This cozy Finnish cabbage rolls recipe is the ultimate comfort food. You’ll definitely dirty a few pans, but it’s totally worth it for homemade cabbage rolls! This cabbage rolls recipe features a savory meat & rice filling. It’s a little bit like meatballs, surrounded by tender cabbage. Topped with lingonberry jam, these make for a super crave-able meal, especially on a cool night.
A lot of countries have their own traditional cabbage rolls. This version of cabbage rolls is native to Finland and Sweden.
Tools & Equipment for Finnish Cabbage Rolls
- Two large mixing bowls
- Large pot, for boiling cabbage
- Medium/small pot, for cooking rice
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Two large meat forks, kabob stick, or another means of holding the cabbage head in the water
- 9 x 13 baking dish or similar large casserole dish
- Potato masher
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Liquid measuring cup
- Small pan (for cooking onions)
Ingredients for Finnish Cabbage Rolls Recipe
- 1/2 cup arborio rice or other short-grain brown or white rice
- 1 1/2 cup beef stock (or a mix of stock and water)
- 1 whole head of cabbage (green tends to work best)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs- my personal preference is panko or homemade
- 2 eggs
- 1 lb ground beef: or can substitute ground pork, or a mixture of the two
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper- or freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp dried marjoram
- 1/4 cup golden syrup or maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
The Process: How to make this cabbage roll recipe
In a small saucepan, bring the beef stock, rice and a pinch of salt to a boil. Cover and simmer until fully cooked. For arborio rice, which I prefer in this recipe, this takes about 15 minutes. If you’re using brown rice, it will take much longer- check the instructions on the bag of rice.
When the rice is cooked, set it aside to cool. Meanwhile, cook the cabbage. I’ve got Magnus Nilsson to thank for this cabbage cooking technique and I must say, it works beautifully.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it to the side.
Remove the outer leaves from your cabbage head. Stab the base of the head, right by the stem, with two large meat forks- or alternatively I often stab a kabob stick all the way through it.
Lower the head of cabbage into the water, holding whatever you’ve stabbed it with. Let it sit in the boiling water for about 90 seconds, then remove it and use a sharp knife to slice off the outer tender cabbage leaves. Toss these leaves into the ice bath you’ve set aside.
Repeat with the rest of the head, until you’ve got 16-20 cabbage leaves sitting in your ice bath. If you’ve got a lot of leftover cabbage, save it for another recipe. Save two cups of cooking liquid and set them aside.
Prepare the filling
Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add butter or olive oil and onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
To a large mixing bowl, add cooked rice, onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, ground meat, salt, pepper, and marjoram. Mix thoroughly. I usually use a potato masher to do this.
Grab a baking dish- a 9 x 13 should work well- and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Assemble & Bake the Rolls
Take one cabbage leaf and open it up. Scoop some meat mixture into the center. Fold in the sides of the leaf, then fold the edges like an envelope. You should be left with a fairly neat little roll. If the leaf has a really thick vein, you can trim it a bit with a knife to make it easier to fold.
Set the roll, seam side down, in your baking dish. Repeat with the remaining leaves and meat rice mixture. Place cabbage rolls snugly together in the dish in a single layer.
Drizzle the golden syrup and melted butter over the top of the rolls. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the dish from the oven and add the 2 cups of cabbage liquid you set aside. Return to the oven for 20-30 more minutes, until the cabbage rolls are cooked through and well browned on top.
Pour the cooking liquid off and use it to make gravy, if desired. See instructions below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Should I Serve This Cabbage Rolls Recipe?
I highly, highly recommend serving these with lingonberry jam. The tartness & acidity of the lingonberries adds so much balance to this dish. You’ll see what I mean immediately. Here in Minnesota, I can usually find lingonberry jam at a grocery store or two and at World Market. If you don’t have that option, I’m terribly sorry. Cranberries will make for a decent substitution.
If you can find whole lingonberries, making your own sugared lingonberries is super easy, and they keep practically forever in the fridge.
Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes on the side! If you like, you can use the cooking liquid from the rolls to make golden syrup gravy: see below.
How To Make Golden Syrup Gravy
If you used maple syrup on the rolls, you could do the same here, or you can even use brown sugar in the gravy. This is a sweeter gravy than I’m used to, but it goes super well with the rolls, and the cabbage rolls-mashed potatoes-gravy combination makes for an absolutely delicious meal. You can adjust the syrup and the soy sauce in the recipe to taste.
Gravy ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups leftover cooking liquid from cabbage rolls (add more water to make 2 cups if needed)
- 1-2 Tbsp golden syrup (or maple syrup, or brown sugar)
- Soy sauce, to taste- I end up using a couple tablespoons typically, as I don’t like the gravy extremely sweet
In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk, cooking for about two minutes. Drizzle in the cooking water, whisking constantly so that the mixture is smooth. Simmer, drizzling in the syrup. Simmer for 5-8 minutes, until thickened. Add soy sauce to taste.
How Should I Store this Cabbage Rolls Recipe?
Finnish cabbage rolls can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days and reheated in the microwave. They are not necessarily the most break-room-friendly leftovers though, since the cabbage definitely smells, well, cabbage-y in the microwave.
Finnish Cabbage Rolls (Kaalikääryleet)
Traditional Finnish cabbage rolls, filled with a savory meat and rice mixture. Like a meatball with an extra layer of crispy veg, these make for a super nourishing and cozy dinner.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup arborio rice or other short-grain brown or white rice
- 1 1/2 cup beef stock (or a mix of stock and water)
- 1 whole head of cabbage
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1 lb ground beef: or can substitute ground pork, or a mixture
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper- or freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp dried marjoram
- 1/4 cup golden syrup or maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring the beef stock, rice and a pinch of salt to a boil. Cover and simmer until fully cooked. For arborio rice, which I prefer in this recipe, this takes about 15 minutes. If you're using brown rice, it will take much longer- check the instructions on the bag of rice.
- When the rice is cooked, set it aside to cool. Meanwhile, cook the cabbage.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it to the side.
- Remove the outer leaves from your cabbage head. Stab the base of the head, right by the stem, with two large meat forks- or alternatively I often stab a kabob stick all the way through it.
- Lower the head of cabbage into the water, holding whatever you've stabbed it with. Let it sit in the boiling water for about 90 seconds, then remove it and use a sharp knife to slice off the outer tender cabbage leaves. Toss these leaves into the ice bath you've set aside.
- Repeat with the rest of the head, until you've got 16-20 cabbage leaves sitting in your ice bath. If you've got a lot of leftover cabbage, save it for another recipe. Save two cups of cooking liquid and set them aside.
- Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add butter or olive oil and onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- To a large mixing bowl, add cooked rice, onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, ground meat, salt, pepper, and marjoram. Mix thoroughly. I usually use a potato masher to do this.
- Grab a baking dish- a 9 x 13 should work well- and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Take one cabbage leaf and open it up. Scoop some meat mixture into the center. Fold in the sides of the leaf, then fold the edges like an envelope. You should be left with a fairly neat little roll.
- If the leaf has a really thick vein, you can trim it a bit with a knife to make it easier to fold. Set the roll, seam side down, in your baking dish.
- Repeat with the remaining leaves and meat rice mixture. Place cabbage rolls snugly together in the dish in a single layer.
- Drizzle the golden syrup and melted butter over the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the dish from the oven and add the 2 cups of cabbage liquid you set aside. Return to the oven for 20-30 more minutes, until the cabbage rolls are cooked through and well browned on top.
- Pour the cooking liquid off and use it to make gravy, if desired. See instructions below.
- Serve with lingonberry jam, mashed or boiled potatoes, and gravy!
Notes
To make golden syrup gravy with the cabbage roll cooking liquid:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups leftover cooking liquid from cabbage rolls (add more water to make 2 cups if needed)
1-2 Tbsp golden syrup (or maple syrup, or brown sugar)
Soy sauce, to taste- I end up using a couple tablespoons typically, as I don't like the gravy extremely sweet
In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk, cooking for about two minutes. Drizzle in the cooking water, whisking constantly so that the mixture is smooth. Simmer, drizzling in the syrup. Simmer for 5-8 minutes, until thickened. Add soy sauce to taste.
What Should I Make Next?
- Finnish Cabbage Casserole
- Finnish Mashed Potato Casserole
- Finnish Sourdough Buttermilk Bread– this one uses golden syrup also, if you’ve got that on hand now!
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Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!
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