Golabki (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

Golabki are cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice, then simmered in tomato soup. This works great in the oven or a slow cooker. Serve them with the pan juices and a drizzle of sour cream, or mix the pan juices with sour cream and ladle it over the cabbage rolls. They’re also good with mashed potatoes and a cucumber and sour cream salad. They freeze well too — either before or after cooking.

Preparation Details

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins

Servings: 9

Ingredients

• 1 head cabbage, cored
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• ½ pound ground pork
• 1 ½ cups cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 3 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans tomato juice, or more to taste
• ½ cup ketchup

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place cabbage head into the pot, cover, and cook until leaves are softened enough to remove from the head, about 3 minutes. Remove cabbage from the pot and let sit until leaves are cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
2. Remove 18 whole leaves from the cabbage head, cutting out any thick tough center ribs. Set whole leaves aside. Chop the remaining cabbage and spread it in the bottom of a casserole dish.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, about 5 minutes.
4. Combine beef, pork, cooked rice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add onion and mix until well combined.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. Place about 1/2 cup beef mixture onto a cabbage leaf. Roll the leaf around beef mixture, tucking in the sides to create an envelope around the meat. Repeat to make remaining cabbage rolls. Place cabbage rolls in a layer over chopped cabbage in the casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Whisk condensed soup, tomato juice, and ketchup together in a bowl; pour over cabbage rolls and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until cabbage is tender and meat is cooked through, about 1 hour. Uncover for the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).