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Meatball Cabbage Rolls

9 reviews
Test Kitchen Approved
Total Time

Prep: 25 min. Cook: 8 hours

Makes

4 servings

Updated: Dec. 07, 2022
My mother often had these cabbage rolls simmering in her slow cooker when my family and I arrived at her house for weekend visits. The mouthwatering meatballs tucked inside made these stand out from any other cabbage rolls I've tried. —Betty Buckmaster, Muskogee, Oklahoma
Meatball Cabbage Rolls
Meatball Cabbage Rolls Recipe photo by Taste of Home
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Ingredients

  • 1 large head cabbage
  • 1 can (8 ounces) no-salt-added tomato sauce
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven, cook cabbage in boiling water just until leaves fall off head. Set aside 12 large leaves for rolls. (Refrigerate remaining cabbage for another use.) Cut out the thick vein from the bottom of each reserved leaf, making a V-shaped cut.
  2. In a large bowl, combine tomato sauce, onion, rice, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Crumble beef over mixture; mix well. Shape into 12 balls. Place 1 meatball on each cabbage leaf; overlap cut ends of leaf. Fold in sides, beginning from the cut end. Roll up completely to enclose meatball. Secure with toothpicks.
  3. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Pour remaining tomato sauce over cabbage rolls. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is no longer pink and cabbage is tender. Discard toothpicks.

Nutrition Facts

3 rolls: 323 calories, 11g fat (4g saturated fat), 71mg cholesterol, 762mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate (8g sugars, 7g fiber), 28g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1 vegetable.