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.
Today, I’m sharing a traditional Jewish stuffed cabbage recipe that’s a favorite for my family.
Stuffed cabbage is one of those nostalgic dishes that brings back memories of family, tradition, and comfort. While I didn’t grow up with a Jewish “bubbe” to teach me her version, I’ve spent years diving into the dish’s history and testing recipes from Polish and Israeli friends, classic cookbook authors like Joan Nathan, and even 2nd Avenue Deli.
I’ve made it sweet with raisins and preserves, tangy with sauerkraut and tomato, and everything in between.
My favorite take? A savory, well-seasoned filling with a slightly tart sauce. It’s less sweet than some versions, but packed with flavor. This is the version my husband loves, and the one readers return to again and again.
Everyone’s bubbe has her own way, and that’s the beauty of Jewish cooking. Below, I’m sharing my version, along with a step-by-step video and all my tips and tricks.
Perfect for cozy fall and winter meals, this dish is naturally gluten-free (when using certified GF products), high in protein, and full of fiber. For a quicker take, check out my Unstuffed Cabbage recipe.
Ingredients and Notes
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete details!
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- Cabbage – I prefer to use green cabbage for this recipe. 1 large head of cabbage is typically enough, but you may want to grab a second just in case.
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- Protein – I like to use a mixture of ground beef and ground chicken, but you can choose one or the other, if preferred. Feel free to use ground pork if not following a kosher diet. I recommend using fairly lean meat to avoid soggy stuffed cabbage rolls.
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- Rice – Use long-grain, white, or brown rice. Just make sure it’s cooked ahead of time.
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- Onion and Garlic – This adds a sweet, pungent, slightly savory flavor. I recommend using white or yellow onions and whole garlic cloves, not pre-minced varieties.
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- Herbs and Spices – Fresh dill, paprika, allspice, kosher salt, and pepper add a savory, warm flavor with bright, herbaceous notes that create a well-balanced bite.
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- Large Egg – This acts as a binder, holding the filling together.
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- Sauerkraut – I often have homemade sauerkraut on hand, but any store-bought option will also work.
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- Tomatoes – A combination of tomato sauce, diced or crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste forms the base of the filling, creating the savory, slightly acidic taste we want in a stuffed cabbage roll recipe.
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- Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, but bottled varieties also work if you don’t have lemons on hand.
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- Brown Sugar – This helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes. I find that two tablespoons is plenty, but you can add more if you prefer a sweeter taste.
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- Stock – I use chicken stock for a slightly more savory flavor, but water will also work, if preferred.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Holishkes)
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- Soften the cabbage. Rinse the cabbage, and immerse it in a large pot of boiling water until the leaves are soft and pliable. Then, drain the cabbage in a colander and set it aside to cool.
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- Prepare the filling. Mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Then, adjust the seasonings if needed.
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- Roll. Place whole cabbage leaves on a cutting board, and pat them dry with a paper towel. Use a paring knife to shave the tough, thick part of the stem. Then, place about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling, depending on the size of each leaf, in the center of the cabbage. Fold the base of the leaf up, covering the filing. Then, fold the edge inward and tuck the loose leaf inward, creating a pocket. Repeat, rolling all the leaves.
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- Heat. In a small saucepan, combine the tomato sauce, diced or crushed tomatoes, lemon juice, brown sugar, and spices. Warm over medium heat until bubbling and fragrant. Then, season to taste.
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- Combine. Add sauerkraut and chopped cabbage to the bottom of a pot, and spread the mixture out in an even layer. Pour broth on top, and place half of the stuffed cabbage leaves over the mixture, placing them seam side down. Next, layer the tomato sauce on top, and repeat with the remaining cabbage leaves and sauce.
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- Cook. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Then, reduce the heat to a slow simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the cabbage leaves are tender.
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- Serve. Carefully remove the cabbage from the pot. I like to use tongs for this! Then, spoon some of the sauce on top, add a generous sprinkle of black pepper, and serve hot.
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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 roughly 1 tsp of 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 until it’s thoroughly cooked, then taste it. It’s easy to under-season the filling, so err on the side of adding seasoning. Alternatively, if watching your sodium, you can add much less salt during this step, and season the finished dish to taste.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 until it’s completely covered.
- Fold the left edge of the leaf inward. Leave the right side of the leaf open.
- Continue rolling the leaf until 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 this 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 until 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 until 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.
NOTES
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
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FAQs
I like to serve Jewish stuffed cabbage leaves with a starchy side like olive oil mashed potatoes, classic potato latkes, or smoked paprika potatoes. They’re also great with Borscht or matzo ball soup. Or, for a light meal, I pair them with Israeli salad or a crunchy pickled salad.
Yes, I find that leftover stuffed cabbage leaves keep fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Or, you can also store them in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, reheat in the oven, microwave, or in a large skillet over medium heat.
Haven’t tried this recipe – yet.
My mom was born in Lithuania (part of USSR at the time) and her stuffed cabbage was sweet/sour. I still always have sour salt in the house.
The best part of watching her prepare the cabbage was that I got to eat part of the core with a little salt! I do that still.
I’ll have to try making stuffed cabbage again. Previous attempts never tasted anything like my momela’s … so I’ll take what looks right and let you know. Cooking for 1 person isn’t always conducive to making a lot of things – but a small cabbage will suffice, to be sure.
My grandmother’s dementia took her mind before I got all of her recipes – stuffed cabbage was one of them. I could tell my father was missing his mother’s comfort foods, so I used this recipe and it most certainly did the trick. Thanks, Ms, Avey, for helping me give my dad something he missed.
P.S. I’ve also made a vegetarian version of this replacing the meat with soy ground beef replacement products and it’s a knock out. Works great if you let the soy “meat” marinate overnight.
Dear Tori,
My mom, who died seven months ago, was a wonderful cook, particularly of Jewish dishes. Her stuffed cabbage was to die for. She was in slow decline over the past several years and though I made it my business to try to capture her recipes for my favorite Jewish dishes going to the extent of cooking her stuffed cabbage under her direction, I never wrote her recipe down. Somewhat intimidated by the operation of stuffing and folding the cabbage into rolls, I had all but given up ever making them in any way that replicated my mother’s efforts.
Then I noticed your recipe, and it seemed awfully close to my mom’s. Your photos of your method of stuffing the cabbages gave me enough courage to try myself. With Passover coming and my need to clear out my freezer and with your recipe for cabbage rolls in hand, I screwed up the courage to try to duplicate my mom’s stuffed cabbage.
Your recipe, Rumanian I believe, sounded more sweet and sour than my mom’s Hungarian recipe so I cut back on the sugar, dill and lemon and let the tomato sauce and sauerkraut determine more of the taste. It came out fine, particularly for a first effort. I think my mother would have approved.
Thank you so much for providing such a meaningful cullinary connection to my memories of my mother.
Sincerely,
Herb
So great to hear the memories this sparked for you Herb. Thank you for writing!
That’s a great idea. Never thought of using a roaster. I need to try that.
I lost my Gma’s recipe for cabbage rolls & ended up here, and I am very much enjoying everyone’s comments on ‘who & where’ their recipes come from, I believe my Gma was Slovakian. The ingredients are basically the same but my Gma never put kraut or sugar or lined the in hers BUT she did cook it in seasoned tomato soup but without the bed of shredded cabbage…she made slaw or soup out of the extra. She also used the same recipe for stuffed peppers. She baked hers in a roaster (like for a turkey) covered completely for an hour then released the steam (i’ve got her roaster & it has steam vents on the top) and cooked for another hour. I am going to make these this week for sure…i’ve got a craving for them right now lol. When I have time I will definitely check the other recipes, thanks for posting this one.
I have had a hankering for these for awhile now and have perused many recipes to get the general idea of how they are made. I have made sweet and sour cabbage in a very similar way, by layering the cabbage and flanken (short ribs), and cooking until tender. You have made this recipe sound delicious especially with the twist of the saurkraut in there too…and very attainable with the photographs of how to roll them. Thanks so much…..I can’t wait to make these tonight!
I admit I’m a cabbage roll snob. My mother and grandmother never made them, so I’ve only been exposed to friends’ grandmother’s recipes, and been sorely disappointed too many times. So when I went in search of the perfect cabbage roll recipe, I was looking for more than “dump a can of tomato juice over it and let it cook”. If I’m going to put as much love into a recipe as cabbage rolls require, I wanted it to be worth it! So it was with cautious anticipation that I assembled your recipe. And it is EVERYTHING a cabbage roll should be!! I appreciate your thorough and ingenious tutorial on rolling so the rolls stay together, and directions for trimming the stem end (why have I never seen that technique before?). The only change I made was to bake them covered for three or four hours. Every bite was eye-roll delicious! My husband was in love, and I was so happy to have hit the cabbage roll jackpot. THANK YOU!!!
Yay Melissa! You have no idea how happy comments like these make me. Thrilled you enjoyed it!
MOST EXCELLENT…….
I really like this recipe. Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. Will certainly make this recipe again.
You’re welcome Linda 🙂
My family has a similar recipe that my grandma and her sister used but their special secret is a handful of ground up ginger snaps in the sauce. Delish!
They look fabulous and Im sure even better tasting than they look. However I have a recipe myself that is to die for so easy to make and comes out perfect everytime. No sour salt no brown sugar. For the sauce I use one can of Ocean Spray whole Cranberries from the can and two cans of Hunts Tomato sauce and that combination does the trick of the best sweet and sour you will ever try
Jerry, thank you for the tip. That ocean spray/hunts combo sounds like it will work.
I’m going to give it a try.
I just made these vegetarian style using TVP (textured vegetable protein) and they came out amazing. I used a little extra rice to help bind the mixture, but other than that made no adjustments. Amazing recipe – the sauerkraut really makes it!
Great to hear that Rebecca!
thank you for all the great tips on this dish,i will be cooking this dish today for dinner.
Thanks for this. Growing up we always ate things that weren’t the standard fare of my friends. My Dad (who is 87) finally told us that we were actually Jewish. Anywho, not sure why I never thought about cooking the rolls in a pot vs pan. That is a great idea.
thanks again
Making em as we speak, and I cannot believe NO ONE has mentioned the most important part of making stuffed cabbage… MASHED TATERS! have never had these without them. dont use a hand mixer either.. better use a hand masher and at least 2 kinds of taters. Prost !
You are so RIGHT. And I like the same sauce on them as is on the cabbage rolls.
Thanks for the great info. I had been thinking about giving this recipe a shot lately. I turned on the Chew yesterday — have NEVER watched it before — and lo and behold…they were making stuffed cabbage! So I dug out my Mom’s recipe — totally different than all mentioned here — and am excited to give it a shot. Her’s does not use tomatoes at all… The sauce is brothlike – sweet and sour. We always sopped it up with lots of chale. The broth is “lots of paprika”, 7 squirts lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. sour salt and 7 (good) shovels sugar”. How cute is that!!! I should have fun figuring out what a shovel of sugar is – LOL! I couldn’t find sour salt, but Crystal Lite has a lot of citric acid, so I am going to try that — and maybe reduce the shovels of sugar!!
I sure wish she was still here so I could ask her about it and borrow some sour salt. 🙁 🙁
Do you cook the sauce with the cabbage rolls or separate?
The addition of mirepoix to the recipe presents an interesting angle. I will try that.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I use beef, pork and veal ground, a mirepoix and san marzano tomatoes. Best though is the addition of vinegar, brown sugar, gingersnaps and soursalt.
My Croation mom used to make the best…..we were part Jewish part gentile…..she used beef pork and veal combo…long grain rice….sour salt was a must….and Cherry Preserves are the secret ingredient…..makes a perfectly balanced sauce with a can of tomatoes, and a bed of sliced Bermuda onions and cabbage on the bottom of the pot……simmer away…..fantastico!
I really like the idea of onion and cabbage used as a bed, I’m going to try that. Mom simply put the rolls on the tray then covered them with sauce. I wish she was still here. I bet she would go for that.
Must do this tonight , but favour a parev version with soya mince , but do like the idea of using sauerkraut and sugar . It would make a fanastic Shabbat supper . Considering using a slow cooker