I crave cabbage rolls often, I never ever feel like making them though - Hello Lazy Cabbage Rolls with fresh Cabbage! This recipe is different from others I've seen online as it doesn't use sauerkraut - it uses FRESH cabbage! This is also meant to imitate the Ukrainian style cabbage rolls that I grew up with, so the only meat in the dish is crispy bacon and there is no tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- Fresh Green Cabbage
- Rice
- Bacon
- Butter
- Onion
- Garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
If you prefer sour cabbage rolls you can substitute the fresh cabbage in this recipe for a a 700ml/24 oz jar of sauerkraut.
The Gist of it:
- Make the rice
- Cook the bacon
- Cut up the cabbge, garlic and onion.
- Cook Cabbage, Garlic and Onion
- Add in Rice and Bacon.
- Devour
Make & Season the Rice 
Fry up Sliced Bacon 
Remove Cooked Bacon 
Saute Onion and Garlic in Butter 
Slice Cabbage 
Cook Down Cabbage with Onion Mix 
Add in Rice and Bacon 
Serve
FAQ about Lazy Cabbage Rolls with Fresh Cabbage
You can do whatever makes you happy. I have done this in the past but I feel it makes the dish unnecessarily greasy. I also find the taste to be more authentic to cabbage rolls when the cabbage is sautéed in butter instead of bacon grease.
Instead of using fresh green cabbage you could use a jar (700ml/ 24oz) of sauerkraut. Drain the liquid out and pat dry but do not rinse. Put it in the pan for about 5 minutes (enough to heat through) Follow the rest of the recipe below, as written.
Serve them as a side to baked ham or oven roasted chicken. Or if you are like me, serve them as a main dish at lunch. If you are servings this as a main it makes 4 portions.
If you're looking for more easy 30 minute meals try some of these ones next:
Lazy Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 Cup Uncle Bens Converted Rice
- 2 Cups Water
- ½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Pepper
General
- 375 grams Bacon
- 8 Cups Green Cabbage Julienned
- 1 Medium Onion Diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 2 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Salt or more to taste
- ½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper or more to taste
Optional Serving Topping
- Sour Cream
Instructions
Cook Rice
- Cook the rice to package instructions and add in the seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper) while it cooks. I use uncle bens converted rice which takes 20 minutes to cook and requires a 2:1 ratio of water to rice. You can use whatever rice you like best with this and cook it accordingly.
General
- Slice the Bacon in to thin strips and cook until crisp. Once crisp remove the bacon from pan and set on paper towel to absorb any excess grease. Safely discard of any remaining bacon grease from the pan.
- Add butter to pan. Sauté the diced onion and minced garlic until tender and translucent. About 5 Minutes.
- Add in the julienned cabbage and stir constantly while it cooks down. Stirring constantly ensures that you will not burn anything and that the cabbage is evenly coated in the butter/garlic/onion mix. Season with salt and Pepper
- Add the rice and bacon to the pan and stir well to mix it all together.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.
- Hope you Enjoy, please leave a review and let me know!
