Ground beef, Italian sausage, long grain rice, and plenty of flavorful seasonings are stuffed inside tender cabbage leaves then doused in tomato sauce in this cabbage roll recipe.
Why this recipe works
Cabbage rolls are a true comfort dish stuffed with a variety of different flavors and textures from the rice to the meat and the soft cabbage leaves that hug them together, and they couldn’t be any easier to make. They’re great for meal prepping ahead and throwing in the freezer for those nights you just don’t feel like cooking.
I especially love cabbage rolls with a side of potato pancakes or roasted potatoes for a real stick-to-your-belly meal.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
MEAT – We used 1 lb of ground beef and 1 lb of ground sausage, but it’s really up to you what you use. You can use a combination of meat or just stick to one. Ground turkey, hot Italian sausage, venison, chicken, lamb, and pork all work great so long as it is grounded/minced. While some recipes call for precooking the meat, there is no need to do so here. It will cook up just fine in the oven.
RICE – Long grain white rice or brown rice can be used. The rice should be precooked before adding to the rolls to ensure doneness.
SAUCE – The tomato soup addition to the tomato sauce adds a little sweetness to the sauce and helps to cut the acidity down a bit. You can add additional herbs and spices to the tomato sauce if desired. However, do not add more salt – the tomato soup has enough already.
How to Make Cabbage Rolls
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- You will need to soften the cabbage leaves in order to make them more pliable for rolling. You can boil or steam the cabbage leaves. I find it easiest to gently remove the leaves from the head of cabbage and place them in a large bowl with about an inch of water at the bottom. Microwave for 2-3 minutes at a time until cabbage leaves are wilted. Drain water from bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, cooked rice, onion, salt, pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning, egg, and 1⁄2 cup of the tomato sauce. Use gloved hands to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.
- In another bowl, whisk together the remaining tomato sauce, tomato soup, and an additional pinch of Italian seasoning and pepper, if desired.
- Place about 1⁄2 cup of this sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Lay one cabbage leaf in front of you and place a large scoop (about 1⁄3 cup) of the meat/rice mixture in the center. Fold the stem side and top side of the cabbage leaf toward each other and then roll up the cabbage leaf sides like a burrito to form a little packet.
- Place each cabbage packet in the prepared casserole dish.
- Continue filling and rolling cabbage leaves until the meat mixture is used up and the casserole dish is full. (I made 9 large cabbage rolls.)
- Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the top of the cabbage rolls.
- Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the cabbage rolls reach 145°F on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove aluminum foil and baste the cabbage rolls with the sauce. Bake an additional 10 minutes, uncovered, to thicken the sauce a bit.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
It’s best to freeze uncooked cabbage rolls as opposed to cooked (though it’s still possible to do so). I would suggest flash freezing uncooked rolls on a baking sheet or in a baking dish until they are firm enough to hold together on their own. Once frozen, transfer them to a large ziptop bag and freeze for up to 5 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, removing them from the refrigerator while the oven preheats. Follow recipe instructions for bake time, adding a few minutes to the cook time if needed.
Store leftovers in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Absolutely! Assemble the rolls up to 24 hours in advance and store them in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake, remove them from the fridge when you begin preheating the oven then bake according to recipe directions.
Serving Suggestions
Cabbage rolls can be served on their own or with a side of potatoes, dinner rolls, grain salad or opt for something a bit lighter like roasted veggies. Enjoy them warm from the oven with plenty of tomato sauce on top.
More Casserole Recipes
- Beef Enchiladas
- Shepherds Pie
- John Wayne Casserole
- Ground Beef Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Cabbage Roll Casserole
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Cabbage Rolls
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 large head of green cabbage
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1 ½ cups cooked long grain rice 1/2 cup of uncooked rice will make 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice
- 1 small yellow onion diced (1 cup)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper plus more for sauce, optional
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning plus more for sauce, optional
- 1 large egg
- 15 oz tomato sauce 1 can, divided
- 10.75 oz condensed tomato soup 1 can
- chopped parsley for garnish
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- The meat mixture can be varied – you can substitute ground turkey for the ground beef or sausage. Hot Italian sausage would also be a flavorful substitution.
- The tomato soup addition to the tomato sauce adds a little sweetness to the sauce and helps to cut the acidity down a bit. You can add additional herbs and spices to the tomato sauce if desired. However, do not add more salt – the tomato soup has enough already.
- Some recipes pre-cook the meat. The meat cooks up completely in the oven. We did pre-cook the rice to ensure it cooks fully and is tender in the cabbage rolls.
- To freeze – begin by flash freezing uncooked rolls on a baking sheet or in a baking dish until they are firm enough to hold together on their own. Once frozen, transfer them to a large ziptop bag and freeze for up to 5 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, removing them from the refrigerator while the oven preheats. Follow recipe instructions for bake time, adding a few minutes to the cook time if needed.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- You will need to soften the cabbage leaves in order to make them more pliable for rolling. You can boil or steam the cabbage leaves. I find it easiest to gently remove the leaves from the head of cabbage and place them in a large bowl with about an inch of water at the bottom. Microwave for 2-3 minutes at a time until cabbage leaves are wilted. Drain water from bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, cooked rice, onion, salt, pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning, egg, and 1⁄2 cup of the tomato sauce. Use gloved hands to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.
- In another bowl, whisk together the remaining tomato sauce, tomato soup, and an additional pinch of Italian seasoning and pepper, if desired.
- Place about 1⁄2 cup of this sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Lay one cabbage leaf in front of you and place a large scoop (about 1⁄3 cup) of the meat/rice mixture in the center. Fold the stem side and top side of the cabbage leaf toward each other and then roll up the cabbage leaf sides like a burrito to form a little packet.
- Place each cabbage packet in the prepared casserole dish.
- Continue filling and rolling cabbage leaves until the meat mixture is used up and the casserole dish is full. (I made 9 large cabbage rolls.)
- Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the top of the cabbage rolls.
- Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the cabbage rolls reach 145°F.
- Remove aluminum foil and baste the cabbage rolls with the sauce. Bake an additional 10 minutes, uncovered, to thicken the sauce a bit.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Gitta says
Would you suggest making one layer in a 9 x 12” pan? When I’ve made them before I had at least 2 layers in a large roaster. I’m using all organic ground pork with rice, etc. this time.
Amanda Davis says
We suggest a 13×9, which is almost the same as a 9×12, so yes that should be fine
Jackie says
Could you pre build these and put them in the fridge overnight? Or would you pre cook if making day before and just warm them day of meal?
Amanda Davis says
Prebuilding them before baking should be fine
Carolyn Woolley says
My mother use to make what we called “Pigs in a blanket with a sie of blackeyed peas & smoked ham hocks on New Years Day. which the cabbage rolls were similar to yours but we used uncooked long grain rice. With a large pot we covered to bottom with sauerkraut then layered the cabbage rolls on top then another layer of sauerkraut thencabbage rolls again then sauerkrout and cooked on low heat almost all day. OMG its is so delilicious and with no tomatoe products and no liquids added at all because the cabbage & kraut provide all the liquid needed. But i have forgotten the recipe for the cabbage role filing ; I will try your recipe for the filling with the exception of cooked rice (i will use uncooked i hope it will be similar to my Mom’s if you know this recipe and can help me with the ingredients or measurements I will love you forever..
Amanda Formaro says
Never heard of it but would love to hear if it works out!
Nancy H says
Cabbage rolls are on my top favorite meals list. This was simple and overall very good. Next time I’m going to add even more seasoning though as this was a little bland for my family. Thanks for the simple to follow, well-written recipe Amanda!
Patricia says
Fantastic recipe! I made it and it reminded me of my sweet Polish mother in laws! Delicious!
Guy Stalter says
The Italian sausage addition was a nice addition to the recipe. Never had it like that before. Always just ground beef. I put the cabbage head in boiling water and peeled the leaves as they separated from the head. My problem was the addition of the tomato soup. Too sweet for my taste. I would add more tomato sauce or purée and leave the soup out. Other than that we really enjoyed it.
Heather says
Try a can of mushroom soup to meat mixture for cabbage rolls. Have made them like this for years,
Freeze your cabbage a week before using. Much easier to peel.
Vanessa butler says
Ok it looks so good
Joyce says
I would like to use something besides Tom as toe soup. What r sauce could I make?thankyou.
Nancy L McGregor says
We loved it !!
Roberta A Gates says
This recipe is way different than the other ones I’ve made. I haven’t made it yet, but it looks good & simple. I’ll give it a try in the near future.