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two cabbage rolls on plate with one cut open to see ground meat and rice filling
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Nellie's Cabbage Rolls

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 24 rolls
Calories 201kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 head cabbage large

filling

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 yellow onion large, diced
  • 1 cup white rice long grain
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons fresh italian flat-leaf parsley chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese omit for Dairy Free

layering

  • 28 ounces canned whole tomatoes or crushed
  • 16 ounces canned tomato sauce
  • 1 pound sauerkraut drained and rinsed
  • 6 slices bacon
  • 4 pork chops bone-in and thin sliced

Instructions

cabbage

  • Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Make sure the pot is large enough to submerge the entire head of cabbage.
  • Core cabbage and add to pot of water. Reduce heat slightly and cook for about five minutes, turning cabbage a few times, until leaves begin loosening.
  • With a long-handled fork or tongs, gently pull off leaves as they loosen and layer them in a pan to cool. Reserve cabbage water and inner/broken leaves.

filling

  • In a large bowl, mix together meat, onion, rice, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add a little cabbage water if necessary.

rolling

  • Before you begin rolling, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Shape about ¼ cup (more or less depending on leaf size) of the meat mixture for each cabbage leaf. Use your hand to cup and shape rolls. Holding cabbage leaf in one hand with curve of leaf against your palm and core end near your wrist, place filling near bottom of leaf. Fold the bottom part of the leaf over the filling and fold sides in as you roll. Place filled leaves seam-side down in pan.

layering

  • Coarsely chop smaller cabbage leaves. Spread ½ the chopped cabbage on bottom of dutch oven, roaster pan, or sheet pan. Sprinkle ½ the sauerkraut, tomatoes, and sauce over cabbage.
  • Place half the cabbage rolls on the mixture in the pan. Top with half the remaining chopped cabbage, sauerkraut, tomatoes, and sauce. Place pork chops on top.
  • Add second layer of remaining cabbage rolls and ingredients, topping this layer with bacon slices. Pour ½ cup of water over the entire pan; do not mix.

baking

  • Cover pan tightly with lid or foil. Bake for 1 hour, checking after 30 minutes to see if it's bubbling.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 250 and continue to bake 1-1 ½ hours longer, or until rolls are tender and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
    NOTE: If you only made one layer of cabbage rolls, they won't take as long to bake. Check for doneness every 30 minutes at this point.
  • Serve hot. Goes well with mashed potatoes and/or roasted carrots.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 201kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 462mg | Potassium: 401mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 218IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg