Golumpki Recipe (Polish Stuffed Cabbage)
Updated Jul 17, 2025
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If you’re looking for a traditional golumpki recipe that’s full of flavor and history, you’ve come to the right place. Also known as gołąbki (pronounced go-WUMP-kee), these traditional Polish stuffed cabbage rolls are packed with seasoned ground meat, rice, and onions. They are then baked in a tangy tomato sauce until tender.
Best of all, this delicious gołąbki recipe makes a ton of food to feed your family or guests for less than $2.00 per serving.
Featured Comment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This golumpki recipe is the best version of Golumpki that I have tried. We love them! My husband and I are both Italian and Polish so the Italian sausage is a must. -Donna V.
🔍 Polish Golumpki Recipe – Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Cook Time: 1 to 1½ hours (oven or slow cooker)
- 🍽️ Total Time: 2 hours
- 👪 Servings: About 12 cabbage rolls
- 🔥 Method: Boiled cabbage leaves filled with ground pork and beef, rice, sautéed onions, then baked in a tomato-based sauce
- 🧊 Freezer-Friendly: This golumpki recipe freezes beautifully. You can wrap individually for quick reheat meals or freeze in a tray for family dinners later on.
- 🍽️ Meal Prep Win: Make the golumki a day ahead, refrigerate overnight, and bake when you’re ready. The flavor only gets better.
- ✅ Variation: This golumpki recipe easily converts to golumpki soup or as “lazy golumpki” casserole
- 🥄 Serving Tip: When making this golupki recipe, we like to serve it with creamy homemade mashed potatoes or artisan crusty bread. Both are perfect for soaking up all that tomato-y goodness.
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Table of Contents
What is Golumpki?
Golumpki are traditional Polish cabbage rolls that are a staple in Eastern European cuisine. The name “golumpki” is a term of endearment in Polish, derived from “gołąb,” meaning little pigeon. Oddly, it refers to the shape and size of the rolls rather than any ingredient.
This golumpki recipe has been passed down through generations in our family, starting with my great-grandmother, who fled war-torn Europe and brought her cooking traditions to America. Over the years, this Polish stuffed cabbage has become one of our most treasured family meals. Like many of our other featured family recipes, we are now proud to share my great-grandmother’s golumpki recipe with you.
Ingredients for Polish Stuffed Cabbage
- Cabbage: 1 medium head of green cabbage.
- I prefer using smaller heads of cabbage for this golumpki recipe as they cook faster than the bigger ones.
- Meats: 1 lb ground chuck and 1 lb. ground sausage.
- (I like to use lean ground beef (85% lean and 15% fat) for this golumpki recipe. This reduces the amount of grease that mixes into the tomato sauce as the golumpki bakes in the oven.)
- You can also use veal when making golumpki. Just make sure you end up with 2 lbs of ground meat.
- (I like to use lean ground beef (85% lean and 15% fat) for this golumpki recipe. This reduces the amount of grease that mixes into the tomato sauce as the golumpki bakes in the oven.)
- Binding Agents: Egg/Rice/Breadcrumbs.
- I use instant rice to save time.
- Sauce: This golumpki recipe uses a combination of tomato sauce, tomato paste, and Campbell’s tomato soup for a little extra zing.
- You can add about a half a soup can of water to this, just to thin it out. Sometimes I forget to do this, and this golumpki recipe turns out just as good.
- Vinegar: 3 cups white vinegar (for boiling the cabbage; optional, per family tradition.)
- My mom taught me to do this. It helps take away some of the bitterness from this golumpki recipe and adds brightness to the cabbage leaves!
Recipe Tip
Traditional golumpki recipes usually mix ground beef and pork for a balanced, juicy filling. In our kitchen, we sometimes use Italian sausage for added flavor, especially when cooking for our kids, although some purists may not always like it. Whether you stick with the classic golumpki recipe or experiment a little, the key is to use a protein mix with enough fat to keep the dish from drying out while baking.
Substitutions and Variations
Some of our variations for this golumpki recipe (like the Campell’s Tomato Soup) drive some of our readers wild, but they are also the key to making this the best golumpki you’ll ever eat!
- Italian breadcrumbs are optional for making this golumpki recipe. You can also use plain breadcrumbs. Either way, they make a good binder in addition to the egg.
- For the meat mixture, you can combine a pound of ground beef with a half pound of ground pork and a half pound of ground veal for this golumpki recipe. We usually use a mixture of beef and Italian sausage because we love the extra flavor the Italian flavoring brings.
- Fresh parsley (or dried parsley) is often used. If you don’t like the Italian season in this golumpki recipe, leave it out!
- If I use lean beef for this golumpki recipe, I like to use bacon as well . This adds a little fat and a load of flavor to the golumpki.
- Swap the rice out for other grains, like barley, which is often used in Eastern European cooking. This adds a rustic spine and chewier texture to this golumpki recipe. Buckwheat (Kasha) is a common grain used in Polish and Ukranian dishes and will add a nutty flavor to this golumpki recipe.
- Slow Cooker Golumpki. You can make this golumpki recipe in a slow cooker. This can make the process easier and allows the flavors to meld beautifully as they cook gently over several hours.
- Slow cookers add moisture to this golumpki recipe as it cooks, so you don’t need to thin the sauce as much as we suggest in the oven-baked golumpki recipe.
How to Make This Golumpki Recipe
This golumpki recipe is designed to make 12 servings and can be made ahead of time and frozen.
Prepare the Cabbage:
- Place the whole cabbage along with the vinegar in a large pot of boiling water until the leaves are pliable and al dente. Cool and separate leaves, trimming the tough central vein with a paring knife.
Make the Meat Filling:
- In a large bowl, combine the meats, diced onion, egg, rice, and breadcrumbs. Season well.
- Combine it all together until well combined.
Make the Sauce:
- Combine the soup, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and sugar. Add a little water to thin it out.
- Mix it together using a wire whisk.
Form the Cabbage Rolls:
- Place a portion of filling on each cabbage leaf, for the golumpki filling.
- Fold and roll each portion of golumpki.
If you have remaining cabbage leaves, line the bottom of the pan and spread some tomato sauce over those leaves.
- Place the cabbage rolls seam side down in a casserole dish, a roaster or a Dutch oven. If you run out space, you can stack the rolls on top of each other.
- Add the sauce on top of the rolled golumpki.
- If you have extra cabbage leaves, layer them over the top of the stuffed cabbage in the roaster. Then, pour the remaining tomato soup mixture over the cabbage layer. This will help steam the golumpki underneath, keeping them tender and juicy.
- Pour the remaining tomato soup mixture over the cabbage layer covering the stuffed cabbage. This step will create steam to keep the golumpki beneath soft and moist.
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- Cover the roaster with a lid or your casserole dish with foil and bake this golumpki recipe for about 1 1/2 hours at 350° F.
What to Serve with Golumpki
These Polish cabbage rolls can be served as a main dish, or even as a fun and delicious appetizer (use small cabbage leaves for bite-size cabbage rolls.)
Traditionally, we serve this with some homemade bacon potato salad and authentic Polish dumplings on the side.
More Tips for Perfect Golumpki
- Flavor Tip: Adding bacon to the meat mixture of this golumpki recipe introduces a depth of flavor that complements the lean beef and sausage.
- Make-Ahead: The hardest part about making this golumpki recipe is the time that each step takes. You can save some time and prepare these the day before. Simply refrigerate them overnight, and then bake as directed the next day.
- When Cooking the Cabbage: The outer leaves will cook before the inner leaves. Start to pull off some of the outter leaves as they cook, so the whole cabbage head is cooked layer-by-layer.
- Cabbage Size: For this golumpki recipe, I prefer using a medium-sized cabbage to boil.
- Smaller heads of cabbage will cook faster because they are not as dense, and we don’t waste as much of the unused cabbage leaves. Additionally, smaller heads of cabbage will yield smaller cabbage rolls in this golumpki recipe, which I prefer over the larger ones.
Common Questions
For making this Polish stuffed cabbage recipe, you can use a traditional roasting pan or a Dutch oven. You can even use a sealed casserole dish with foil. The baking dish should be covered and sealed to allow the savory golumpki to roast and steam.
Allow the leftover golumpki to cool, and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container. They’ll stay good for up to 5 days.
Yes, to freeze leftover golumpki, place them in a single layer in a zip-lock bag. Remove all air. This is a good method for meal planning and portion control.
To reheat golumpki, take them out of the freezer the night before. Once they are defrosted, reheat them in the microwave until they are heated through.
Yes, absolutely! To make this golumpki recipe vegetarian, you can replace the meat with one or a combination of the following:
Cooked lentils (green or brown)
Chopped mushrooms (for umami and texture)
Grated carrots or zucchini (adds bulk and moisture)
Cooked rice or grain of choice
Crumbled tempeh or tofu (optional)
Season with onion, garlic, paprika, and parsley
👨🍳 Use an egg (or flax egg) and breadcrumbs to help bind the mixture. Wrap and cook just like the traditional version of this golumpki recipe.
More Savory Cabbage Recipes
Common Side Dishes
Fried Cabbage Recipe with Bacon
Common Side Dishes
Savory Cabbage and Bacon with Onion
Keto Recipes
Keto Enchiladas
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Golumpki Recipe (Polish Stuffed Cabbage)
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Equipment
Ingredients
- Cabbage head
- 1 lb Ground Chuck
- 1 lb Ground sausage
- White onion , large, chopped
- An egg
- 1 cup Cooked rice
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 Family size can Tomato Soup, I prefer Campbell's brand. You can add about half a can of water to thin it out, although it will turn out just as good without this.
- 8 oz Tomato sauce
- 3 oz Tomato paste
- pinch Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt, adjust to taste
- 1 tbs Pepper, adjust to taste
- 3 cups White Vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Put cabbage head in a large stock pot, add water to cover and then add white vinegar to the water.
- Place on stove on high heat and cover, bringing to a boil.
- Gently boil cabbage until leaves of cabbage soften and become pliable.
- Remove from stove and drain water from the pot. Set aside and allow cabbage head to cool.
- Once cabbage is cooled, remove the leafs from the cabbage head. Take a paring knife and cut the lower portion of the “vein” from the leaf. This vein is very tough and needs to be removed. It will make it much easier to roll the meat mixture in the cabbage leaf. Continue to do this until you remove as many leaves from the cabbage as you can.
- In a large mixing bowl combine ground chuck, sausage, chopped onion, egg, rice, bread crumbs and finally add the salt and pepper. Make certain to thoroughly combine the ingredients together. The "meat" mixture will be a similar consistency to meatloaf. It should be nice and moist. If it seems dry, add an additional egg.
- Lay a cabbage leaf flat on a surface, allowing you to roll it more easily. Take some of the meat mixture and form it into a large meatball. You may make the golumpki as large or as small as you prefer; therefore, choose the size of your preference. Place the meatball in the center of the cabbage leaf. Wrap the cabbage leaf around the meat mixture (see video above).
- Place the stuffed cabbage in a roaster with the wrapped edges down, in the roaster. Repeat this process, placing the golumpki next to each other, until all of the meat mixture is used up.
- Use a kitchen whisk and mix tomato soup, tomato sauce, tomato paste and also a pinch of sugar.
- Pour the tomato soup mixture over the top of the golumpki and reserve a small amount to be used in the next step.
- If you have cabbage leaves remaining, cover the entire top of the stuffed cabbage in the roaster.
- Pour remaining tomato soup mixture on top of the cabbage that you lined the tops of the stuffed cabbage. This step will help steam the Golumpki that lies below and therefore will keep them nice and moist.
- Put a lid on top of the roaster and bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours.
Notes
- Make as much of the sauce as you want for this golumpki recipe; if you like yours a little saucier.
- Be sure to fully cover the cabbage rolls with the sauce.
- If you have any remaining cabbage leaves, place a layer of them over the sauce-covered golumpki. This will help keep them from drying out and allow them steam during the baking process.
- Pour some of the remaining sauce on the top layer of cabbage leaves and add some black pepper. When these are done, they are great to eat.
- Cooking Time: If you have the time to go low and slow, drop the oven temperature down to 325° and cook for an additional couple of hours. This allows the flavors in this golumpki recipe to be better absorbed during the cooking process.
- As long as the golumpki are covered by a layer of cabbage leaves, they should not dry out. You can check the cabbage rolls throughout the cooking process to make sure the sauce isn’t cooking down (or reducing.) Add additional sauce t throughout if you think that is necessary.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published on November 7, 2013. This golumpki recipe has been updated with new photos and information meant to help you learn how to make golumpki. It will live on for generations.
How can I make it with bacon? And should you add salt and pepper to the meat mixture if bacon is used? I have no recipe from my Baba
That’s a great question, Sherry, and I love that you’re cooking in the spirit of your Baba.
Yes, you can absolutely make golumpki with bacon, and it adds wonderful flavor. Here’s how I recommend doing it:
You can finely chop the bacon and lightly cook it first so some of the fat renders out. Then mix it right into the meat filling. A good starting point is about 2 to 4 slices of bacon for a standard batch. You can also lay a few strips of bacon over the cabbage rolls as they cook if you like that extra smoky flavor.
As for seasoning, go a little lighter on the salt if you’re using bacon, since it already brings saltiness. I still add some salt and pepper to the meat mixture, but just less than usual. Taste a small cooked bit of the filling if you want to be sure before rolling everything up.
Your Baba clearly knew what she was doing. Bacon is a very traditional and flavorful addition in many family versions of golumpki. I hope this helps you recreate those memories in your own kitchen.