Holubtsi is a Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage dish comprised of tender cabbage rolls, stuffed with a mixture of seasoned ground beef or pork, rice, and onions. The cabbage rolls are baked in a tomato-based sauce and served with sour cream. For a healthier option, you can serve Holubtsi with homemade yogurt instead.
Ever since the current situation in Ukraine, I've been contemplating what I can do as a blogger to show my support for the Ukrainian people. After a few friends asked if I would share some Ukrainian recipes, I decided to share a Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage recipe.
Since Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures are known for their delicious dolma (Iraqi dolma, grape leaves, or cabbage), I decided that Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage would be a good fit. I mean I already have four Dolma recipes on my blog, what's one more, right?
Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage, also known as Halupki or Golumpki (Polish name), is much milder than Assyrian-style cabbage rolls. We don't mess around when it comes to seasoning.
It took every ounce of restraint that I had not to add more spices to the filling and to the sauce, in order to keep the recipe as authentic as possible. I did, however, sneak in some garlic, parsley, malic acid for acidity, and sugar to balance out the acidity. So, I guess you could say this is my take on this classic Ukrainian stuffed cabbage dish.
If you like this recipe, you'll want to try my Ukrainian Borscht recipe and this Polish Dill Pickle Soup!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage is relatively easy to prepare with simple ingredients. Unlike Iraqi Dolma, the filling contains ground beef or pork. This means you don't have to spend extra time chopping the meat into tiny pieces.
Since Holubtsi is mild in flavor, this recipe is suitable for those who prefer mild-tasting food. If you or someone in your family decides that the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are too mild, you can serve it with the delicious spicy red sauce found in my Swiss Chard Dolma recipe.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cabbage: Purchase the largest head of cabbage that you can find so that you have enough cabbage leaves for the entire filling.
- Rice: Sometimes the rice is cooked or partially cooked before adding it to the filling. I prefer to add raw rice to the filling so that the rice can cook in the tomato sauce and absorb more flavor.
- Meat: Although this recipe calls for ground pork, you can substitute ground beef or ground lamb if you wish.
- Spices: Holubtsi is usually seasoned with salt and black pepper. I added some paprika for additional flavor and color. I also added malic acid to give it a sour flavor and a tiny bit of sugar to balance the sour taste and acidity. If you don't have malic acid, you can substitute an equal amount of citric acid or twice as much lemon juice.
- Herbs: Sometimes basil, dill, and bay leaves are added to the filling. I added parsley because that's what I had on hand but highly recommend adding fresh dill.
- Sauce: I prepared a sauce similar to what I use in my other Dolma recipes. However, I found many Holubsti recipes that called for canned tomato sauce, marinara sauce, or tomato soup instead.
🍲 How To Make Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Boil Cabbage
Step 1: Wash, core, and boil cabbage in a deep pot. Once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer the cabbage until the outer leaves can easily be pulled away from the cabbage. The leaves' color will change to a brighter green. As you pull the leaves off, allow them to cook in the hot water for a little longer if necessary, until they're pliable.
Pro Tip: The best tool I've found for pulling away the cooked leaves from the head of cabbage is to use kitchen tongs.
Prepare The Filling
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix ground pork, carrots, onion, parsley, garlic, egg, oil, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Add washed and strained rice and mix to combine.
Step 3: Once the cabbage leaves have cooled, slice off the large spine going down the middle of the leaves, and use the spines to layer the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot. This layer of leaves will keep the stuffed cabbage from sticking to the pot or burning.
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Pro Tip: You can also use the leaves in the core of the cabbage which are too small to stuff and the overly cooked and flimsy ones to line the bottom of the pot. Also, dogs LOVE cooked cabbage!
Stuff Cabbage Rolls
Step 4: Fill the trimmed cabbage leaves with 1 tablespoon of filling mixture and roll the leaves tightly over the filling. Depending on the size of the leaf, they may require more or less filling. Place the stuffed cabbage seam-side down into the lined pot; continue until you have one layer, then start another layer. Depending on the size of the pot, you may end up with two or three layers of cabbage rolls.
Pro Tip: If you run out of cabbage leaves, you can use the remaining filling to stuff onions, green peppers, tomatoes, grape leaves, zucchini, or eggplant. I'm not sure if that's Ukrainian-approved, but it's definitely Assyrian-approved!
Pro Tip: To stuff onions use medium-sized oval-shaped onions. Peel the onions and slice them halfway through the middle, length-wise. Boil the onions until they begin to open up and the layers can be easily separated. Each layer will make one stuffed onion.
Prepare Tomato Sauce and Bake (Preheat Oven to 325 F)
Step 5: Add water and tomato paste to a small saucepan and season with salt, malic acid, and sugar. Add oil and whisk over medium heat until the tomato paste is dissolved and the sauce comes to a boil.
Step 6: Pour sauce over stuffed cabbage, cover the large pot, and bake for one hour or until the rice is tender. Serve stuffed cabbage with sour cream on the side.
What Readers Are Saying
prepared cabbage rolls. And I've been cooking these for decades as well. My favorite dish - and my daughter's as well. I'll definitely try this recipe with some of your additional ingredients. —Renie
If rolling cabbage seems too intimidating for you, I've got just the right recipe for you! These unstuffed cabbage rolls are both delicious and easy to prepare, making them a great beginner recipe!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Holubtsi is a Ukrainian dish in which cabbage is stuffed with a lightly seasoned meat, rice, and onion mixture, then cooked in a tomato-based sauce or tomato juice.
Cabbage rolls is a universal dish that is shared by many cultures. Countries known for their cabbage rolls include Iraq, Iran, Israel, Turkey, Greece, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Austria, Italy, and many others.
Holubtsi is the Ukrainian name for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls.
🔖 Pro Tips
- Sometimes the stuffed cabbage is wrapped into a cone shape, while other times the entire cabbage leaf is rolled into one giant stuffed cabbage roll. I fell back to the way my mom taught me to roll the cabbage leaves.
- If you decide to cook the Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage on the stovetop, follow the same procedure. Sometimes a plate is placed on top of the stuffed cabbage while they cook. The plate keeps the stuffed cabbage submerged in the cooking liquid.
- Store any leftover Holubtsi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Holubtsi does not freeze well because the texture of the cabbage rolls changes once they are frozen.
🥘 More Dolma Recipes
You may also be interested in this informative Ukrainian Easter eggs post!
📖 Recipe
Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage (Holubtsi)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cabbage
- ¾ lb ground pork or beef
- 1 cup carrots (ground)
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced)
- ⅓ cup Italian parsley (or dill, chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 large egg
- 2 ounces tomato paste (⅓ of a 6-ounce can)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoon sea salt (divided)
- ½ teaspoon malic acid (or citric acid)
- 1½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cups Jasmine rice
Sauce
- 2 cups water
- 4 ounces tomato paste (⅔ of a 6-ounce can)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon malic acid (or citric acid)
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Topping
- 1 container sour cream (or yogurt)
Instructions
Boil Cabbage
- Wash, core, and boil cabbage in a deep pot. Once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer the cabbage until the outer leaves can easily be pulled away from the cabbage. The leaves' color will change to a brighter green. As you pull the leaves off, allow them to cook in the hot water for a little longer if necessary, until they're pliable.
Prepare the Filling
- In a large bowl, mix ground pork, carrots, onion, parsley, garlic, egg, oil, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Add washed and strained rice and mix to combine.
- Once the cabbage leaves have cooled, slice off the large spine going down the middle of the leaves, and use the spines to layer the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot. This layer of leaves will keep the stuffed cabbage from sticking to the pot or burning.
Stuff Cabbage Rolls
- Fill the trimmed cabbage leaves with 1 tablespoon of filling mixture and roll the leaves tightly over the filling. Depending on the size of the leaf, they may require more or less filling. Place the stuffed cabbage seam-side down into the lined pot; continue until you have one layer, then start another layer. Depending on the size of the pot, you may end up with two or three layers of cabbage rolls.
Preheat Oven to 325°F
Prepare Tomato Sauce
- Add water and tomato paste to a small saucepan and season with salt, malic acid, and sugar. Add oil and whisk over medium heat until the tomato paste is dissolved and the sauce comes to a boil.
- Pour sauce over stuffed cabbage, cover the pot, and bake the stuffed cabbage for one hour or until the rice is tender. Serve stuffed cabbage with sour cream.
Notes
- The best tool I've found for pulling away from the cooked leaves from the head of cabbage is kitchen tongs.
- You can also use the leaves in the core of the cabbage which are too small to stuff and the overly cooked and flimsy ones to line the bottom of the pot. Also, dogs LOVE cooked cabbage!
- Sometimes the stuffed cabbage is wrapped into a cone shape, while other times the entire cabbage leaf is rolled into one giant stuffed cabbage roll. I fell back to the way my mom taught me to roll the cabbage leaves.
- To stuff onions use medium-sized oval-shaped onions. Peel the onions and slice them halfway through the middle, length-wise. Boil the onions until they begin to open up and the layers can be easily separated. Each layer will make one stuffed onion.
- If you decide to cook the Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage on the stove-top, follow the same procedure. Sometimes a plate is placed on top of the stuffed cabbage while they cook. The plate keeps the stuffed cabbage submerged in the cooking liquid.
- Store any leftover Holubtsi in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Holubtsi does not freeze well because the texture of the cabbage rolls changes once they are frozen.
Angela says
Hi, can I substitute the parsley with basil as that's what I have in my kitchen? Is it the same measurement as the parsley if I can use basil? Thanks!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Angela,
Basil has such a different flavor and is much stronger that I personally wouldn't use it as a substitute. I don't think it would necessarily be bad but different than what I'm used to. I can't imagine that flavor profile being a part of this dish. Do you have dry parsley? Most spice racks include dried parsley. If so, I'd go that route.
Lynne says
Put head of cabbage in freezer overnight. Remove the next day and let thaw at room temperature. The cabbage leaves can easily be peeled off the head of cabbage and be limp enough for making the rolls.
Michele says
I've used barberries or raisins soaked in lemon juice in place of the acid. Adds a slightly sweet tart taste.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Michelle, that also sounds yummy! Thanks also for your review! 😘
Trevor Sawchuk says
Not too bad, but I have some suggestions to make them more authentic to southern Ukraine. Skip the paprika, and the acid and sugar,(as a chef of 35 years, if you have to add sugar to balance your acid, you used too much acid) but if you want a bit of bite, Ukrainian cooks will use a little citric acid (sour salt as we like to call it) or just plain white vinegar. “Pro tip,” par cook your rice to bring out some of the natural starch, that will aid to bind all ingredients together and you won’t need to add an egg either. Also, when stuffing, lay out the cabbage leaf as flat as possible with the stem side towards you, place stuffing in center of leaf, bring up the bottom of the leaf to start the roll, then tuck in both sides to finish the roll (like little cabbage burritos) that way when you cook them the stuffing won’t escape and the won’t look as sloppy as the ones in the photo.
Hilda Sterner says
Wow Trevor, I thought my mom was a tough critic about how to roll the cabbage. You may find the video of my mom teaching me how to roll them amusing. It's at the bottom of this post: https://hildaskitchenblog.com/recipe/cabbage-dolma-dolmat-chalama/. Thanks for the other tips, hopefully they will be helpful to others who try this recipe!
Mia says
Thank you Trevor, this is helpful. Hilda your recipe is delicious, though my rice came out under. I look forward to trying this dish again soon.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Mia, when you say "under" do you mean undercooked? If so, it just needs to cook longer. If all the liquid is gone, you can add a little water. Take care!
kheshig says
Simple and filling, thank you.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you!
Renie Olson says
Wow, this recipe is almost the same as how my Ukranian parents prepared cabbage rolls. And I've been cooking these for decades as well. My favorite dish - and my daughter's as well. I'll definitely try this recipe with some of your additional ingredients.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Renie, Thank you so much for the review! Enjoy 🙂