One Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

Stuffed cabbage is a delicious traditional dish from eastern Europe. There are lots of ways to make it, but the most familiar way is to mix ground beef with onion, garlic, and cooked rice, wrap this filling in boiled cabbage leaves, cover it with tomato sauce, and bake it in a casserole dish. The juices from the meat ooze out into the rice and blend with the tomato sauce to make a yummy, hearty, savory meal.
Unfortunately, making it this way is a big hassle. You have to cook the cabbage first, and then mix up the filling, and then load it into the cabbage leaves and roll them up and put them in the dish and spoon on the tomato sauce…and then wait 45 minutes for the whole thing to cook.
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So I decided it was time to give this complicated dish a makeover. Just like my Easy Crockpot Lasagna Ravioli and my Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites, these One Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls have all the flavor of the original recipe, but they’re way easier to make. No need to mess with boiling and stuffing and rolling up a bunch of cabbage leaves…just brown the meat, add the rest of the ingredients, and let it all simmer in one pot until it’s done.
Stuffed cabbage that tastes just like Grandma’s…but without all the work.
One Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
(printable recipe at bottom of post)
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb lean ground beef
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 small green cabbage head, chopped (about 4 cups)
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large, deep skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef, onions and garlic together. Cook until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.

2. Add cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, paprika, sugar, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.

3. Cover and reduce heat, and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 30 minutes. Enjoy as is, or serve over rice.


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Corey, Darryl, Big D & Little D

One Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
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Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 small green cabbage head chopped (about 4 cups)
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large, deep skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef, onions and garlic together. Cook until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.
- Add cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, paprika, sugar, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat, and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I am anxious to try this it looks yummy, but I am one person ( widow) kow many carbs per serving,? Can it be put in freezer?
Yes, you can freeze this Inella. Carbs per serving are around 18g
What happened to the rice? I missed it not being in the dish.
You can surely add in some rice if you would like Valerie
This was just what I was looking for! Great recipe! Have made it twice now. S Once served over rice…well really i mixed the rice in. And the second just with a nice crusty bread and a sprinkle of parmesan!
Love the recipe except I’m on a low sodium diet. So, I used all no salt added tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and beef broth. I season with Benson’s Table Tasty for the salt flavor. I also used homemade cauliflower rice and added it directly to the mixture to cook. I’ll be sharing this low sodium recipe with other low sodium friends. Using the low sodium items cut the sodium for the entire dish down to 583 mg.
Delicious and so much easier than making cabbage rolls which is labor intensive. I added a splash of red wine vinegar to get a sweet sour taste which an Armenian grandma taught me. I also mixed in farro and brown rice to bulk it up.