Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe (Halupki)

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Last Updated on January 15, 2022 by Aimee

There are dozens upon dozens of recipes for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls on the Internet, but this one happens to be the one my grandmother made for us growing up. It was always my favorite and I am thankful to still have her original handwritten recipe card (as vague as it is). It is simple, yet delicious. We have always enjoyed ours with mashed potatoes and of course, some type of roll or bread to mop up the sauce.

The original recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Halupki)

Like most of my grandmother’s recipes, we really aren’t sure where she got it and as mentioned, it’s pretty vague – there’s no cabbage listed 🙂

How to make Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe (Halupki)

The first thing you’ll need is a large head of green cabbage. The larger the cabbage, the more likely you are to find appropriately sized leaves. As you get closer to the core, the cabbage grows tighter and we just cannot use those for rolling.

I trim around the core as shown. If you can get it out prior to cooking without cutting too deep, great! Otherwise, just proceed with the next step.

Place the cabbage into boiling water and keep a close eye on this. Just as the water begins to get under those leaves and soften them slightly, using tongs, remove them – one at a time – to a towel to drain.

I save all of them, even if they are ripped. You can chop the unusable ones and put them into your filling.

Speaking of filling…

How to make the ground beef filling for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

You’ll need the following:

• Ground beef
• Onions, chopped
• Uncooked white rice
• an Egg
• Salt and Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Sugar
• Parsley
• and any leftover cabbage that you can’t use for rolling, chopped

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How to make the sauce for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Around here, we keep it simple – just like grandma used to make! It’s tomato soup, water, salt and pepper.

Place the cabbage leaves flat on your cutting board and place a small amount of the filling. Do not overfill or they will burst when the liquid begins to boil.

Roll like an egg roll.

Add half of your tomato soup mixture to the bottom of the pan.

I place the largest ones in the center and work may way out and around the pan as they get smaller. This recipe consistently fills a 9″ x 13″ pan as shown. We used to use a heavy bottomed stock pot and layered them, but in my opinion, this method works better. Boiling them on the stovetop creates bubbles that push the cabbage away from the filling. Baking creates a gentler boil.

Chef’s Note: Don’t worry or stress if some of them tear. They’ll be just fine.

Add the remainder of the tomato soup mixture and attempt to cover all of the cabbage rolls.

Bake for 60 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered. Spoon the sauce over the cabbage rolls before serving.

We love mashed potatoes and rolls or bread along with ours.

How to freeze cooked Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

We definitely freeze these after cooking and cooling. Portion them into glass freezer safe containers and spoon over the sauce. I have never had any issue freezing like this, nor do the rolls absorb the sauce. Simply thaw completely and reheat.

[VIDEO SHORT]

A little casual video of the finished product 🙂

Did you make my recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe (Halupki)? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought. You can also tag me with your photos on Instagram @aimee_stock I love seeing your creations. I’d love to hear your variations on this recipe!