Cabbage Roll Casserole is an easy family favorite. It combines all the delicious flavors of stuffed cabbage rolls with much less time and effort. This delectable casserole makes eight healthy servings, and the leftovers heat up perfectly in the microwave.
Tasty Cabbage Roll Casserole
This cabbage roll casserole quickly comes together and tastes just as good or better than the cabbage rolls your grandma used to make. Just think of it as an unstuffed cabbage roll casserole. It is delicious, totally homemade, and does not contain cream of anything soup.
How to Make Cabbage Roll Casserole
Start by browning the ground beef in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. When it is about halfway browned, add the onion and cook until the beef is fully browned. Turn the heat to low and toss in the garlic at the last minute of cooking. Drain any excess fat from the skillet. Stir in the paprika, onion powder, cayenne, brown sugar, tomato sauce, beef broth, and rice. Bring the mixture to a low boil and then turn it to a simmer and cover it with a lid. Simmer until the rice is tender. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
In a separate large skillet, add a little olive oil. Add half of the chopped cabbage and cook until it starts to get tender. Add the cooked cabbage to a casserole dish sprayed with a little nonstick cooking spray. Spread half of the beef mixture on top of the cabbage and top with half of the cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese. Cook the second half of the cabbage the same way and add it to the casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and bake covered for about twenty minutes, then remove the foil and continue cooking until the cheese is lightly browned.
Can Cabbage Roll Casserole be prepared in a skillet?
Of course, with a couple of easy steps, you can prepare this in the same skillet you cooked the cabbage in. You could do it either on the stovetop or in an ovenproof skillet. For the stovetop, after you finish cooking the cabbage, layer cabbage, cooked beef mixture, cheese, and cabbage in the skillet. Then, turn the heat to a low simmer and cover with a lid or foil. Cook until the cabbage is tender and the cheese melts.
To cook it in the oven, ensure your skillet is ovenproof. Layer the cooked cabbage, cooked beef mixture, and cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with the remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for twenty minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the cheese is lightly browned and melted.
Recipe variations
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning added at the same time as the other spices.
- Add 1-2 pinches of crushed red pepper to the tomato sauce and beef broth.
- Stir in a (14.5-ounce) can of fire-roasted tomatoes added at the same time as the tomato sauce.
- Use Pepper Jack Cheese or mozzarella cheese in place of the Monterey Jack.
- Add some minced jalapeno added at the same time as the minced garlic.
This delectable Cabbage Roll Casserole is family-friendly, easy, quick, and adaptable to your taste buds. Put the ingredients on your shopping list today and make this wholesome casserole for your family.
Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 14.5 ounce can low sodium beef broth
- 1 cup long grain white rice uncooked
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium head green cabbage chopped
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil spray.
- Brown ground beef. When the ground beef is about halfway browned, add the onion; cook until the beef is fully browned. Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Drain any excess fat from the skillet.
- Add paprika, onion powder, cayenne, brown sugar, tomato sauce, beef broth, and rice. Bring the mixture to a low boil. Turn to a simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer for 20 minutes until rice is tender. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 of the chopped cabbage and cook until slightly tender; 5-7 minutes. Spread cabbage over the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the ground beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheeses, blending them. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the other 1/2 of the chopped cabbage and cook until slightly tender, 5-7 minutes. Spread the cabbage over the cheese in the casserole dish. Top with the other 1/2 of the beef mixture and then with the remaining cheese.
- Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.
Video
Notes
- Substitute ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork for the ground beef.
- Add fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, parsley, or dill.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power.
Nutrition
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Cathy Cosgrove
I’m sure this recipe would be delicious on its own, as is, but I’d like to tinker so I made a few changes. For the cabbage, I stir fried it, and then added some water to get it a bit softer. I removed it and placed it in a bowl. Then I stirfried green pepper and one red pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks and added it to the cabbage mixture which was a combo or green to red cabbage – 3:1. For the meat mixture, I doubled all the spices and added about 3 tablespoons of dried parsley. When it came time to add the rest of the ingredients , I added about a half can of fire, roasted tomatoes – diced, and a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice. I layered everything in tinfoil loaf pans, and one recipe yielded 4 tinfoil loaf pans.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I really appreciate it and I’m sure it will be a staple in my rotation.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for all the tips, Cathy! I am happy that you like it.
Connie
Loved how this is so much less work than making cabbage rolls! Also, a lot easier to eat than traditional cabbage rolls!
Thanks for the great recipe!!
Beth Pierce
My pleasure, Connie!
Lisa
So, many years ago I cut a recipe for “unstuffed cabbage” out of a Parade magazine. I absolutely loved it, but my kids did not. Once they grew up and moved out I discovered I’d lost my recipe and have been looking for one that comes close ever since. This is the one! It’s perfect and makes great leftovers too. Thank you!!
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Lisa! I am so glad that you like it.
dana
I love this! It’s such a cozy dinner and a nice and quick way to enjoy cabbage rolls.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Dana! I agree 100%!
Kadence
What a great casserole. Everyone thought it was absolutely delicious. I will make it often.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Kadence!
Kathleen
What a fabulously delicious casserole. My family loved every bite. It’s perfect to share with friends and family.
Vicky
I just tried this recipe and loved it! The flavors blended perfectly, and it made for a cozy dinner that my family couldn’t get enough of. I didn’t think my kids would like it because of the cabbage, but they had 2nds!
Beth Pierce
That is awesome, Vicky! I am so glad that everyone liked the casserole.
Penny LoPresti
I used left over meatballs and tomato sauce. Smashed the meatballs and used the sauce adding the rest of the ingredients. This came out great!
Beth Pierce
Sounds like a great idea and delicious! Thank you, Penny!
Ashley
Would this freeze well?
Beth Pierce
Sorry about the delay! Yes you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Alexandria
My only complaint is that the cooking time needs to be updated, or possibly the prep. Unless you just magically have pre chopped everything. The beef mixture has to be done or nearly done before you can assemble the casserole dish and that takes 20 minutes alone, on top of the 40 total minutes in the oven.
Otherwise this was delicious.
Ed
Great recipe. I used red and green cabage (we love them both) and it was delicious. I have put more cabbage on my grocery list. Thanks.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Ed!
Emily Kruzynski
This was the best unstuffed cabbage recipe I have made and I made a few the cheese is great. My husband had 3 helpings , I will definitely make again and pass this recipe to others. Thanks so Much!
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Emily!
Donna La
I went by the recipe! I always go a little heavy handed on the spice! (But NOT the sugar!) It was excellent! If the dish looks watery cook a little longer! I’ll share this recipe with my friends!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Donna! So glad that you liked the cabbage casserole.
David Farrell
do you layer the rice or add to beef You told how to cook but not where to add rice Thx
Beth Pierce
It is added to the ground beef mixture with paprika, onion powder, cayenne, brown sugar, tomato sauce, and beef broth. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender.
Lisa
Love the recipe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but cabbage rolls are a Mediterranean dish, I have made them before, but I noticed there is no Worcestershire sauce In the ingredients. I added 1 Tbs. Worcestershire and cut the brown sugar in half. It gave it more of an ethnic flavor to me.
Beth Pierce
This is the Polish version of cabbage rolls. I am glad that you liked them!
Charlene Marley
I also added Worcestershire sauce and only 1tbl brown sugar. I added garlic salt and pepper to the cabbage as it cooked. Great recipe!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Charlene! I am glad that you liked the cabbage roll casserole.
Jodie
I usually hate when people critique recipes when they didn’t really follow the recipe, but I’m doing it anyway because it turned out well and wanted to let people know some possible changes. I was trying to find a recipe to use up already cooked cabbage from our St Patrick’s day corned beef and cabbage dinner. Thought I’d try this recipe as a base wjth changes that I made due to what I had on hand. I’m sure the recipe as written is better, but wanted to let people know these alterations worked OK. I used left-over cabbage that was boiled with corned beef and the spices used for that. As I was not sure about the weight, but it was about the size of a large head of cabbage and thought if it was meat heavy that would be OK, I doubled the rest of the recipe. I cut the pre-cooked cabbage up into pieces, but it was still somewhat cold from the refrigerator when I used it in the recipe. Since I doubled the recipe I used a slightly taller casserole dish than a typical 9×13 baking dish. Ground venison (80/20 mix with ground pork). Didn’t have 2 cans of tomato sauce so used one can of that and one can of diced tomatoes and the juice (a change I would keep because I really liked the chunks of tomato in it). Basmati rice instead of long grain, I used 2 cups uncooked and it seemed very rice-y, not sure if it’s because of the type. Didn’t make it bad, but probably would be better with a little less rice. Used Mexican blend shredded cheese instead of the 2 different types in the recipe and was good. Increased the time with tin foil to 30 mins since a bigger amount and cabbage was cold and it worked out just fine.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tips, Jodie!