Italian Cabbage Rolls

image_pdfimage_print

These Italian cabbage rolls are the first meal I cooked for my  first husband, who was Polish when I was sixteen years old, they were not good. I was a straight from the boat Italian girl that knew nothing about polish cooking.

All I knew was they were  a favorite in my husbands family, and I wanted to make them. After a few failed attempts I came up with this Italian version. Ground beef, and rice stuffed cabbage topped with a garlicky marinara sauce full of Italian flavors makes this recipe a favorite in my family now. The best part is it’s freezer friendly, for ready made meals on busy weeknights or unexpected company is coming.

Can You Customize Italian Cabbage Rolls

Of course you can customize Italian Cabbage Rolls. It can work with different combinations of ingredients. For instance if you don’t like beef you can use chicken and if you want a healthier rice use brown rice

My favorite has always been the combination of cabbage and beef. But you can use ingredients that fit you lifestyle and taste. A few things to remember when home cooking

It’s important to have the right saute pan, you don’t need a lot of pans, but you do need the right sized ones. To have a well functioning kitchen you need the right equipment just like in a commercial kitchen it’s the most important part.Here’s a link to a complete set of pans, or if you want to start with one and build from there here’s a good all around saute pan.

Every kitchen needs at least one covered casserole dish that goes from oven to table to dishwasher here is my favorite one. It’s a little pricey but you only need one that you can use for a lot of different recipes

Just one more thing, everyone has different taste buds, that is why I don’t give you measurements for salt and pepper.

I personal don”t like a lot of salt and I am of the mind set that you can always add more but it’s difficult to correct over salting. It can be done in soups and other foods that have a liquid base.

If you make this please leave me a comment and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I love hearing from you!!!!

Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 head savory cabbage
    • 1 lb ground beef
    • 2 cups cooked rice
    • 1 chopped onion
    • 3 Tablespoons chopped garlic
    • 3 cups prepared marinara sauce
    • 2 Tablespoons each Italian parsley, basil and thyme
    • 1/2 cup parmesan
    • Salt and pepper to taste

             Instructions

      1. Preheat oven to 325
      2. With a sharp paring knife core the cabbage separating the leaves being careful not to tear them
      3. In a large stock pot in rapidly boiling salted water par boil the cabbage for 5 minutes
      4. Drain cabbage reserving 2 cups of the water before draining run the cabbage under cold water
      5. In a large saute pan  with 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil  on medium high heat  saute the onion and garlic until tender and just beginning to brown
      6.  Add ground beef and saute just until slightly pink
      7. Add the cooked rice, herbs, and 1 cup of prepared marinara mix well
      8. fill the cabbage leaves with the ground beef mixture roll tightly
      9. Mix remaining 2 cups of  marinara with the reserved cabbage water
      10. Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in a 9 x 12 casserole dish
      11. line with the stuffed cabbage leaves
      12. Pour remaining marinara over the cabbage rolls
      13. Bake covered at 325 degree for 1/2 hours

More to Explore

Comments (2)

  1. Thank you very much for posting your delicious Italian cabbage Rolls. We have not had this since living at home and your recipe is so close to moms. Can’t wait to try as feeling sentimental. Wishing you a super week ahead! Take care

    1. Thank you, let me know how the recipe works out for you. Am happy it conjured up fond memories.

Comments are closed.

Back To Top
Search