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...
Jump to:
🥘 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:
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!
⭐ REVIEWS
Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!
Please SUBSCRIBE (get my FREE E-cookbook) and be sure to FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST!
📋 Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls Recipe
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
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
- 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
- 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.
Gayle
This looks great and easy. Trying it tonight
Terri Gilson
Hope you enjoy it, Gayle!!
Bernice Hill
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!
Terri Gilson
Ha ha somehow I knew, Bernice! Yes, I also love that I can eat these in the summer without heating up the house too!
Terri Gilson
Ha ha somehow I knew, Bernice! Yes, I also love that I can eat these in the summer without heating up the house too!
Kristen
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!
Terri Gilson
You can absolutely do them in the oven!
Colleen
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.
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Colleen! I hope you enjoy them!🙂
Sean
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!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Sean! That’s great that you have so much cabbage- hope you enjoy it!