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.
Mr. B keeps asking me to make stuffed cabbage “like his grandma’s”. I’d rather make your recipe as it is closer to MY grandma’s 😉 Thanks for sharing this at the party this week! It will be featured at tonight’s party 🙂
Hi Kathe. I would love to know what is in your grandma’s recipe. It is so fun to see how other families have adapting this recipe. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment and featuring this recipe.
A golumpki dinner was a treat in my Polish family in Detroit and my mother’s was delicious. As a child and while living at home, I helped her fill the cabbage rolls. My mother did the cabbage the traditional way – boiling it in water. One day a little Polish lady at the hair salon told me not to do that. She said to wrap the head of cabbage in plastic wrap and then foil. Put it in the freezer until you’re ready to use it (has to be completely frozen so keep it in the freezer at least several days). The day before you’re going to make the golumpki, take the cabbage out of the freezer and place it in a bowl to thaw (it will probably leak no matter how well its wrapped). If you want, you can put it in the refrigerator during the thaw time. When ready to use, unwrap the head of cabbage. Cut the core out. Slowly roll the top leaf down and set aside. Continue with the rest of the cabbage, doing one leaf at a time. Then trim the leaves as necessary. With this method, you will never again have burned fingers and you can stock up on cabbage when its on sale or your garden overflows. I’ve kept it in the freezer for 6 mos or more and its been fine. Just remember that you have to be a little more gentle with the cabbage by doing it this way.
Hi Pat. I was so excited to read that you are from Detroit as well. Thank you for the great suggestion about freezing the cabbage. I can’t tell you how many times I have burnt my fingers because I was trying to rush the process. I will most certainly try the freezer method. Thanks for your comments!
Sorry for the delay in answering but I just saw your reply, Scott. I hope you’ve tried the freezing method because you’ll never go back to boiling cabbage again. I made a large casserole of stuffed cabbage for Christmas and it was delicious. It always takes me back to my childhood. Of course, along with the stuffed cabbage, I made pierogies since that was what my 10-yr-old grandson requested for dinner. Happy New Year!!! Pat
My grandma, mother and I have been making stuffed cabbage a long as I can remember, I’m 81
I have never heard of freezing the cabbage but I’ll have to try that I always billed cabbage and took lead after leaf as they came loose thanks for the tip
Ukrainian Holubtsi: Growing up, we had the usual Ukrainian foods, but the one that I have not been able to duplicate is the Holubtsi. My family made both a rice and pork filling and buckwheat fillings but no tomato soup. The rolls were placed in a pan, covered with extra leaves, covered with the lid and baked. When served, fried onions in oil was sparingly poured over the top. Sadly, that recipe was lost as the family passed. I have searched and searched for a recipe and I have found several that might be close. The recipe book shown on your website is something that I would like. Is it available? If so, where or how would I order one?
What type of cabbage do you use. I am polish and my mother used 1 type of cabbage for Gulumpkies and a different kind for coleslaw. Could use your help!!!!! Anyone in my family that knows the difference is no longer on this earth. Would truly appreciate your help. I have made them in the past but never wrote the recipe down. Thank you for any advisr!
Savoy (sometimes called Chinese) cabbage for the rolls, red/purple cabbage for coleslaw.
Yum! Add a little bit of Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar and brown sugar to the sauce. You will not be dissapointed!
Karla,
Great suggestions! Thanks very much for dropping by!
I love cabbage but have never tried it stuffed- Dan this looks fabulous!
Shashi,
Thank you for the comments; it’s unbelievable how great this taste – a complete meal in itself!
Yum Dan, this looks so good. Would you believe, we never made stuff cabbage before- and I don’t know why? But its time to venture out and try new things in the culinary world, right?
Thanks for a delicious recipe! 🙂
Ladies,
I highly encourage you to try this, just once! Thanks for stopping by and wish you and yours a wonderful weekend!
Ciotka Virgy’s were the best don’t tell my Mom. Dziadak agrees. Yes the correct rice meat ratio is key. Moms did have the neighborhood drooling at the mention she was bringing them to the potluck block parties. For the non Pole neighborhood we moved to in Baltimore when my parents relocated for Dads work in Pittsburgh. But Dziadzia Did the same thing at his age relocated from Malwa Poland to Pittsburgh’
Wow…flashbacks of the warm and cozy comfort food kind! I grew up in Michigan, too, and Mom made her “gwumpkies” (as they were pronounced by us kids). She learned how to make them from a Polish lady who knew my grandmother. Both Mom and grandma made them…for large gatherings. Hubby grew up with Gołąbki, too. Thank you, Dan and Scott, for sharing! xo P.S. Scott, did you grow up with “City Chicken” in Michigan as well? No one around these parts ever knows what I am talking about and they think Michigan is some far off fantasy land, LOL! Hubby and I both grew up with City Chicken. Nom!
Stacy,
Isn’t it great how the heritage of our foods is capable of evoking incredible memories from so long ago? I hear similar stories from Scott, each time he makes this. And, btw, we say “gwumpkies” in this neck of the woods too; likely a “Michigan thing!” Speaking of Michigan, Scott is indeed familiar with City Chicken, recalling how his mom used veal and pork in her rendition (I’m tasting a post coming on.) I love hearing from you and hope you and the Big Lug have an excellent weekend, thanks so much for the comments.
Yes! I lived in metro Detroit Michigan in my teens an twenties, when I learned to cook. I have been looking for the Golumpk recipe flavor to match what I tasted all those years and this recipe captures the “Detroit” taste. I have tried many recipes and could not match the taste until now. Also, City Chicken with egg noodles was big in my mother-in-laws house. Sauerkraut and onion perogies(or cherry filled). Chicken paprikash. Cheese blintzs. Greek rice. All the memories, all the flavors.
I am so glad that you love the Golumpki recipe. I have tweaked the recipe from my mother and grandmother to make it so that my family would love it as much as I do. Growing up City Chicken was made quite a bit. We always had it with mashed potatoes. Thank you for your comment. It brought smile to my face. -Scott
I absolutely LOVE stuffed cabbage, and am waaaay overdue do make some. Can’t wait!
These are always ovedue! Thanks for the comments Ashely!!
In my Polish household we call these halupkies, my mom and grandma would make these all the time. They are still a favorite today, love them!
Pamela,
Haluupkies is new term to me. It would be fun to have an event featureing different variations of this dish that is so steeped in heritage and tradition! Thank you for stopping by, I always love to hear from you!
Where I come from Haluupki is Slovak and Golabki is Polish. Tomato/tomato. Might be a regional thing.
It all fascinates me, as I grew up calling this recipe “Pigs in a blanket”! Thanks for the great comment.
I looove stuffed cabbage! Such a delicious comfort food. Looks awesome, Dan!
Marie,
This is such a great tasting dish. Thank you for your comments!
my family uses 3 meats(ground pork,beef,and veal) not just 1 meat.