Stuffed cabbage leaves, also known as holishkes or prokes, may just be the ultimate comfort food. A slowly cooked, savory cold weather dish, stuffed cabbage is a classic and many families seem to have their own way of making it.
We all have a fondness in our heart for the dishes we grew up with, and the way our parents or grandparents cooked them. Often, we find ourselves wishing that our grandparents had written their family recipes down. After they’re gone, we struggle to capture that traditional flavor, the one we remember so well from our childhood.
Stuffed cabbage leaves were a central part of the Eastern European Jewish diet. When we talk about these types of dishes, it nearly always comes down to one question:
“How did Bubbe make it?”
Because I don’t have a Jewish “bubbe,” I have to create my own favorite way of making these iconic Jewish dishes. Sometimes I am influenced by my husband’s family, but I also like to see what other family traditions are out there.
Whenever I want to learn a Jewish recipe, I try many, many different recipes to see what I like best in each one. That means I’ve made stuffed cabbage over a dozen different ways. I’ve tried recipes from Polish friends and Israeli friends. I’ve tried it the Sara Kasden way, the Molly Goldberg way, the Fanny Engle and Gertrude Blair way (Jewish cookbook authors from my vintage cookbook collection). I’ve tried the wonderful versions from Joan Nathan and Arthur Schwartz and 2nd Avenue Deli. I’ve made it with V-8 juice and tomato soup, cranberry sauce and apricot preserves, raisins and crushed gingersnaps.
All of these recipes are terrific, and each has something that makes it special. My challenge is to take the thing I like best in each recipe and create something new, something fresh– my own take on the classic.
One thing I’ve found is that I like a stuffed cabbage that is less sweet and more tart. Some versions tend to be extremely sweet, often with raisins. I prefer a tart sauce with a slight sweetness, as well as a savory filling full of flavor. I add sauerkraut for that extra bit of tartness. The filling is key– a stuffed cabbage filling can easily be bland if you don’t give it lots of seasoning and care.
At any rate, this is my version of stuffed cabbage, the one my husband loves and asks me for on a regular basis. Your bubbe may have done hers differently. That’s what is so fun about Jewish food… every family has their own way, and every bubbe’s way is the best way. The sauce’s flavor can be adjusted by adding more brown sugar or lemon juice to taste, if desired.
Since first posting this recipe on my site, it has become a favorite with readers. Many have contributed their own versions of the dish in comments; read through for suggestions on alternate methods of preparation. I am reposting it today with a new “how to” video to show you every step of the process. I have also converted the recipe to my new system, which allows for adjusting servings and provides nutritional information.
Stuffed cabbage is a wonderful dish for the autumn and winter months. It’s cozy and satisfying, and it’s also pretty healthy. It’s gluten free (when using certified GF packaged products), low in carbs, high in protein and full of fiber.
For another easier version of this dish, my Unstuffed Cabbage, click here.
Did your bubbe make stuffed cabbage? What is your special family version of this classic dish?
Hungry for more? Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram for all the latest updates!
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
Ingredients
- 1 large green cabbage 3.5-4 lbs.
- 1 pound ground beef, ground chicken, or a mixture (I use half and half)
- 1 cup cooked long grain rice, white or brown
- 1/3 cup finely minced onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced dill
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups sauerkraut divided
- 28 ounces tomato sauce, divided (2 cans)
- 14 ounces diced or crushed tomatoes (1 can)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the cabbage clean, then immerse it in a large pot of boiling water and cook it for 4-5 minutes until leaves are soft and pliable, but not overly soft.
- Drain the cabbage in a colander and let it sit until cool enough to handle.
- Alternatively, you can freeze the cabbage overnight (or up to 3 days). Defrost the cabbage for about three hours. This will make the leaves pliable in the same way that parboiling does.
- Prepare your filling. In a bowl, mix together ground meat, cooked rice, minced onion, minced dill, egg, ½ cup sauerkraut (drained of juice), 1/3 cup tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste. I use about 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper—kosher meat needs less salt. To test the seasoning of the meat, you can fry up a small portion in a skillet or pop it in the microwave till it’s thoroughly cooked, then taste it. It’s easy to under-season the filling, so err on the side of adding extra pepper and salt.Tip: You can make this filling ahead and refrigerate a few hours to overnight; this will allow the flavors to marinate and make it firmer and easier to handle.
- Peel off the large cabbage leaves from the head of cabbage, keeping only the leaves that are whole/intact and big enough to stuff. Chop up the remaining smaller leaves along with the core of the cabbage. Reserve.
- Place your large leaves on a cutting board.
- Take a leaf and pat it dry with a paper towel.
- Shave down the tough, thick part of the stem at the base of each leaf using a paring knife, being careful not to cut through the leaf itself. Repeat process for the remaining leaves.Now it’s time to stuff the leaves. Place a leaf on the cutting board, stem end closest to you. The leaves tend to curl in one direction, so make sure that the curl is facing upward—in other words, it should have a bowl-like shape with edges that curl up, not down.
- Place 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling at the base of the leaf, centered, about 1/2 inch above the edge. Do not over-stuff the leaves; you want a substantial amount of filling, but a good amount of cabbage leaf around the edges makes for easier rolling.
- Fold the base of the leaf up and over the filling till it’s completely covered.
- Fold the left edge of the leaf inward. Leave the right side of the leaf open.
- Continue rolling the leaf till it’s completely rolled up (with the right end still loose/open).
- Tuck the loose end of the leaf inward, pushing it into the filled center of the leaf.
- This will create a neat package that has a better chance of holding together in the pot.
- Continue the process for the remaining leaves. Depending on how many useable leaves your cabbage has, you may find you have some leftover filling. Simply roll that filling into meatballs; you can place them into the pot along with the stuffed leaves, so you don’t waste anything.
- In a small saucepan, combine the rest of the tomato sauce with the diced or crushed tomatoes, lemon juice, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, garlic and allspice. Warm up over medium heat till bubbly and fragrant. Taste the sauce; season with salt and pepper and more brown sugar or lemon, if desired.
- Put remaining 1 cup of sauerkraut and the chopped cabbage leaves/core into the bottom of a pot. Spread the mixture out to create an even layer, then pour ½ cup of chicken broth or water over the top of the leaves.
- Place half of the stuffed cabbage leaves on top of the sauerkraut mixture.
- Pour 1/3 of the warmed tomato sauce over the first layer of stuffed cabbage leaves.
- Put another layer of stuffed leaves on top...
- ...and top with the rest of the sauce.
- Heat the pot over medium high and bring the sauce to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cover the pot. Let the cabbage leaves cook for 2-2 ½ hours till the thickest parts of the leaves are tender. Check the pot periodically to make sure it’s not boiling too vigorously—this can make the leaves fall apart. A slow, even simmer works best.When finished cooking, remove the stuffed cabbage leaves from the pot carefully with tongs. Top the stuffed cabbage with some of the sauce and a very generous sprinkle of black pepper. Serve hot. Leaves can be refrigerated for 4-5 days or frozen and reheated before serving.
JEAN STARR says
it’s great. looking forward to more recipes.
Harold bullock says
A great big THANKS for your quick response…
It was very interesting to learn this dish has Jewish origins. (Now I know who to thank for inventing my favorite food)
Like you, I prefer the less sweet variety, which is how mum made it. I know that mum used only the very outer leaves (her stuffed cabbages were BIG). She did not boil the cabbage first to soften it, she wrapped the stuffing in the leaf, folding it the way you do. She put it in a pan, poured the sauce over it and baked it in the oven. She made her own sauce from a tomato base such as hunts. And here is what you may find really interesting…instead of rice, she used kasha. I’ve since learned that most people don’t know what that is, at least, none of my friends do, but I’m sure you do. The other thing I find interesting is that kasha is sold in the Jewish section of my favorite supermarket, and now I learn that stuffed cabbage has Jewish origins!
I don’t know what she seasoned the stuffing with, so I’m going to use your recipe.
Thanks again, you made my day!
Andrew Smith says
This is your basic recipe for stuffed cabbage that always brings me compliments. I bake this recipe in the oven rather than cooking it stove top. I also cover the cabbage rolls with additional leaves. This way the actual cabbage rolls stay moist and don’t get burned. I do parboil my cabbage, cutting a few leaves off at a time as they cook. I do add 1/2 to 3/4 cup tomato juice to the meat. This is something my Polish mother always did. I do make a different sauce. After all the work of making homemade stuffed cabbage rolls, I find it hard to pour tomato soup on top. For one pound of meat, I mix an 8oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. I mix well and pour over cabbage rolls. Sometimes I double the sauce if I want a lot extra. I often serve these with noodles, so it is nice to have plenty of sauce to pour on the noodles.
Martha says
Thank you for this great recipe. The pictures and explanation to go along with it are wonderful! Before I found your recipe, I had just finished making a pot of stuffed cabbage. I had done pretty much how you do yours, I was looking how long to cook them. I like the idea of putting the sauerkraut and extra cabbage at bottom of pot. I am saving this page in my favorites bar.
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome Martha!
Ana says
Looks great! About to give them a try, am in England though and not sure what you mean by a can of tomato sauce! Is that ready made like pasta sauce, chopped tomatoes or ketchup?? Help!
Tori Avey says
Hi Ana, tomato sauce is sold in cans here in the U.S. It’s a simple cooked and thickened puree of skinless cooked tomatoes, sometimes mixed with a few basic seasonings. It may be sold under another name in England, I’m not sure. Hope that helps!
Stefani Margolis says
I made this for Rosh Hashanah. Had a large group–varied backgrounds–everyone loved it. The sauce was perfect. My mom used to make stuffed cabbage rolls but never wrote down a recipe.
You’ll have lots of new followers–I told them all about you!
Tori Avey says
Thanks for spreading the word Stephani! I appreciate it so much. Glad you enjoyed the cabbage leaves. 🙂
Joanne says
My husbands mother made stuffed cabbage, she was Slovak , I am Irish. She used half ground beef and half pork, sautéed chopped onion, and bacon, salt pepper, and caraway seed, uncooked rice, tomato juice and crushed tomato. Chopped up unused cabbage in sauce. Cooked several hrs. and we ate them with mashed potatoes.
Nina says
I absolutely love cabbage rolls. I have been eating them my entire life. My Mother made them, but she never wrote it down, I had to watch her and remember the flavors. She never used any sauerkraut, and I think it would have been awesome. She used ground beef and pork, chopped onions, rice that had been slightly toasted in a frying pan, some tomato paste, garlic, salt and pepper. She filled the leaves, then rolled them and put them in a deep sided frying pan on top of a bed of the cut up cabbage that was left. She covered all with a hearty chicken stock and simmered them on top of the stove. I cook mine like hers except I don’t use ground pork. I’m going to try this recipe with the tomatoes, and sauerkraut.
Elise says
I don’t know if this will help the person looking for the coleslaw recipe but my husband’s grandmother used to have a deli in Philadelphia and here is what she told me.
The proportions of mayonnaise to water, white vinegar, and sugar is 4:1:1:1
I used the bagged coleslaw mix and mixed two bags with 12 tablespoons of mayonnaise
3 tablespoons of water, 3 tablespoons of white vinegar, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Just put the slaw mix in a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt, and stir in everything else. You can add a little finely chopped celery if desired. The mix will look dry, but as the salt releases water from the mix, it will be the perfect consistency.
If you decide to use a head of cabbage, just finely shred it, shred 1-2 carrots and follow the same directions. If your cabbage is large, you may need to increase the mix in the same ratio. This is best made the day before you want to serve it. I hope this recipe is similar to what you are looking for.
Mothercrone says
Dear Elise, Thank you so much for replying to me about a coleslaw recipe. That is very kind of you and I appreciate it. I will copy your hubby’s Grandmother’s recipe and give it a try. Have a wonderful day. ♥
Mothercrone says
Never got an opportunity to ask my beautiful mother for her recipe for stuffed cabbage and also for her coleslaw recipe. She was the very best cook and managed to cook a different menu every night for months on end, even when she was not feeling well. Unfortunately, time and ill health took her too soon from us. I have most of her recipes but not this. I love how you were very concise and descriptive with beautiful photos on how to prepare this meal. Thank you, thank you. I can’t wait to make it.
Hadster says
Like you, I have an ever growing set of Jewish cookbooks with different culinary and cultural backgrounds and history. Also like you, I like taking from each of them and creating what I like best. Thank you for your blog and recipes. Right now I don’t need to buy anything, but when I do, I’ll see if you offer it.
Keep up the good work!
Hadster
misty batten says
I threw together some stuffed cabbage leaves without a recipe..I used ground deer meat, ricotta cheese, onions, garlic, salt and pepper and used jarred spaghetti sauce..It was really yummy. My husband wants me to try it with red cabbage leaves..any thoughts?
Hellen Conner says
Hi,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made these tonight and they are simmering on the stove top. I can’t wait to try them! They smell so good!
Wendy says
I made these tonight and they were delicious. I just placed the rolls in a baking dish and covered them with the sauce. I baked them for 1 1/2 hours at 350 (covered the baking dish with foil). I then baked them for about 20 mins. with the foil off.
I assume that the paprika is used in the sauce. It was listed in the ingredients but isn’t mentioned in the instructions.
Mollie says
Where does the paprika go? I couldn’t find it? I used hungarian sweet and put it in the sauce…Doubled the lemon and brown sugar. They’re bubbling away now!
Lisa says
Hi Tori, I just discovered your blog and I am loving it! My grandparents immigrated from Russian and landed in the Catskill Mountains of NY where they ran a Kosher hotel called “Sunny Oaks”. I spent time there in the summers, growing up. I loved the food, especially my grandmother’s stuffed cabbage. I only wish I had a chance to cook with her and get her recipe while she was alive. I know she froze the cabbage and used sour salt and brown sugar. She also added raw rice to the meat. I plan to write about grandma Fay’s stuffed cabbage for my (very new) blog one of these days. In the meantime, your recipe looks great and you’ve clearly experimented a lot with stuffed cabbage. Cant wait to try it and also to enjoy other recipes on your blog. Lisa
Jennifer says
Beautifully written post! I love the reference to the visual reminder of the rolled Torah.
Nan Russell says
Ok, Moldova it is, then. You’re more than welcome to come and stay with us even. We’ll show you around and give you the best we have to offer. Hopefully, we’ll see you soon. 🙂
Belle Rita says
My grandmother was from Poland and her stuffed cabbage and cabbage soup were sweet and sour. She used sauerkraut in her cabbage soup sometimes. An easy way to prepare your cabbage for stuffing is to put the whole head in the freezer until it’s frozen solid then when it defrosts the leaves are pliable. If you can get a Savoy cabbage, it’s even easier. Last year my synagogue had a soup and salad evening and two old ladies (I’m 70, they were older) came over to me and said that my cabbage soup tasted just like their mother’s. I asked each of them if their mothers were from Poland, and they were. My cabbage soup has some raisins in it.
unikorna says
We have a traditional Romanian dish called sarmale but we use pickled cabbage leaves, it’s sourish, delightful :).