Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls

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 are 5 WW points on the blue plan (for a substantial sized serving of this recipe) which is pretty darn good for Ukrainian Food! Because this is not your typical, traditional Ukrainian cabbage roll recipe...

🥘 Ingredients

And these cabbage rolls ain't your Baba's 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 recipe, you'll need:

• extra lean ground beef
• instant rice
• onion
• canned mushrooms
• ketchup
• cabbage 
• condensed tomato soup

📖 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 casserole 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 Rolls Recipe is a game changer!~ 

Cabbage rolls are a holiday tradition for my family, as well as pure comfort food! And 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

This casserole is 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 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!

But they are also great not only as a side dish, but as a main dish too, served with vegetables or Ukrainian style, with kubassa!

I also like to serve this dish 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)!

Although we have more modern conveniences than Baba had, I still don't have the time she had in the kitchen! So it's necessary to look for faster and easier ways to make my favorite Ukrainian foods. That's also the reason I created this Ukrainian Daughter’s Crock Pot Casserole. It's a huge Ukrainian meal cooked in one pot (the slow cooker) with no pre- cooking!

🌡️ Storing

Otherwise know as unstuffed cabbage rolls in a crock pot, these guys 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 container
• They can be frozen and stored in a sealed container for up to 3 months.

🍽 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! See my slow cooker Amazon recommendations in the recipe card NOTES!

👪 Serving size

1 serving is 1/12 of recipe

If you're looking for hearty Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls, something that you can serve as a meal or a side dish, you're going to love this slow cooker casserole!

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5 from 7 votes

📋 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 Weight Watchers friendly at only 5 WW points on the blue plan!

Course main dish, Side Dish

Cuisine Scottish, Ukrainian

Keyword cabbage rolls, casserole, lazy, slow cooker

Prep Time 30 minutes

8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 183kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

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 cabbage *chopped
• 3 -10 oz -cans condensed tomato soup *gluten-free

Garnish (optional)

• light or non -fat sour cream
• fresh dill

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Brown ground beef with chopped onion 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 large bowl.
  
• 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.
  
• Then add ½ the rice with meat mixture, then 1 can of tomato soup on top of it.
  
• Add the remaining layer of cabbage, then remaining rice and meat mixture, then 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.

Notes

👪 Serving size

1 serving is 1/12 of recipe

📖 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

🌡️ Storing

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

Here are my Amazon Recommendations (affiliate links)* I have the Hamilton Beach 6 quart Slow Cooker and love it!

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 | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 313mg | Potassium: 444mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 228IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

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• Ukrainian Shortcut Borscht Soup with Beef - WW friendly
• Loaded Pierogi Soup
• Easy Pierogi Stuffed Mushrooms- Weight Watchers Friendly
• Ukrainian Style Eggs- Egg dinner recipe