Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Updated
Updated
Enjoy all the comforting ingredients and flavors of classic cabbage rolls with a fraction of the effort. I developed this easy Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls recipe so that it comes together in one skillet and is ready in half the time, but just as delicious.
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Easy Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Skillet
It’s hard to beat classic stuffed cabbage rolls, but sometimes I just don’t have the time or patience, yet I still want all the same components and flavors. Enter these Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls! This dish takes all the elements of regular cabbage rolls and deconstructs them, then cooks everything up in a skillet. There’s no stuffing, rolling, or baking needed!
I brown the ground beef in a skillet along with seasonings and then simmer it in a rich tomato sauce with chopped up cabbage and rice. I add golden raisins to mine, which lends a sweet balance to the tangy sauce. You can simply omit them if raisins aren’t your thing. The result is cozy, hearty, and unbelievably easy—exactly the kind of weeknight comfort food I love.
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ tsp coarse salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- ½ cup uncooked white rice
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 15 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1½ cups low-sodium beef broth, chicken or vegetable also work
- 1 small head cabbage, core removed, chopped (about 6 cups)
- sour cream or Greek yogurt, for serving, optional but recommended
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion; sauté, breaking the beef up into small crumbles and cook until no pink remains and onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Drain off the grease.
- Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Stir in the salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Add uncooked rice, raisins, tomato sauce, broth, and cabbage to the skillet; mix to combine. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 22 to 25 minutes, lifting the lid a couple times toward the end to give it a quick stir, until cabbage and rice are tender.
- Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How to Make Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Step by Step
Sauté the beef and onion: Warm 2 tbsp of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 lb. of ground beef and 1 small sweet diced onion. Brown the beef, breaking it up into small crumbles, cooking until no pink remains and the onion is soft. Drain off the grease. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook until fragrant, then stir in ¾ tsp coarse salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and ½ tsp sweet paprika.
Add other ingredients: Add ½ cup uncooked long grain white rice, ¼ cup golden raisins, one 15-oz can tomato sauce, 1½ cups beef broth, and 1 small head of chopped cabbage to the skillet; mix to combine.
Cover and simmer: Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 22-25 minutes, lifting the lid to stir a couple of times, until the cabbage and rice are tender.
Serve: Serve portions in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.
What to Serve With Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Because the protein and vegetables are all mixed in, I find it isn’t always necessary to prepare a side dish. This recipe is quite substantial on its own, but it does pair nicely with a side salad, this creamy cucumber salad, or crusty Dutch oven bread.
I like to serve portions with a dollop of sour cream. The cool tanginess really balances out the rich tomato beef flavor, but you can leave it off if you need this to remain dairy-free.
How to Store
- Fridge. Allow leftovers to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer. To freeze, cool completely, then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
More Cabbage Recipes:
- I make this Cabbage Soup any time I want something warm, wholesome, and easy to portion out for lunches during the week!
- This Cabbage Casserole is creamy, cozy, and finished with buttery Ritz crackers and melty cheese for that soft-meets-crispy contrast I can never resist.
- Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet is a hearty one-pan dinner with smoky sausage, tender cabbage, roasted potatoes, and a tangy hit of mustard that keeps the whole thing interesting.
I have a bag of coleslaw undressed , could I use this in place of cabbage
As long as the yield is the same, that would be fine. I personally would not use tri-colored coleslaw in this recipe though.
We have made this and really enjoyed it. It saves so much time!
We have a red cabbage in our fridge, can we make it using red instead of green?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hi Sam! I’ve never tried this recipe with red cabbage, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. Keep in mind it might change the overall flavor and texture.
I made this recipe and it was delicious. I had a similar one but it took over an hour to cook. This recipe is awesome, so much easier and quicker. I also like the taste better than my old recipe. This is my new go to. However, I did leave out the raisins.
This is absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Didn’t change a thing and used beef bullion broth and maybe an extra garlic clove! Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes as well!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was very easy and very good. I found a splash of hot sauce spiced it up but your recipe is great as is since my husband doesn’t like spicy stuff. Thanks for sharing! Going to try your pizza crust in a couple of days.
This recipe was quick, easy and had excellent flavor. I followed the recipe, used a garlic and herb pasta sauce and left out the raisins and didn’t serve with sour cream. We do like both and will make it again adding those two ingredients.
The recipe was delicious & very easy to prepare! Thank you for sharing.
I LOVE this recipe!!! Do not omit the golden raisins. They kind of melt and add a really nice mild sweetness that works. Also add the sppon of sour cream on top. SO good! I also sprinkled some pepper vinegar on top and it was divine.
This recipe is a keeper! 👍 we are rice people and added another 1/2 cup rice and more chicken bouillon.
Absolutely loved it and so fast!
Love the flavors
This was a really good recipe, super simple and really good. I did add a little bit of tomato paste, but I’m pretty sure that’s all I altered.
Good recipe! I seasoned the beef with Worcestershire and Montreal Steak seasoning before draining and cooked a bit longer because my husband prefers the cabbage a bit soft. Also did not add raisins, instead added mostly cooked bacon and the drippings. Love the sour cream add!
This was a delicious meal! I have been craving cabbage rolls but do not have the time to make them, I may even prefer this version now. I skipped the raisins and added some bacon to the meat mixture as my grandma would do with her cabbage rolls and they were really close to tasting like hers! My only note was I could definitely not fit 6 cups of cabbage in my skillet- I maybe only had room for 4 and that was less than half of a medium cabbage.
My husband loooooves when I make his family recipe cabbage rolls for him but it is SUCH a process. I made this for him a while back and he was skeptical but loved it. I kind of forgot about this recipe and have made actual cabbage rolls a few times recently. We were chatting about easy meals the other night and he brought up this one so this is tonight’s dinner!! Easier and faster than traditional rolls. I also add pork because that’s what we add to the other recipe, so I kind of do a mash up of the two recipes to create perfection!
This was really good! I added a shredded carrot in.
Really good and oh so simple. I actually used ground pork also. No regrets
This was so good! Didn’t have hamburger so used ground pork. Also used regular raisins as that’s what I had on hand. The raisins take this dish to a new level. Don’t omit them. My husband doesn’t like cooked raisins but loved them in this dish!
I wondered if regular raisins would work – thanks for the tip.
My wife and I both grew up eating different kinds of cabbage rolls and this recipe satisfies us both. Flavors are very good. The one suggestion my wife had was to add some sourkraut to make them more like her grandmothers. We will try that variation the next time I make this.
This was easy and DELISH!
Delicious! Easy to make and full of flavor. The raisins are a brilliant add. Will definitely be making again. Thank you.