These Lazy Cabbage Rolls are simple yet so delicious. Savory and flavorful, they are made with sauteed veggies, rice, chicken, and chopped cabbage for a seriously tasty dish.
If you love cabbage recipes, then you should try this Purple Cabbage Salad or Cabbage Cucumber Salad.
Table Of Contents
Recipe Details
I love these Lazy Cabbage Rolls because not only are they easy, but they are also protein-packed, satisfying, and display beautifully. This recipe is wonderfully versatile and makes a great appetizer or main course.
- TASTE: This savory dish is full of flavor. The chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper, and mixed with sweet sauteed onions and carrots and rich sour cream.
- TEXTURE: The chicken is juicy and the rice and cabbage are deliciously tender.
- TIME: This recipe will take an hour and 40 minutes.
- EASE: This dish is just as tasty as cabbage rolls, but a much easier version. This lazy recipe is nice and simple.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Cabbage- Look for heads of cabbage that are heavy for their size, with tightly furled leaves, and no blemishes or brown spots.
- White rice- Medium grain rice is great for this recipe because it is slightly sticky and great for holding the balls together.
- Chicken- Ground chicken is a must to incorporate easily into the rice mixture.
- Sour cream- Use full fat sour cream for a really rich flavor.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute brown rice- Use brown rice in place of the white for a healthier spin on this dish.
- Add some sweetness- Contrast the savory flavor with a little sweetness from maple syrup or brown sugar.
- Substitute other meats- Instead of ground chicken, try ground beef, pork, or turkey in this recipe.
- Use other tomatoes- Try these Lazy Cabbage Rolls with diced tomatoes for a chunkier version. Or substitute condensed tomato soup for the tomato sauce.
How to Make Lazy Cabbage Rolls
- Chop, boil, and rinse the cabbage. Cut out the core of the cabbage and chop the rest of the cabbage into tiny little pieces. Add it to a large bowl of boiling water and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then, strain the cabbage and rinse it with cold water.
- Cook the rice. Rinse the rice a few times and place it in a saucepan. Add water until it is about 4 inches above the rice. Bring the rice to a boil and cook over medium high heat for 11 minutes. Once the rice is about 90 percent done, strain the water and set aside.
- Saute the vegetables. In a skillet, heat oil over medium high heat and cook 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 shredded carrots. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
- Combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, cabbage, rice, salt and pepper with the sautéed onion and carrot.
- Scoop the mixture into balls. Using a cookie scoop, scrape out full balls of the mixture, roll them into a ball, and place them in a 9×13 baking dish, tightly spaced.
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 370 degrees F.
- Add the topping. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the rest of the onion and carrots. Once the onion is translucent, add in the sour cream and tomato sauce. After about 5 minutes, stir in 1/2 cup water. Spread the sautéed mixture over the cabbage rolls.
- Bake. Cover the cabbage rolls with foil and bake for 1 hour.
Pro Tip: Roll the balls of cabbage mixture in your hands to tighten them up so they stay together while baking.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse the cabbage- Make sure to rinse the boiled cabbage with cold water to stop the cooking process so it doesn’t become overcooked and lose its texture.
- Don’t overcook the rice- Only cook the rice about 90% because it will continue to cook in the oven in the cabbage rolls and you don’t want it to become too mushy.
- Use your hands to roll the cabbage mixture- I find it easiest to mix it with my hands rather than using a spatula or spoon.
- Use a cookie scoop- For even cooking, scoop the cabbage mixture with a cookie scoop. Otherwise smaller balls will cook faster while larger balls will cook slower.
FAQs
You can either freeze or boil cabbage leaves to make them pliable enough to roll. In this Lazy Cabbage Rolls recipe, you will briefly soak the chopped cabbage in boiling water before adding it to the chicken and rice.
If your cabbage is tough, then you have not boiled it long enough. You need to give it enough time to get soft and tender. Whole leaves take longer than the chopped cabbage in these lazy cabbage rolls, which only need 2 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
Since these Lazy Cabbage Rolls make such a large batch, they are an ideal appetizer. You can also serve them as a full meal with delicious sides or starters.
- Appetizers: Serve these in an appetizer buffet with Chicken Croquettes, Eggplant Roll-ups, Smoked Salmon Appetizer (VIDEO), or Crab Stuffed Mushrooms.
- Salads: Enjoy these cabbage rolls with a Strawberry Feta Spinach Salad, Couscous Arugula Salad, Purple Cabbage Salad, or Broccoli Salad With Bacon and Cheese.
- Sides: Serve them with some Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli, Super Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Breaded Chicken Skewers, or Sauteed Garlic Asparagus.
- Soups: Pair these Lazy Cabbage Rolls with a bowl of Potato Leek Soup, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Chicken Gnocchi Soup, or Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: You can prepare these cabbage rolls and, before baking, cover the dish with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge a day ahead of time.
Storing: Store these Lazy Cabbage Rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave or in the oven.
Freeze: Freeze the cabbage rolls in a freezer ziplock bag either cooked or uncooked for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat until warmed through.
More Tasty Appetizers!
Full Recipe Instructions
Lazy Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cut out the core off the cabbage and chop the rest of the cabbage into tiny little pieces. Add the finely chopped cabbage into a large bowl of boiling water and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then, strain the water and rinse with cold water so that the cabbage stops cooking.
- Rinse the rice a few times and place it in a saucepan. Add enough water so that there is about 4 inches of water above the rice. Bring the rice to a boil and cook on medium high heat for 11 minutes. Once the rice is about 90 percent done, strain the water and set aside.
- In a skillet heat oil to medium high heat and cook 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 shredded carrots. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
- In a large bowl mix the ground chicken, cabbage, rice, salt and pepper, with the sautéed onion and carrot. I find it easiest to just mix it with my hands.
- Using a cookie scoop, scrape out balls of the mixture. Make sure each scoop is very full. Round each ball in your hands so that its more compact. In a 9×13 baking dish tightly place the cabbage rolls.
- Preheat your oven to 370 degrees F.
- In a skillet heat 3 tbsp olive oil and sauté rest of the onion and carrots. Once the onion is translucent add in the sour cream and tomato sauce. After about 5 minutes, stir in 1/2 cup water.
- Spread the sautéed mixture over the cabbage rolls, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour.
Nutrition
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Anna says
I made these tonight and they were sooooo good! I will be making them from now on. Thank you for such delicious recipes using simple ingredients!!
simplyhomecooked says
Yay! So glad you loved them, Anna! Thank you for taking the time to write such kind feedback.
Zhanna says
So yummy! Made this tonight! Hubby and family destroyed almost all! Thank you so so much for this recipe! ????????????
simplyhomecooked says
Awesome! Thank you for the great review Zhanna! 🙂
Liyana says
I made this recipe with 2 pounds of meat and there was a lot of rice, didnt put all of it. I would recommend 1 cup for 1 pound of meat; my preference. And I made a lot more sauce, first time I followed the recipe, rolls were kind of dry and almost no sauce.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for leaving feedback. Some people prefer more meat…. I personally don’t. Hmm I’m not sure why there was so little sauce. Usually if it’s covered with foil, there’s quite a bit of sauce.
sviatlana says
Thank you for this great recipe! My husband loves those cabbage rolls! He doesnt like cabbage, but he eats those like there is no cabbage since its inside the roll and he cant really taste it.
simplyhomecooked says
Sviatlana that’s so awesome! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for letting me know how they turned out 🙂
Lorraine says
When do you add the chicken?
admin says
Add the chicken in a large bowl with the rice, cabbage, sautéed carrot, onion, salt, and pepper.
Victoria says
I’ve made these tonight one word amazing!!! My family loved them, I couldn’t stop eating them. So much easier then making them like this. Thank you.
admin says
Thank you Victoria 🙂 I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed it. They are pretty addicting 😉