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There’s no prep work necessary for this 10-minute Dump-and-Bake Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Casserole! It’s a shortcut twist on my Polish grandmother’s famous recipe, and it’s sure to become a tradition in your house as well!
We all have those comfort food meals that remind us of our childhood, and Stuffed Cabbage Rolls is definitely one of mine.
My dad’s mom is Polish, so I have been treated to her family’s traditional recipes for as long as I can remember.
Potato pancakes (with potatoes that she insists have to be grated by hand), easy sauerkraut with crispy bacon, and her famous Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are the three that instantly come to mind. There’s just nothing that compares, and one bite of these dishes instantly transports me back to her table.
My grandmother has shared her much-requested recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with my mom, my mom’s friends, and with me many times over the years. But here I am, 37 years old, with a family of my own, and I can honestly say that I’ve never made them before.
I’ve watched my mom make them, I certainly know how they taste, but it’s just a process that seems way too time consuming and daunting for a busy gal like myself! I’m not into dinners that require a lot of steps and a lot of dirty dishes…
But you know what? My cravings recently got the best of me, and I just couldn’t get my grandmother’s comfort food out of my mind. That’s when I knew that it was time to “modernize” her recipe and adapt the cooking process to suit my lifestyle.
I was reluctant to give it a shot since I didn’t know if the final result would work, but I can confidently tell you — this Dump-and-Bake Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Casserole would make my grandma PROUD!
And you know what makes ME proud? The fact that I managed to recreate her recipe and all of its delicious taste without any of the prep work! You don’t even have to:
- Steam the cabbage leaves;
- Cook the rice;
- Cook the meat; or
- Stuff the leaves!
You seriously just stir together all of the raw ingredients in one dish, cover, and bake for 1 hour!
Top Tip For Making This Dish
This is a really important note, though, so please listen up: since you’re using raw ground meat in the casserole, you want to make sure that it’s the leanest type of meat that you can find.
My grandmother uses ground beef in her recipe, so if that’s your preference I would go with at least 96% lean beef. I used 99% lean ground turkey breast here (which works perfectly), but 99% lean ground chicken breast would also be a great substitute.
The key is to use the extra lean meat since you will not be pre-cooking it and draining the fat from a skillet, and you don’t want any extra fat in your casserole after it bakes. Makes sense? Great!
How To Make Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Casserole
The rest is easy-peasy. Just layer chopped cabbage, diced onion (I use frozen diced onion so that I don’t even have to chop it up), uncooked long grain white rice, and your uncooked meat with some seasoning in a big baking dish.
Combine condensed tomato soup (just as my grandmother used) with beef broth (or chicken broth), and pour over top.
It will seem like a lot of liquid initially, but trust me: the rice will absorb most of that liquid while it cooks.
Cover the dish tightly with foil so that the moisture cannot escape, give it a stir after about 45 minutes, and top it with some chopped bacon and cheese during the final few minutes. The end result is a sweet, savory and rich combination that will bring a smile to any Polish grandmother’s (or granddaughter’s) face!
By taking all of the same ingredients from her original recipe and transforming them into a 10-minute casserole, I feel like I just may have reached the pinnacle of my dump-and-bake cooking career! Whether you have Polish blood pumping through your veins or not, this is a one-dish meal that your family is sure to love!
Cooking Just for Two?
You can prepare this casserole in a smaller 8-inch square dish and cut all of the ingredients in half. The baking instructions remain the same.
More Casserole Recipes You Might Like;
- Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
- Dump and Bake Ravioli Casserole
- Southern Squash Casserole
- Taco Pasta Casserole
Dump-and-Bake Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ head of cabbage roughly shredded or chopped (about 8 cups)
- 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 cup frozen diced onion or about 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb. extra lean ground turkey breast ground chicken breast, or extra lean ground beef*
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 ¼ cups condensed tomato soup NOT diluted (I used 1 family-size 23.2 ounce can of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup + 1 regular 10.75 ounce can of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup)
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6 slices cooked bacon chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Spray a large 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place half of the shredded cabbage in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Top with half of the uncooked rice, half of the onions, and half of the uncooked meat. You’ll want to break the meat up into small pieces with your fingers as you add it to the dish to make sure that it cooks in an even layer.
- Season with half of the salt, half of the pepper, and half of the garlic powder. Repeat layers once more, starting with the shredded cabbage.
- Sprinkle top of the casserole with remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together condensed tomato soup and beef broth. Pour soup mixture over the top of the casserole.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, stir everything, and cover with foil again. Return dish (covered) to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until rice and vegetables are fully cooked and tender.
- Remove foil. Sprinkle top of casserole with shredded cheese and chopped cooked bacon. Place in the oven uncovered for about 5 more minutes, or just until the cheese melts.
My husband is Polish, so I have a feeling he would love this! Love how easy this is to make, too. I’ve had cabbage rolls before, but never made my own. Looks incredible!
Sounds easy and yummy! Will have to try this!
Blessings and thanks for all the great recipes you send us!
Helen F.
Hi, Helen! Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope that you get to try it! 🙂
Hi Blair:
Do you think this would make a good Freezer Meal. Just make it up and freeze before baking, defrost in fridge and then bake or would you bake it first and then freeze it? Do enjoy your recipes and your site. Thanks
Hi, Judy! I honestly don’t know! I would probably freeze it before baking, but I’m not sure how that will affect the texture of the rice and cabbage. Let me know if you give it a shot. 🙂
I have always stored my rice and pastas in the freezer until I’m ready to use them. They are not affected by this. I couldn’t say about the cabbage though.
HI Blair,
I’m Polish and Mom made a lot of Polish recipes.
In this, however, she used her home canned Stewed tomato’s. We’ve heard of folks using tomato soup and it’s fine it
that’s what you like. I just prefer using tomatoes.
I’d like to thank you for aharing so many great, fast recipes!! I’ve tried some and love to experiment with things.
Everything is easy, fast and tastes great!!
Cook Happy, Lauren in Michigan
Hi, Lauren! Yes, I’m sure there are a zillion different ways to make stuffed cabbage rolls depending on which Polish grandmother (or mother) you ask. 🙂
I’m so glad that you’ve enjoyed the recipes. Thank you for following along with us!
I recently made a shepherd’s pie which called for tomato soup and did not like it much—I’m sure the stewed tomatoes would be better than the soup.
You can buy frozen cabbage rolls so I’m pretty sure you have to cook it all up (minus that cheese part) and then freeze it and then reheat it later!! Our work place is the biggest supplier of cabbage rolls apparently (I just found this out this summer) and I often buy their boxes of frozen in sauce (We also can buy them without the sauce too)
That’s funny — I’ve never seen frozen cabbage rolls for sale, but I know that my grandmother used to freeze her extras too. Definitely an option!
Hi Blair. I sure will be making this. I am Polish and use tomato soup in my recipe but stuffing the rolls is time consuming. This is easy-peezy. Thanks and love your blog. Great job Blair. A long time follower???? Cindy
Wonderful, Cindy! I think you’ll appreciate that you can enjoy the flavor of the cabbage rolls you love without any of the tedious work. 🙂
I’m allergic to rice. Is there anything I could substitute for the rice? I’ve never tasted cabbage rolls but I would like to try them. Thanks
Hi, Phyllis! You can probably substitute with a small pasta shape instead of the rice. I just haven’t tested it that way so I can’t say how much uncooked pasta to use. I would probably start with about 2 cups (like the rice), and go from there if you want to test it out. 🙂
I don’t care for rice in meatloaf, cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers. I get a box of saltine crackers, I take crackers 1-2 packs and smash them, mix in with seasoning add an egg,mix and bake about an hour.
Great idea! 🙂
I think it would work with quinoa 🙂
I think you could break up thin spaghetti or buy rice sz pasta to sub for rice.
Hello, Blair
I’ve been looking for this recipe online for some time now and glad to find it here. It looks very close t the one my wife used t make. A little about me – I am 74 years old, 100% disabled and must fend for myself these days. Living alone, it is very hard to find truly easy recipes to make. I am not a picky eater but do tend to have my favorites. This one seems to fill the bill. Thanks for sharing.
A simple workd of advice. It is not meant to offend, and is strictly my own point of view. I dislike cooking sites that feel they must post a dozen pictures of their lovely creations. One or two would suffice. I am here to find a recipe, not review your creative photography. I find this to be prevalent on so many cooking sites today, and it is bothersome to me. Again, just my point of view, but as a website creator and manager, I don’t think that a site should waste a person’s time with photography when they just wanna eat! Don’t take me wrong. Your photography is excellent. I just don’t want to wade through it to find the end results. I hope that my feedback doesn’t offend you in any way, for it is not meant to be offensive. Rather, I just wish that so many bloggers would decide whether they are a chef, or a photographer!
Thanks for your feedback, Alden! Enjoy the recipe!
I agree with Alden Smith that more than 2 photos wastes my time and would much prefer no more than 2.
I completely agree, Alden. A lot of recipe sites have started putting a link at the top that says “jump directly to recipe”.
I recently made a “Dump & Bake Stuffed Cabbage Casserole” from another blog, and it definitely didn’t have the flavor which I grew up enjoying, since my Polish mom always made the ‘real thing’. I still make the real & time consuming dish sometime, but that quick & easy recipe caught my eye. Unfortunately, I was terribly disappointed with the final result! My mom always added canned Tomato Soup, NOT Tomato Sauce (which that other recipe called for). Your recipe is very close to my mom’s, so I’m sure it will be delicious. She always added a few strips of bacon on top for flavor, and baked the Cabbage Rolls in a covered (black speckled) roasting pan. Does anyone remember this kind of a roasting pan? I have several sizes, and they’re the BEST for roasting ‘everything’, and they’re also self-basting! If anyone ever finds one of these roasting pans in their mom’s or their grandmother’s attic, DON’T put them out, or sell them at your garage sale. These old roasters are golden, and you’d be very pleased how perfectly they cook a chicken or a turkey.
I need those roasting pans, Angelina! 🙂
I hope that this casserole reminds you of your mom’s recipe!
Those roasting pans are sold at Ace Hardware even today. You can order online from Ace ad well. Several sizes. Also I found some at a resale shop.
I remember my mom making everything in those roasting pans…pot roasts,chicken thighs or whole, warming buns, baked potatoes…etc! I am lucky enough to have 2 sizes myself and I LOVE mine and use them often!☺
Definitely one of my most-used kitchen tools! 🙂
I got a free cabbage and wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the time to make cabbage rolls. I found this recipe and thought this would be much easier. Instead of frozen onions, I used a package of beef onion soup mix with 2 cups of water (in place of the beef broth). This casserole was DELICIOUS! It tasted just like cabbage rolls and even my picky teenage son ate with out complaint and said “mom, I like this”. ????.
That’s great, Krystal! That’s the best compliment — when a teenager approves! So glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Love the recipe. Agree with Alden Smith about pics. Only need one before cooking and one after.
Thanks, Sue!
This looks deliciously easy and I’m excited to give it a test! Can you use instant rice? Thank you!
Hi, Terri! The instant rice will not absorb nearly as much liquid as the regular rice does. As a result, you would have to significantly reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe to account for the instant rice. I just don’t know exactly how much liquid to suggest because I haven’t tested it with the instant rice.
Love the pictures…please continue with them! Getting ready to make this now
Great! Enjoy, Lenna!
I’ve never tried Polish cabbage rolls before but the Italian ones are one of my favourite things ever and I can tell this would just taste amazing, definitely on the list of things to try asap!
Thanks, Emily! I hope that you get to try them soon!
This recipe was a fail! Not enough cooking time to get things done including rice and cabbage. Since I was not able to rate this recipe, it is as low as possible, not good.
Hi, Darlene! I’m sorry that it didn’t work for you. I haven’t had any trouble getting the rice, cabbage and meat to cook through. Not sure what happened!
I had the same issue. Part of the rice is cooked through and the most of it is completely raw. So off to the instant pot the entire batch goes to make sure this doesn’t turn to mush. I consider myself an excellent cook who can follow a recipe. I believe the problem with this recipe is that you do not stir the rice into the liquid prior to the initial baking and that you take the foil off after 45 minutes allowing critical steam to escape.
Hi, Heidi! The rice should be completely submerged in the liquid after you pour the liquid into the dish. You shouldn’t need to stir it in order to have the rice covered. I only suggest stirring after 45 minutes so that the rice and meat don’t stick together. If you’re using white rice (not brown rice), the rice should not require more than 1 hour in the oven. Not sure what went wrong on your end, but I hope that you were able to salvage the dish in the IP. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your DUMP-AND-BAKE STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS CASSEROLE! It’s very tasty. Years ago I had a cabbage roll soup recipe from a PBS fund raiser that was really good, but I’ve misplaced it, so when I looked on line & saw this casserole with no time spent rolling the cabbage, I was excited to try it!
I was a sea level baby & transplanted to a higher elevation & have learned that some recipes require adjustments due to the elevation. Rice takes longer to cook & requires a little more water, something I forgot about until I checked for this for doneness, but just left it in longer & checked periodically & everything was fine.
This is very flavorful! Thanks again!
I love that! Thank you, Kris!
Just a little note about the use of the tomato SOUP instead of tomato SAUCE in recipes like this is that the soup provides a sweetness that sauce does not give. I appreciate your recipe for that reason…i like a little sweetness in the use or the cabbage and meat. If i were to use tomato sauce I would definitely add br sugar.Thanks for sharing your lovely recipe!
Exactly, Karla! 🙂 Perfectly said!
I loved making this recipe. I love all your beautiful photographs, too. Keep em coming. What kind of crab apples can’t handle a few photos? I made the Dump and Baked Stuffed Cabbage rolls casserole for a pot luck luncheon at work today. It was a big hit and everyone asked for the recipe. I used 96% lean hamburger (beautiful and not greasy at all). I didn’t have an onion so I substituted some chopped grape tomatoes instead. I would make it with an onion next time. I had a few onions in the refrigerator but upon closer inspection I saw they were way past their prime. When I make this again I will use just one cup of rice because I think 2 cups overpowered the dish a little (though it was still delicious). I think if you are trying to mask the cabbage (which I was not) then keep the 2 cups of long grain rice. I used two cups of mozzarella cheese because that made it twice as fun. Loved using the creamy tomato soup. I think that is a better choice than canned tomatoes due to the creaminess that it brings to the dish. It gave it a buttery, unctuous quality. Anyway A++ Job well done!
Hi, Laurie! Thank you so much for your kind note! If you decrease the amount of rice, just make sure that you decrease the liquid as well (or it might end up “soupy” after baking because there’s not as much rice there to absorb the liquid). And I agree — the tomato soup is the way to go! 🙂 Thanks again!
Think I should read all the comments before I ask my question, but…can tomato sauce & possibly canned tomatoes be substituted for the tomato soup? While I would love the flavor of the tomato soup, I am trying to do “clean, whole food” cooking and the tomato soup adds extra sugar. Maybe I will glance over the other comments to see if anyone has done this successfully. The basic recipe looks good.
Hi, Linda! Yes, you can definitely use the sauce as a substitute — just know that the taste and consistency will change slightly. As you said, the soup is sweet (while the sauce is not), and the soup is a bit thicker in consistency.
Absolutely delicious!!!!
I ended up only having 80% 20% and I think it still came out great!!
However, my rice took a long longer than an hour to cook: about an hour and a half , with the 2nd extra 15 minutes being at 400°.
Could this be because I used can tomato sauce vs tomato soup?
Also, I prepped it this morning (mixing together everything except the liquids) and had my fiancé put it in the oven about 10 hours later. I don’t see how this would effect it but just wanted to throw it out there
Thanks for such a great idea!!!
Thanks, Monica! I’m so glad that it was a hit! 🙂
Thank you for an amazing recipe! My husband absolutely loved it and it turned out perfectly. I altered the recipe by using a whole head of cabbage and I used long grain parboiled rice. I’m always search for low cost casserole recipes that are good for large groups of people. We serve anywhere from 40 to 90 people every Monday night at a local church and I can’t wait to serve this dish at Church.
Thank you again for sharing your wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad that you loved it, Teresa! I know that your friends at church will enjoy it, too. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a note!
My mm always made cabbage rolls and covered them with little bacon grease and of course baked the rolls. I will try your quick dump recipe without the tomato sauce etc..I am now 81 yrs young and on occasion have made the rolls. thanks for this recipe…
Hi, Emma! My grandmother always made them the same way — with the bacon grease on top and everything! I hope that you find this to be an easier (but still delicious) version of your family recipe. 🙂
Cooked extra minutes so the cabbage was tender but sadly the rice was crunchy. My husband and son said the taste was just ok. Not a keeper in my book of recipes.
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe. I have a question about the rice. I’m trying to eat less carbs, especially white, starchy ones, so I only eat brown rice. I know that it takes more liquid as well as time to cook, and I’m afraid of ruining the recipe by substituting brown rice. My only other thought would be to eliminate rice from the recipe and cook brown rice separately, but that will change the amount of liquid needed. Can you please advise me on what to do? I can either:
-Use brown rice, extend cooking time and adjust liquid if it won’t affect the meat and cabbage
-Cook rice separately, and adjust amount of liquid
-Partially cook the brown rice ahead of time and adjust the amount of liquid
Please let me know which option you would try and how to adjust the liquid (how much less broth and less soup). I am a beginning cook and am very hesitant to amend this recipe but I really want it to fit into my diet. Thank you in advance for your help. I love your recipes.
Hi, Lindsay! Since the brown rice has to cook for so long, I worry that it would compromise the quality of the other ingredients. Instead, I would probably cook the brown rice first, then add it to the casserole and just decrease the amount of liquid. I would start with about 1 regular size can of the tomato soup, thinned with just 1/2 cup or so of beef broth. Remember that the cabbage and onion will release additional liquid as it cooks, so you don’t want it too liquidy to begin with. Hope that works out, and enjoy! 🙂
I had an issue with the rice, but chalked it up to nothing in particular. After 45 minutes, it was nowhere near done, but I had read another user’s comments so I cooked for an hour and a half (last 15 mins at 400°). That being said, when cooked it was YUMMY! I did cook half the recipe…which could feed way more than two! This is very tasty and I thank you for posting!
Thanks, Gina! I’m so glad that you were able to enjoy the dish — even if it required longer to cook. Thanks for taking the time to come back here and let me know!
Blair, I made the recipe for two version for supper last night. It was delicious, and we had enough for Wednesday night supper and froze a meal.
I had browned and crumbled ground beef in the freezer, so I thawed and used it with some instant minced onions. Also I used one of the Minute Rice and Quinoa cups. If someone didn’t want to chop up cabbage, they could use one of those bags of coleslaw mix to make prep even quicker. And I used a packet of sodium free beef bouillon with water for the beef broth. Also I used the Campbells healthy request tomato soup. This recipe’s a keeper v and I’ll make it often. Thanks!
That’s great, Nancy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave a note. 🙂
I’ve only made cabbage rolls once and boy, did it take a lot of time! Stouffer’s used to offer frozen cabbage rolls, but I haven’t seen those in a long time. I’m definitely going to try your cabbage roll casserole since I’m having to do a lot more cooking in these times of COVID=19. If I can remember to take a picture, I’ll post one.
Awesome! Enjoy, Sue!
I also have not made cabbage rolls but remember them from Moms cooking growing up! I am looking forward to trying this recipe for my family. Thank you for sharing with those of us that have lost touch with our ability to recreate meals we grew up eating.
You’re so welcome. I hope the meal brings back wonderful memories!
Blair:
For 1/2 (4 servings) recipe, do the soup amounts stay the same, or does that get reduced also? Seems like a lot of soup for a 8 inch pan.
Your advice,please.
A note for those who dislike the photos: there is a choice for you to “jump to the recipe”. Use it.
Sandra W.
Hi, Sandra! Yes, you’re exactly right. If you cut the recipe in half for the smaller pan, just make sure to cut all of the ingredients in half. So you’ll use 1/4 head of cabbage, 1 cup uncooked rice, 1/2 cup diced onion, etc. You would need about 2 cups of condensed tomato soup (technically half would be 2 cups + 2 tablespoons, but it doesn’t need to be that exact) and 1 cup of beef broth. Hope that all makes sense. Enjoy, and stay warm!
This looks wonderful but I wonder if you would have any suggestions as to how replace the rice with something else. My husband is diabetic, and rice is one of the things that shoots his blood sugar up! I realize what I could use, but I don’t know how to adjust the baking time or the amount of liquid for say, quinoa or wild rice, or anything else that might work.
Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks you!
Hi, Gail! I haven’t actually tested this recipe with other grains or substitutes, so my suggestions are only guesses. That said, I think it would work well with quinoa. In general, quinoa has a very similar cooking time/method as white rice. So you could probably use quinoa as an equal swap for the rice in this dish.
Wild rice and brown rice would be trickier to substitute, because they typically require more liquid and a much longer cooking time.
Hope that helps!
I just used this recipe for the first time today. it was so much fun to make. I used red cabbage instead of the traditional green. I also put a bit more bacon in than called for- brown rice instead of white and ground turkey instead of beef. My husband says it’s the best thing I’ve ever made…. guess I’ll be making this more often!
Thank you!!!