Golumpki (Gołąbki, Stuffed Cabbage)
on Apr 25, 2018, Updated May 10, 2020
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Golumpki (Gołąbki, Stuffed Cabbage) –A rose by any other name is still a rose. That is very true with today’s post which is a Polish recipe for stuffed cabbage.
This is the number one Golumpki Recipe on Google, and you can read on to learn how we make this classic comfort food.
Golumpki (Gołąbki, Stuffed Cabbage)
Some people call it pigs in a blanket, while others call it cabbage rolls and yet still others call it stuffed cabbage. No matter what anyone else calls it, I call this Polish recipe for stuffed cabbage (P0lish golabki) utterly delicious.
Our whole family agrees that this golumpki recipe is one of our favorite meals.
Golumpki (Gołąbki, Stuffed Cabbage)
When I was a child growing up in Detroit, we had stuffed cabbage all the time. However we never called it stuffed cabbage, we called it Golumpki, the Polish name for stuffed cabbage.
Golumpki is traditionally made for special occasions like weddings, first communions and during holidays like Easter and Christmas.
Traditionally, a Golumpki recipe is a meat mixture such as ground beef, mixed with rice, onions, and spices that is then rolled in a cooked cabbage leaf. It is topped with a tomato sauce and then baked.
Every cook has their variation of family recipes, and therefore this golumpki recipe may be a bit different to what you are used to.
You may know this recipe as Polish Golabki
My Polish grandmother had her way of making stuffed cabbage, and my mother tweaked her mom’s recipe and made her version, and finally, I have probably tweaked my golabki a bit.
I can barely wait to see how my kids make this when they have kids!
When it was my turn to learn how to make these, I lived 500 miles away from home. I was attending college in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, far away from where I grew up and consequently found myself having a powerful craving for some Golumpki.
Unfortunately, my mom was in Detroit, so she wasn’t going to be able to whip up a batch. And therefore I found myself wondering, what was a boy supposed to do?
How to Make Polish Stuffed Cabbage
It seemed pretty obvious that had to take matters into my own hands and so I took ET’s advice and phoned home. My mother explained to me her recipe for Polish golumpki and finally gave me all of her tricks and secrets for this savory Polish recipe for stuffed cabbage.
After hanging up the phone, I jumped right into it and finally made my very first batch.
They weren’t as good as my mom’s, but I kept trying. We love family recipes, and our pierogi recipe is another favorite dish that I grew up with.
What are some of your favorite family recipes? Leave us a comment below and let us know.
Well, that was more years ago than what I want to admit, and my version of golumpki is different from my mom’s and my grandmother’s, but my family loves them. Give them a try, and I think you will too.
Scott’s Cooking Tip for this Polish Stuffed Cabbage
This stuffed cabbage can be cooked a day ahead of serving. Just allow it to cool, wrap it up and chill it in the refrigerator until the next day.
Also, you can freeze it up to one month. Just let it thaw, then reheat the cabbage rolls in a hot oven (350°) for 30-40 minutes.
If you love Polish food, be sure to see our post, What to Serve with Pierogies – 15 Easy Recipes.
Hungry but perhaps feeling just a tad lazy? Try our Lazy Golumpki (Stuffed Cabbage Casserole). It has all the flavor without all the effort therefore perfect for the lazy cook within each of us!
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Golumpki (Gołąbki, Stuffed Cabbage)
Equipment
Ingredients
- Cabbage head
- 1 lb Ground Chuck
- 1 lb Ground Italian Sausage
- 1/2 lb cooked and crumbled bacon
- A med to large white onion chopped
- An egg
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 Family size can Tomato Soup, I prefer Campbells
- 3 oz tomato paste
- pinch of 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, crumbled bacon, 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 down on a flat surface thus allowing you to roll it easier. Take some of the meat mixture and form into a large meatball. You may make these 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.
- Mix tomato soup, tomato paste and also a pinch of sugar.
- Pour tomato soup mixture over the top of the stuffed cabbage 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published on November 7, 2013. This golumpki recipe will live on for generations.
U don’t put Italian sausage in Gombki !
Hi John! We love the added flavor that Italian sausage gives to golumpki; we would love for you to try it sometime!
Can i make mini cabbage rolls using 1/2 a cabbage leaf?
Yes, we’ve done this many times. You can make them as big or as small as you like.
An old polish trick for the cabbage is to core it, then freeze it for a day or so then bring it out and let it defrost and the leaves will be tender.
Before or after boiling it ?
you will not need to boil.
How did it come out? Lol I did the same thing.
Why the vinegar ?? For the cabbag
The vinegar is optional but we feel that it takes a bit of the bitterness out of the cabbage.
The recipe says 3 cups of vinegar but in the video, it looks like less. Can you please confirm the amount of water and vinegar?
Hi Christina, The amount of water depends on the size pot. Scoot adds enough vinegar until he dips a finger in and can taste it slightly in the water.
My husband usually makes this dish, however this Easter he is overseas, so…I have decided to give it try. I’ve already made a mistake and I am supposed to be bringing this dish tomorrow to a friends house. I precooked the meat thinking I could do this dish in two steps because besides making this there are other dishes I am bringing. Can I still stuff the cabbage with cooked meat? Do I still add the egg? I know cooking time will be less. Is there a way to salvage this?
Did you try this? Just wondering how it turned out. I’ll have to make this version and a vegan version so I’m hoping to prep as much as possible.