Grandma’s Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls with ground meat, rice and cabbage cooked in savory tomato sauce. This one pot meal is perfect for busy weeknights!
We are a Ukrainian-Russian household, so cabbage for dinner makes a frequent appearance at our table. Instant Pot cabbage rolls and grandma’s borscht recipe, adults and kids love them all!
I think you are going to love these unstuffed cabbage rolls! As much as the old fashioned cabbage rolls are worth the wait, sometimes we just don’t have the time or energy for “holubtsi”.
I was born and raised in Ukraine, and I never do roll cabbage rolls. Instead, I like to chop cabbage into coarse square chunks and cook with rice and meat in flavorful tomato sauce in one pot. And grandma did the same on busy days. Otherwise, she rolled the rolls before going to work. Can you imagine?!
Ingredients for Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
In Ukraine, cabbage rolls are made with ground beef or pork, white rice and tomato sauce. There are many Eastern European variations of this dish but here is what I use now.
Ingredients are simple and use what you have on hand:
- Onion and garlic: Chopped onion and minced garlic.
- Meat: Extra lean ground turkey but you can use ground pork or beef.
- Cabbage: Coarsely chopped. You can get away with using a variety of different types of cabbage like green, red, napa or even savoy cabbage in this recipe.
- Rice: Uncooked brown rice. Use white rice which cooks faster or leftover cooked brown rice which reduces total cooking time to 30 minutes.
- Liquids: Oil, low sodium tomato sauce, can of diced tomatoes, low sodium broth (or water), honey, or maple syrup to balance acidic ingredients, vinegar.
- Herbs: Dried oregano, thyme, bay leaves.
- Seasonings: Salt and pepper for taste.
- Garnish: Fresh dill or parsley or green onions, yogurt or sour cream.
How to Make Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Start by chopping garlic, onion and cabbage before you begin to cook. Peel and mince the garlic, chop the onion not too finely, and peel a few outer leaves from the cabbage and chop into big chunks.
Time to saute it all. Preheat a deep non-stick pan or a 5-6 quart Dutch oven. I absolutely love my Lodge dutch oven and cook most one pot meals in it. Food doesn’t burn and cooks evenly!
Swirl oil to coat and add onion and garlic, stirring occasionally. Then add ground meat, uncooked brown rice, dried oregano and thyme, salt and pepper. Continue cooking, breaking the meat into pieces.
Sauteing rice now cuts back its cook time. If you are using white rice, the cook time will be approximately 30 minutes. For pre-cooked brown rice, use 3 cups of cooked rice, reduce the liquids to 1 cup and cut the cooking time to 30 minutes.
Now it’s time to add the broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, and cabbage. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, cover, reduce heat, and cook on low for about an hour. As tempting as it might be to open the lid to check on it! Not until it’s completely done.
Tips for Best Results
- If your rice is a bit firm at the end: If rice is not cooked by the end, add 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- To feed smaller crowd: When I say this recipe feeds a hungry crowd, I mean it! It yields close to 14 cups of food. If you don’t need that much, cut the recipe in half and keep the same cook time.
- Use heavy duty pot: Otherwise you risk cabbage rolls burning on the bottom.
- Don’t open the lid: Cooking time will lengthen because steam releases.
Variations
- More protein: Feel free to add an extra 1 pound of ground turkey. Also ground beef, chicken or pork work great!
- Sauerkraut: You can replace some of fresh cabbage with sauerkraut but cut salt in half and then season to taste after, if necessary.
- White rice: Cooking time will be around 30 minutes.
- Cooked brown rice: Use 3 cups cooked brown rice, reduce liquids to 1 cup and cook for 30 minutes.
How We Serve Them in Ukraine
At home, we serve unstuffed cabbage rolls as a meal on its own. It is a true one pot meal. Serve warm almost hot, with a generous dollop of yogurt or sour cream for the most authentic flavor.
Add a lot of chopped fresh dill and freshly cracked ground pepper. A slice of a rye bread or whole grain toast is a must to sop up the sauces, juices and bit of meat and rice at the bottom of the plate. So good!
You can add hot sauce on top if you feel like things spicy.
If you would like a true Ukrainian side salad for this dish, make lettuce salad or cucumber and tomato salad.
How to Store
Store: You’ll have leftovers for days! Enjoy up for 4 days later, being kept in the fridge in an airtight container. This dish actually gets better with time.
Freeze: Once fully cooked, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. If you have a ton leftover, might be wise to freeze individually and only take out what you need.
Reheat: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the microwave. You can also use the pot with a splash of water or broth to simmer while covered for 10 minutes.
FAQs
Yes. The advantage is that it will cook faster. However, the texture will be more mush. I prefer more bite and substance to the cabbage in this recipe.
While this recipe has not been tested in a slow cooker, you can make it in the oven or the Instant Pot! Slow cooker will require different amount of liquids and might burn the tomato sauce.
Because we are not rolling cabbage, this recipe is pretty forgiving. Use green, red, napa or even savoy cabbage. Cook time will be a bit less for napa and savoy cabbage.
More Cabbage Recipes to Try
Ukrainian Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 lb ground turkey extra lean
- 1 cup brown rice uncooked
- 3 lbs cabbage coarsely chopped
- 28 oz can tomato sauce low sodium
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes low sodium
- 2 cups water or any low sodium stock
- 1 tbsp oregano dried
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- Fresh dill, parsley, green onions and yogurt/sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat large and very deep non-stick skillet or 5-6 quart Dutch oven on medium-high heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add turkey, rice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper; cook for 10 more minutes, breaking into small pieces and stirring often.
- Add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, vinegar, maple syrup, cabbage, bay leaves and stir well. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 60-70 minutes. Do not open!
- After check if rice is cooked and if not (mine was) add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook for another 5 – 10 minutes.
- Serve warm topped with Greek yogurt and herbs.
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely, and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in a refrigerator overnight. Reheat in a microwave or in the oven at 375 F for 10 minutes.
Thanks for the delicious, healthy recipe. I love it! I’ll be making it regularly. So good!
You’re so welcome, Erin! Glad this is getting added to the repeat list! I appreciate your review.
Oh my, this was delicious! My family said I have to make this again. My husband’s paternal grandmother made wonderful cabbage rolls, and while this isn’t the same, it’s such a comforting dish, and all of us agree this is a keeper.
So happy to hear my recipe brought your family together.
This was very good! I love cabbage rolls but tonight I needed a quicker dinner. This was perfect. I used quick brown rice, added a pinch of cayenne pepper and reduced cook time by half. Delicious and healthy! Slava Ukraini! Stay strong!
So glad to hear this, Amanda! Thank you for your kind words.
I made the unstuffed cabbage rolls, they hit the spot. My grandparents emigrated here to the US from the mtns of Poland so the flavors were very familiar. The current events in Ukraine are appalling. I used spicy Italian sausage for a change of flavor profile and potatoes instead of the rice, but the seasonings were still perfect. Slava Ukraine, I am in tears.
Hi Connie. Warms my heart to hear this recipe reminds you of your family’s cooking. Spicy Italian sausage sounds amazing! I know, we are truly blessed here…
Delicious, easy, and makes enough for leftovers. I left out the rice and just served it over rice for dinner and ate it without rice for lunch. It was so good, and I did not feel guilty about eating so much of it because it’s clean and healthy.
I’m so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback!
Oh wow! Initially, I thought it was a bit bland so I added more oregano, salt and pepper (didn’t use low sodium tomatoes). But! Man, when I added the dill and sour cream, absolutely delicious! And so easy to make too! I used my instant pot and sautéed the ingredients. Then I pressure cooked for about 5 minutes and then slow cooked for 45 minutes. Absolutely delicious. Oh. I used no salt added chicken broth and brown basmati rice. So, so good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Super easy, unlike cabbage rolls! Wonderful idea! Delicious and so time efficient!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Can I make this in the instant pot? Also for brown rice are you suggesting to add it cooked at the end?
I do have Instant Pot cabbage rolls recipe. Enjoy!
Looked complicated at first, but was super easy to follow & make. The hardest part was not lifting the lid to peek, but I didn’t. Such amazing flavors, I was skeptical about the maple syrup or honey (used syrup) but followed recipe exactly. This is a keeper & will be a regular meal in our home from now on. Thank you for sharing
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can you do this in the oven? Love your recipes!
Sure, this particular recipe has not been tested baking in the oven but I think it would work. You may want to transfer it to a 9×13 pan. Cover and cook at 375 degrees for 60 minutes. Check to see if rice is done, if not cook a few minutes more. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Delicious!!! Perfectly seasoned. I did have a few problems, however. After 90 minutes it was still soupy and all of the the rice wasn’t done. That didn’t stop us from enjoying it, though! I made it exactly as directed and sprinkled dill weed over each bowl before placing a dollop of whole milk Greek yogurt and fresh flat leafed parsley sprinkled over the top. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the touch of yogurt , dill and fresh parsley!!! Very flavorful and so easy. I know leftovers will taste even better (and the rice will probably be done too)
Praying for Ukraine to stay strong and courageous!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it and your serving options sound delicious! Odd that the rice wasn’t done though after 90 minutes, were you using a 5-6 quart Dutch oven? A smaller size could have prevented it from evenly cooking.