Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls (Holubtsi)

square crop of two cabbage rolls one is cut up so you can see the rice filling inside.

5 from 1 vote

Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls (Holubtsi)

Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls (Holubtsi) or “little pigeons” are a popular dish in Eastern Europe. This authentic meatless stuffed cabbage roll recipe is one that my grandma gave me many years ago.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Ukrainian

Keyword cabbage, cabbage rolls, stuffed, vegetarian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 2 15

Total Time 3 15

Servings servings

Calories 313kcal

Author Debi

Ingredients

2 ounces dried mushrooms
3 cups water
3 pound green cabbage
1 yellow onion chopped
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups rice uncooked
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
15 ounce can tomato sauce
½ cup water
2 tablespoons oil

Instructions

Mushrooms and mushroom stock

Wash the dried mushrooms. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the mushrooms and simmer for 1 hour.
2 ounces dried mushrooms, 3 cups water
Strain mushroom stock (saving it to cook the rice in). Chop the mushrooms. Set aside.

Cabbage

Remove and discard the hard core of the cabbage. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Simmer, cored side up, covered, removing the outer leaves as they wilt and are tender, about 15 minutes. Boiling the cabbage allows easy removal of leaves & softens them.
3 pound green cabbage
Do not overcook.
Carefully remove cabbage head from water and allow it to cool until it's easy to handle. Use a paring knife to cut away thick center stems from each cooked leaf, without cutting all the way through the leaf.
Roughly chop any damaged and small leaves and place them at the bottom of a large casserole dish or Dutch oven that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.

Onions

Sauté chopped onions in 2 tablespoons oil, about 10 minutes or until onion is translucent and starting to brown.
1 yellow onion, 2 tablespoons oil

Rice

Party cook rice in 3 cups reserved mushroom stock plus water (to make the full 3 cups), for about 7-10 minutes or until liquid is mostly absorbed.
2 cups rice
Add the chopped mushrooms and half of the cooked onions to the rice. Add the salt and pepper to the rice and taste, it should taste over seasoned, add more salt and pepper as needed.
1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper

Form Holubtsi and bake

Preheat oven to 350° F. Form Holubtsi and arrange in layers in the casserole dish.
To form: Depending on the size of the leaf, each roll may require more or less filling. The filling will be 1 tablespoon rice mixture for smaller cabbage leaves, and up to 1/3 cup rice mixture for larger cabbage leaves.
Place the cabbage leaf in your hand, or on a work surface so that it’s curved side up with the thicker stem end away from you.
Place the filling in the middle of the leaf. Fold sides toward the center. Starting at the thin outer edge of the leaf, roll up loosely until the filling is surrounded by the cabbage leaf
Place cabbage rolls, seam side down on top of chopped cabbage in the casserole dish. Cabbage rolls can be stacked on top of each other as well as placed next to each other. Continue with remaining cabbage and filling.
Add tomato sauce and ½ cup water so that you can just see it at the bottom of the rolls. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and top with remaining sautéed onions.
15 ounce can tomato sauce, ½ cup water, 2 tablespoons oil
Bake, covered, at 350° F for 1 hour.
Serve with sour cream or your favorite sauce.

Notes

Any variety of dried mushrooms will work here.

Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Holubtsi can be reheated in the casserole dish, microwaved until hot, or sauteed on the stove individually. To reheat on the stove, add the cabbage rolls plus 2 tablespoons of water to the pan, cover with a lid, and heat over medium-low for about 5 minutes.

For longer storage, cabbage rolls freeze very well. Cook them according to the recipe directions, allow them to cool completely, and place in a freezer safe container. They will store up to 3 months.

When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them in the fridge overnight, and cook in the oven, the microwave, or the stove. You may need to add a little water to loosen.

Nutrition