Today we’re sharing a recipe that’s close to the heart. This stuffed cabbage roll recipe—called galumpkis in our family—comes straight from Natalie’s Polish grandma. Meaty and delicious, cabbage rolls took center stage on our family’s holiday table, especially on Easter Sunday alongside her equally delicious Pierogies! They’re so perfect that we’re sharing the recipe straight from Grandma’s recipe card — no upgrades, no modernizations, because you don’t mess with perfection. Hearty, tomato cabbage rolls stuffed with a mix of pork sausage and beef are pure Polish comfort food. Like all of the best comfort foods in the world, they’re not fancy and the ingredient list is as humble and familiar as the dish itself. For another meaty roll-up, try our Sausage Rolls, or for a cabbage-based side dish, try our delicious Roasted Cabbage With Mustard Sauce.
Essential Cabbage Roll Ingredients
- Cabbage: Regular old green cabbage is the best and most classic cabbage for cabbage rolls. It’ll give you the look you want! If you love cabbage (as we do) be sure to try our simple Cabbage Soup, too.
- Meat: We use a combination of ground beef and pork sausage, but you could use all beef or all pork if that’s your preference.
- White onion: A bit more assertive and sharp in flavor than yellow onions, we love their punchy flavor in this rich and simple dish.
- Garlic: Another punchy flavor from a super humble, basic ingredient.
- White rice: You’ll need cooked white rice for this recipe — you can whip it up pretty quickly by following our White Rice recipe, or you can use instant rice or leftover rice from a take out meal
- Tomato paste: Tons of tomato flavor in one little can.
- Ketchup: Ketchup is an underrated ingredient! Particularly if you buy a good brand, ketchup is a terrific “secret” ingredient. It’s loaded with spices, has a hint of sweetness and usually a good little zing to it, too. Major bang-for-buck!
- Bacon: The bacon makes this dish! Rich, smoky, and beloved by all, the bacon is what keeps us coming back for more.
How to Make Cabbage Rolls
- Boil the cabbage: Yep, boil it whole! You need the cabbage leaves to be nice and pliable so you can roll them. A big stock pot will be your best friend.
- Make the filling: Cook the beef and sausage with onions, garlic, rice and tomato paste.
- Prep the cabbage leaves by peeling them carefully off the head.
- Roll the meat into the cabbage leaves: Roll them up basically like a small burrito, nice and tight, and lay them in the baking dish.
- Top each roll with ketchup and bacon. (This is a job for your pastry brush, if you’ve got one. Otherwise the back of a spoon works.)
- Bake!
How To Store Leftovers
We don’t recommend freezing cabbage rolls — these are best when eaten within a couple of days of making them. However, these can be prepped a day ahead! Just make them, cover the pan and refrigerate until ready to bake. It’s really easy to double this recipe if you’re feeding a big crowd or hoping to enjoy the leftovers for a few days. Cabbage rolls make great leftovers—their rich, savory, meaty goodness just intensifies as they sit. They taste best reheated on the stovetop, but the microwave will do if you’re in a hurry.
What To Serve With Cabbage Rolls
- Potatoes: Get into maximum comfort food mode! Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes would both be great on the side.
- A roasted vegetable dish on the side would also be tasty if you want to keep things low carb, and we suggest our simple Roasted Carrots or Perfectly Roasted Broccoli.
- A big, fresh salad: Since these are the meaty main dish for the meal, you could also supplement with a fresh salad like Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Orange Vinaigrette or Broccoli Salad.
- Bread: We never say no to bread, and while rye bread is traditional, we think big buttered slices of Sourdough Bread would be your best bet.
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