Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Name: Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Home cooking
Ingredients: Ground pork and beef — 130 g; White cabbage — 250 g; Long-grain rice — 35 g; Onions — 50 g; Carrots — 40 g; Tomato paste — 20 g; Sour cream 15% — 40 g; Sunflower oil — 8 ml; Bay leaves — 0.3 g; Salt — 2 g; Ground black pepper — 0.5 g

A head of cabbage stuffed with meat and rice, simmered in tomato sauce, turns out juicy and fragrant. The dish can be prepared in advance and served with sour cream.

Time: 90 min
Serving: 746 kcal
Ingredients: ≈ $2.83
Protein: 31 g

Hearty Kid-friendly

Ingredients

1 Ground pork and beefpack 500 g ≈ $7.10 130 g
2 White cabbage≈ $1.60 per kg 250 g
3 Long-grain ricepack 800 g ≈ $1.96 35 g
4 Onions≈ $1.60 per kg 50 g
5 Carrots≈ $1.50 per kg 40 g
6 Tomato pastepack 140 g ≈ $1.00 20 g
7 Sour cream 15%pack 300 g ≈ $1.60 40 g
8 Sunflower oil 8 ml
9 Bay leaves to taste
10 Salt 2 g
11 Ground black pepper to taste

Grey rows are pantry staples: salt, oil, spices. They are not counted in the serving price.

Method

Prepare: drop the head of cabbage into boiling water for 5 minutes, remove the leaves, trim the thickened parts.
Prepare: boil the rice for 8 minutes until half-cooked; then mix the rice with the filling, half of the onion⁴, salt and pepper.
Form the cabbage rolls: wrap the filling in the leaves like an envelope.
Prepare the sauce: sauté onion⁴ with carrot⁵ over medium heat for 5 minutes until golden, add the tomato⁶ paste, sour⁷ cream and 300 ml water.
Place the cabbage rolls in a pot: distribute the rolls in a medium-sized pot and cover with the sauce.
Simmer: cover and simmer over low heat for 50 minutes, until the rolls are tender; check by piercing with a fork.
Serving: serve hot with sour⁷ cream; optionally serve with a side dish, e.g., mashed potatoes or rice.
Tips: the cabbage rolls can be prepared in advance, refrigerate up to two days; reheat over low heat with the lid on.

Tips

Why it works: Blanch the cabbage leaves for 5 minutes to soften them—overcooking turns them limp and hard to wrap. Stop when they’re pliable but still hold shape.
Substitutions: Use 50g ground turkey instead of pork-beef mix; omit sour cream in the sauce and add 10g butter for richness.
Common mistakes: Rice stays undercooked if you don’t simmer the rolls long enough—pierce one; if it’s hard, cook 10 more minutes.
Storing and reheating: Keeps 3 days in the fridge; reheat covered on low heat with 20ml water until hot. Freezes well for 3 months.
Serve with: Pair with 150g mashed potatoes and a slice of rye bread for a hearty weeknight dinner.

In short

In the planner this dish is cooked for two days: reheat on day two.

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Nutrition

Per serving and share of 2000 kcal

Calories	746 kcal	37%
Protein	31 g	41%
Fat	46 g	66%
Carbs	52 g	20%
Per 100 g	130 kcal

Cost

≈ $2.83per serving

Average supermarket prices, BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), August 2026. Your store will differ: products come in packs and each chain sets its own prices. The priciest item here is ground pork and beef.

You will need

Stove

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