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Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

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Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Stuffed cabbage is a perfect dish when you you want to use leftover’s in your refrigerator. I had pasta meat sauce and brown rice already, so this was easy to put together. It’s a lot
of steps, but well worth it.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 12th Edition. The great thing about this recipe is you can use what you have on hand, for the beef, you can substitute pork or chicken or sausage, you can use any kind of rice and add the seasonings that you prefer.

I have Bavarian Seasoning from Penzey’s Spice. This just sounds like something I would order in a Bavarian Restaurant so I went with the feeling and it worked great.
STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES

Yield: serves 4

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This is a fantastic recipe for cold weather. Use any leftover ingredients that you may have in the refrigerator, such as rice or tomato sauce.

Ingredients

  • 8 large cabbage leaves
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 tbsp. butter
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 2 c. minced cooked beef or pork
  • 2 c. cooked rice ( I used brown rice)
  • 1/4 c. parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. rosemary ( I didn't have rosemary, so I used Penzey's Bavarian Seasoning)
  • I also added Penzey's Minced Garlic and Toasted Onion- 1 tsp each
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 3/4 c. gravy ( or a meat sauce~ gravy, juice or strong bouillon) I used meat sauce from the night before.
  • 16 oz. can tomatoes ( I used 1- 24 oz can of Tomato sauce)

Instructions

  1. Boil water in a large pot.
  2. Add cabbage leaves and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Carefully lift out the leaves and let drain on a towel.
  4. Cut a small V out of the root end to remove the hard spine of the leaves.
  5. Saute onions in butter until soft.
  6. If you need to brown any ground beef, do it at this time in the same pan with the onions.
  7. Drain off any fat.
  8. Add seasonings, rice and gravy.
  9. Stir well to combine all these ingredients.
  10. Spoon about 1/8 of the mixture on each of the cabbage leaves.
  11. Fold in sides and roll to make a neat sausage-shaped package ( Like a burrito).
  12. Place seam-side down in a greased baking pan.
  13. Pour tomatoes sauce over the rolls.
  14. Cover lightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
© Moore or Less Cooking
Cuisine: American / Category: Baked

Recipe semi adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook

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Comments

  2. Jett Whitfield says

    Oh Nettie – thank you for bringing back some wonderful memories! I grew up on cabbage rolls and Polish sausage. We used to call these “galumpkees” (not sure how to spell it!-LOL) Thank you for posting =)

    Reply

    • nettiemoore11 says

      The cabbage is just quickly blanched so that it can be pliable for filling, it is not fully cooked, you can look and see as you are cooking the stuffed cabbage after a half hour if that is plenty time for all of the ingredients to meld together. I have baked for 50 minutes and it tasted perfect to me.

      Reply

  6. Jerry Daszko says

    I like my filling to stick together, so I either use raw ground meat, or add a couple of beaten eggs to bind everything together. Even if using fully-“cooked” ingredients, I still like to braise the rolls for AT LEAST an hour (two hours is even better) to make sure the cabbage is very tender. Long slow cooking time also allows the flavors to blend together. The best golabki (yes, that’s the proper Polish spelling) I’ve ever made I made in an enameled cast-iron pot in the over set to 200 degrees Fahrenheit overnight (eight hours). The golabki were so tender I could cut them with a spoon, and yet the filling was still a bit firm and sticking-together…perfect! I also love garlic in my golabki, and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper. And always serve with sour cream!

    Reply

  7. Sandra says

    I was just thinking about doing stuffed bell peppers and came across your recipe for the stuffed cabbage, I have a question, why does my cabbage come out not done? any special timing on cooking this. Anyone can help me on this.

    Reply

  9. rita says

    You can also put this is a crockpot instead of the oven, if you prepare it in the morning……..great either way.

    Reply

  10. Mary S says

    I have got to buy a large cabbage! This is making my mouth water. I never had stuffed cabbage leaves growing up. There were 12 in our family and my mother would not make cabbage rolls for 12 people. So I had to wait until I left home to make them. I haven’t made them for a few years. I guess it’s times I get to work. Your recipe is almost exactly like mine. The only real difference is that I season and cook down the tomato sauce a little before I pour it over the rolls. Thank you for sharing this and reminding me. 🙂

    Reply

  12. eleanor hohman says

    I make stuffed cabbage rolls all the times, I have never cooked hamburger or rice ahead of time.i add 2 eggs, 1/2 of sleeve of crushed crackers to about 3 lbs of hamburger, some garlic, about 1 tb A1 sauce, add about 1/4 cup of milk. Salt pepper some garlic, mix altogether then stuff cabbage. I blanch my cabbage like you do. Then I mix 1 large can stewed tomatoes. I large can of tomatoe sauce. together, add 1 tb A!~ sauce, , some sugar , 1 tsp oregano, some garlic, some Italian seasoning. and 1tb. vinager. Put some on the bottom of pan. pour rest over cabbage rolls. Bake 350degres abot 21/2 hrs. covered. iIf you need more sauce mix 1/2 can of beef broth with 1 can tomatoe sauce and pour that over it. I forgot add 1 small onion to Hamburger mixture

    Reply

  14. Linda (Meal Planning Maven) says

    It’s a chilly day here in Florida and this dish would be perfect for dinner tonight!

    Reply

  25. Lemony Thyme says

    This could be a weekly staple for us. All those leftover ingredients would be so happy to find their way into your Stuffed Cabbage Leaves <3 Love.

    Reply

  29. Shelley Fulton says

    My German Oma makes wonderful stuffed cabbage, and it’s so nice to have found your recipe so I can easily make it anytime myself! It never occurred to me that it’s actually a terrific way to use up leftovers, but that makes total sense! So great! 😀 ~Shelley from Two Healthy Kitchens

    Reply

    • nettie says

      I bet your Oma’s recipe is wonderful Shelley! Yes it is a great way to use leftovers, melding those incredible flavors! Nettie

      Reply

  37. barb quinn says

    I am going to make this tonite. I also have Penzey’s Bavarian seasoning and always wondered what I was going to use it in. Now I have something. Thank you very much for the idea.

    Reply

  38. Beth says

    This version looks so good and simple! The ones I make, not so often as it’s an all day job, I use raw ground chuck and raw rice along with all seasonings, use every leaf of cabbage, make sauce seperately, pour over them, cover big Magnalite roaster with lid, and bake in oven for several hours! They are great, but seldomly made, too long process! I’ll try yours! Thank you for sharing!!

    Reply
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