A typical cabbage roll is a tender and crispy leaf of the garden vegetable wrapped around a savory, meaty, rich stuffing. The Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole turns that traditional recipe on its head, with layers of crunchy cabbage and fatty beef and pork in a bright tomato sauce with fluffy rice. Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole serves up the flavors of a traditional roll in casserole form, so you can scoop more and more onto your plate. Once you try it for the first time, you’ll absolutely want to enjoy it as as you can!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can tomato soup
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with liquid
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- salt, to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2 1/2 cups rice, cooked, of your choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 head of cabbage, chopped
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Step 3 –In a large skillet over medium heat on the stove-top, add the ground beef, ground pork, onion, and garlic.
Step 4 –Sauté until the meat is no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes.
Step 5 –Drain the fat from the skillet.
Step 6 –Add the tomato sauce, tomato soup, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, dill, parsley, and bay leaf. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 7 –Remove the bay leaf.
Step 8 –Stir in the rice.
Step 9 –In a separate pan on the stove-top over medium heat, heat the olive oil.
Step 10 –Add the cabbage and sauté until tender and browned at the edges, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 11 –Layer 1/2 the cabbage in the prepared baking pan.
Step 12 –Top with 1/2 of the meat and rice mixture.
Step 13 –Repeat the layers, so that the top layer is meat and rice.
Step 14 –Bake uncovered until hot and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.
Step 15 –Serve hot.
