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Cabbage rolls in the oven in tomato sour cream sauce

Cabbage Rolls Baked in Tomato–Sour Cream Sauce

A simple but much-loved meat-and-cabbage dish! The best cabbage rolls are the ones baked in the oven in a tomato and sour cream sauce. They come out incredibly fragrant and tender — perfect for holidays and everyday dinners alike.

Julia

Recipe author

Cabbage rolls in the oven in tomato sour cream sauce

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Savoy cabbage (or green cabbage, 1 head)

Ground meat

550

Rice

Onion

Salt

Dry spices

Onion

Salt

Dry spices

Carrot

Sour cream

120

Tomato paste

Vegetable oil

Water

200

Fresh herbs (any)

Bay leaf

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 28 % 5 g

Fats 39 % 7 g

Carbohydrates 33 % 6 g

108 kcal

GI: 71 / 29 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make cabbage rolls in the oven? Start by gathering your ingredients. I'm using Savoy cabbage, but you can use regular green cabbage — that's what the classic version calls for. Grind your own meat or grab store-bought; any ground meat works here. Peel the onions, carrot, and cabbage, then rinse and pat them dry.
Step 2:

Finely chop the peeled onion, or pulse it in a blender. Rinse the rice under running water, then boil it in salted water until just tender and drain in a sieve. In a bowl, combine the onion, rice, ground meat, spices, and salt to taste, and mix well.
Step 3:

My head of cabbage was fairly loose, so I pulled it apart into individual leaves and blanched them in boiling water. If your head is tight, cut out the core first and lower the whole head into boiling salted water, peeling off the leaves as they soften. Let the leaves cool.
Step 4:

Carefully shave down the thick rib at the base of each cabbage leaf so it lies flat. Lay the leaf out and spoon some of the meat filling onto it.
Step 5:

Fold the leaf around the filling into a neat little envelope. Roll up the rest of the cabbage rolls the same way.
Step 6:

Arrange the rolls in a baking dish, packing them snugly together, seam side down.
Step 7:

Gather the ingredients for the sauce.
Step 8:

Finely chop the onion and grate the carrot on the large holes of a box grater.
Step 9:

Sauté the onion and carrot in a skillet with a little vegetable oil until softened, stirring so they cook evenly.
Step 10:

Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for 1–2 minutes.
Step 11:

Stir the sour cream into the sauce.
Step 12:

Pour in about 1 to 1¼ cups (250–300 ml) of water and stir. Season with salt, add finely chopped herbs, spices, and the bay leaf. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it simmer for 1–2 minutes.
Step 13:

Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls in the dish. Cover with foil and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 40 minutes. Keep in mind that baking time depends on your particular oven.

You can use green cabbage, but Savoy makes more tender rolls, since its leaves are softer and thinner. The rolls bake in a sour cream and tomato sauce with vegetables that gives the dish a rich flavor and aroma. Serve them hot with any side dish (except rice) or on their own.
Remember that every oven is different, so the temperature and timing may vary from what's written here. A little know-how about how your oven behaves goes a long way toward a successful bake.