Lazy Cabbage Rolls

Easy Lazy cabbage rolls have all the flavor of the traditional dish but making them unstuffed is so much easier!

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This delicious recipe is made quick and easy!

Overhead view of a pot of cabbage roll casserole.

Table of Contents

❤️ Why you'll love it
🧾 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
🥫 Storage
📖 Variations
💭 Things to know
👩‍🍳 FAQs
📚 Related recipes
🍽️ Serve with...
📞 The last word
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love it

One-pot meals are a saving grace after busy days
Satisfying comfort food with great flavors
Taste like grandma's traditional cabbage rolls but much easier to make

Okay, so maybe Mom did it back in the day, but it's the 21st century now, and rarely do we have a lot of time to spend rolling up cabbage leaves all afternoon.

This easy recipe comes together quickly and without a lot of work, so you'll be happy making lazy cabbage rolls, and the whole family will be happy eating it.

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

🔪 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Step by step images showing how to make this recipe.

Brown the ground beef. Stir in the cabbage and French onion soup.
Next, add two cans of tomato soup and rice.
Stir the meat mixture and rice and soup together.
Top with an extra can of tomato soup and sour cream.

🥫 Storage

Just like traditional stuffed cabbage rolls, our lazy cabbage rolls can easily be stored for leftovers or frozen. Here's how:

Spoon the leftovers out of the pot and place them into an airtight container. Refrigerate for three to four days, or freeze for three to four months.

Let frozen lazy cabbage rolls thaw in the fridge. Then, from the refrigerator, pour the leftovers into a pan and warm them on the stove to your liking. If it's a little more watery than you'd like after freezing, let it simmer to reduce a bit.

A serving of casserole being removed from the pan.

📖 Variations

Try using ground turkey or ground pork. Or, make a mixture of ground beef and another ground meat if you have a little of both to use up.
Have an extra few minutes? Fry up some chopped bacon before adding the meat to fill your pot with a yummy, fatty, flavor. Who doesn't love bacon?
I like the simple flavor of long-grain white rice, but you can use cooked brown rice or leftover rice from take-out.
Some people who prefer low carb options or those who follow a low-carb diet like to use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. It doesn't have the same comfort-food taste, but if you have to do it, I won't judge.
Condensed tomato soup is the perfect easy meal trick, but you can swap it can for can with tomato sauce. Just add a pinch of brown sugar and a bit of garlic powder to make it taste more like the soup.
If you don't have a pot or dutch oven available, you can use a large skillet—emphasis on the large part, though!

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Buy a few packs of microwavable instant rice to make prep truly a breeze.

Savoy cabbage is a little bit milder and sweeter. If you can find it, it adds a nice flavor.
Try to choose a bright green cabbage that is firm and full, without any leaves starting to turn dull or soft.
Slice the cabbage in half through the stem, first, to make it easier to handle. This creates a flat edge so that your cabbage doesn't roll away as you're working with it!
Cut carefully! A heavier, large chef's knife is ideal.
Don't salt the meat by habit when you brown it! The soup adds a good level of saltiness to the dish. However, once everything is stirred together, give it a little taste test and then season with salt and/or black pepper if you think it needs more.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

Do you need to add olive oil before browning the meat?

It's optional—depends on the meat and the quality of your pans. Fattier meats release their own oil (fat). Even lean ground beef has enough fat in it that you don't typically need to add any oil.

What are old-fashioned cabbage rolls?

Individual cabbage rolls traditionally consist of a meat filling wrapped in cooked cabbage leaves. Then, each roll is nestled into a baking dish and blanketed with a smothering layer of a tomato juice- or tomato paste-based sauce. There's nothing quite like homemade cabbage rolls—until now, that is!

Is this lazy cabbage rolls recipe similar to deconstructed cabbage rolls?

Yep, the concept is similar. Sometimes it's called unstuffed cabbage rolls casserole or lazy cabbage roll casserole.

Can I make lazy cabbage rolls in a slow cooker?

While you can make the recipe in a crock pot, you still need to brown the beef on the stove, before adding everything to the slow cooker. Plus, you'll have to add the sour cream at the end, and then let it warm up.

So, since you'll already be at the stove, I just recommend finishing it off there as written on the recipe card. The great thing about lazy cabbage rolls is that the cooking process really is perfect for when you're feeling lazy.

If you want to go the crockpot route, check out these crockpot cabbage rolls, instead!

Overhead view of a plate of casserole with sour cream on top.

Crock Pot Cabbage Rolls are made with tons of traditional cabbage roll flavor and cook to Polish perfection in the slow cooker—prep these and have a delicious meal waiting when you come home.
A side dish that my family seriously craves, Southern Fried Cabbage is full of cabbage, bacon, and onions—what more could you ask for?!
Braised Pork and Red Cabbage simmers all day in the crockpot, cooking in a delicious apple and red wine sauce. Plus, it has chilies, garlic, and carrots, so it's a full, delicious meal that doesn't need anything with it!

🍽️ Serve with...

📞 The last word

I love cabbage rolls but honestly the prep time means that we don't have them as much as I'd like.

This unstuffed cabbage roll casserole means I can have all the flavor anytime!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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