Here is dad’s Lithuanian stuffed cabbage recipe. In my house, this is a complete meal. You have protein, veggies and rice. However, if you need more to round out the meal, boiled red potatoes are a good side dish. Typically, we don’t eat the bacon. It has been added for flavor and moisture. Since it doesn’t crisp up, it has served its purpose while cooking the cabbage and we discard it. But no judgement from me if you choose to eat it.
I didn’t know that stuffed cabbage was a fan favorite in other cultures until my teens. In my house, Dad was Lithuanian and only he made it, so we all assumed it was a Lithuanian dish. This was his recipe and we loved it. He’d only make it on special occasions so when he cooked it, we gathered around waiting for the “event” to begin. He said it was just like his mother made it, so that is how I make it.
Two notes: I cannot stress enough that this dish almost always needs more salt than you think. Take the extra minute to fry up a little ball of the mixed meat and taste it. If it is bland, add more salt to the meat mixture before stuffing the cabbage. A lot of this depends on whether you used plan ground pork or the seasoned pork sausage.
Second, this is definitely better on day two or three. Therefore, besides the fabulous leftovers, this is a great dish to make in advance and just reheat in a 350 degree oven. Just be sure to bring your baking pan to room temperature before reheating and douse your cabbage rolls with the sauce in the bottom of the pan before putting it into the oven.
From my Dad to you, let’s all be Lithuanian for the day!
To get started, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Also, bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Next, mix the three meats, cooked rice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Put to the side
Cook the chopped onion and garlic with the olive oil on the stoves until fragrant and the onions are soft and translucent. Put to the side to let cool.
While the onions are cooling, add one or two heads of the cabbage to the boiling water. Depending on the side of you pot, you may have to cook one at a time. Cook each head of cabbage for about five minutes. You want the outer layers soft. Remove the head of cabbage using a big fork and place in a colander to drain. Do all the heads of cabbage the same way. Run under cold water to help the cooling process.
When the cabbage is cool enough to work with, using a large chef’s knife, cut out the core and discard. Separate the leaves and stack them on a plate and let the excess water drip off. Remove the big leaves that will be perfect for stuffing. Keep the smaller leaves for topping the finished cabbage before baking.
Once you have all your leaves separated, you see that there is still a hard core in the middle of the larger leaves. You’ll want to cut that out so the cabbage rolls don’t have that tough section. Don’t worry if the leaves are irregular in shape. You’ll be folding everything into neat packages and they will be just fine. Once you have all the hard cores removes from you leaves, you are ready to mix the cooled onion mixture into the meat.
In a large measuring cup, mix the tomato sauce, vinegar and sugar. It is time to stuff your lettuce leaves. Place a large, prepped cabbage leaf on a cutting board. Top with about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture. Fold the cabbage leaves over the meat creating a little package.
Continue creating stuffed cabbage packages and place them seam side down in a baking dish(s). When all the meat is gone and the dish is filled, top the stuffed cabbage with the tomato vinegar mix. If using more than one baking dish, divide the tomato sauce evenly between both.
Top the cabbage with 3-4 slices of bacon per baking dish. Add the boiling beef stock to the pan(s).
Now, take those smaller cabbage leaves and top the bacon. Rather than tin foil wrapping the pan, the cabbage leaves insulate the dish and provide additional moisture. These small leaves will be thrown out after the dish bakes.
Bake the stuffed cabbage in the oven for 50-60 minutes until cooked through. The cabbage will be soft and the smell will be amazing. The tops of the small lettuce will be brown or burnt. This is just fine. When you remove the baking dishes from the oven, let them sit for about five minutes.
Remove that top layer of browned cabbage and discard. I do the same with the bacon. It won’t be crispy. In this recipe, it is just used to flavor the sauce. I discard it.
Serve two or three bundles per person. If you are a guy in my family, that can grow to 5-6!!! Remember, these taste even better the next day or the third day. If you do have left overs, cover the baking sheet with foil and keep in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before reheating in a 350 degree F. oven for 25-35 minutes.
Stuffed cabbage is a complete meal but you can add boiled potatoes on the side if you want to bulk up the meal.
Do you like casserole type dishes? If so, be sure to try some of my other favorites.
Baked Pasta with Turkey Sausage
Baked Cheese Tortellini with Meat Sauce
Dad’s Lithuanian Stuffed Cabbage
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 Heads of Cabbage (24 leaves for stuffing, extra for baking)
- 1 Lb. Ground Beef
- 1 Lb. Ground Veal
- 1 Lb. Ground Pork OR Ground Pork Sausage
- 1 ¼ Cup Coked rice
- 6-8 Slices of bacon
- 1 Yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
- 6 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 28 Oz. Can tomato sauce
- ¼ Cup White wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
- ½ – ¾ Cup of boiling beef stock or broth
- 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a very large pot of water to boil.
- Mix the three meats, cooked rice and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Put to the side.
- Cook the chopped onion and garlic with the olive oil on the stove until the onion are soft and translucent. Put to the side to cool.
- Add heads of cabbage to the boiling water. (Depending on the size of your pot, you may have to do them one at a time). Cook the cabbage for about five minutes until the outer leaves are soft. Drain in a colander under running cold water so they are easier to work with.
- When cool enough to touch, cut out the hard core at the end of the cabbage head. You may have to make multiple cuts around the core to loosen it and cut it out.
- Separate the whole cabbage leaves from the head and pile them on a plate to let excess water drip off. (Note: you won’t be separating the inner leaves. They will be too small for the stuffed cabbage. Save those leaves for topping the baking pan (see notes below) or for another use.
- Once you have all your leaves separated (you need about 24 from the three heads of cabbage), you need to remove the hard core in the middle of each leaf. Just cut it out using a knife.
- Now, mix the onion mixture into your meat and rice mixture. You may need to add more salt. You can test by rolling a small amount into a little ball and frying in on the stove. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Scoop a good ½ Cup of the meat mixture and put in an individual cabbage leaf. Fold the cabbage around the meat creating a little bundle. Place the cabbage bundles, seam side down, in a large baking dish or foil pan. Continue with all the rolls. You may need two pans depending on the size.
- Mix the tomato sauce, vinegar and sugar in a measuring cup. Pour over your cabbage rolls. (If using two pans, pour half over each. Top each pan of rolls with 3-4 slices of bacon. Add half the boiling beef stock to each pan.
- Use your excess cabbage leaves to act like tin foil and cover the bacon topped rolls. The moist cabbage helps the rolls steam and cook while protecting the cabbage rolls from getting burnt or overcooked.
- Cook in the oven for 50-60 minutes until cooked through and the cabbage is soft.
- Remove from the oven, let cool about five minutes and serve.Remove from the oven, let cool about five minutes and serve.
