Our recipe for Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls is an authentic family version, modified by four generations of Hungarian-American cooks.
More about this recipe
We use a simple combination of ingredients that includes a filling made from a blend of ground pork, ground beef and rice, and a thick tomato sauce flavored with chopped cabbage, sauerkraut and a few strips of bacon.
The rolls are then layered with the tomato sauce in a Dutch oven and baked for several hours to allow the rich flavors to develop.
Each generation of our family has adapted this recipe a bit to suit their individual tastes and the availability of ingredients.
While our version of Hungarian stuffed cabbage may not correspond exactly with those of other families or ones you’ll find in Hungarian cookbooks, the flavors remain true to those that my great-grandmother served at her table after emigrating to the U.S. from Hungary more than one hundred years ago.
Four steps to perfectly made cabbage rolls
Forming the cabbage rolls is the only part of this recipe that requires a little practice, but armed with a few easy tips, you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
Once you’ve prepared your cabbage (either by the freezer or steam method outlined in the printable recipe below), separated the leaves, and made your meat mixture, you’re ready to make your rolls.
- To ensure easy rolling, you want to slice off the thickest portion of the center vein of each cabbage leaf (top left photo). To do this, turn each leaf outer side up and insert the point of a paring knife just under the thinnest part of the center vein and slice toward the bottom of the leaf, being careful not to cut all the way through. Reserve the veins to be chopped and added to the cooking pot.
- To add the filling (top right photo), place the trimmed leaf inner side up on a towel. Place 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture at the bottom, center of the leaf.
- Roll the cabbage leaf around the filling, using just enough pressure to make a firm roll without splitting the leaf (bottom left photo). Using a paring knife, trim away the extra cabbage on the sides, leaving about 3/4-inch of unfilled cabbage on either side for tucking in. Set aside the trimmings to be chopped and added to the cooking pot.
- Using your thumb and middle finger on either side of the roll, gently tuck the ends of the cabbage into the meat mixture, forming a dimple on each end (bottom right photo). Set the finished rolls aside as you work.
Serving suggestions
To really enjoy the cabbage rolls and their chunky sauce, serve over mashed potatoes or with buttered dinner rolls for dipping.
Also, although not traditionally Hungarian, we find applesauce is a delicious accompaniment to serve on the side.
Stuffed cabbage leftovers
Stuffed cabbage is one of those dishes that develops more flavor as it sits. Leftovers always taste better, so if you plan to serve this to company, consider making the dish a day or so in advance.
Stuffed cabbage freezes well too. Be sure to defrost it completely before reheating and if you find the sauce is a little watery, uncover the casserole for part of the reheating time so it can evaporate.
More Hungarian recipes
While you’re here, you may want to check out some more of our favorite family recipes:
- Easy Chicken Paprikas (Paprikash)
- Hungarian Noodle Dumplings (Nokedli)
- Instant Pot Chicken Paprikas with Egg Noodles
- Hungarian Cabbage Noodles
- Hungarian Summer Squash With Dill
- Hungarian Crêpes: Palacsinta
Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 medium heads cabbage
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, see recipe notes
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 lbs sauerkraut, rinsed, drained and squeezed dry
- 1 can, 26 to 28 ounce diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can, 6-ounce tomato paste
- 3 to 4 cups tomato juice, divided
- 4 strips hardwood smoked bacon
Instructions
- There are two different methods for preparing the cabbage leaves for rolling.
- One is to core the cabbage and steam the whole heads until tender. The other is to freeze the raw heads of cabbage in advance.
- The leaves will soften as they defrost, eliminating the need for steaming. The freezer method is much easier, but you do need to plan two days ahead.
Prepare The Cabbage Using The Freezer Method:
- Rinse the heads of cabbage and peel away the 2 outermost leaves and discard them.
- Pat each head dry and wrap them tightly with plastic wrap.
- Place the wrapped heads in a freezer bag and freeze until solid, 12 to 18 hours (depending on your freezer).
- Allow at least 24 hours for the cabbages to defrost in the refrigerator. Be sure to place a shallow pan under them as they release a lot of water as they thaw.
Prepare The Cabbage Using The Steam Method:
- Remove the cores and 2 outermost leaves from each head of cabbage.
- Add 2 to 3 inches of water to a large pot fitted with a steaming rack.
- Bring the water to a boil and place a head (or two if the pot is large enough) of cabbage in the pot.
- Cover and steam for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the leaves are tender and pliable enough to separate and roll. It may be helpful to remove the cabbage midway through the cooking time, remove a few of the most tender outer leaves and return the head to the pot to finish cooking.
Trim the cabbage leaves:
- Continue preparing the cabbage leaves for rolling by removing them from the heads, layer by layer. Set the leaves aside, blotting any excess moisture with a kitchen towel as you work.
- Depending on the diameter of your cabbages, you will need between 30 and 40 leaves to accommodate the quantity of meat in this recipe. Reserve the remaining cabbage for chopping.
- To ensure easy rolling, you want to slice off the thickest portion of the center vein of each cabbage leaf (see photo above).
- To do this, turn each leaf outer side up and insert the point of a paring knife just under the thinnest part of the center vein and slice toward the bottom of the leaf, being careful not to cut all the way through. Reserve the veins to be chopped and added to the cooking pot.
Prepare the filling:
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the uncooked rice and stir until nicely coated with oil. Continue cooking, stirring continually, for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic.
- Continue to sauté until the rice is lightly toasted and golden in color, 3 to 4 minutes more. Be sure to stir continuously to prevent the garlic from browning. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Place the pork and beef in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, and the cooled onion-rice mixture. Using your hands, combine thoroughly, making sure that the seasonings and rice are evenly distributed throughout the meat.
Make the cabbage rolls:
- To roll the cabbage, place a leaf, inner side up on a towel. Place 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture at the bottom, center of the leaf (see photo above).
- Roll the cabbage leaf around the filling, using just enough pressure to make a firm roll without splitting the leaf (see photo above). Using a paring knife, trim away the extra cabbage on the sides, leaving about 3/4-inch of unfilled cabbage on either side for tucking in. Set aside the trimmings to be chopped and added to the cooking pot.
- Using your thumb and middle finger on either side of the roll, gently tuck the ends of the cabbage into the meat mixture, forming a dimple on each end (see photo above). Set the finished rolls aside as you work.
Prepare the sauce:
- Once you’ve used up all of the meat, take what’s left of the cabbages along with the trimmed veins and ends, chop them roughly and place them in a very large bowl.
- Add the sauerkraut and, using your hands, mix well.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 cup of the tomato juice. Combine thoroughly.
Bake the cabbage rolls:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a large pot or Dutch oven (7 to 8 quart – see notes) with nonstick spray. Place a 3/4-inch thick layer of the chopped cabbage-sauerkraut-tomato mixture in the bottom. Layer some cabbage rolls on top, keeping them 1/2-inch or so from the sides of the pot. It’s fine for them to be close together.
- Add another, thinner layer of chopped cabbage, then more cabbage rolls, repeating as needed, finishing with a layer of chopped cabbage.
- Pour 2 more cups of tomato juice evenly over the rolls and around the edges of the pot, making sure all the rolls are moistened. It is not necessary for the rolls or chopped cabbage to be submerged in liquid.
- Lay the bacon strips over the top and cover tightly. Bake for 2 hours, checking midway through the cooking time to see if more tomato juice is needed to keep the rolls moist.
- After 2 hours, test for doneness by cutting one of the cabbage rolls in half and tasting to see if the rice is tender. If not, return the pot to the oven for an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Recipe Notes
About the Seasoning
You’ll note that the only seasoning listed in our instructions is added to the meat-rice mixture. The diced tomatoes and tomato juice contain quite a bit of salt as does the bacon that’s layered on top, so resist the urge to add more than we call for. A few extra grinds of black pepper can’t hurt though.What to Use for Cooking Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
We cook our stuffed cabbage in a 7-1/2 quart Dutch oven, but any large pot or casserole will do. The important thing is to cover it tightly, so if you don’t have a tight-fitting lid, use heavy-duty aluminum foil and be certain to check for excessive evaporation.Nutrition Information
Special Note: Recipes such as this vary from family to family and region to region, and they continue to evolve as they are passed down through the generations, often depending on changes in personal tastes, access to ingredients and sometimes even dietary restrictions. We welcome comments about recipe variations and family traditions, but please be polite and respectful.
Mariah E Avraham says
Because I don’t eat beef or pork I substitute ground chicken or turkey. It tastes great.
Lynne Webb says
Thank you for sharing that Mariah. It’s great information.
Lene says
I tried making the cabbage rolls with frozen cabbage, let it thaw in the fridge for two days made the cabbage rolls, but the leaves taste soggy. What did I do wrong? Please help
Lynne Webb says
Hi Lene,
I’m sorry to hear that the frozen cabbage didn’t work out as well as you’d hoped. Raw cabbage consists of nearly 93% water and when you freeze it, the cellular structure is broken down. As the heads defrost, they should release most of their water content resulting in pliable leaves that are easy to roll. If your cabbage was solidly frozen, then completely defrosted and you blotted the leaves dry before making your rolls, the only explanation I can offer for the soggy texture would be the particular heads of cabbage you had for this batch. It’s possible that the leaves simply didn’t release enough of their water in the freeze/defrost process, though for what reason, I’m not sure. As an aside, I’ve found that the leaves from dense heads of cabbage are easier to work with than those that are more loosely packed. When making stuffed cabbage, I always look for heads that are heavy for their size. Hope some of this information is helpful. Let me know if you have more questions.
Anne Kanyo says
I found that if you unthaw the cabbage in your fridge it doesn’t release the water content of the cabbage as well as if you just leave your frozen cabbage in your sink overnight!
Make sure you leave in sink at least 24 hours… I’ve been doing this for over 40 years and it’s perfect every time!
Lynne Webb says
Hi Anne,
Thanks for sharing your experience on this topic with us. That is very good advice and it makes perfect sense.
Greg plank says
My grandparents were off the boat from Hungry.. my grandmother used to make the traditional stuffed cabbage. My brother and I would always help her so we would eat first lol.
My brother started modifying her recipe, and i must say it is better than hers. Now ive modified his and her recipe. I mix, pork, veal, and ground meat. For a 2 lb recipe. I add garlic powder or fresh garlic minced, about 1/8 cup, then i add smoked paprika, about 6 tablespoons, 1 onion chopped fine, a tsp of caraway seed, 1 egg, salt and pepper and 1 cup of uncooked rice. Ive learned through experimentation that the egg seems to bind the roll together as it cooks.
For the sauce i think i may be a simpleton, i use Campbells tomato soup 3 cans with 1/2 can water, and i layer it. I put cabbage on the bottom first, then i cut Ekrich Polska smoke sausage into 1 ” bits and that goes on top of the cabbage, i usually use 2 14 oz packages. Then i add the rolls on top of that, and pour a can of soup on top, then i use 2 lbs sour kraut,
rinsed and 1/4 of the kraut goes on top of that, then i repeat the process until all the rolls are in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for about 6 or 7 hours on low remove the top after 5 hours. Its a simple and easy way to make stuffed cabbage. I also use plain ground meat when im mot trying to impress someone, it does taste just as good, but does not have the kind of exotic taste.
I hope someone tries my recipe they wont be sorry.
Shiryl says
Hi,
I have been making cabbage rolls for decades and your recipe is similar to what I use. I will try adding the smoked sausage and sauerkraut next time.
Thanks!
Denice Stepongzi says
I was so happy to find you recipe for stuffed cabbage. My grandmother had me helping make these in the late 50’s-60’s. Her “off the boat” Hungarian heritage was simple as she stated that Hungary was a very poor country in her area. I often look at the stuffed cabbage recipes, just to check. Yours is one of the most traditional recipes that I have seen. I make mine VERY much the same. If you want to go traditional, I would go with this recipe. Thanks for a little reassurance.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Denice,
Thanks for sharing your family history about this recipe. We get a lot of comments regarding variations which leads me to believe that there are some regional differences in the preparation. It sounds like our ancestors may have been from the same area!
Mary says
Im Hungarian and my mother and nagymama did. She also used sauerkraut. The rice is not precooked. and we used ham hocks in the pot not bacon however we did make a bacon rue.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Mary,
Just to be clear, the rice is not precooked in this recipe either, just lightly toasted to enhance flavor. We do not recommend adding cooked rice to the meat filling.
Ellie says
I’m Hungarian & my Mom never Baked Stuffed Cabbage , nor did she precook Rice or any ingredients . Yes with Cabbage boil . Every thing cooked on top of stove in regular Pot . She did add Egg .
Mary says
Also never used eggs. never even heard of this one
Carrie W says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! We had a delayed Thanksgiving celebration this year due to a doctor in the fam so I cooked up a batch of these for our family who gathered for the holiday anyway.
I made one recipe adjustment because I forgot to get tomato juice at the store so I used canned plain tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce, just the tomato puree!). Thought it was great.
I also ended up cooking in the crockpot. I had it 4 hours on high but it was getting extra bubbly so after 3 hours, I turned to low. The cabbage was tender, the meat was nicely cooked and took on all the other flavors, and the rice was nicely cooked too. Nothing worse than biting into crunchy rice!! Used up a jar of homemade sauerkraut as well. Delicious comfort food.
Served with a side of buttered spaetzle. My 8 year old nephew had 3rds!
Lynne Webb says
Hi Carrie,
I’m so glad to hear you and your family liked the stuffed cabbage and thank you for sharing your crockpot instructions. That will be helpful for others. Also – you can never go wrong with buttered spaetzle! Sounds wonderful.
Denice Stepongzi says
So happy to see your family recipe for stuffed cabbage. Mine, like yours came from my grandmother who is “off the boat”. She let me help in her kitchen and this is one of my favorites. Early on she cooked then on the stove and in the fifties she did bake them. Sometime between the 60″s and seventies we tried a type of crock pot. That is what I use to this day. Everything else is pretty much the same, with very little variation. We found that the crock pot as we let the cabbage cook slow and tasty. Usually I cook it overnight for the next day dinner. Never tried freezing the cabbage, but sounds good. I have a very intense hungarian backround…food seems to be a big part of it. I am now passing it down to my grandson and his wife, who love to cook. Thank you so much for reminding me of my heritage.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Denice,
Thanks for sharing your insights on this dish. I have not tried cooking my cabbage rolls in the crock pot, but it sounds like a great idea as low heat and slow cooking are the keys to developing flavor. As far as freezing the cabbage goes, I’ve found it to be easier but not everyone likes it because it does give off a lot of liquid when defrosting.
Gathering around the table is a great way to connect, and food was always a big part of our family heritage too. Thanks again for taking the time to reach out and share.
Rhett O'Reilly says
How important is rinsing the sauerkraut? I was thinking of just draining and squeezing all the excess liquid out and not rinsing as to maintain more of that salty acidic flavor it brings.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Rhett,
I happen to like the flavor of sauerkraut and if you do too, I think it’s fine to simply drain it really well and skip the rinsing. The main reason for rinsing is to avoid adding any vinegar-based liquid to the sauce because that could overpower the flavor of other ingredients. The process does wash away some of the sauerkraut’s tanginess though, so I do think thorough draining is a great middle-of-the-road option.
Jen Komaromi says
Your recipe is very close to my family recipe except that we don’t rinse the sauerkraut and we layer the kraut with the chopped cabbage and I put the diced tomatoes on top at the end(no paste or separate juice), it seeps down. I’ve also managed to make this in my instant pot with a 30 minute cook time. We also don’t add the bacon, will have to try it. Sounds delicious. One of my favorites.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Jen,
Thanks for sharing your family’s version of this recipe AND the Instant Pot information. I have not tried that yet, but it’s great to know that it works out successfully.
Bonnie Giusto says
I have been looking for a recipe that was close to my Austrian grandmothers. This one sounds very close to hers but she didn’t use the bacon or paprika. The sour kraut, raw rice and tomato juice are what she used. Thank you for the memory. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I haven’t made them in a long time and am craving them.
Dale Konyha says
Quite similar to my Dad’s recipe which he modified from my Grandma’s. We took Dad’s meat combination of beef, pork and veal equal parts to beef, pork, ground turkey. 3lbs, 2lbs and 2 lbs. in the same order. Since we have a Hungarian owned meat market near us, we can get everything we need for the properly stocked Hungarian kitchen. At times my grandma would use barley instead of rice, nice change up. Our daughter who won’t touch anything that has veal in it doesn’t like barley either. The best time of year for making this is now.
Dad also used his meat mixture into stuffed zucchini which we will be doing too.
Bonnie c says
This is a good recipe and very close to mine. I put bacon on the bottom of the pot and there is no problem with anything sticking and you get that flavor throughout the dish. I use v 8 juice for the tomatoes. Our three generations of Hungarian cooks don’t use garlic in our version of this. Each village in Hungary has their own twist to many dishes and we come from the “no garlic in this” school of thought. We also half cook our rice and add it to the meat mixture. I love making these in a crockpot.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Bonnie,
Thank you for sharing your family’s version of stuffed cabbage. You’re right, there are so many variations and they all sound delicious!
Nancy Childs says
This recipe sounds so good. I have been looking for one that uses Tomato Juice for a long time. Will definitely try this.
Alyssa says
Tomato juice? Is that the same as canned tomato sauce? I want to make this tonight but am a little confused about the tomato juice. Please advise, thanks!
Alyssa says
Ok, coming back to comment. Time consuming? Yes. Difficult? No. Best stuffed cabbage I’ve ever had? Resounding YES! So delicious and savory 10/10 recommmend. Although, I was confused about the Tomato juice I decided to just follow the recipe… (that is why food bloggers work so hard writing them)- followed to a T and it was amazingly delicious. Nothing worse than spending half the day making something that doesn’t turn out- well, that was not the case today! Thank you for sharing!
Lynne Webb says
Hi Alyssa,
I’m sorry I didn’t get to answer your question about the tomato juice before you started cooking, but I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed the stuffed cabbage. This is truly a favorite of mine and I really appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Alyssa,
You definitely want tomato juice, not tomato sauce. Its liquid consistency is needed to tenderize the cabbage leaves and steam the filling inside. There is some tomato paste in the recipe that will thicken the sauce as the liquid cooks down. Hope this answers your question.
Jan kahl says
This is exactly how my late Mother made them! I’ve never attempted to make them but going to try this Christmas!
Lynne Webb says
Hi Jan,
I’m sure they’ll turn out great. Enjoy!