Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Freezer Friendly)
A hearty, comforting meal that's perfect for making in large batches and stocking the freezer.Don't let the length of this recipe intimidate you. Think of it as part preserving the harvest, and part freezer meal prep. Lots of little notes and tips from my kitchen to yours. This is something I make in big batches once per year when the cabbage is harvested, and freeze for future meals. Feel free to scale the recipe up or down depending on your needs.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
For the Cabbage Rolls:
- 2 green cabbage, about 4 lb total, outer leaves discarded
- 2 lb lean ground pork, or beef
- 2 cup cooked rice
- 2 eggs
- 6 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
For the Sauce:
- 8 bacon slices, chopped
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 cans, 28 oz. each crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken or beef broth
- 1/2 cup currants, small raisins
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To make the rolls, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. With a paring knife, cut out the core from the cabbage. Remove outer leaves. Lower cabbage into boiling water and cook until the leaves soften, about 5 minutes. Remove the cabbage, set aside to cool. When cabbage is cool enough, gently peel off outer leaves from each head. Sometimes I easily pull off about 6, then the cabbage needs to go back in the boiling water for a minute or so to tenderize more leaves. Set aside peeled leaves to cool. Coarsely chop enough of the remaining cabbage to make 2 cups.
- In a bowl, combine the chopped cabbage, pork, rice, egg, green onions, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Using clean hands or a rubber spatula, blend the ingredients until combined. Divide the filling among the cabbage leaves. Fold the core end of each leaf over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up the leaf. To cook now: Place in baking pan or dutch oven. To freeze for later: Arrange uncooked rolls on baking sheets and flash-freeze before transferring to freezer bags.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot and sauté over medium heat until the vegetables are tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, broth and currants. Add bacon back to the pan, simmer sauce for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. The flavor of this sauce deepens if you make it a day in advance. If making to serve the rolls now, spoon sauce over the rolls. If freezing for later, cool sauce and store in pint size freezer containers.
- Cover tightly. Bake thawed rolls at 350º for 60-75 minutes, until rolls are tender and sauce is bubbly. Internal temperature should be 160º. Or, see freezer instructions in the notes section.
Notes
This recipe is written with bulk freezer cooking in mind, originally posted in my Whole Food Freezer cooking class many years ago. But you have options:
- Cook now: Assemble the rolls in a baking dish or Dutch oven, add sauce, and bake.
- Freeze for later: Flash-freeze individual uncooked rolls, package them in meal-sized portions, and freeze the sauce separately.
- Prepare complete freezer meals: Assemble rolls and sauce in freezer-safe baking dishes, wrap securely, and freeze.
- Cooking Frozen Rolls: Thaw the rolls and sauce in the refrigerator for 1–2 days. Arrange in a baking dish, cover with sauce, and bake covered at 350°F for approximately 60–75 minutes, until the cabbage is tender, the sauce is bubbling, and the center of the rolls reaches 160°F. I've also baked these directly from frozen, using thawed sauce and allowing additional cooking time. Check the internal temperature rather than relying on the clock.