Stuffed Cabbage is one of my all time favorite dishes. The recipe takes some time, but it's so worth the effort. Ground beef is mixed with rice and vegetables, rolled up in cabbage leaves, and cooked for several hours in a sweet and sour tomato sauce until it is juicy and tender and irresistibly delicious.
Russian stuffed cabbage is a great dish to make for a crowd. You can cook it ahead and it tastes even better the next day. One cabbage roll makes a great appetizer. Two or three are a perfect meal.
Stuffed cabbage evokes thoughts of my grandmother Fay (pictured with me, below, circa 1963), who immigrated from Russia in the early 1900's and eventually landed in the Catskill Mountains of NY, where she and my Grandpa Myles ran a small hotel called Sunny Oaks (pictured below).
Sunny Oaks was one of the many Jewish summer resorts in that region of upstate New York, which came to be known as The Borscht Belt. Growing up, I spent at least one happy week every summer at the hotel, swimming, playing scrabble and shuffleboard, and enjoying the delicious food.
We'd make the 2-hour drive from Manhattan to Woodridge. I remember my excitement when the roads got hilly and we'd start to see bungalow colonies and I knew we were just minutes from Sunny Oaks.
Upon my arrival, my grandmother would barely even say hello to me before pulling me around by the hand to show me off to everyone. Most guests were summer regulars so they'd marvel at how much I'd grown and many of them would grab me by the cheeks and give a good squeeze and say something in Yiddish.
After a while, I'd be led to a table in the empty dining room and presented with a huge plate of my favorite food in the world - Grandma's Russian stuffed cabbage. Typical of a Jewish grandmother, she would watch me eat, clearly thrilled by my every bite.
Meals at Sunny Oaks were announced over a PA System just like in the movies "Dirty Dancing" and "A Walk On The Moon" . "Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is now being served in the main dining room. Will everyone please come in for dinner". That message was repeated twice and slowly the 100-seat dining room would fill up.
It was a tough crowd. Seemed like almost everyone had a food sensitivity and a special request, but my grandmother made it her business to make everyone happy. That is probably the reason that the same crowd came back to Sunny Oaks summer after summer for over 60 years.
I wish I had been interested in cooking back when Grandma Fay was still alive and busy in the Sunny Oaks kitchen. But the good news is that my Aunt Cynthia, who inherited the hotel from my grandparents, recently dug up the old file containing all of the hotel recipes, and sent it to me.
I probably won't be blogging about "Beef Tongue Polonaise" or "Boiled Beef Flanken", both popular items on the Sunny Oaks menu back in the day. But there are some real treasures in that file, including Fay's Russian stuffed cabbage recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH STUFFED CABBAGE
I like to serve stuffed cabbage with a healthy green salad or with this shredded carrot salad or both.
One note of interest: Russia has one of the coldest average temperatures of any country in the world. The long cold winter impacts the type of crops that are grown. Cabbage prefers a cool growing season and is one of the world's hardiest vegetables. It's not surprising that cabbage is a popular vegetable in Russian cuisine.
Here's the recipe for Russian Stuffed Cabbage. If you make this, please come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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Russian Stuffed Cabbage
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Ground beef with rice and vegetables, wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Naturally gluten-free. Make ahead. Tastes even better the next day.
Ingredients
- CABBAGE AND VEGETABLES:
- 2 large heads green cabbage, cored (you'll need a sharp knife)
- ¾ of a green pepper, roughly chopped (save ¼ for meat mixture)
- 2 stalks of celery roughly chopped
- 2 onions, sliced
- SAUCE:
- 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup, packed, brown sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- ½ cup dark raisins
- MEAT:
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup raw rice
- ⅓ cup very finely chopped green pepper (¼ of a pepper)
- ⅓ cup very finely chopped onion (¼ of a medium onion)
- ⅓ cup very finely chopped celery (1 stalk)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- PREPARE THE CABBAGE: Unless you have an extremely large pot, you will need to boil each cabbage separately or use two pots. Boil the cabbages for 5 minutes. Scoop cabbages out and cool under cold running water. When cool enough to handle, peel away the large softened leaves and set aside. After you peel off 6 or 7 leaves, you may need to put the cabbage back in the boiling water for a few more minutes to soften the inner leaves. When you have 25 leaves, set them aside and roughly chop the rest of the cabbage and put 8 cups of chopped cabbage into a large bowl. (if there is any remaining cabbage, use for salad or another recipe) Add the roughly chopped green pepper, celery, and sliced onion to the bowl with the chopped cabbage and set aside.
- MAKE THE SAUCE: Combine tomatoes, lemon juice, brown sugar and raisins in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- MEAT MIXTURE: Put the ground beef in a large bowl. Add eggs, raw rice, finely chopped vegetables, salt and pepper. Mix until just combined.
- ASSEMBLE THE DISH: Put half of the chopped and sliced vegetables into the bottom of a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Pour half of the sweet and sour tomato sauce over the vegetables. Stuff the cabbage leaves by scooping a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture onto the center of a cabbage leaf. Fold the thick end of the leaf over the meat (if the end is extremely thick, cut off a bit). Fold in the two sides until they almost meet in the middle. Then roll up and place onto bed of vegetables, seam side down. Continue until all the meat is rolled, making two layers of cabbage rolls, if necessary. Cover the cabbage rolls with the rest of the chopped vegetables or as much as can fit in the pot. Pour the rest of the sauce on top. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 3 hours. Serve cabbage rolls with sauce spooned over them and enjoy!
- Stuffed cabbage can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge. Stuffed cabbage also freezes well. One cabbage makes a great appetizer. Two or three make a perfect meal.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Russian
Helaine Eva
Excellent recipe. Saved and will make again and again. Thanks
William White
My dad, a Ruthenian descendent on his mother's side, would get us to wait in line at the local Greek (sometimes Russian) Orthodox Churches in town for cabbage rolls, such as these. The churches would prepare and sell these and other ethnic foods to raise money at certain times of the year. Your recipe brought back those memories and are almost identical in taste to what we ate. Thanks.
Lisa
Food memories are the best. Thanks for sharing. I love your story about waiting in line with your dad at church for cabbage rolls. I'm really glad my stuffed cabbage rolls brought you back to that time.
Janice
The best golubtsi I have ever eaten. I love my Russian grandma’s recipe and to be honest I had saved this recipe for years before I actually made it because I love my grandma’s recipe so much that I didn’t want to waste time making another recipe that I probably wouldn’t like. But, one day I made a double batch, your recipe and my grandma’s. Sorry grandma, but I’ve got a new recipe. I wanted to hate it but I couldn’t. It’s so good. Especially since I made both recipes side by side and could taste test both at the same time. Wow. I just love the flavor profile. I was afraid it would be too sweet and too sour (lemons) but it was just perfect. I didn’t deviate from your recipe at all. I think that’s important when making something for the first time. Next time I will add carrots to the pot and will use Passata (what my grandma used) instead of crushed tomatoes. Thank you.
Lisa
Hi Janice - I love the idea of a side-by-side stuffed cabbage taste taste - Yum! So glad you enjoyed my grandma Fay's version. I bet carrots will be a great addition!
Leslie Mewman
I want the tongue recipe!
Rachel
Anyone know if I could substitute buckwheat for the rice? I wanted to try something different
colette
I just love this recipe; I have made it so many times. I am making it tomorrow with substitutes for the meat, we don't eat beef anymore and I ran out of ground turkey; I will be using Italian chicken sausage in one batch, TVP ( Textured vegetable protein), and lentils in the third. I do make a few changes; I don't do green peppers, so I use sweet peppers; I half the onions and mix with onion powder; also, I take the leftover cabbage and make a stove top sauerkraut and freeze it-great on sausage or hot dogs. Again, love this recipe, for years my daughter wouldn't eat cabbage, now she begs for it. Thanks.
Mark
Hi: I make mine in a similar manner but I don't add rice to the meat. I also use red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice in the sauce. Say hi to your babushka. Lol Do you have a recipe for Russian Potato Salad I.e. Olivia
Meryl
Delicious!!! Brings back so many memories of childhood with both of my grandmothers.
Chuck
Yes, I was a product of Sunny Oaks in 68 and 69. One of my memories was in 1969 when the staff (waiters, etc.) would leave after dark and make their way to Woodstock asking the younger folk staying there if they wanted to come. Many, many memories of this place including taking the "lake house" for a couple of weeks in the summer, unbeknownst to us the mosquitoes had dibs on the house and on us. This recipe brings back memories as well, not necessarily of eating it at Sunny Oaks, but of my mother making the sweet and sour stuffed cabbage (and stuffed peppers) with raisins and mashed potatoes, heavenly (and quite filling).
Lisa Goldfinger
Sunny Oaks was a special kind of place, even with the mosquitos. I also remember the waiters being a source of entertainment for the younger folk. 🙂
Wendy
OMG-I used to go to Sunny Oaks every summer during the early-mid 60s. Our family went with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I have many happy memories. I was very young and most of the regulars were pretty old. I remember the dining room well, although they often had the kids eat in another more casual room next to the dining room where the candy store was. Every night, there were activities, movies, square dancing, comedians. Mostly, we hung out at the pool and sometimes would go rowing at the lake. I always wondered what happened to the resort. Do you have any details?
Lisa
Hi Wendy, Fun that we share fond memories of Sunny Oaks! I remember all the things you mentioned. Folk dancing was very popular, too. Sadly, Sunny Oaks Hotel is no longer in business. All that remains of the hotel is the main house, which is now a private residence. My aunt and uncle spend summers there. So it feels good to be able to keep the memories alive by writing about it and sharing some of the wonderful recipes.
Tessa
What a lovely recipe and beautiful photos!
Patty
What a lovely story and photos! I almost felt like I was at Sunny Oaks. I'm so glad your aunt found the recipes and I, for one, would be very interested in the Beef Tongue Polonaise recipe as I have 2 tongues in the freezer right now. It really is a delicious cut, but a bit creepy to prepare! 🙂
Lisa
Hi Patty, I shouldn't have assumed that tongue was out of fashion. I actually know many people who are fond of tongue! The Sunny Oaks recipes are not overly detailed and require some guesswork and some testing but here it is: In a double boiler cook raisins, brown sugar, lemon juice, halved blanched almonds and water until raisins are soft. Add canned apricots that have been pureed. Cook and mix until done. Pour mixture over pickled sliced tongue which has been laid out in slices in a pan. Cook everything together until the tongue absorbs the sauce. I can ask my Aunt Cynthia for more details, if you need them. Best, Lisa
Laura D.
Lisa, I love the old photos! Such a great one of you and your grandmother too.
Lisa
Thanks! It was a fun place, Sunny Oaks. Lots of dancing! Great food!
Brad Becker USMC Retired
Are you related to Michael Savage the radio talk show host???, He described this exact thing on his show one time?????? I had never heard of this dish, l will be making it for my family tomorrow. Being Irish/ Dutch - German back ground. The story is the exact same story???
Lisa
Hi Brad. So funny that Michael Savage has the same story as me. I'm not related to him. I think lots of us with Russian ancestors grew up with stuffed cabbage! I hope you enjoy it. it's one of my all time favorite dishes.
Tracy
Looks so yummy! Love the picture of you and your grandma!