Ukrainian Stuffed Cabbage (Holubtsi)

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 yogurt instead.

About This Recipe

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 (stuffed vegetables, 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 have 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.

Why This Recipe Works

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

Recipe Ingredients and 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 from the cooked leaves from the head of cabbage is 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.

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 on stuffed onion.

Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees F

Prepare Tomato Sauce and Bake

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 pot, and bake for one hour or until the rice is tender. Serve stuffed cabbage with sour cream on the side.

Recipe FAQs

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 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. 

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