With Ukrainian Christmas around the corner, I wanted to share one of my ultimate favorite Ukrainian Christmas comfort food recipes - the best cabbage rolls ever! Although I am Ukrainian and adore Ukrainian food, these are not your typical traditional Ukrainian cabbage rolls (Ukrainian holubtsi). These are what my family likes to call, "Scottish Cabbage Rolls" because they contain both ground beef and rice and are covered in tomato soup sauce.
These Scottish-style Ukrainian cabbage rolls are popular around the holidays, but great for any time of the year! They pair well with any holiday meal, but especially with Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies, borscht (with canned beets, and Lemon Poppyseed Torte for dessert!
🍒Reader Review
"I got so many compliments from this!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍒Reader Review
"THANK THANK THANK YOU. I think you have the only recipe online for cabbage rolls that are made with cooked meat and cooked rice.
That is the only way my Grandma and Mum and aunts made them for 40 years.
Sincerely Grateful.!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jump to:
- 🍒Reader Review
- 🍒Reader Review
- Why You'll Love this Recipe
- 🥘 Ingredient Notes
- 📖 Variations & Substitutions
- 🔪How to Make Ground Beef and Rice Cabbage Rolls
- Pro Tip
- 🥗What to serve with cabbage rolls
- 🌡️Storing Cabbage Rolls
- ❔ Recipe FAQ's
- More Ukrainian Recipes
- 📋 Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls Recipe (with ground beef and rice)
- 🍒Reader Review
And this is about as far from a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner as you can get (which consists of 12 meatless dishes). Not sure how proud this would have made Baba, but I just can't help but prefer these beef cabbage rolls over the boring and plain rice-filled ones!
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- You don't need to boil the cabbage! The cabbage is cooked in the microwave so it's much faster and it's the easiest way to make homemade cabbage rolls
- These cabbage rolls are hearty. Made with ground beef and rice, these cabbage rolls are meaty and fillling!
- Make-ahead. Cabbage rolls are a lot of work, so making them ahead of big holiday meals is a bonus! They also freeze well.
- Simple ingredients. You don't need anything fancy or expensive for these cabbage rolls - just simple and economical ingredients, most of which you'll probaby have on hand.
These stuffed cabbage rolls came from my Mom's Auntie May- she was also a Scot that was married to a Ukrainian. And this was the only cabbage roll my Mom had ever eaten. She didn’t even know the other kind existed (the real Ukrainian ones) until she met my Dad.
But the funny part is that my mom actually likes the traditional plain rice ones better. She only made these ground beef cabbage rolls because my dad and us kids preferred them.
🥘 Ingredient Notes
My Mom said she started adding ketchup to these cabbage rolls because it seemed like they needed a little more flavor and thought: “ketchup goes so good with hamburger …” Oh and she said these were actually easier to make than the other ones! Brilliant....
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Head of cabbage. I prefer the taste and texture of regular green cabbage.
- Cooked brown rice. I typically use instant rice because it's faster but I have used lots of different types of rice in this recipe.
- Ground beef. I prefer to use extra lean because it's healthier and makes for less greasy cabbage rolls.
- Canned mushrooms. Canned mushrooms are economical and convenient.
- Ketchup. Although ketchup seems like and odd thing to add, it works so well in this recipe! * I use Heinz
- Condensed canned tomato soup. I prefer to use Campbell's Tomato soup.
*see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Slow Cooker: You can slow cook these for 6 hours on low in your crock pot as well.
- Instant Pot: They take about 20 minutes in the instant pot.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free tomato soup
- Ground beef: You can use regular ground beef, lean, extra lean or half ground beef and half ground pork
- Mushrooms: You can sautee fresh mushrooms and use them instead of canned
- Toppings: Top with sour cream and/or fresh dill
Honestly, these homemade cabbage rolls are not a quick holiday side dish! In fact, they are labor intensive. For this reason, we only got them for special holiday dinners when I was a kid. But on the bright side, these are the best stuffed cabbage rolls (made with meat and rice) I have ever eaten. And I can guarantee you that it's worth the time investment!
However, if you want cabbage rolls without all the work, try my Slow Cooker Lazy Cabbage Rolls ! They taste exactly the same, but are perfect for when you're short on time or feeling lazy!
🔪How to Make Ground Beef and Rice Cabbage Rolls
*I often cook the ground beef and rice the night before to save time
Prep (this can be done up to 3 days in advance):
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F and spray a large casserole dish or roaster pan with non-stick cooking spray
- Brown ground beef with chopped onion on the stovetop in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add mushrooms when beef is nearly done (if using fresh mushrooms). If you are using canned mushrooms, you can add them when you mix everything together. Cook until meat is browned and onions and mushrooms are soft.
- Cook rice until done, as per package directions
COOK THE CABBAGE (STEP 1): Place cabbage on a microwave safe plate (Image 1). Cook cabbage in the microwave for 10 minutes, and then cool (Image 2) Turn and return to microwave and cook for another 10 minutes (Mom started to use this method when she got a microwave in the 1980’s because it’s much faster) (Image 3). Cool for a couple of minutes until the cabbage can be handled, then remove the core from the cabbage (Image 4).
MAKE THE FILLING (STEP 2): Meanwhile, add cooked ground meat mixture, rice, and, mushrooms ketchup together in a large bowl (Image 5). Mix until well combined. Add more ketchup to your liking, as desired (Image 6).
REMOVE THE LEAVES FROM THE CABBAGE (STEP 3): Gently start peeling away the leaves (Image 7). *If the leaves are not coming off easily (they are ripping) return to microwave for another 5 minutes. Continue to very gently peel away the leaves (Image 8). *If at any point this becomes difficult and the leaves are starting to rip, put the cabbage back in the microwave in 2-minute increments. Continue doing this until all the leaves have been removed (Image 9). *You can trim off any bad parts on the leaves or discard leaves that are bad. Set aside the leaves that are too ripped to roll (See Pro Tip). Place a piece of cabbage on a work surface (I use a cutting board) and cut off about ½ - ¾ an inch of the tough stem part on the bottom of the leaf (Image 10).
ROLL THE CABBAGE ROLLS (STEP 4): Add about a tablespoon of the filling in the center of the leaf (this amount will depend on the size of the leaf- you may need to add a little more for larger leaves and a little less for very small leaves) (Image 11). Begin by folding the cabbage leaf in on the sides, then fold the bottom (Image 12). Then continue to roll up the cabbage roll from the bottom, as you would a wrap (Image 13). Continue rolling right up to the top (Image 14). *When you get to this stage, you can just gently push any rogue filling back into the cabbage roll and gently fold the loose leaf part over and place the cabbage roll (seam down) in the prepared casserole dish.
BAKE THE CABBAGE ROLLS (STEP 5): Place cabbage rolls gently in the prepared baking dish (Image 15). Keep adding (stacking is fine) until all the cabbage rolls are added (Image 16). Pour tomato soup over the cabbage rolls (Image 17). Bake in prepared oven for about 2 hours or until cabbage is tender. Serve warm (Image 18). *Alternatively, you can slow cook these for 6 hours on low in your crock pot.
Pro Tip
If you have leftover cabbage roll filling and torn leaves you couldn't use, you can make a quick lazy cabbage roll casserole (deconstructed cabbage rolls).
Or you can use the filling to make Stuffed Green Pepper Casserole, if you want to make something different.
Add leftover filling and chopped cabbage to a small pan and cover with canned tomato soup
Cover in foil and bake for 1 hour in preheated oven. *It may take a little more or a little less time, depending on how much you have.
🥗What to serve with cabbage rolls
Traditionally, cabbage rolls go well with borscht (shown below), Air Fryer Kielbasa (Kovbasa), and Potato and Cottage Cheese Perogies. However, I also like to serve them with Shortcut Lazy Pierogies, Quick Cucumber Kimchi, and Dinner buns or Paska Ukrainian Bread on holidays.
🌡️Storing Cabbage Rolls
Store leftover cabbage rolls in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Make-ahead: You can go ahead and make them in advance (when you have a little more time on your hands), as they last for 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge and a very long time in the freezer (6 months) when they are wrapped well in a Ziploc freezer bag or in an airtight container.
❔ Recipe FAQ's
Yes, you can use savoy cabbage or Napa cabbage, but green cabbage works best because of its sturdiness and flavor.
No, if you prefer, you can boil the cabbage for 10–15 minutes instead. The microwave method is just quicker and easier
If the leaves are tearing, they might not be cooked enough. Microwave or boil the cabbage a bit longer to soften them.
Roll the cabbage rolls tightly, ensure the seam side is facing down when you place the rolls in the baking dish and pack them snugly together.
More Ukrainian Recipes
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📋 Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls Recipe (with ground beef and rice)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cabbage
- 1 lb ground beef
- 4 cups of brown rice this is about 10 servings of instant rice
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms can substitute canned
- 1 cup ketchup add additional to taste
- 2 10 oz cans condensed tomato soup * gluten-free
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C ) and spray a large casserole dish or roaster pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cook ground beef with onion and drain off fat. Cook rice. *I often do this the night before.
- Place whole cabbage on a plate.
- Cook cabbage in the microwave for 10 minutes, and then cool.
- Meanwhile: Add cooked ground beef with onion, cooked rice, mushrooms and ketchup together in a large bowl.
- Mix until combined. Add additonal ketchup to your preference, if desired.
- Turn cabbage over and return to the microwave and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove core from cabbage and carefully remove cabbage leaves.
- Gently start peeling away the leaves.*If the leaves are not coming off easily (they are ripping), return to microwave for another 5 minutes.
- Continue to very gently peel away the leaves.*If at any point this becomes difficult and the leaves are starting to rip, put the cabbage back in the microwave in 2 minutes increments.
- Continue doing this until all the leaves have been removed. *you can trim off any bad parts on the leaves or discard leaves that bad. Save leaves that are too ripped to roll (you can use them in soup or make a mini lazy cabbage roll with leftover leaves and filling).* You will probably have to cut away more of the core as you go along in order to remove the leaves without tearing them
- Place a piece of cabbage on a work surface (I use a cutting board) and cut off about ½ - ¾ of an inch of the tough part on the bottom of the leaf.
- Add about a tablespoon of the filling to the middle of the cabbage leaf (this amount will depend on the size of each cabbage leaf)
- Begin by folding the cabbage in on the sides, then fold the bottom.
- Then continue to roll up the cabbage roll from the bottom, as you would a wrap .
- Continue rolling right up to the top*When you get to this stage, you can just gently push any rogue filling back into the cabbage roll and gently fold the loose leaf part over and place the cabbage roll (seam down) in the prepared casserole dish
- Place gently in prepared dish.
- Keep adding them to pan until they are all gone (stacking is fine). *See Pro Tip for leftover filling and ripped leaves.
- Pour canned tomato soup on top of the layers of cabbage rolls and cover with lid.
- Bake in oven for about 2 hours or until cabbage is tender. Serve warm. *Alternatively, you can slow cook these for 6 hours on low in your crock pot.
Notes
Nutrition
🍒Reader Review
"I got so many compliments from this!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Craig M. Thompson
I just thought you like to know, that making cabbage rolls in an instant pot only takes 18 mins!
Craig
Terri Gilson
Cool! Need to get myself one 🙂
Susanne
My Mom used a similar recipe which I have followed for years. Instead of chopped onion I add a packet or two (depending on amount of burger) of lipton dry onion soup mix. It just seems to add a little extra umph. Also, be sure to use Campbell tomato soup; it has the best flavour.
Terri Gilson
Hi Susanne: That's a great idea to use dry onion soup mix! And I agree that Campbell's tomato soup is the best!
athinsliceofcake
Love cabbage rolls or as I call them gołabki( the polish name for them).My gran makes the best!
Food Meanderings
I hope you enjoy these as well!
Teresa
They look fantastic! Cabbage rolls are so much work, but so much work, it's true. I like to make them in a work party with several other people. It may be just as much work with the scaled-up volume, but the company lightens the load.
Food Meanderings
Thanks, Teresa. Yes, a party would be a great way to do it! I have done perogy parties, but never cabbage rolls. But my kids are old enough to really help now so that will be my work party! 🙂
Sue Slaght
Well I may not be making these but they do sound yummy. Believe it or not I used to make cabbage rolls about 15 years ago.
Food Meanderings
Yes, they are lots of work, Sue! But I think it's worth it a couple times a year. I do believe you made them- especially because I know you used to make pies too! 🙂
Sandi L.
THANK THANK THANK YOU. I think you have the only recipe online for cabbage rolls that are made with cooked meat and cooked rice.
That is the only way my Grandma and Mum and aunts made them for 40 years.
Sincerely Grateful.
Sandi
Terri Gilson
Hi Sandi,
You are so very welcome! I'm so happy to hear you found what you were looking for.:) Personally, these are the ONLY type of cabbage roll I really love, even though I grew up with the other traditional Ukrainian kind too 🙂
Enjoy!
Terri