Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
My easy stuffed cabbage casserole has everything you love about classic stuffed cabbage rolls, reworked into a weeknight friendly meal the whole family will love.
Servings: 10 servings
Equipment
- 9x13 casserole
Ingredients
rice
- 2 cups cooked long grain rice
- 1 1/2 ounces fresh dill, or a large bunch, chopped (fronds only, discard the stems.)
sauce
- 1 1/2-2 lbs lean ground beef
- olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 Tbsp sweet paprika, or more to taste (I added an extra teaspoon)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp dried minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried minced onion
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
cabbage
- 1 medium head Savoy cabbage
sour cream layer
- 7 ounces creme fraiche
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
cheese topping (optional)
- 2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese, or more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Toss the rice with the fresh dill and set aside.
- Brown the ground beef off in a large Dutch oven or skillet. Start with a little olive oil if your meat is very lean. Break the meat apart into a coarse crumble as it cookes. Drain off excess fat and set aside on a plate.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan and sauté the onions, garlic, paprika, and cayenne for a few minutes to soften the onions.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, garlic flakes, onion flakes, and salt to the pan and stir to combine. Bring up to a bubble and then turn down and let simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the beef back into the pot, along with the green peppers and keep at a low simmer. Taste to adjust any of the seasonings.
- Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and slice in half, through the core. Remove the core and cut the halves in half again, in the same direction. Slice the cabbage into 1/2 inch shreds.
- Put the cabbage in a large microwave safe bowl and add a splash or two of water. Microwave on high, covered, for 4 minutes. Drain well.
- Layer the casserole with half the cabbage on the bottom, followed by half the meat sauce. Sprinkle all of the rice evenly over top, then add the remaining cabbage over that and gently press down. Whisk together the creme fraiche with the lemon juice and drizzle or dollop evenly across the top. Then finish with the rest of the meat sauce.
- Lay a piece of foil loosely over the top (don't crimp) and bake for about 40 minutes, or until bubbling and hot throughout. If you want to top with cheese, remove the foil and sprinkle across the top about 10 minutes before the end of baking to give it a chance to melt.
Nutrition
Calories: 230 kcal · Carbohydrates: 24 g · Protein: 20 g · Fat: 7 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 42 mg · Sodium: 547 mg · Potassium: 803 mg · Fiber: 5 g · Sugar: 8 g · Vitamin A: 1255 IU · Vitamin C: 48 mg · Calcium: 75 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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