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    Home » Recipes » Cooking Style » Slow Cooker Recipes

    Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls

    Published: Jul 29, 2020 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Sep 16, 2023 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

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    Jump to Recipe
    pin with text and photo of plate of lazy cabbage rolls with beets and kielbasa
    Pinterest pin with white text on black background on top and bottom and photo of unstuffed cabbage roll casserole in bowl with slow cooker in the background

    Sometimes I want cabbage rolls, but I don't want to do all the work associated with actually making cabbage rolls. Who am I kidding? Not sometimes; that actually happens all the time! In light of this dilemma, I have created the ultimate laziest and easiest way to get my cabbage roll fix! These Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls require much less effort and are also ww friendly.

    lazy slow cooker cabbage rolls in bowl

    Lazy man's cabbage rolls in the slow cooker is a great recipe for busy weeknights! And it's popular all year 'round.

    Jump to:
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🔪Instructions
    • 📖 Variations
    • 🥗 Side dishes
    • 🌡️ Storing
    • 🍽 Equipment
    • 👪 Serving Size
    • 🔢WW Points
    • 📋 Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls Recipe
    • 🥟More Healthy & Weight Watchers Friendly Ukrainian Food!

    🥘 Ingredients

    And these cabbage rolls ain't your Baba's traditional cabbage rolls either! They are not the traditional rice cabbage rolls, covered in tomato sauce. And neither is this lazy cabbage roll casserole- it's hearty and meaty!

    I grew up with what we deemed "Scottish Cabbage Rolls " with meat, rice, and mushrooms stuffed inside, then covered in tomato soup sauce. They are the best kind of cabbage roll, as far as I'm concerned. And now I've turned them into an easy slow cooker casserole!

    For this slow cooker cabbage roll casserole, you'll need:

    • extra lean ground beef
    • instant rice *you can use white or brown rice
    • onion
    • canned mushrooms
    • ketchup
    • cabbage 
    • condensed tomato soup

    *see recipe card for quantities

    Scottish meat and rice cabbage rolls | Ukrainian - foodmeanderings.com

    🔪Instructions

    Preparation:

    • Brown ground beef with chopped onion in a large skillet, over medium heat, on the stove top. Add mushrooms when ground beef is nearly done. Cook until meat is browned and onions and mushrooms are soft. Drain.
    • Cook rice per package directions.
    • Mix ground beef mixture, cooked rice, and ketchup together in a large mixing bowl.
    • Remove core from cabbage and chop cabbage leaves into bite-sized pieces. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add ½ of the cabbage to the bottom of the crock-pot.
    meat and rice mixture
    cabbage layer in bottom of crock-pot
    • Then add ½ the rice with cooked ground beef mixture, then 1 can of tomato soup on top of it.
    • Add the remaining layer of chopped cabbage, then remaining rice and meat mixture, then 2 cans of tomato soup on top. Add the remaining layer of cabbage, then remaining rice and meat mixture, then 2 cans of tomato soup on top.
    meat and rice mixture with tomato soup on top
    2nd layer of meat and rice mixture on cabbage , with 2 cans of tomato soup on top

    📖 Variations

    • mushrooms - I use canned but you can use fresh
    • rice - I use instant brown rice, but you could use white rice 
    • ground beef - I use extra lean ground beef but you could use lean or regular (if you're not worried about extra WW points) or ground turkey to further reduce WW points

    It took a couple of tries to get the time and ingredients right, but this lazy slow cooker cabbage roll recipe is exactly like my family's Scottish cabbage roll recipe, minus all the cooking and peeling cabbage off the cabbage core, stuffing, and rolling involved!

    You can also make the original rolled cabbage roll recipe in a slow cooker, but you'll want to budget lots of time for preparation. I think I'll be doing it this way from here on in.

    ~This Lazy Cabbage Roll Recipe is a game changer!~ 

    lazy slow cooker cabbage rolls in bowl with slow cooker behind

    Homemade cabbage rolls are a holiday tradition for my family, as well as pure comfort food! Although I always want them, I often don't make them because of lack of time, energy etc...

    When you are already making a huge meal that takes hours to prepare, adding cabbage rolls to the menu feels a little daunting. This Lazy Cabbage Rolls recipe is like eating regular cabbage rolls, but in casserole form, without all the work. 

    🥗 Side dishes

    These deconstructed cabbage rolls are the easy way to get your cabbage roll fix and something I actually feel that I could pull off when making a holiday dinner, along with everything else I am making.

    This Lazy Cabbage Rolls recipe doesn't require all the extra work of stuffing and rolling time the regular cabbage rolls do and they can cook right alongside a holiday dinner in your slow cooker, without taking up valuable real estate on the stove or in your oven!

    These slow cooker unstuffed cabbage rolls are also great not only as a side dish but as a main dish too, served with vegetables or Ukrainian style, with kubassa!

    lazy slow cooker cabbage rolls on plate with kielbasa and beets

    I also like to serve this easy meal with:

    • Quick Cucumber Kimchi
    • Ukrainian Shortcut Borscht Soup

    These Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls taste exactly like regular meat and rice cabbage rolls, but are so much quicker and easier to make! And if I can find a shortcut for a recipe, I am going with it! My Shortcut Borscht is another example of my efforts to make Ukrainian food faster (and healthier)!

    Ukrainian Borscht soup recipe | foodmeanderings.com

    🌡️ Storing

    Otherwise known as unstuffed cabbage rolls in a crock pot, these Ukrainian lazy cabbage rolls are so easy to make, yet taste just as delicious as the original cabbage roll. They are also perfect in the summer when you don't want to heat up your house!

    • They can be made ahead and stored for up to 4 days in the fridge in a sealed airtight container
    • They can be frozen and stored in a sealed airtight container for up to 3 months.

    pin with text and photo of plate of lazy cabbage rolls with beets and kielbasa

    🍽 Equipment

    This recipe is for a 6 quart slow cooker and making lazy cabbage rolls in the slow cooker is so easy. I've said it before - I LOVE my slow cooker! It's an amazing appliance that does all the work for you. Be sure to check my other Slow Cooker Recipes too!

    You will also need a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a skillet.

    👪 Serving Size

    1 serving is 1/12 of the recipe, which is about 1 cup.

    🔢WW Points

    These Crock pot unstuffed cabbage rolls are Weight Watchers friendly at 7 ww points. However, if you really want to bring down the points, use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. That substitution will bring the points down to 5 points.

    If you're looking for hearty Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls, an easy recipe that you can serve as a meal or a side dish that the whole family will love, you're going to love this slow cooker casserole!

    lazy slow cooker cabbage rolls in bowl
    Food Meandering Logo

    📋 Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls Recipe

    These Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls taste exactly like regular meat and rice cabbage rolls, but in cabbage roll casserole form and without all the work. They are also Weight Watchers friendly!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: main dish, Side Dish
    Cuisine: Scottish, Ukrainian
    Keyword: cabbage rolls, casserole, lazy, slow cooker
    Servings: 12 servings
    Calories: 183kcal
    Author: Terri Gilson
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    8 hours hours
    Total Time: 8 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    slow cooker
    cutting board
    sharp knife
    skillet

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb extra lean ground beef cooked
    • 4 cups of brown rice (cooked) * I use brown minute rice
    • 1 medium onion diced chopped
    • 1 cup sliced mushrooms can substitute canned mushrooms
    • 1 ½ cups ketchup add additional to taste
    • 1 large head of cabbage *chopped
    • 3 -10 oz -cans condensed tomato soup *gluten-free

    Garnish (optional)

    • light or non -fat sour cream
    • fresh dill or dried dill weed
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Brown ground beef with chopped onion in a large skillet, over medium heat, on stove top. Add mushrooms when ground beef is nearly done. Cook until meat is browned and onions and mushrooms are soft. Drain.
    • Cook rice per package directions.
    • Mix ground beef mixture, rice and ketchup together in a large mixing bowl.
      meat and rice mixture
    • Remove core from cabbage and chop cabbage leaves into bit sized pieces
    • Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and add ½ of the cabbage to the bottom of the crock-pot.
      cabbage layer in bottom of crock-pot
    • Then add ½ the rice with meat mixture, then 1 can of tomato soup on top of it.
      meat and rice mixture with tomato soup on top
    • Add the remaining layer of cabbage, then remaining rice and meat mixture, then 2 cans of tomato soup on top.
      2nd layer of meat and rice mixture on cabbage , with 2 cans of tomato soup on top
    • Cook for 8-9 hours on low, until cabbage is tender and a fork can easily go through it (may need a little longer)

    Garnish

    • Garnish with light or non-fat sour cream and fresh dill, if desired. Serve in a casserole dish or any type of serving dish you prefer.

    Notes

    *Please see post contents for important recipe information and tips!
    Nutrition Facts
    📋 Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls Recipe
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 183 Calories from Fat 27
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3g5%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Cholesterol 23mg8%
    Sodium 313mg14%
    Potassium 444mg13%
    Carbohydrates 29g10%
    Fiber 3g13%
    Sugar 10g11%
    Protein 11g22%
    Vitamin A 228IU5%
    Vitamin C 30mg36%
    Calcium 47mg5%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 183kcal (9%) | Carbohydrates: 29g (10%) | Protein: 11g (22%) | Fat: 3g (5%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) | Cholesterol: 23mg (8%) | Sodium: 313mg (14%) | Potassium: 444mg (13%) | Fiber: 3g (13%) | Sugar: 10g (11%) | Vitamin A: 228IU (5%) | Vitamin C: 30mg (36%) | Calcium: 47mg (5%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)
    Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
    Rate this Recipe

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gayle

      July 30, 2020 at 9:00 am

      This looks great and easy. Trying it tonight

      Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        July 30, 2020 at 9:25 am

        Hope you enjoy it, Gayle!!

        Reply
        • Barbara Langford

          January 15, 2022 at 9:12 am

          Hi Terri. Not quite my mom's recipe. My mom called her recipe Goulash.
          Tasted exactly like Baba's cabbage rolls. 6pp on Weight Watchers.

          Reply
    2. Bernice Hill

      August 04, 2020 at 12:28 pm

      YUM!! How did you know I've been craving cabbage rolls? Seriously though, it is high time I make this dish. My grandma made something very similar with the fermented cabbage from the store. It's such a treat and I like that I can have it in the summer with this slow cooker version!

      Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        August 05, 2020 at 8:42 am

        Ha ha somehow I knew, Bernice! Yes, I also love that I can eat these in the summer without heating up the house too!

        Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        August 05, 2020 at 8:42 am

        Ha ha somehow I knew, Bernice! Yes, I also love that I can eat these in the summer without heating up the house too!

        Reply
    3. Kristen

      August 07, 2020 at 8:19 pm

      I don’t have a slow cooker but I will totally make these on the oven. I love cabbage rolls and make my grandmas recipe but they are a lot of work, so for the days when I’m craving them but don’t have that kind of time - this is what I’ll be doing!

      Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        August 08, 2020 at 9:04 pm

        You can absolutely do them in the oven!

        Reply
    4. Colleen

      August 08, 2020 at 6:59 pm

      I'm in love with this idea! We adore cabbage rolls, but yes, it's so daunting sometimes to make them. I'm super excited to make this recipe! Thank you.

      Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        August 08, 2020 at 9:04 pm

        Thanks, Colleen! I hope you enjoy them!🙂

        Reply
    5. Sean

      August 10, 2020 at 11:46 am

      This is such a cool idea! And since I've got not one, but two whole heads of cabbage in the fridge from my CSA, I'm looking for fun cabbage recipe ideas. Like you, I love a good cabbage roll, but they're a lot of work. I love the idea of something that tastes just as good, but can be made on a weekday! Cheers!

      Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        August 11, 2020 at 8:39 am

        Thanks, Sean! That’s great that you have so much cabbage- hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    6. Carol

      September 26, 2021 at 4:41 pm

      Great flavor! Love it. If serving size is 1/12 of recipe, how much is that? 1 cup or more? I am on the WW blue plan

      Reply
      • Terri Gilson

        September 26, 2021 at 8:48 pm

        Hi Carol,
        6 quarts is 24 cups, so it's divided by 12, it's actually 2 cups!
        Enjoy!
        Terri

        Reply

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    I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer, and a busy working mom who is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks, and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

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