls, instead of cooking the cabbage beforehand you can put the whole head in the freezer. Once it’s frozen through, thaw it out and the leaves will be wilted enough to roll them.
Now that is a worthwhile tip! Thank you!
If you freeze the head of cabbage then drop in boiling water then straight into an ice bath the leaves come right off. This doesn’t cook the cabbage so when you bake it, then it cooks and your cabbage is less rubbery.
being a 4th generation Polish cook, I boil the cabbage till a fork can be put into the core easily. take it out and run under cold water as you core it. Then shave the spines off so they are easier to roll. I use the spines at the bottom of the pot to keep the bottom row of cabbage rolls from burning. I stuff them with a mixture of meats beef, pork and lamb ground (RAW) and mix with rice cooked. Jasmine rice gives it a great flavor! Add 1 tsp salt 1/4 pepper and a WHOLE lot of chopped garlic! mix all together and stuff the cabbage leaves. put into a pot by layering (or crock pot) when pot is full add 1/2 water over the cabbage rolls (in Polish Golumpki). when done we serve them plain with rye bread and boiled potatoes. try the different blends of meat, delicious!
There are so many ways of getting that cabbage off of the head! Thanks for your input!
Yes, you have right GOŁĄBKI is a Polish dish 😉 The best with tomatoe sauce
Do you combine the honey, tomato chunks & tomato sauce all together before you pour them over the rolls or do them individually?
You could combine them but I just dump them on top. As they cook, they get all mixed together.
WOW! this is totally Romanian! my mother in law makes this all the time. so delicious!
[…] Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Green […]
can’t wait to try these tonight! thanks for posting
I make this but don’t brown the beef. Make it like I would meatloaf and stuff the cabbage. Might take a bit longer to cook, but it sure is yummy!
You know, I was wondering if that would work. So interesting!
Dish similar to this is called sarma all over south-eastern Europe. The biggest difference is that the cabbage leaves used are pickled, so it doesn’t need any pre-cooking. Since pickled cabbage is really salty, it doesn’t need big amounts of tomatoes or cheese. Also my grandma would not use any honey, and as she is the master of cabbage rolls, I wouldn’t dare to mess with family recipe, but it’s great option :). Smells like childhood!
Hello and thanks for the comment! It is really interesting to read all of the variations for these cabbage rolls! If I ever get to south-eastern Europe, I really need to look into eating some of the authentic stuff. I’m sure I’d love it!
What about leaving out the rice to make it low carb? The recipe sounds delicious and I would love to try it, but my boyfriend and I are on a low carb diet.
There is really hardly any rice in this dish. It would still be very low carb with the bit of rice but if you want to leave it out, you should drain the tomatoes or it will be very juicy.
We tried these a few weeks back and they were amazing! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
Do you cook rice first?
Nope – it goes in raw.
[…] Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, […]
Can you make them a few hours before and refrigerate?
Definitely!
Hey this looks great. It is a very familiar dish in my birthplace (Romania). If you ever want to try a twist on this, add some bacon, sub the beef for ground pork, and – if you find them at specialty stores maybe – use pickled cabbage.
i think i’m going to have to replace the beef with paneer (ricotta/cottage cheese) may be and skip the eggs to make a vegetarian version of these cabbage rolls. the tomatoes with a hint of honey sounds good. and the cheese on top, ah.
Go for it! We love the honey in tomato. And skipping the egg will not be a big deal. I’m not entirely sure it’s necessary but the original recipe called for it so I use it 🙂
[…] Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, Salad (with Italian dressing), Jelly […]
Not the original ones sorry. Just plain rice (preferably ‘carolina’), RARE ground veal ( if the best quality),dill and some green onion, boil in water just covering them for about 1h 15′ in medium heat to prevent leaves from opening (NOT OVEN). Squeeze a lemon over them when ready and keep the remaining water to dip in bread! Great aunt’s recipe.
P.S. for god’s sake no honey
[…] Stuffed Cabbage, Roasted Baby Carrots, Salad with Homemade Ranch […]
[…] Cabbage Rolls, Green […]
I place smoked meat in the middle of the casserole dish, place the rolls around it, then cook it.
I also use dill in the water where I boil the cabbage.
[…] Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, Cucumber […]
Last time I made these, I tried putting the cabbage in the Microwave. Worked great! It was easier then boiling and less mess. :~)
I made this twice and both times came out great. I ate stuffed cabbage rolls when I was a little girl at a relatives house and loved it. So I was always searching for a recipe similar to what I ate and this one is just like it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You are welcome!
Can you freeze these after they’re cooked ?
Lynn,
I have never frozen them but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! I have frozen plain cabbage before and it doesn’t seem to have any majorly adverse effects from the process.
I tried this recipe. My rice was completely raw when I tasted it. Have you had this experience? I followed the recipe to the T.
I have had it be minorly crunchy but never raw. Bake it longer next time or use cooked rice. It could probably be skipped altogether, too.
I like to use a recipe that sounds tasty and then I play around with the ingredients a little but this was absolutely amazing! I could have eaten six of these just because of the taste! My itty bitty changes were: reduced the parsley but added basil and oregano all dried herbs, added 2 cloves of garlic to the onions and meat, reduced the salt by one teaspoon. The tomato sauce I used tomato soup (had no sauce on hand) and added 1/2 cup maple syrup (ran out of honey) I mashed the diced tomatoes and mixed all that together then poured on the rolls. Absolutely delicious! Thank you very much for posting this recipe, it is now being tossed around Pinterest too!
So glad they turned out well for you! This post is by far my most popular. I suppose i have pinterest to thank 🙂
Freeze your cabbage head and thaw. Works just like steaming!
Now that sounds easy!
I have been looking for a blueberry buckle recipe for years, 16 to be exact, for my granddaughter. Where did you get yours, please.
I grew up eating it! I do not know where my mom got the recipe. Google it! There are lots of options out there 🙂
FYI…take the core out of the cabbage, turn it upside down in the freezer overnight or for a few hours, the leaves will (pull) or fall apart. You can make your cabbage rolls and place in crock pot. (they will take longer to cook, but I like the cabbage al dente)
Somebody else mentioned the freezer idea. I need to try it!
Reblogged this on The Alpha Gal Allergy Cooking.
was I supposed to use uncook minute rice? I used just regular uncooked brown rice and it stayed uncooked👎 the flavor of everything was awesome(and crunchy😒)
Sorry about that! Happens for me sometimes too. Not sure why it works some of the times and not others! Maybe use white rice?
Hi, do you use instant rice or regular.
Regular! Tho sometimes it’s not fully cooked so maybe instant would be better 🙂
[…] used this recipe as a guideline and tweaked it a little. Here is my […]
Where I’m coming from, they are called “sarmale”. I am positive you can find some pickled cabbage in the grocery store. Might be too salty, but you can reduce the salt you add in the meat mixture. As one of the above said….replace the beef with pork and add some smoked Bacon for a smoked flavor. Serve them with some sour cream.
I made these and they were very good! It sounded like a very weird recipe but both my husband and I really liked it! I will definitely make them again. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you both enjoyed them! Thanks for trying them 🙂
i haven’t had this before, but I will make this soon. thanks for sharing.
I used vegan mushroom burgers vs the beef, some Mrs Dash for the seasoning, part salsa and the rest low sodium spaghetti sauce to this recipe-a keeper 😀
Reblogged this on Prairie Pantry.
We love this recipe! It’s my go-to for comfort food. Thank you for sharing.
Can you put this in the crockpot and have it cook that way?
I haven’t tried it but I wouldn’t see why not. My guess for cook time would be 3-4 hours. Give it a try!
These were great! Made them with cabbage I picked from the garden this afternoon. Yum!
Awesome! Can’t wait for my cabbage …
They r delicious and they r Traditional Romanian “Sarmale” is a Christmas food tradition.
This is a typical Turkish receipe called ‘Lahana sarma or dolma (except honey and cheese). We have an alternative as well: do it without meat but double the onion, use regular rice, small raisins, some nuts and olive oil. You can eat it cold in hot summer days…
It’s a traditional Ukrainian dish. Normally I put leaves in in the water and it’s slowly boiling on a very low. I also add vinegar and salt to the water. The original recipe doesn’t have honey or cheese.
I Just made this dish today! My 14 yr. old couldn’t wait to eat this new dish!
The one thing about living in a small community is that you get to learn interesting things, One thing I learned was to freeze cabbage after cleaning and coring. It takes about 24 hours to thaw, more if it is a large head. Stripping the ridges is so much easier and I don’t burn myself!
I really love this recipe! I didn’t have any ground beef on hand, so I used ground Italian sausage. I also added a couple slices of bacon for extra fatty flavor. I love bacon and it really is the perfect compliment to any dish. I added 2 cloves of garlic as well. The only thing I’ll do differently next time is maybe cook the rice before hand. I cooked the dish well over the 90 minute mark and my rice still came out kinda hard. Other than that, this dish is full of vibrant flavor and I love the addition of honey on top. Somehow I was out of honey though, so I used maple syrup.
If there is one row the rolls should be almost covered with juice. If more than one row, you can leave almost half of the top row uncovered. This should solve the uncooked rice problem. There should be juice left in the pot after it is cooked.
It is wonderful when cookbooks and family recipes get passed down and I was lucky to enjoy the same thing. Thank you for the additional information; it is appreciated! Sheila McVicar
Funny I came across this today! I just made stuff cabbage yesterday, I make mine a little different. I layer spare ribs between the layers of cabbage rolls, you don’t need much but the taste it amazing. I also chop celery, onions and chopped garlic in the tomatoes and pour it over the cabbage rolls. This is how my mother-in-law made them and both my in-laws were Polish. One other thing I do is I take the few dark green tough outer leaves from the cabbage and layer them in the bottom of the pot, this way if there is any scorching it only burns the leaves and not the cabbage rolls.
My g-ma made it sometimes with sauerkraut instead Of meat and rice filling, she was polish and Ukrainian, also did the rib dish here layered with sauerkraut, did it also sometimes with purple cabbage, so changed it around, never any honey, sugar etc tho, lots of garlic, peppers, onions, mushrooms sometimes. All were good, I liked the beef
/pork filling she made the best.
Hi Zoe, I also freeze my cabbage and use savoy type (it’s the curly, mild, burpless kind) and make mine with cooked white rice (ratio of 1/3 of meat), half each of ground beef and pork (raw), no need to precook the meat. Bacon, garlic and onion adds good flavour too. Cheers.
Oh I’m going to try raw meat next time! They would hold together better. Thanks!
I add pork sausage along with the beef it makes them even tastier and then i serve them over mashed potatoes
[…] Savory Stuffed Cabbage Rolls […]
Originally this is a polish recipe. My mother make it every other weekend and we all love it. She uses pork instead of beef and I think that combination of them would work as well.
I have made this many times. My husband loves them.
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I wonder does the flavor change if you use purple cabbage instead of green? I would veganize the recipe with ground Beyond Beef, Just Egg and no cheese.
I doubt it would change! but I don’t have much experience with purple cabbage