Easy slow cooker stuffed cabbage recipe with rice is so yummy that even my kids love it! Roll them up, let them cook all day in your crockpot and it tastes amazing. No side dishes needed for this dinner idea. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any time of the year really. Here’s an easy way to make this classic dish.
This slow cooker stuffed cabbage recipe with rice and ground beef is now part of our favorite crockpot recipes. Perfect addition around St. Patricks Day but so good we make them year round for our family too! (affiliate links present)
How to Slow Cook Stuffed Cabbage
We are a typical family, hence the name The Typical Mom. We cook the same dishes week after week. But sometimes it is time to add a new meal! I love easy crockpot meals and so naturally my mind goes there.
Most of our favorite dishes are “dump meals” but every once and a while it’s nice to take some time and make something different. This is one of those but it is so worth it when it is done. A family secret recipe that has been passed down for generations, but shared here with you today. 😉
Ingredient Notes
- Cabbage leaves, you will want to use the outside few that are large enough to fill and wrap around sealed on all sides. For the rest you can make Slow Cooker Cabbage with it. 😉
- Ground beef or we like spicy ground sausage the best. Either meat would need to be precooked and drained of grease before combining all other ingredients for the filling.
- Onions should be diced fine to add flavor and texture but really are an optional. item that could be eliminated. Or you could use minced onions, onion or garlic powder as alternatives.
- Egg will help to bind everything together so it becomes firmer in the center when cooked.
- 1 cup cooked rice make Ninja Foodi rice with 1/2 cup grain add 1 cup water minimum to cook to fluffy. Measure this once it is done, not before.
- Use some tomato soup, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce jarred or pressure cooker spaghetti sauce could be made first and used once cooled a bit.
- 1/4 cup Milk needed or you could use a dairy free alternative, I prefer cashew milk because it is a bit thicker.
- Ketchup or tomato sauce works for this to add flavor to the overall dish. I mean even bbq sauce with a dash of worcestershire sauce is an option.
- Honey adds a bit of sweetness, or agave nectar could be used.
We make stuffed green peppers pretty regularly. This crock pot recipe reminds me of that. It is inexpensive, pretty healthy, and once you take the time to make the cabbage rolls (less than an hr.), it cooks by itself.
What is the best way to soften cabbage leaves for cabbage rolls?
You just need a large pot half full of water with a bit of salt if you like. You’ll want to boil your largest leaves from each head of cabbage in a boiling pot of water. There are really only 4-5 per head so I would buy 2 if you’re making enough for a family of 4 or more.
It’s a bit like when you blanch bell peppers, you just want to soften them. When I take the leaves out of the water I put them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the water.
- Fill the softened leaf with about this much meat mixture in center. Then roll like a burrito with the sides folded in first.
- Fold the leaf and roll it all the way up securing the side with the seam side up with 2 toothpicks so it doesn’t unravel.
Step by step pictures
Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
- 1 pot to blanch cabbage
- 1 pan to brown beef
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef, ground turkey or we prefer spicy ground sausage
- 5 large cabbage, whole large leaves, or more depending on how many you want to make
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c milk
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 c rice, cooked separately
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 can tomato sauce, 15 oz, or more if you like a wetter filling, can use spaghetti sauce instead
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 1/2 tsp worchestshire sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef, turkey, or sausage with your onion and garlic.
- Combine that with your cooked rice, egg, and milk in one bowl, set aside. Combine ingredients for the sauce together and add 1/4 of it into your meat mixture into it.
- Boil cabbage leaves for 2 minutes. Lay one at a time on a cutting board. Add a large scoopful of meat mixture into cabbage pieces like a burrito folding sides in and securing with 2 toothpicks each on top.
- Put some of your tomato sauce on bottom of crockpot. Lay cabbage rolls down trying not to overlap them, and pour remaining sauce on top.
- Cook in your crockpot on high for 4-5 hrs. or low for 8-9 hrs. Low is best.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pressure cooker option
Since then we’ve made this into Instant Pot stuffed cabbage too and it’s a winner. The only difference between the 2 stuffed cabbage rolls is the cook time really.
The best type for making stuffed cabbage in a Crockpot is green cabbage. Green is the most commonly used variety for stuffing due to its mild flavor, sturdy leaves, and ability to hold up well during slow cooking. Red is stiffer with a more intense flavor.
Such a great idea to use the slow cooker!
Absolutely delicious Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Rolls! Kid-approved and super easy – just roll, set, and forget in the crockpot. The taste is out of this world! No need for sides, it’s a complete meal on its own. Perfect for any occasion, especially St. Patrick’s Day. A classic made effortlessly!
So good, the whole family loved it! I love that it can cook in the crockpot all day! It turned out perfectly.
oh yay
These stuffed cabbage rolls were marvelous. I love that they cook in the slow cooker so I can dump and go.
We loved these cabbage rolls, so flavorful. And every easy to make!
Sounds like the rice and meat would get pretty mushy if it is cooked prior to wrapping in the cabbage then another 4 to 9 hours in a slow cooker!! I would make the stuffing mixture with uncooked meat and uncooked Minute Rice.
There wouldn’t be enough liquid to get the rice cooked this way, we have been making it this way for tens of years and love it.
Never heard of cooking the meat before wrapping it in the cabbage leaves.
We just love Stuffed Cabbage and your recipe looks delicious. Hope you had a great Valentine Weekend and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks