Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls (Inspired by Nan)

Name: Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls (Inspired by Nan)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 135 min
Total time: 195 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cooked long-grain rice (or similar variety (you'll need about 1/3 cup of uncooked rice to yield 1 cup of cooked rice)); 1.5 pounds lean ground beef (or extra lean ground beef); 1.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 1 large egg; 1 yellow onion (peeled and minced); 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley; 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1.5 teaspoons salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon dried dill (dill weed); 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (crushed red pepper flakes) (optional); 3 (13.5-ounce) cans tomato sauce; 1 medium head green cabbage; 1/2 cup water (leftover from boiling cabbage); Chopped fresh dill (garnish to taste (optional))

Published: October 20, 2019 Updated: February 11, 2020 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 97 Comments

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These easy old-fashioned cabbage rolls are stuffed with a savoury ground beef mixture, coated in tomato sauce and are oh so scrumptious! Inspired by my grandmother, it’ll be the only stuffed cabbage roll recipe you’ll need!

Old-fashioned cabbage rolls with tomato sauce and dill garnish in a serving dish.

Hi friends!

Today I’m sharing another family recipe with you!

I mentioned a while back that I would share this easy cabbage roll recipe with you guys one day and I couldn’t be more excited to do so!

These old-fashioned cabbage rolls are inspired by my grandmother or, as I call her, Nan.

For as long as I can remember, Nan was known in our family for her stuffed cabbage rolls.

She actually learned to make them from my grandfather (pop) when he was just a young fellow working and living in Toronto with his friend’s family, who were Polish.

When I attempted to get the recipe from Nan, I had to question some things she was telling me (or wasn’t telling me, LOL). I tease, I tease!

Did you ever watch Everybody Loves Raymond? There’s an episode where Debra gets her mother-in-law’s recipe for meatballs, but they didn’t quite turn out the same because her mother-in-law secretly replaced a bottle of basil with tarragon by disguising the label.

Nan laughed when I teased her about it, but I think she’s proud of how these turned out.

In all seriousness, though, I made a couple of tweaks to put my own spin on them but, at the heart, they’re Nan’s.

And when I cook them? All I think about is how much the house smells like hers when she makes them. Who would have thought that stuffed cabbage leaves could be so delicious? That smell and taste just makes me happy.

Cabbage Roll Ingredients

Cabbage (I use standard green cabbage, but you could use savoy).
Cooked rice
Egg
Aromatics, like onion and garlic
Herbs, like parsley and dill
Seasonings, like Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder, red chili flakes (chili flakes are optional)
Tomato sauce
Water

How To Make Cabbage Rolls

Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

Prepare the meat filling

In a bowl, combine ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, egg, cooked rice, minced onion, parsley, salt, pepper, dill, onion powder, red chili flakes (optional) and tomato sauce.
Next, simply mix to combine everything.

Collage of steps to make the ground meat filling for a stuffed cabbage roll recipe.

Prepare the cabbage

The easiest way to prepare cabbage for stuffed cabbage rolls is to place the full head of clean cabbage in a pot of boiling water, cover with lid ajar and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. You can carefully flip cabbage over partway through.

Tip: Don’t fill your pot of water to the brim. When you place the head of cabbage in there, it will displace some of the water. To be sure how much water you’ll need, test it out before bringing the water to boil.

Next, remove cabbage leaves and core:

Once cabbage is cool enough to handle, cut off leaves (one at a time).
Then remove core from each leaf.

Tip: As you get so far into removing the leaves, you will have to place the head of cabbage back in boiling water to soften those leaves further in the centre of the cabbage.

Collage of steps to remove the leaves and core from cabbage.

Stuff the cabbage rolls

Place about ¼ cup of filling in the cabbage leaf (I like to shape into somewhat of a log).
Fold over sides of cabbage.
Roll up.

Collage of steps to stuff and roll cabbage rolls.

Assemble stuffed cabbage rolls in baking dish and bake

Place some cabbage leaves in the bottom of a greased baking dish.
Top with stuffed cabbage rolls.
Mix tomato sauce with a little reserved cabbage water and pour over top.
Cover with more cabbage leaves, then tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the cabbage rolls are fully cooked through. That’s it! You’ve made delicious old-fashioned cabbage rolls!

Collage of steps to assemble cabbage rolls and tomato sauce in a baking dish.

Can I Thicken the Cabbage Roll Sauce?

If you want things a little thicker, place the tomato sauce into a saucepan over medium heat.

Allow it to come to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, until it has reduced to the consistency that you like.

Stuffed cabbage rolls in a baking dish with tomato sauce on top.

Leftovers

Properly store leftover cabbage rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 2 to 4 days. Reheat before serving.

Old-fashioned cabbage rolls piled high with tomato sauce over them.

How to Reheat Cabbage Rolls

To reheat cabbage rolls, place them in a pan (over medium heat) with a little tomato sauce and splash of water. Cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Alternatively, you can reheat in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. Place cabbage rolls in a baking dish (with a some tomato sauce and splash of water). Loosely cover with aluminum foil. Cook for about 30 to 40 minutes or until heated through.

Cabbage roll with tomato sauce and dill, sitting on a spatula.

Serving Suggestions

These old-fashioned cabbage rolls are super hearty all on their own. However, if you want to make things even more substantial with garnish or sides, any of these work:

Sauerkraut (and, honestly (though not traditional), I love cabbage rolls with kimchi)
Sour cream
Homemade bread
Mashed potatoes
Skillet potatoes
Simple side salad
Splash of vinegar (I love a little touch of vinegar on my cabbage rolls). The little bite just works!

Close-up of a homemade cabbage roll with tomato sauce and dill garnish.

Tips for Making These Old Fashioned Cabbage Rolls

Use lean or extra lean ground beef. If the beef is too fatty, it will leak out into your tomato sauce and the end result will be too greasy.
Roll the cabbage leaves tight and place in the baking dish seam side down.
You can add a little brown or white sugar to your tomato sauce if you want less of a tomato bite.
If you use no salt added tomato sauce, you may have to add a little salt to the mix. Just add to taste.
Alternatively, you can replace some of the tomato sauce with canned tomatoes. Use diced or whole peeled tomatoes (crush whole canned tomatoes with your hands or a potato masher before using). If opting for this, use one (28 ounce) can of tomatoes, along with one (13 to 14 ounce) can of tomato sauce.
To add more richness to the tomato sauce, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste into the sauce/water mixture when pouring over the stuffed cabbage rolls.

A stuffed cabbage roll on a plate, showing the meat filling interior.

Like This Stuffed Cabbage Roll Recipe? You May Enjoy These Too

Hope you love these easy cabbage rolls as much as we do! We think they’re the best cabbage rolls because they’re inspired by Nan.

If you make this stuffed cabbage roll recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!