Stuffed Cabbage Casserole made with cabbage, beef, onions, rice and a chunky tomato sauce on your stovetop in just 30 minutes made crispy in a cast iron skillet. Not like grandma’s cabbage rolls.
Stuffed Cabbage Casserole is the modern answer I have to my grandmother’s stuffed cabbage rolls she used to labor over for hours.
I grew up having stuffed cabbage rolls and stuffed grape leaves and the overarching theme of those recipes is that it was a labor of love.
I still love the flavors of stuffed cabbage, but I started making a chopped up version of that recipe years ago and I haven’t looked back since.
I’ve been a huge fan of caramelized cabbage in recipes and as side dishes like my Crispy Roasted Cabbage Steaks and with some well browned beef, rice, tomato sauce and cabbage you’ll love this dish too.
A big bowlful of stuffed cabbage casserole and some crusty bread and you have the perfect comfort food.
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How to bake stuffed cabbage casserole?
Brown the beef and onions and layer the chopped cabbage, tomato sauce, onions and beef in a large baking pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
Brown the beef, then add all the ingredients together into the slow cooker to cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 3 hours. Use uncooked rice instead of cooked or add in the rice just before serving.
Tips for the perfect stuffed cabbage casserole:
- To ensure the cabbage pieces are the right size make sure you cut the cabbage into wedges before slicing.
- I use a can of chopped tomatoes for the texture, but you can use crushed tomatoes too.
- If your pan is dry, fill up the tomato can with liquid and add it into the pan before covering and cooking.
- Cooking with the pan covered allows the cabbage to steam a little bit as well too, making the texture similar to that of the stuffed cabbage rolls.
Looking for more beef recipes?
Tools used in the making of this Stuffed Cabbage Casserole:
Cast Iron Skillet: This is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 head cabbage cut into 8 wedges and sliced thickly
- 1 can (8 oz) chopped tomatoes not drained
- 2 cups rice cooked
Instructions
In a cast iron skillet on high heat add the ground beef.
- Season the beef with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Brown the beef well and crumble it into large crumbles.
- Remove from the pan, then add in the onion and half the butter.
Cook for 3-4 minutes or until just browning.
- Remove onions to the same dish as the beef.
- Add in the remaining butter and cabbage and cook on high heat until cabbage is wilted and browned.
- Add the beef and onion mixture into the pan, mix slightly.
Add in the rice and tomato and stir gently, then cook for 5-7 minutes, covered, to cook and warm through.
I went a slightly different direction. After cooking the ingredients separately, I took a 13 x 9 baking dish, covered the bottom with some sauce, then layered in cabbage, meat, onions, sauce, more cabbage, more sauce all in the morning and baked it later at diner time. Worked out great.
Perfect!
Made this for dinner. Easy! Quick! Delish! Served it with hot cornbread and cold milk. Nice, satisfying dinner. Thanks for this. I will make it again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This recipe was so easy and so tasty. Definitely a keeper!!!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Paula. I’m glad you enjoyed the casserole.
I have a very naive question… is it 2 cups of cooked rice or 2 cups of raw rice, which you then cook.
You’ll want to add 2 cups of cooked rice for this recipe. Enjoy!
Not nearly enough liquid. I had to add more tomatoes and some V-8.
I would like grandmas stuff cabage recipe and do you have spaghetti and meatball soup recipe Thank you Geraldine
I am wondering how many cups of cabbage this would be. Heads of cabbage can vary so much in size.
It ends up being about 4 cups.
Made it for lunch today. Quick, easy, and delicious!
Just made it as written-really good! New favorite comfort food, thanks, Sabrina.
You’re welcome, Mary.
I was looking for a deconstructed stuffed cabbage recipe I could throw together quickly in a cast iron skillet. And yours looks really good so imma try it with jasmine rice. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Adding 1/2-1 c white wine and Italian seasoning helps with tastiness.
Great addition! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wondering if it can be made ahead and reheated?
Yes, it’s perfect for that!
This is just an excellent recipe. I have made something pretty much identical over the years. Tastes like cabbage rolls but with a. lot less work!!! Very Nummy! I usually make it in one of my roasters. Aside from seasoning to our taste, the two additional ingredients I add, are: sautéed mushrooms and chopped cooked bacon. Just a little more interest…and who doesn’t like bacon?!?!
Bacon just makes everything better!
Made this tonight and I think I will make it again. I rarely if ever follow a recipe exactly. This is one that I did, only because I couldn’t think of something I wanted to add.
I found the taste to be a bit flat. I used a can of diced tomatoes and I think adding a can of tomato sauce would definitely help the flavor. kI might also add some sort of pepper, maybe a pinch of cayenne pepper. or a little jalapeño or crushed red pepper. Not much but something to bring the flavor up a bit. I will have to play with it some.
not all bad… but needs something to bring it up and make it sing so you will just want more.
So glad you enjoyed it but you can definitely adjust the seasoning to match up better to your flavor palette.
I’m trying this tonight at home. It looks so yummy!!!
Hope you love it!
I just made this and to make it a bit healthier I omitted the butter and used coconut oil and substituted quinoa for the rice. A quick and healthy dinner that both my husband and I liked! Thank you!
Thanks for the suggestion for substitutes, Angie!
Can you use cauliflower rice in place of the regular rice?
Sure 🙂
That is a great idea! I will be trying this recipe and was just going to omit the rice but I will use this to top cauliflower rice! Thank you
Perfect!
Easy and totally awesome
Looks very tasty. Will be trying it at home.
I hope you enjoy it!
How would you adapt this to an Instant Pot?
I’ve never tested it so I’m not comfortable giving a recommendation but you might be able to find a recipe online with similar ingredients and follow that. Good luck!
Quick, easy, healthy, delicious – that’s always a winning combination!
Thanks, I totally agree!
I love how colorful this dish is!
Thanks Delaney!
Super easy & tasty l. My only addition was to use Heinz Chili Sauce & some thinly chopped carrots just because I Love carrots. Yum Monica
My husband LOVES stuffed cabbage, so I’ll definitely be making this for him!
I hope he enjoys it!