Slovak Stuffed Cabbage (Halupki)

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This is definitely a slovak (or any slavic nation’s) standard “go to” comfort dish. It’s commonly found at wedding celebrations, first communions, family picnics, etc.

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5 from 1 vote

Slovak Stuffed Cabbage - (Halupki)

I know that many people make theirs differently. Some people put rice in the meat mixture and others leave it out. This is a traditional Slovak style stuffed cabbage made with a very simple tomato sauce. It's simple, yet tasty and was always a huge favorite at family gatherings, first communions, graduations, weddings, etc.

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time3 hrs 30 mins

Total Time4 hrs 15 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: German American, Hungarian, Slavic, Slovak

Keyword: Cabbage Rolls, Golabki, Golumpki, Halupki, Stuffed Cabbage

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 206kcal

Cost: $10

Equipment

• Boiling Pot
• Knife
• Mixing Bowl
• Grater
• Roaster or Large Casserole Dish
• Aluminum Foil
• Collander or strainer
• Pan (to cook 1/2 cup of rice)

Ingredients

• 1 head Green Cabbage
• 2 large Onion
• 4 cloves Minced or Grated Garlic
• 1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup (or equivalent)
• 1 cup Water
• 1/2 cup White Rice (OPTIONAL)
• 1/2 pound Ground Beef NOTE: you can use just beef if you wish
• 1/2 pound Ground Veal
• 1/2 pound Ground Pork
• 1 cup Italian Style or Plain Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 2 tbsp Fresh or Dried Parsley
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions

Preparing the Cabbage

• In a large stock pot, add enough water to cover as much of your cabbage as possible. Remember, leave some room as your cabbage will displace some of the water when you add it. Turn on your stove and let the water warm while you perform the next steps.
• Make sure to "core" the cabbage before you put it into the boiling water. I normally cut the core end about 2 to 3 inches up the head of cabbage and set the cut part aside. I normally don't have to core any further as this seems to release most of the leaves when boiled.
• DO NOT CUT THE CABBAGE HEAD IN HALF. Leave the entire head full.
• Place your cabbage carefully into the stock pot of simmering water. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the water and cabbage and bring to a rolling boil. Turn the cabbage every 2 to 3 minutes and remove any leaves that separate and place in a collander or strainer to dry and cool.
  
• Boil the cabbage until all the leaves have cooked (normally about 15 minutes or a bit longer). I normally keep collecting them as they loosen in the water and placing them in the collander/strainer. Be careful not to rip the leaves. This part can be a little tedious but just be patient.
• Reserve about a cup and a half of the salted cabbage water for later.
• Take each leaf and cut the veiny part off the bottom. I normally do this by making a "V" at the end of the leaf. See Picture.
  
• Cut right
  
• Cut left
  
• Set the prepared leaves aside.
  

Preparing the Meat Mixture

• In a large mixing bowl, mix ground beef, ground veal, ground pork, rice (I normally pre-boil it before I mix into the meat), bread crumbs, milk, grated onion, grated garlic, parsley, eggs, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. (I personally like to leave the rice out of mine but it's just a preference).

  NOTE: You can also just used ground beef, or ground turkey instead of the above mixture. You would just need 1.5 to 2 lbs of the single meat.
  

Stuffing the Cabbage Leaves

• Lightly pack about 1 or 2 tbsps meat mixture in the center of the leaf. (If your leaves are smaller go one tbsp, if your leaves are larger use 2 tbsps of mixture)
• Fold the sides over the filling and starting from the bottom, roll the cabbage leave up, similar to how you would roll a burrito or an egg roll.
  
• Repeat with the remaining leaves. Place each completed cabbage roll into your roaster or large casserole dish.
  
• You may have had some smaller leaves that you just couldn't separate or they were too small to roll. Go ahead and chop/shred those up and place into the roasting pan along with the stuffed cabbages.
• Slice some onions into random rings and place on top of the cabbage.
  
• Take the can of tomato soup and dilute it with half of the cabbage water that you had saved from a previous step. Pour that on top of the onions and cabbage.
• NOTE: If you have an over abundance of cabbage rolls, increase the above steps to two cans of tomato soup and use the whole amount of cabbage water. (1.5 cups)
• Add four good sized bay leaves on top of the cabbage and cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil or the actual cover itself.
  
• Bake in the roaster or preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3.5 hours or until the meat mixture is no longer pink in the center. Baste the cabbage rolls with it's own juices every 30 minutes.
  

ADDITIONAL TIP

• I sometimes will add a nice mild German Sauerkraut to the mixture at the bottom of the pan and let the cabbage rolls sit on top of that. It adds an extra dimension to the stuffed cabbage and can also be used to make one heck of a kielbasa and sauerkraut dish.
• Also, if you do not like the tomato based version, you can leave the tomato soup of the list and just use some of the boiled cabbage water by itself in the roaster. It's all about what tastes you prefer. Either way, the cabbage rolls are delicious!!

Nutrition

Serving: 2rolls | Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.2g | Protein: 5.8g | Fat: 3.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 258mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 1.7g | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

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