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    Home » Entrees » Beef » Lazy Slow Cooker Unstuffed Cabbage

    Published: Oct 18, 2019 · Modified: Jul 22, 2021

    Lazy Slow Cooker Unstuffed Cabbage

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    Slow cooker unstuffed cabbage is the lazy version of delicious, but traditionally time consuming, cabbage rolls. 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!

    Jump to Recipe
    Cabbage dish in two blue rimmed bowls with bread

    Stuffed cabbage is a great, filling meal that includes so many different food groups and flavors. But, there are soooo many steps. You have to cook things, 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? So I gathered all the ingredients and gave it a go. The results? Delicious!!

    📝Shopping list

    Unstuffed cabbage roll ingredients with labels

    To make deconstructed stuffed cabbage you will need:

    • Cabbage - a full head of fresh cabbage is the best starting point
    • Browned ground beef - I brown and freeze in meal sized portions in advance
    • Onion - chopped
    • Garlic - minced
    • Tomato - diced. You can dice your own, but I always use the canned version
    • Tomato sauce - both homemade and jar versions work well
    • Kosher salt - or you can use table salt if that is what you have
    • rice - uncooked
    • beef stock - soup base, bullion and or any type of beef broth will all work here
    Exact quantities can be found here

    🥣Assembly

    Some ingredients of unstuffed cabbage rolls

    This is the ultimate dump and go. Just add it all to your crockpot and you are set! Depending on the size of your cabbage, your slow cooker may be filled to the very top. That is ok. Cabbage 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.

    Ingredients in slow cooker

    🍽Serving suggestions

    Even though this recipe does have a small amount of rice in it, it is great served on a bed of rice or riced cauliflower. It is also delicious with a side dish of mashed cauliflower or mashed 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.

    Deconstructed cabbage in a blue bowl with a loaf of bread on side

    Storing leftovers

    Crockpot deconstructed cabbage rolls are much easier to store than their fancier rolled cousins. No need to worry about anything falling apart - it already is apart! Storing in meal sized, air tight containers or bags is great for easy reheat-and-eat meals. Leftovers will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and 3-4 months in the freezer. They will reheat well in the microwave.

    Finished dish still in slow cooker

    😉Hints & hacks

    1. Slow cooker unstuffed cabbage calls for browned ground beef . This is an item I make in bulk right in my crockpot and freeze.
    2. 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, shredded cabbage can give your dish more of mushy consistency. I prefer cabbage pieces that are cut a bit larger.
    3. This recipe also calls for tomato sauce. I generally have lots of this stored in my freezer also. However, I didn’t this time so I just used a can of plain tomato sauce.
    4. I am a big fan of slow cooker liners and always suggest using them for easy clean up.

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    Deconstructed cabbage in slow cooker when done

    ❓More questions

    Can unstuffed cabbage be assembled in advance?

    Yes, this is a great prep in advance meal. 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!

    Can you freeze ingredients before cooking

    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.

    More great slow cooker ground beef dishes

    • Lazy Slow Cooker Ground Beef Taco
    • Lazy Slow Cooker Goulash
    • Lazy Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli
    • Lazy Sloppy Taco Sandwiches
    Deconstructed cabbage in a blue bowl with a loaf of bread on side

    Lazy Slow Cooker Unstuffed Cabbage Recipe

    Cabbage, ground beef and rice all cooked together in a tomato based sauce.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 8 hours
    Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 333kcal
    Author: The Lazy slow cooker
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    Equipment

    • 6qt slow cooker
    • measuring spoons and cups
    • sharp knife
    • mixing spoons

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 lbs. browned ground beef
    • 1 small onion, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
    • 1 head cabbage, chopped
    • 28 oz. can, diced tomato
    • 29 oz. can, tomato sauce or 3¾ cups of tomato sauce of choice
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
    • ½ cup rice uncooked
    • ½ cup beef stock

    Instructions

    • I always start with a slow cooker liner for easier clean up
    • Add browned ground beef, onion, garlic, salt and rice to slow cooker
      1.5 lbs. browned ground beef, 1 small onion, chopped, 1 teaspoon garlic, minced, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, ½ cup rice
    • Add diced tomato, sauce, cabbage and stock. Stir ingredients.
      1 head cabbage, chopped, 28 oz. can, diced tomato, 29 oz. can, tomato sauce, ½ cup beef stock
    • Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4.
    • Serve as is or over rice or riced cauliflower.

    Notes

    Note: cabbage is best chopped into medium sized pieces.  

    Nutrition

    Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1423mg | Potassium: 1565mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1026IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 7mg

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    Have you tried this recipe? If so, we would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! 💗

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      Recipe Rating




    1. sharlenkocur@live.comssshar kocur says

      June 26, 2020 at 10:48 am

      5 stars
      Num

      Reply
    2. Mary k. Cuscaden says

      October 10, 2020 at 1:13 am

      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?

      Reply
      • admin says

        October 10, 2020 at 9:03 am

        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!

    3. Amy says

      November 02, 2020 at 6:16 pm

      5 stars
      Made it tonight and it was so delicious. I’ll definitely make it again!!

      Reply
      • admin says

        November 02, 2020 at 7:27 pm

        Love hearing that!! Thanks for letting me know. So glad you enjoyed it!

    4. Mark Golden says

      November 02, 2020 at 6:21 pm

      5 stars
      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!!

      Reply
      • admin says

        November 02, 2020 at 7:49 pm

        What a great idea! I am going to try that too! So glad you enjoyed it!

    5. Jean Hollander says

      November 23, 2020 at 6:04 pm

      I used tomatoe soup instead of stock.

      Reply
      • admin says

        November 23, 2020 at 6:46 pm

        Great idea!! I will have to try that!

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    Welcome to The Lazy Slow Cooker. I am so happy you are here! My name is Susan (yep - I am Lazy Susan!) and I am the recipe developer/blogger behind these posts. I am the mom of three amazing but super busy kids and the wife of one awesome and also super busy guy. All 5 of us have very different schedules and I would not survive mealtime without my crockpot. Read More…

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