Sarmas (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, also known as Sarmas, are a comfort food I grew up eating on the Iron Range of Minnesota. Cabbage leaves are stuffed with a seasoned mixture of beef, pork & rice and baked in a tomato sauce for a hearty & filling meal.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cabbage or 2 medium
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
- 1 # sauerkraut about 2 cups
- 15 oz. can tomato sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Cut core end off cabbage and place in boiling water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove cabbage from water and allow to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, combine meats along with the rest of the ingredients besides sauerkraut & tomato sauce.
- When cabbage is cool enough to handle, separate 12 leaves from the head. Make a V-shaped cut on the bottom of the leaf to remove the thick rib of the leaf.
- Place ⅓ cup of filling in the center of each cabbage leaf. Roll the leaf like a burrito, bringing the sides in first then rolling it up to seal. Repeat with remaining 11 rolls.
- Place ½ cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish along with 1 cup of sauerkraut. Place the cabbage rolls in the baking dish and cover with remaining sauerkraut and tomato sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake 75-90 minutes until cabbage is tender and meat is fully cooked.
Helpful Equipment & Ingredient Links
Stockpot
Baking Dish
Notes
Serve Stuffed Cabbage Rolls on their own or alongside mashed potatoes for a hearty meal.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls freeze well!
I leave the pot of water boiling while picking the cabbage leaves. As you get further into the head, the leaves may not have gotten as tender. If this happens, I place the head back in the boiling water to soften the inner leaves.