This stuffed cabbage recipe, known as halupki on the Ukrainian side of my family, is made with beef, pork, and rice encased in cabbage and drizzled with a thin, sweet tomato sauce. Leftovers freeze well — if you have any! My grandma Eugenia taught me how to make this. Every family has their own twist on this traditional dish. Enjoy with mashed potatoes just as we always do in my family!
Ingredients
- head cabbage, cored: 1 piece
- water to cover:
- salt: 0.25 tsp
- ½ pounds lean ground beef: 1 piece
- ½ pounds ground pork: 1 piece
- ½ cups cooked white rice: 1 piece
- eggs, slightly: 2 piece (beaten)
- onion: 0.25 cup (finely chopped)
- fresh parsley: 2 Tbsp (chopped)
- garlic powder: 0.5 tsp
- salt: 0.5 tsp
- ground black pepper: 0.5 tsp
- tomato sauce: 1 can (28 ounce can)
- white vinegar: 0.25 cup
- ⅔ tablespoons white sugar: 2 piece
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Place cabbage in a stockpot; pour over enough water to cover. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn cabbage every 2 to 3 minutes; transfer any leaves that separate from cabbage into a strainer to drain and cool. Continue to boil until all the leaves have cooked, about 15 minutes. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of cabbage cooking water. Cut out the tough, thick center ribs of any large cabbage leaves with a sharp knife. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
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Mix ground beef, ground pork, cooked rice, eggs, onion, fresh parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined. Lay 1 cabbage leaf on a flat surface; place 1 heaping tablespoon of filling at the base of a cabbage leaf. Overlap with the bottom of the leaf; fold in side edges and roll up. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
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Repeat with remaining large cabbage leaves and filling. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
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Cut any leftover cabbage leaves into pieces and place in the bottom of a roasting pan. Layer stuffed cabbage rolls on top. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
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Combine tomato sauce, reserved cabbage water, white vinegar, and white sugar in a bowl; pour mixture over cabbage rolls. Cover roasting pan with aluminum foil. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
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Bake in the preheated oven until filling is cooked through and sauce has thickened, about 2 1/2 hours. Baste stuffed cabbage rolls every hour. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
