Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Recipe by Mimi Loves CookingCourse: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Stuffed cabbage is a boiled cabbage leaf wrapped around a filling of ground beef, white rice, and breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little ketchup for sweetness. Slow roasting it in the crock pot turns that filling into a tender, juicy pocket of meat wrapped in a soft cabbage leaf, sitting on a bed of savory sauerkraut. Serve it with a scoop of that sauerkraut, an extra spoonful of sauce, and a side of creamy mashed potatoes, and you’ve got a full dinner that tastes like it took all day — because in the crock pot, it basically does, without you having to watch it.
If you’ve been searching for the best way to make stuffed cabbage in the crockpot, crockpot halupki, or golabki (this dish goes by a lot of names depending on where your family is from — halupki, galumpkis, golumpki, and stuffed cabbage rolls all describe the same thing), this is the version worth bookmarking.
A Family Recipe, Handed Down
This recipe has been passed down for generations in our family. My great-grandmother (Bubka) created it, handed it to my grandmother, and then to my mother — and now I’m sharing it with you. For years it was kept as a “secret” recipe. It always felt too delicious not to share.
My family has traditionally baked this dish in the oven, but I’ve adapted it to cook in the crock pot instead. A slow cooker is hands-off, and it keeps the cabbage rolls warm if anyone wants a second helping later in the evening.

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cabbage

• 1 lb of lean ground beef

• 1/2 cup of diced onions

• 1/2 cup of white rice, cooked and cooled

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp pepper

• 2 Tbsp seasoned bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup of ketchup

• 1 large can of sauerkraut (drained)

• 1 can Campbell’s tomato soup

• 1- 8 oz can of tomato sauce

Directions

• Core cabbage and place in a covered pot with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the leaves are pliable enough to roll. Set aside until cooled.
  
• In a pan, saute the onions in the butter until translucent. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  
• In a large bowl, mix ground beef, onion, rice, bread crumbs, ketchup, salt and pepper.
  
• Take each Caggage leaf and remove the hard piece at the bottom by cutting a v in the leaf. See picture.
• Add a handful (about 1/4 cup) in the middle of the cabbage leaf and roll tight.
• Cover the bottom of the crock pot with the sauerkraut. Place each of the cabbage rolls seam-side down on top of the sauerkraut. Continue until you run out of meat. You can double stack the cabbage rolls if you run out of space. Chop up any left over cabbage leaves and add them to the crock pot. Cook on low for about 6 hours, high for 2.
  
• Serve in a bowl with a scoop of sauerkraut, a stuffed cabbage roll and some creamy mashed potatoes (recipe link is above).
  
  

How Long to Cook Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in a Crock Pot

This is the question most people search for before they even start cooking, and the answer depends on your slow cooker setting:

• Low: about 6 hours. This is the setting we use most often. The slower, gentler heat gives the cabbage time to become completely tender and lets the beef and rice filling cook through evenly without drying out.
• High: about 2 hours. Good for when you’re short on time. The rolls will still turn out tender, but keep an eye on them toward the end so the cabbage doesn’t overcook and fall apart.

Either way, the rolls are done when the cabbage is fork-tender and the meat filling has reached a safe internal temperature (165°F) all the way through. If you’re not sure, cut into the largest roll to check — better to double check than serve an underdone one.

Tips for the Best Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage

Don’t skip cooling the rice. Warm rice mixed straight into the beef filling can make it gummy once it cooks further in the crock pot. Cooking it ahead and letting it cool first keeps the texture right.

Cut that V at the base of each leaf. The thick rib at the bottom of a cabbage leaf doesn’t roll easily and can tear the leaf if you skip trimming it. A small V-shaped cut removes just enough to make rolling simple.

Don’t overfill each roll. About 1/4 cup of filling per leaf is the sweet spot — too much and the rolls won’t close properly or hold together during the long cook time.

Use the leftover cabbage. Any torn or extra leaves don’t need to go to waste — chop them and toss them into the crock pot with the rolls. They cook down and add more cabbage flavor to the sauerkraut base.

Prefer the oven? This recipe also works baked. Use a Dutch oven or a covered roasting pan at 350°F for about one hour if you’d rather not use the slow cooker.

Variations to Try

This dish has deep roots across Eastern European cooking, and you’ll see it under a lot of different names — halupki, galumpkis, golumpki, and golabki are all regional names for the same basic idea: meat and rice rolled in cabbage. A few ways to make it your own:

• Swap the protein. Ground pork or a beef-and-pork blend adds richness; ground turkey is a leaner option that still holds together well.
• Turn it into a casserole. If rolling individual leaves feels like too much for a weeknight, chop the cabbage and layer it with the same filling ingredients for a stuffed cabbage casserole in the crock pot — same flavors, less assembly.
• Make it a soup. Chop the cabbage and stir the filling ingredients together loosely instead of rolling for a stuffed cabbage roll soup — easier for a weeknight and just as comforting.
• Adjust the sauce. Some family recipes use crushed tomatoes instead of tomato soup, or add a spoonful of brown sugar to the sauce for more sweetness against the sauerkraut’s tang.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerator: Store leftover cabbage rolls in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. The flavor is often even better the next day, once everything has had time to sit together.

Freezer: Stuffed cabbage rolls freeze well. Cool completely, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag or container, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Reheating: Warm gently in a covered dish in a 325°F oven, or in the microwave, until heated through. Adding a spoonful of the sauce or extra sauerkraut when reheating helps keep the rolls from drying out.

Frequently Asked Questions