Sarra Ina Garten’s stuffed cabbage is a sweet-and-sour comfort dish with ground chuck rolls wrapped in Savoy cabbage, baked in a tomato sauce with brown sugar, red wine vinegar, and raisins. It serves 6 and takes about 2 hours.
Ina calls it “old-fashioned Jewish peasant food” in Barefoot Contessa at Home and says “it’s so good on a cold winter night.” She adds that “children love the fact that they can have raisins in their dinner,” which tells you this sauce leans sweet. The brown sugar and raisins against the tangy vinegar give it that classic sweet-and-sour balance.
The rice goes into the filling raw, not cooked. It absorbs the sauce as the rolls bake, which keeps the meat moist from the inside out. Cook the rice first and the filling turns mushy and dense because the grains have nothing left to absorb.
Ina Garten Stuffed Cabbage Recipe
Course: DinnerCuisine: American, JewishDifficulty: Intermediate6
servings45
minutes1
hour480
kcalGround chuck and rice wrapped in blanched cabbage leaves, layered in a Dutch oven with a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, and baked until the meat is tender and the rice is cooked through. A cold-weather classic from Barefoot Contessa at Home.
Ingredients
- For the Sauce:
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3 tablespoons olive oil
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1 1/2 cups (225g) chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
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2 (28 oz / 794g) cans crushed tomatoes with their juice
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1/4 cup (60ml) red wine vinegar
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1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, lightly packed
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1/2 cup (75g) raisins
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1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
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3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- For the Cabbage:
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1 large head Savoy or green cabbage, including outer leaves (at least 14 leaves)
- For the Filling:
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2 1/2 lbs (1.1 kg) ground chuck
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3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
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1/2 cup (75g) finely chopped yellow onion
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1/2 cup (55g) plain dried bread crumbs
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1/2 cup (100g) uncooked white rice
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1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
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1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
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Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes until translucent. Add the crushed tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Set aside.
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Prep the cabbage: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut out the entire core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Submerge the whole head in the boiling water and peel off each leaf with tongs as soon as it bends easily. You need at least 14 leaves.
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Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, eggs, onion, bread crumbs, raw rice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the sauce and mix lightly with a fork. Don’t overwork it.
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Roll the cabbage: Cut out the hard triangular rib at the base of each leaf with a small paring knife. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling near the rib end of each leaf. Roll up toward the outer edge, tucking the sides in as you go.
- Assemble and bake: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Layer half the rolls seam side down over the sauce. Add more sauce, then the remaining rolls, then pour the rest of the sauce over everything. Cover tightly with the lid. Bake for 1 hour, until the meat is cooked through and the rice is tender.
FAQs
Why does the rice go in raw?
Raw rice absorbs the tomato sauce as the rolls bake, which keeps the filling moist and gives it a soft, tender texture from the inside.
Cooked rice has already absorbed all the liquid it can hold. If you use it, the filling comes out dense and compact instead of light and juicy.
Why does Ina use Savoy cabbage?
Savoy cabbage has crinkled, flexible leaves that are easier to roll without cracking. Regular green cabbage works too, but the leaves are stiffer and more likely to tear.
Both types need to be blanched in boiling water first. Peel the leaves off one at a time as they soften. If you try to separate them before blanching, the raw leaves snap in half.
Can you make stuffed cabbage ahead of time?
Yes, and it tastes better the next day. The sauce soaks deeper into the rolls overnight and the flavors get stronger.
Assemble the full dish, bake it, let it cool, and refrigerate covered for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a 300F (150C) oven for about 30 minutes with the lid on. The sauce thickens as it sits, which is a good thing.
What makes this sauce sweet and sour?
The brown sugar and raisins bring the sweet side. The red wine vinegar brings the sour. Together they give the tomato sauce that tangy, almost barbecue-like quality that’s traditional in Jewish stuffed cabbage.
If the sauce tastes too sweet after simmering, add another splash of vinegar. If it’s too sharp, stir in a tablespoon more brown sugar. Ina’s ratios are a good starting point, but taste it before you assemble.
What should you serve with stuffed cabbage?
Keep it simple. Ina designed this as a full meal because the rolls have meat, rice, and vegetables all in one.
A crusty loaf of bread to soak up the sauce is all you really need. If you want a side, a simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness of the sweet-and-sour sauce.
