This Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe has tender cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, zucchini and rice, topped with tomato sauce and slow cooked in the crockpot for a delicious weeknight dinner.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
This stuffed cabbage rolls recipe is super easy to make, and one of those seriously budget-friendly recipes that you’ll keep in your dinner rotation on a regular basis if you are wanting budget friendly yet delicious meals in your meal plan.
This crock pot cabbage rolls recipe is a great recipe to use up leftover vegetables, rice, and ground beef. It is ideal for a delicious meal that is comforting and budget friendly!
Looking for more easy crockpot recipes? Check these out!
- Crockpot Taco Soup
- Creamy Italian Chicken Crock pot Recipe
- Crock pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Crockpot Sausage and Peppers
- Baked Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Prep ahead of time!
There is a little bit of prep needed to make stuffed cabbage rolls, however I promise you it is well worth it! However if you know that you are going to be running short on time in the morning then you can do some of the prep work the night before.
If I know I am going to be short on time the next morning then I will cook the cabbage the night before and then put the cabbage leaves in the fridge till morning.
Sometimes I will also cook the rice and the ground beef and put them in an airtight container in the fridge. If I am feeling really motivated the night before then I also dice the onions and zucchini and stir them in with the rice and ground beef.
What to serve with Stuffed Cabbage rolls
We serve crockpot cabbage rolls with bread and a salad most of the time. Sometimes we change things up and have pasta with butter, mashed potatoes or other veggies as our side dishes.
What Meat is best for Cabbage Rolls?
That is one of the greatest things about cabbage rolls, you can use just about any ground meat that you have on hand and they will taste amazing! We have used ground pork, ground venison and ground turkey in place of the ground beef in this recipe over the years and every time they come out perfect.
What sauce is best for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls?
The one thing I like about making stuffed cabbage rolls is that I can use just about any pasta sauce when making them. If I have leftover homemade spaghetti sauce I use that, if I have homemade marinara sauce I use that. I have even used some of my creamy tomato sauce when making stuffed cabbage rolls in the crockpot.
If I have jarred sauce on hand then I use that, but I always make sure if I am using a jarred sauce that it is not a plain sauce. You want one that has flavors and seasonings in it.
Crock pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 medium zucchini chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups rice cooked
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 20 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
How to Make Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
In a medium pot put water in to cook the rice and bring it to a boil.
Put a large stockpot of water on the stove (for the cabbage leaves) and bring it to a boil.
Wash the head of cabbage and remove the cabbage leaves from the head.
Once the water is boiling in the medium pot add the rice and cook according to the package.
Once the water in the stockpot is boiling add the cabbage leaves to the boiling water and cook until the leaves are tender and pliable. This will take about 4-7 minutes depending on the thickness of cabbage leaves. Once the cabbage leaves are cooked, use tongs to remove cabbage from water and set aside on a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool.
While the cabbage and rice are cooking, cook the ground beef in a large skillet until cooked, stirring regularly. Once the ground beef is cooked, remove from the heat drain and stir in the salt, pepper and garlic powder and mix it well.
In a large bowl, mix chopped zucchini, diced onion, cooked rice, and ground beef and mix well.
Spray non stick cooking spray on the bottom of the Crockpot or slow cooker.
Pour a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, just enough to cover the bottom.
Fill the cabbage leaves with the beef, rice and veggie mixture and wrap them closed.
Place cabbage rolls into crock pot one at a time as you make them and stack them on top of each other.
Pour the can of diced tomatoes on top of the cabbage rolls once they are all in the crockpot, then pour the rest of the tomato sauce on top of the cabbage rolls.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the cabbage rolls when they are done cooking.
This recipe makes approximately 20 cabbage rolls. Depending on the size of your cabbage leaves and how full you stuff them, it could be more or less. The total recipe is divided into 8 servings, so depending on how many rolls you manage to make, it could be 2 rolls or 4 rolls per serving.
More Comfort Food Meals:
- Easy Pork Meatloaf
- Spinach Ricotta Chicken Rollup
- Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken
- Slow Cooker Garlic Ginger Chicken
Crock pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups rice cooked
- 1 head of cabbage
- 2 cups zucchini chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 2 medium zucchinis)
- 20 ounce can tomato sauce
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup white onion diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium pot put water in to cook the rice and bring it to a boil.
- Put a large stockpot of water on the stove (for the cabbage leaves) and bring it to a boil.
- Wash the head of cabbage and remove the cabbage leaves from the head.
- Once the water is boiling in the medium pot add the rice and cook according to the package.
- Once the water in the stockpot is boiling add the cabbage leaves to the boiling water and cook until the leaves are tender and pliable. This will take about 4-7 minutes depending on the thickness of cabbage leaves. Once the cabbage leaves are cooked, use tongs to remove cabbage from water and set aside on a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool.
- While the cabbage and rice are cooking, cook the ground beef in a large skillet until cooked, stirring regularly. Once the ground beef is cooked, remove from the heat drain and stir in the salt, pepper and garlic powder and mix it well.
- In a large bowl, mix chopped zucchini, diced onion, cooked rice, and ground beef and mix well.
- Spray non stick cooking spray on the bottom of the Crockpot or slow cooker.
- Pour a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, just enough to cover the bottom.
- Fill the cabbage leaves with the beef, rice and veggie mixture and wrap them closed.
- Place cabbage rolls into crock pot one at a time as you make them and stack them on top of each other.
- Pour the can of diced tomatoes on top of the cabbage rolls once they are all in the crockpot, then pour the rest of the tomato sauce on top of the cabbage rolls.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the cabbage rolls when they are done cooking.
Notes
Makes 8 servings
4 SmartPoints per serving on Weight Watchers FreeStyle Plan
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Comments & Reviews
Mary Beth Elderton says
Yum! I haven’t had cabbage rolls in ages! Putting a head of cabbage on my shopping list now.
***pinning***
Joey says
Do I brown the ground beef before I put it in the cabbage?
MidgetMomma says
I do but you can get away with not cooking it first if you want to but it takes longer cooking time 🙂
Judi says
Yes
Lakisha says
Do you cook the ground beef first? It’s not in the directions.
Chandra says
Is there a way to modify this to oven bake instead of crock pot?
Stephanie says
Yes, you can bake them at 350 for 45-60 minutes.