Slow cooker unstuffed cabbage rolls is the lazy version of a delicious, but traditionally time-consuming meal. Ground beef and rice in a savory sauce mixed together with the sweet and wonderful taste of slow-cooked cabbage. No need to attempt to convince the cabbage to roll!
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📃Shopping list
To make this great recipe you will need:
- Cabbage - a fresh head of cabbage is the best starting point
- Browned ground beef - I prefer lean ground beef
- Onion - chopped
- Garlic - minced
- Tomato - diced. You can dice your own, but I always use the canned version
- Marinara sauce - both homemade and jar versions work well
- Kosher salt - you can also use table salt
- Uncooked rice - recipe is based on white rice
- Beef stock - soup base, bullion and or any type of beef broth will all work here.
🥣Assembly
This slow cooker cabbage roll casserole is the ultimate dump-and-go dish. Just add it all to your crock pot and you are set!
Depending on the size of your cabbage, your slow cooker may be filled to the very top. That is ok. Green cabbage leaves will shrink A TON during cooking. So, even if you can't stir all the ingredients once you add the cabbage, you will be able to after it cooks down a bit.
Traditional cabbage rolls are a great, filling dish that includes so many different food groups and flavors. The perfect one-pot meal!But, there are soooo many steps.
You have to pre-cook ingredients, then assemble them, place them in a pan with sauce and then recook them. Not nearly lazy enough for me.
Since everything else seems to be deconstructed these days I figured why not? This slow cooker recipe has all the flavors your whole family will love but takes much less effort. Which you will love!!
🍽Serving suggestions
Even though this easy recipe does have a small amount of rice in it, it is great served on a bed of brown rice, white rice, or cauliflower rice. It is also delicious with a side dish of mashed cauliflower, mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes.
A nice crisp garden salad makes for a cool and crunchy companion as does a loaf of crusty bread. I also love scooping out medium-sized round loaves of bread to use as bread bowls for serving.
Storing leftovers
This lazy cabbage roll casserole is much easier to store than its fancier rolled cousin. No need to worry about anything falling apart - it already is apart! The perfect meal for reheating.
Store leftovers in a meal sized, airtight container or freezer bag for easy reheat-and-eat meals. Leftovers of this crockpot recipe will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and 3-4 months in the freezer. They reheat well in the microwave making them a family favorite for busy weeknights.
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↔Substitution ideas
- Unstuffed cabbage casserole calls for ground beef. Other ground meats such as ground turkey or chicken would also be delicious.
- This simple recipe is also awesome with some cheese melted on top. Shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese would both work well. A dollop of sour cream added when serving is also a treat for your taste buds.
- Look to make this a low carb meal? Just omit the rice.
- Would you prefer to eat this dish in soup form? Add an extra cup of beef stock and a cup of tomato soup when assembling the ingredients.
😉Hints & hacks
- Slow cooker unstuffed cabbage calls for browned ground beef . I meal prep this ingredient by cooking it in bulk in my crockpot and freezing in recipe sized portions.
- To keep things lazy, you can purchase onion both fresh and frozen that has already been chopped. You can also purchase cabbage that has been already shredded - although this is not an option I favor. Since cabbage shrinks during cooking, the smaller pieces of cabbage can give your dish more of a mushy consistency. I prefer cabbage pieces that are cut a bit larger.
- Slow cooker liners make for the easiest clean-up of this classic recipe.
❓Frequently asked questions
Yes, the best part is that this is one of those delicious recipes a busy mom can prep in advance. Just mix all ingredients together, except the rice, and store in an air-tight bag in the refrigerator. When you are ready to cook, you can dump it into your slow cooker along with the rice, and you are set!
Yes! Assemble all ingredients except for rice, combine and freeze. Rice can be added at the time of cooking. One thing to note, however is that frozen raw cabbage doesn't last as long as frozen cooked cabbage, so when possible, it is better to cook this dish first and then freeze it.
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
(Click on the stars to leave a rating)
Print Pin Rate SaveAll nutrition information shown here is automatically generated and should be considered an estimate. If you follow a specific diet, please calculate your own values to ensure accuracy.
Equipment
- 6qt slow cooker
- cutting board and knife
- mixing spoons
Ingredients
- 1½ lb ground beef browned and drained
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 head cabbage finely chopped
- 2 14 oz cans diced tomato
- 29 oz marinara sauce or about 3½ cups
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup white rice uncooked
- ½ cup beef stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place 1½ lb ground beef into a greased slow cooker and break it apart.
- Add 1 cup onion, 1 teaspoon garlic, 2 14 oz cans diced tomato, 29 oz marinara sauce , 1 teaspoon salt, ½ cup white rice, and ½ cup beef stock and stir.
- Add 1 head cabbage that has been well sliced/chopped. Your slow cooker will be really full, which is fine. The cabbage will shrink as it cooks. If possible, mix the cabbage with the other ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- After cooking stir again to fully combine.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Final Step
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Notes
- Cabbage is best chopped into small to medium-sized pieces.
- *Brown rice will hold up better during the long cooking time. If you plan to cook on the high setting for a shorter period of time, white rice is a better choice.
- This recipe is mild as written. To spice it up, top with red pepper flakes or hot sauce. You can also use a spicier chopped tomato.
Nutrition
All nutrition information shown here is automatically generated and should be considered an estimate. If you follow a specific diet, please calculate your own values to ensure accuracy.
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Have you tried this recipe? If so, we would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! 💗
sharlenkocur@live.comssshar kocur says
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Diane MacNeill says
Absolutely love this Slow Cooker Unstuffed Cabbage Roll recipe. I can honestly say when it was cooking, I was secretly worried that I wouldn’t like it. Turns out I love it. Definitely a repeater! Thank you!
Susan says
So happy to hear that you loved this! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share.
Mary k. Cuscaden says
I want to cook so every one wants to eat these wonderful Recipes!!!! Do I use a Crockpot or is a slow cooker something completely different?
admin says
A crockpot and slow cooker are the same thing. Crockpot is a brand of slow cooker. Just about all of these recipes were made in a crockpot brand slow cooker!
Amy says
Made it tonight and it was so delicious. I’ll definitely make it again!!
admin says
Love hearing that!! Thanks for letting me know. So glad you enjoyed it!
Mark Golden says
Just made this recipe. I substituted Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilled for the diced tomatoes and it really kicked it up a notch! We loved it!!
admin says
What a great idea! I am going to try that too! So glad you enjoyed it!
Jean Hollander says
I used tomatoe soup instead of stock.
admin says
Great idea!! I will have to try that!
Shawntel L Fairfield-Carver says
Wondering if i can use left over cooked rice? If so when would you suggest adding it during cooking so it has time to blend flavors and heat without going mushy? Thanks
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
You most definitely can! I haven't tried it so I am not sure of the exact timing. But, I would just add it for the last 30 minutes or so. Just so it has enough time to heat through and meld in a little. If you do it, I would love to hear how it goes!
Thanks for asking!!
Balinda Kilton says
Hi there I made this and was excellent! However the next day it became very thick and was wondering how I can remoisten it? Should I use more broth or more tomato sauce?
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
Hi Balinda, So glad to hear that you enjoyed this! I usually add additional broth to loosen up the leftovers. I suggest adding a little bit at a time until you reach a consistency you like. Happy New Year!
Lynne says
To make a lower carb version substitute riced cauliflower for the regular rice. It takes on the flavor of the soup and really doesn't taste like cauliflower. I even use it in my low carb chicken 'rice' soup.
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
That's a great idea!! I am going to give it a try. Thank you for sharing!!