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Home » Main Dishes

Classic Cabbage Rolls

Published: Oct 5, 2018 · Modified: Apr 3, 2023 by Louisiana Woman · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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This southern favorite, Classic Cabbage Rolls, has Instant Pot cooking directions and helpful hints for easy preparation and tasty ingredients. It's so delicious and it comes with stove-top instructions, too!

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One Classic Cabbage Roll in a white plate in tomato sauce.

Cabbage rolls have been around for a long time. They are a favorite way southerners consume this healthy leaf. The Cabbage Soup With Andouille Sausage is also a delicious and healthful dish. Andouille sausage adds the perfect taste of southern Louisiana cuisine.

If you like fresh cabbage in a salad, this Southern Louisiana Coleslaw is a winner. It has a touch of cane syrup for sweetness and pecans for added crispness and crunch.

What's in a cabbage roll?

"Cabbage rolls? … they are like little meatloaves with rice wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in tomato sauce," is what I told my grandson when he asked what I was cooking for supper. It surprised me how simple that sounded.

Mixture of meat and vegetables.

Ingredients

For The Rolls

  • cabbage leaves to roll the meat with
  • ground meat (beef, pork, or a mixture of both)
  • chopped yellow or white onion
  • chopped green bell pepper
  • chopped celery
  • finely chopped cabbage flavors the meat, adds texture
  • pressed garlic permeates the meat for flavor
  • cooked white or brown rice, leftovers work great
  • breadcrumbs are for softening and binding the meat
  • an egg helps bind the meat also
  • salt for seasoning
  • cayenne pepper for a little spice

For The Sauce

  • stewed tomatoes in a food processor add more taste than canned tomatoes
  • tomato sauce for more tomato flavor
  • dark brown sugar for a little sweetness
  • spice it up with chili powder
  • salt for flavor
  • pepper to taste
  • water to thin the sauce

Tips for easy cabbage rolling

No pre-cooking the cabbage leaves before stuffing them with the meat mixture. Does this set you free? I cut out the hard center of large cabbage leaves. This makes them easier to roll and a breeze to cut through when eating.

Save the middle of the cabbage head after peeling the leaves away and use it to flavor the meat. Chop it fine and throw it into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Raw cabbage leaves being cut into on cutting board for Classic Cabbage rolls.

How to make cabbage rolls?

First, combine the meat with vegetables, rice, bread crumbs, egg, and seasonings. Prepare the cabbage leaves in the above tip. Divide the meat into equal sized balls. Place a ball of meat on a few cabbage leaves.

The cabbage is my favorite part and I used to feel cheated with just one leaf. Now I use two or more, especially with the smaller leaves.

Cabbage leaves with cabbage roll meat mixture inside.

Roll the cabbage as tight as possible.

Two hands rolling up a roll of ground meat in a green leaf.

I don't use toothpicks to hold rolls together, either. Packing them close together in the pot helps with that

Place rolls on the rack in the instant pot or pressure cooker for easy and quick cooking.

For the sauce, add all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the sauce over the rolls, turn the pot on, and forget about it. There's no need to babysit these babies. You can spend more time doing what's important … or what's not important.

Classic Cabbage Rolls in the Instant Pot with tomato sauce being poured over them.

The cabbage rolls can also be baked in the oven in an oven safe dish tightly covered with foil. Or, simmered in a pot over the stove.

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The recipe

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One Classic Cabbage Roll in a white plate in tomato sauce.

Classic Cabbage Rolls

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This recipe for Classic Cabbage Rolls has Instant Pot cooking directions and helpful hints for easy preparation and tasty ingredients. You'll be surprised how much more convenient these are to prepare.

  • Total Time: 38 minutes
  • Yield: 9 rolls 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Cabbage Rolls

18 cabbage leaves from 1 head

1 ½ pounds ground meat, (beef, pork or a mixture of both)

¼ cup onion, chopped fine

¼ cup green pepper, chopped fine

¼ cup celery, chopped fine

½ cup cabbage, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 ½ cups cooked white or brown rice

½ cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons salt

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Sauce

1 15-ounce can stewed tomatoes, processed in food processor

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

¼ cup water

Instructions

Carefully peel 18 leaves from cabbage head after removing its core.

Mix together ground meat, chopped vegetables, rice, breadcrumbs, egg, and seasonings together in a bowl.

Divide evenly into 9 balls and place onto two or more cabbage leaves.

Roll up one end over the meat, then the two sides in, then all the way up to the top, no need for toothpicks to hold rolls together.

Place rolls on the rack inside the Instant Pot.

Make the sauce by combining the ingredients into a bowl, stir and pour over the cabbage rolls.

Close the lid of the Instant Pot, seal with valve pointed to the sealed position, push the manual button, and set the pot on high pressure for 18 minutes.

After the pressure is reduced when the cabbage rolls are cooked, you can serve immediately or keep them warm until ready to eat.

Notes

Oven baking instructions are, bake in a covered oven-safe dish in a 350-degree oven for about an hour until meat is done.

For stovetop cooking method, cook in a heavy pot, covered on medium to medium-low heat for about 40 minutes or until meat is done. Check often to see if extra water is needed during cooking.

Make ahead or double the recipe to store in the freezer for future meals.

  • Author: Louisiana Woman
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 18 minutes
  • Category: Main Dishes
  • Method: Pressure Cooking
  • Cuisine: American

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Comments

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    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Lisa Atkins says

    October 08, 2018 at 8:20 am

    Love cabbage & meatloaf....will try!

    Reply
    • Louisiana Woman says

      October 08, 2018 at 8:22 am

      Sounds good! I think you’ll like it!

      Reply

At Louisiana Woman Blog, I share recipes and stories about life in South Louisiana. The food here is authentic and easy to prepare. I hope you enjoy a taste of my rich Cajun heritage with recipes that preserve the precious culture of South Louisiana.

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A collage of assembling and cooked cabbage rolls.