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.
Instead of boiling the cabbage in vinager, I boiled them in bouillion-cubed beef broth & water. I also made half pound measurement of 90% fat ground beef & Jimmy Dean’s ground pork sausage; hot variety! The pork gave the meal an additionally slight kick! Delicious! My family loved the meal!
The tomato soup ruins the recipe Did not like
Dave, I wouldn’t use tomato juice/sauce myself, dangerously high in sodium for me. Do you object to the texture, or the tomato flavor. I find tomato juice/soup too liquid and and runny. I would use a well seasoned (no salt for me) homemade tomato juice or sauce well thickened and spray the pan with Olive Oil, then spread a little sauce on the bottom, to prevent the rolls from sticking. I would add lots of onions, garlic, and minced celery to the meat, plus some Bell’s Seasoning. But that’s my Canadian blood talking. I find that the sturdier Dutch Savoy cabbage is sturdier, and holds together better after rolling and cooking. Experiment! There are a slew of recipes out their for Galumpkis, as we always called them. My Mother got her recipe from a European lady in her nineties. The dish spans several borders in Europe, so there are myriad recipes for making it to your taste.
I put the pieces of rib i cut from leaf an3s leaves too small to roll in pot before putting galumpki in. Then add whole potates and cover with stewed tomatoes and simmer on stovetop.
I am from Michigan, too and recipe passed down from Grandma.
Baking suggestion. Please help. This recipe reminds me of my grandmother’s, but kicked up a notch especially with the bacon. I am helping make lunch for 40 people and have assembled 2 food service trays with 50 Golumpki. They are covered and waiting to go in the oven tomorrow morning. I’m planing on baking for the 1 1/2 hours at 350 as suggested. Do I need to make any adjustments to the time or…, especially since I will not be using a Dutch oven? Thank you 😊
90 mins should work well; can’t wait to hear how these golumpki go over!!
Thank your sharing this wonderful recipe. Rave reviews. One friend even told me she was brought to tears as the flavor brought back a flood of fond childhood memories. Definitely will be making again. Since some of my friends are gluten intolerant, I did omit the bread crumbs. All in all, FABULOUS 🥰😋💜👍🏼
Also thank you too for responding so quickly. I really do appreciate your time and input.
I remember my mother making this and she did on top of the stove little bit of bacon on bottom of pot she covered hers with water and added ketchup Being Polish myself I am still trying to master this delicious dish Oh so yummy!!!!
Thanks for the great comments, Judy! We hope you love this golabki!
The way my mom made it (she is Polish) was with pork and veal instead of beef. Really really good.
I use “meatloaf mix” (pork,beef,veal) and similar other ingredients as above recipe . My sauce is tomato sauce mixed with beef broth. I just made some yesterday!
Deb, Thanks for the comments, and your combo of “the holy trinity” sounds nothing less than divine!
Love your recipe!!! Can you tell me why vinegar is added with the cabbage water?
Hi Stephen. According to Scott’s mom, a little bit of vinegar will help remove any of the bitter taste from the cabbage. Is this a game-changer? Probably not. But with a recipe like this golumpki, we try to make it every bit as tasty as hers! Thanks so much for the question and for reaching out to us.
Because time I am thinking of boiling the cabbage the day before. Will I still be able to roll the cabbage
Yes, that is not an issue. Just separate the cabbage leaves and store them in the refrigerator until ready to use!
Tomato soup is the best with this!
Using the meatloaf mix and rice with onion sautéed in bacon grease is the way my Polish grandmother would make it. No bread crumbs are used. Egg only if the meat and rice mixture seems to be dry.
The extra “gravy” over mashed potatoes is a real treat!!
Amen,Linda!
Get rid of the Campbell’s soup ,unhealthy , has preservative and other additives. Replace with any organic tomato sauce ie puree , passata.
Hi Roy. We enjoy this golabki 3 or 4 times a year, almost the only time we eat “unhealthy” Campbell’s soup. Life’s too short not to indulge on occasion. Thanks for your comments and your concern.
My Dad was Polish and we always used Campbell’s soup, his Mom’s recipe. Over the years I’ve had many versions that others made I feel the soup version taste much sweeter than tomato sauce ! More delish as well! I am a health nut and I indulge on occasion as well! Would never consider any thing other than the soup version!
Joanne, Thanks for the great feedback. I hope all of the naysayers will read your comments!
I’ve never made stuffed cabbage myself; just had it from Polish or Jewish restaurants, or from deli takeout. I don’t know these places make theirs, but for me the taste of nostalgia always includes sugar and a spice like nutmeg. NEVER the kind of tomato sauce that comes out of a can marked Hunt’s or Redpack; restaurateurs who use that kind of sauce are just being lazy.
The sauce I like has a from-scratch mouthfeel so it’s probably not Campbell’s soup, but its flavor profile is more like Campbell’s than Hunt’s.
In Polish restaurants, I’m sure there’s pork in the filling. In kosher and kosher-style delis, pork is an absolute no-no.
I have been working my own version of my grandmothers and great aunts stuffed cabbage/golumpki recipes for a number of years. Very similar to everyone’s great receipts posted on this site . A few variants I would like to share with everyone.
I use 80/20 on the beef – helps with the consistency and no need for the eggs.
For the rice I use medium Italian or sushi rice, yes sushi rice. Cook it about 1/2 way , cool then mix into the beef. The rice will finish cooking in the oven.
Cabbage prep- trick from my cousin- core the cabbage , put in large bowl with some water and prep in the microwave for about 20 mins on high. A lot easier than boiling.
I also found that if I also did not use enough salt while cooking it was very bland and adding salt afterwards just didn’t do the trick so what I do – after mixing the meat and rice – season then cook a bit of the mixture in a frying pan -repeat until it’s seasoned to your liking. Removes the guessing
In addition to USING tomatoes in between the layers in my Dutch oven I add sour kraut in and around the rolls . Really adds a great flavor with the cabbage and tomatoes.
Lastly- I let mine cook for about 2 1/2-3 hours, basically until the whole house smells like cabbage (my Dutch oven holds about 3-4 layers of the rolls) I always make extra and freeze them
Dan, your version of Golabki sounds perfect and delicious. I love your use of sauerkraut with this golumpki recipe, thanks for sharing!
I looked at this version to compare with my own family version. I’m always tweaking the recipe each time. I try to keep the fat content down so I wouldn’t add the bacon or Italian sausage. Ground turkey did not work at all with the beef! I found the beef and pork work best in equal proportions. What I love about my mom’s recipe is the sauce. She puts the vinegar in the sauce.
I use 1.5 lbs of beef and 1.5 lbs ground pork, 1 cup of minute rice cooked in V8 juice, 2 scallions chopped, and salt and pepper to taste for the filling. No egg or milk as other recipes suggested. For the sauce I chop 1 onion, sauted in 2 tbs of butter until translucent, then add 2 cans of Campbell’s tomatoe soup without water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. (Yes, mom specified Campbell’s.) Pour that over the rolled cabbage that I put into a Dutch oven. Bake covered for 3hrs at 325. If the sauce gets too thick, I use more V8 juice to augment it after it’s done.
Thanks so much for this comment, Mary Lou. Your mom’s recipe for gołąbki sounds mouthwatering!
Turned out great!
I’ve had several variations of this dish. I’ve either made it following other recipes or had had already prepare by several experts. This is by far the most flavorful! It does have quite a bit of prep, just plan ahead. So worth the effort.
Thanks for the great feedback, Rick! We’re happy you enjoy our version of Gołąbki!
Can you freeze these for later? If so would you freeze before they go in the oven or after?
Hi Terry, that’s a great question! I would suggest cooking the golumpki first and then freezing later. This will make it more convenient for when reheating at a later time because it’s already cooked.