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Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce

Created On:   |  Updated:   |   83 Comments

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Slow cooker cabbage rolls are moister and more flavorful than ones baked in the oven. Stuff cabbage leaves with beef and rice and simmer in a tomato sauce all day long, this comfort food makes enough to feed families.

Slow cooker cabbage rolls are moister and more flavorful than ones baked in the oven. Stuffed with beef and rice and simmered in a tomato sauce all day long, this comfort food makes enough to feed families.

Cabbage rolls, or stuffed cabbage, are a super filling dinner that definitely counts as comfort food. Cabbage leaves are stuffed with a ground meat and rice mixture and then simmered in a tomato sauce. The result is delicious!

This is not exactly a quick recipe, but the end result was well worth the time and effort. Plus you can make extra to freeze for later. One of the benefits to cooking cabbage rolls in a slow cooked will be moister and more flavorful rolls than ones baked in the oven.

Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce

Steamed Cabbage Leaves

First, you need to steam the cabbage. This helps the leaves soften so you can roll them without breaking.When steaming the cabbage, you will see a point where the cabbage turns a bright green. The leaves are ready to peel off then.  Peel off about 2-3 leaves and then put the head back in to soften up the head more.

You will most likely have leftover cabbage. Don’t throw it away! One of our readers left a great idea in the comments:

“Cut it into shreds with a sharp knife and line the bottom of the crock pot before putting in the rolls. It will simmer away in the sauce and is absolutely delish. You can also omit the brown sugar and added a small can of sauerkraut, drained. Toss with the shredded cabbage, It adds a nice zip to the recipe.” 

Once the cabbage is steamed and soft, set the leaves aside. 

Stuffing for cabbage rolls

Next, you will prepare the cabbage roll stuffing using ground meat and rice. Ground beef is a traditional meat to use in cabbage rolls, but turkey would work as well.

You will want to use converted rice for the cabbage roll filling. Converted rice takes longer to cook so it doesn’t turn to mush in the cabbage rolls.  Uncle Ben’s Original Rice is converted rice and is easy to find in most grocery stores. The rice is par cooked, which means you cook it just a little bit to get it started cooking, but don’t cook it all the way to doneness. 

Mix up all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and get ready to make some cabbage rolls.

How to make cabbage rolls

To make the cabbage rolls, put about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture at the top a cabbage leaf. You may vary the amount stuffing depending on the size of the cabbage leaf. 

Cabbage Rolled

The cabbage should be easy to roll up but be careful not to rip it (too much). Keep rolling to the end of the cabbage leaf. When you reach the end, tuck in the ends.  You may want to cut off the thick rib from the leaves. It will leave a little split at the end. Just tuck it all in. Repeat this process for each cabbage leaf.

CrockPot Stuffed Cabbage

Lay the stuffed cabbage leaves in the crock of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.  You may get to a point in the cabbage where it’s difficult to get the leaves off the head in a whole leaf. That’s fine! Just stop and call it good.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Once all the cabbage rolls are done and layered in the slow cooker, pour the tomato sauce over the rolls. Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn it on low.  You can also cook on high if you are in a hurry just cut the time in half.

You can serve these immediately or save for later. They definitely get better with a little bit of sitting and make great leftovers.

 

Check out all the recipes in the 30 Day Slow Cooking Challenge!

Yield: About 10 rolls

Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce

Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce

Stuff cabbage leaves with beef and rice and simmer in a tomato sauce all day long, this comfort food makes enough to feed families.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 1/2 cup converted long grain rice (Uncle Ben's brand is converted)
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1 large egg, well beaten
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (15 oz.) can diced Italian seasoned tomatoes
  • 1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 Tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

  1. COOK THE CABBAGE: Fill a large pot three quarters full of water and lightly salt. Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a brisk boil. Add the cabbage, cover the pot and cook until the outer layers of the cabbage peel off easily. Remove the tender leaves and pick out 10 of the largest leaves. Remove the thick ribs in the center of each leaf. Set aside.
  2. PAR COOK THE RICE: Fill a medium saucepan three quarters full of water and lightly salt. Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the rice. Cook for 5 minutes then drain and rinse under cold water and drain well again. Set aside.
  3. PREPARE FILLING: Melt the butter in a skillet placed over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.
  4. Place the onion and garlic into a mixing bowl. Stir in the par cooked rice from Step 2. Add the ground beef, egg, rosemary, salt and pepper and mix until well blended.
  5. MAKE THE ROLLS: Spread 1/3 CUP of the filling into the center of each cabbage leaf. Fold the sides of the leaves over the filling and roll up the cabbage. Place the cabbage rolls, seam side down, into a 6 quart or larger slow cooker . Repeat until all the cabbage leaves and meat mixture are used up.
  6. MAKE SAUCE: In a mixing bowl stir together the tomatoes with their juice, brown sugar and lemon juice. Pour the mixture over the cabbage in the slow cooker.
  7. SLOW COOK: Cover and cook on low 6 hours or until the cabbage is fork tender.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1 roll
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 377Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 717mgFiber: 9gSugar: 17gProtein: 26g
© Camille
Category: Slow Cooker Recipes

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Patricia Timmons says

    Can you use Napa Cabbage for this recipe. My husband thought this one up. 😀 But you never know. Thanks 😀

    Reply

  3. Patricia Timmons says

    If you use Campbell’s tomato soup to pour over the cabbage rolls. Do you dilute it or not. Thanks 😀

    Reply

  4. Yolene says

    Have you ever tried soaking the cabbage in water? It becomes easier to remove the leafs. This dish is delicious. I’ve never tried cooking it in a crockpot. I am definitely trying it.
    Thank you for sharing

    Reply

  5. Karen B. says

    Hi This recipe sounds amazing!! I was wondering can you omit the rice to cut the carbs? Or is the rice working as part of the bonding?

    Reply

  6. Lorna says

    I’ve made this four times now and I love it,the first time I had no crushed tomatoes, so I used a can of Campbell’s tomato soup and it turned out great, the second time I had crushed tomatoes and it was watery, tasted great but something was missing ,so I make it with tomato soup, the soup and diced tomatoes give it the right thickness, right now I’m trying purple cabbage but I don’t recommend it, my stove looks like a Smurf exploded on it.lol.
    PS thanks for the recipes.

    Reply

  7. Trese says

    I made these yesterday and they were delicious. I panicked a little when I started making it bc the Uncle Bens rice I bought was the Minute rice and not the converted. If you make that mistake – just throw the minute rice in uncooked. After six hours in the crock pot, the rice was cooked and not mushy at all. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  8. Ashley says

    I have made this recipe twice, it’s absolutely delicious. However the sauce has turned out a bit watery both times, I’ve followed the recipe exactly so I’m not sure why its turning out that way.. maybe from the ‘steam’ in the crockpot? But it’s a pretty noticable amount of water so I’m not sure that’s the cause…any thoughts?

    Also thank you for the recipe, it really is quite delicious and I dont feel guilty eating it! 🙂

    Reply

    • Kathy DeRouchey says

      I love stuffed cabbage, but this recipe confounds me. You say to add 1/3 of the mixture to each leaf. That would make 3 rolls, not 10. And then you answer the question about raw or cooked rice and say it’s raw…. when the recipe calls for boiling it for 5 minutes???

      Have you ever cored out a cabbage head and stuffed the whole thing? Turn it over so the stuffed end is down. Then you simply cut the whole cooked head into 6ths or 8ths. It makes a very pretty presentation.

      Reply

      • Camille says

        Yes, you need to par cook the rice for 5 minutes before adding it to the meat. But it must be converted rice (Uncle Ben’s is converted rice). Put 1/3 CUP (not 1/3 of the mixture) in to each cabbage leaf. No, I haven’t stuffed a whole cabbage! Sounds like it’d make a fun family dish.

        Reply

  12. Eleanor Jacobs says

    I am wondering if anyone has tried freezing these, I am cooking for 1 person (me)and usually always have leftovers

    Reply

  13. Kaitlynne says

    These are delicious and so easy, a little trick my family did (growing up in a Irish/Italian household, we would add Italian sausage to the meet mixture and it always gave such a delicious spice and added a lot of flavor to the tomato sauce 🙂

    Reply

  16. eduardo says

    Yo los preparo casi de las misma manera pero, con menos carne y más arroz y otros vegetales como el morron rojo o amarillo. Los sobrantes de repollo se colocan en el fondo de la olla con 2 o 3 rodajas de limón. Los acomodo en círculos y los cubro con una tapa de olla más pequeña y le coloco un elemento pesado (1 o 2 piedras) para que no se rompan. Cubro con agua o caldo hasta las tapa de la olla y los cocino por 35 a 40 minutos. Cuando algún arroz que este flotando pruebo y está listo. Los sirvo caliente con: pesto, aceite de oliva y limón o salsa roja (tomate). Espero que les sea útil.

    Reply

  18. Susy says

    My Mom used to use a thin bacon rind to add flavor. I use real bacon and also we used sauercrut! I alternate bacon, then, cabbage roll, then sauercrut and last tomato sauce then start all over again! The flavor is outstanding.

    Reply

  22. Jann Olson says

    This sounds super yummy! Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but I’m not seeing a link back to the party. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    Reply

  23. Judi Graber says

    We love stuffed cabbage rolls – my Weight Watcher’s recipe is one of the most popular posts on my blog – go figure! Your version looks really good! Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday.

    Reply

  24. Miz Helen says

    Your Cabbage Rolls are perfectly rolled, they look delicious!Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great week and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply

  35. Grandma Cindy says

    Don’t waste the rest of the cabbage. Cut it into shreds with a sharp knife and line the bottom of the crock pot before putting in the rolls. It wuill simmer away in the sauce and is absolutely delish. You can also omit the brown sugar and added a small can of saurkraut, drained. Toss with the shredded cabbage, It adds a nice zip to the recipe.

    Reply

  37. Renata says

    Why is this recipe under “low carb”? It is not low carb. 42g of carb? It sounds good, but should be in a different catagory.

    Reply

  38. yvonne says

    I bought the largest head of cabbage I could find so I’d have larger leaves. I also cut around the core at the bottom and steamed in the microwave. It was much easier to peel the leaves off. I also took the extra cabbage left over and added it to the crockpot to eat with the rolls.

    Reply

  39. Debbi says

    I love cabbage rolls, but haven’t made them for many years. This got me thinking of a recipe called Bubble & Squeak which has all the ingredients & flavor of cabbage rolls without all the work. You cut up the cabbage & cook it all together in one pot. It would bubble when it cooked & the cabbage would squeak when you stirred the pot. I believe this is how it got it’s name. I think this could work in a crock pot as well.

    Reply

  40. Vickie Geiger says

    Core your whole head of cabbage and then stick it in the freezer overnight. Thaw the next day. Leaves peel off head easily.

    Reply

  41. Robert J Sicora says

    I use my crock pot for a marinara sauce . Three 28oz.cans of Peeled Plum Italian Style Tomatoes , two 14.5 oz.cans of Stewed Tomatoes Italian Recipe , two 8oz. cans of sauce , and one 8oz. can of paste . Salt, pepper, 2 tbsp. sugar(brown) , 2 large leafs of basil cut up fine or 1 tbsp. of dried basil , 1 tbsp. of dried oregano , 1 med. onion cut up fine , 2 cloves of garlic cut up fine . Cook on high for two hours then use a masher to break down plum and stewed tomatoes . Simmer on low for three hours . Use a large spoon to draw off thin liquid . This will yield a much thicker sauce .

    Reply

  42. Frugal Hausfrau says

    These look really good, Camille! I love love love cabbage rolls and never thought to make them in a slow cooker!!

    Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday!

    Mollie

    Reply

  44. Jennifer says

    I love cabbage rolls but never thought to make them in a slow cooker. YUMMY!

    I’ll have to give this a try!

    Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).

    Wishing you a lovely weekend.
    xoxo

    Reply

  45. Joanne Viola says

    Stuffed cabbage is one of our family’s favorites. My mom always cooked hers on top of the stove in a Dutch oven. Definitely going to try this! So glad you shared it!!!

    Reply

  46. Audrey says

    Headslap! If I made this in the slow cooker, I could move it outside and not “stink up the house like my mom always did” as my husband says. And that is why I have never thought about making them until now.

    Reply

    • Camille says

      Ha ha! Yes! My mom used to make kapusta (Polish sauerkraut) and I hated the way it made the house stink! Of course, now I love the smell. 🙂

      Reply

  47. Helen says

    OMG – I lov Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner Sunday Link up!e cabbage rolls but I’m too lazy to do all the pan cooking – in a slow cooker?? Oh yeah!!

    Reply

    • Helen says

      And Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner Sunday Link up! (got so excited about the recipe I forgot this part of my comment)

      Reply

  48. Trish says

    I usually cook these on the stove top for a long, long time but I have you keep checking to make sure there’s enough liquid in the pot – never thought of using the slow cooker. Makes a lot of sense and it’s much easier just put the rolls in and let it go. No more running back and forth to the kitchen. What a great idea. Thanks.

    Reply

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