If you like traditional Polish cabbage rolls but don’t like all the work this cabbage roll casserole is for you! It’s delicious, simple and healthy and can feed your whole family.
You can call this cabbage roll casserole, cabbage roll bake, unrolled cabbage rolls or lazy cabbage rolls but it won’t change the fact that it’s absolutely delicious.
This simple dish consists of cooking cabbage roll stuffing and then baking it into a casserole with the cabbage.
This is honestly the closest I will ever come to making cabbage rolls. I’m probably not supposed to say that as a Polish person, but it’s the truth. I just cannot be bothered with boiling or steaming cabbage leaves and taking them all apart and then rolling each cabbage roll individually. I’m sweating just writing all that out.
Lucky for me, and you if you feel the same way about making cabbage rolls, this cabbage roll casserole tastes exactly like cabbage rolls with none of the hassle. We’ll call this lazy cabbage rolls!
Preparing Cabbage Roll Casserole
Ingredients
Produce
Cabbage: There are many varieties of cabbage the most common, in North America, being the green cabbage and purple, also referred to as red, cabbage. This is an annual vegetable that grows in a head with dense leaves. Cabbage is packed with nutrients and is low in calories making it an excellent addition to most meals.
Onion: Onion is a very common vegetable that is used both raw and cooked in food preparation. It has a sharp flavour raw that often sweetens once cooked. There are many varieties of onions, some that are milder than others. We use the common onion or yellow onion in this recipe.
Dill: Dill is a herb that has soft almost feathery leaves that are used for medicinal purposes as well as to flavour food. Dill adds nutrition with high vitamins C and A content and moderate iron content.
Dairy
Milk: I use full-fat (3.25%) or partly skimmed (2%) cow’s milk for this recipe. The milk combined with the eggs makes a binder for this casserole.
Eggs: Eggs are laid by many different animals but chicken eggs are what we use in this recipe. Eggs provide protein, fat and many other nutrients and therefore are a healthy part of our diet. Here they are used as a binder.
Meat
Ground pork: Ground pork, or minced pork, is made from meat cut off from other cuts. The extra bits are put through a grinder or sometimes might be finely chopped. Ground pork is usually lean and therefore has some fat content.
Pantry
White rice: Basmati and Jasmine rice are both types of long-grain rice as well as American long-grain white and brown rice. Long-grain rice stays fluffy when cooked and separates nicely.
Passata: Passata is strained tomatoes which has the consistency of tomato sauce. Once cooked down it thickens slightly but not too much as it doesn’t have too much excess liquid.
Sugar: White or granulated sugar is refined sugar made from either cane sugar or beet sugar. It is completely
freed of molasses through the refining process and ground to granules smaller than salt.
How to Make Cabbage Roll Casserole
It may seem like there are a lot of steps in this recipe but it really is quite simple. If you’re not comfortable prepping veggies while you have something cooking on the stove, then take a few extra minutes at the beginning to dice the onion and cabbage.
Step 1: Cook the Rice
Start with cooking the rice. My preferred method is to cook the rice in the microwave. Add the rice and 1 1/4 cups of water to a microwave-safe dish with 1 tsp salt. The dish must be graded for cooking in the microwave. I use Corning Ware.
Set the power level for the microwave to 60% and the cooking time to timer seconds=”0″ minutes=”30″ hours=”0″]30 minutes[/timer].
If you don’t have an appropriate dish, cook the rice on the stovetop following the package instructions minute a few minutes of cooking. The rice will cook through the rest of the way in the oven.
You can preheat the oven to 350°F now.
Step 2: Make the Cabbage Roll “Stuffing”
While the rice is cooking, heat up the large pan and cook the ground pork for about 6-7 minutes. minutes breaking it up as it cooks.
In the meantime, dice the onion and roughly chop the cabbage.
Once the meat is almost cooked, add the remaining salt, the onion and cabbage. Stir to combine and cook until the cabbage and onion begin to soften. (7-8 minutes). Stir occasionally to cook the cabbage evenly.
Next, add 1 cup passata, sugar, dill and pepper and stir once again, then add the rice to the pan. Stir everything to combine well.
TIP: Silicone spatulas are my favourite for this task. They are perfect for easily scraping the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the flavour.
Step 3: Assemble and Bake the Casserole
In a glass measuring cup combine ½ cup passata, 1 cup milk, ½ tsp sugar and the eggs and whisk to combine.
Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray and move the contents of the pan to the baking dish. Spread it out in an even layer then pour the milk/passata/egg mixture over the top. Give the dish a quick couple of shakes to get that liquid in between the rice.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Before serving you can spread a thin layer of passata and dill over the top.
Substitutions
Ground Pork: You can use any ground meat with this recipe but my favourite substitute is ground chicken. I recommend that you add the extra passata on top for serving if you use less fatty meat like chicken or turkey. I have never tried this recipe with tofu but I bet it would taste quite good as well. Let me know below in the comments if you try it.
Cabbage: I use green cabbage for this recipe as that’s the traditional cabbage used for making cabbage rolls. Since we don’t need the sturdiness of green cabbage leaves for these unstuffed cabbage rolls you can just as easily use napa cabbage. It is softer in texture so is more likely to go unnoticed if you have anyone in your household who doesn’t like cabbage. The flavour is also much milder, especially once it’s cooked.
Serving Lazy Cabbage Rolls
These unstuffed cabbage rolls are the perfect family-style meal. Just place the baking dish on the table and let everyone serve themselves. Just make sure to help the little ones so they don’t burn themselves on the hot dish.
I firmly believe that this is a complete meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you freeze cabbage roll casserole?
Yes, you can freeze this dish in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating. You can either bake in the oven or reheat single servings in the microwave.
Can you make cabbage roll casserole ahead?
Absolutely! It’s the perfect dish to make in advance. It will taste just as good if not better the next day. You can either make the “stuffing” and complete the baking process the next day, or you can finish the recipe and then simply reheat it in the oven the next day. If you are reheating the fully premade dish I encourage you to add 1/2 cup of passata on top and cover the dish to keep the moisture in.
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe
Equipment
- 2.5 quart microwave-safe dish (optional)
- 9x13 glass baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb cabbage
- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ onion
- 2-3 tbsp fresh dill fresh
- 2 tsp salt divided
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¾ cups rice uncooked
- 1 cup Passata
- 1 tsp sugar
- cooking spray
Binder:
- ½ cup passata
- ½ cup milk 2%
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp sugar
Topping (optional):
- ½ cup passata
Instructions
- Start with cooking the rice. My preferred method is to cook the rice in the microwave. Add the rice and 1 1/4 cups of water to a microwave-safe dish with 1 tsp salt. The dish must be graded for cooking in the microwave. I use Corning Ware. Set the power level for the microwave to 60% and the cooking time to 30 minutes. If you don’t have an appropriate dish, cook the rice on the stovetop following the package instructions minute a few minutes of cooking. The rice will cook through the rest of the way in the oven.¾ cups rice, 2 tsp salt
- Next, preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- While the rice is cooking, heat up the large pan and cook the ground pork for about 6-7 minutes breaking it up as it cooks.1 lb ground pork
- In the meantime, dice the onion, and roughly chop the cabbage and dill.1 lb cabbage, ½ onion, 2-3 tbsp fresh dill fresh
- Once the meat is almost cooked, add the remaining salt, the onion and cabbage. Stir to combine and cook until the cabbage and onion begin to soften. (7-8 minutes). Stir occasionally to cook the cabbage evenly.½ onion, 2 tsp salt, 1 lb cabbage
- Next, add 1 cup passata, sugar, dill and pepper and stir once again, then add the rice to the pan. Stir everything to combine well.2-3 tbsp fresh dill fresh, ½ tsp ground black pepper, 1 cup Passata, 1 tsp sugar, ¾ cups rice
- In a glass measuring cup combine the remaining passata, milk, sugar and the eggs and whisk to combine.1/2 cup milk 2%, 2 eggs, ½ tsp sugar, ½ cup passata
- Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray and move the contents of the pan to the baking dish. Spread it out in an even layer then pour the milk/passata/egg mixture over the top. Give the dish a quick couple of shakes to get that liquid in between the rice.cooking spray
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Before serving you can spread a thin layer of passata and dill over the top.½ cup passata
