Now you can enjoy all the goodness of stuffed cabbage rolls in this easy, one pan – UNstuffed Cabbage Roll recipe – ready in just 30 minutes!
It’s a deconstructed version of the classic with ground beef, tender cabbage and fluffy rice all made in one pan!
The flavors in this stuffed cabbage roll skillet are what I would describe as cozy and comforting. It’s a tomato-based sauce with hints of garlic, oregano and a little tang from Worcestershire sauce, along with a surprise sweetness from golden raisins.
Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls
Gone are the days of boiling cabbage, making a filling, tediously filling that cabbage, rolling it up and baking it…
Now you can enjoy all that goodness in about 30 minutes!
Ingredients for Skillet Cabbage Rolls
Here’s the basic list of ingredients that you’ll need in order to make these unstuffed cabbage rolls. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Ground Beef – use a lean ground beef, but you can also swap for ground pork, chicken or even turkey if desired.
- Aromatics – onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and paprika all give this dish it’s signature cabbage roll flavor.
- Long Grain Rice – we’re cooking the rice directly in the skillet with the ground beef so it’ll absorb that flavor and use less dishes in the process. It’s a win-win.
- Cabbage – the star of the show! Use fresh green cabbage that’s chopped up into bite-size pieces.
- Tomatoes – both petite diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce give this dish it’s saucy texture. I prefer the petite diced tomatoes over regular diced tomatoes, but both will work fine here.
- Worcestershire Sauce – gives the dish a nice umami flavor, a little tang and deepens the overall taste of the dish – I highly recommend NOT skipping this.
- Golden Raisins – these add a little bit of sweetness to counter the acidity of the tomatoes, and they’re also a signature ingredient in classic cabbage rolls. You can, however swap this out for a tablespoon of brown sugar if desired.
How To Make Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
All the flavor of cabbage rolls in just one pan? Yes please!
Brown Ground Beef
Start by browning the ground beef and onion in a large skillet – make sure it’s pretty big cause this recipe makes a hefty amount. The pan I’m using is a 12″ cast iron skillet (with lid) and it works perfectly.
Season and Toast Rice
Toss in the seasonings and uncooked rice, giving it all a good stir till it’s nice and fragrant.
Toasting the rice in this method will give it more nutty flavor when it cooked, and give it a nice texture when cooked.
Add Sauce and Cabbage
Stir in the remaining ingredients, carefully folding in that cabbage – this is why that large pan was necessary.
Bring the whole mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and let the rice cook for about 15 minutes.
That’s it! The whole dinner is ready to enjoy and oh-so good.
Make Ahead and Storage
This deconstructed cabbage roll skillet is perfect for meal prepping. You can make this ahead of time, store in these handy freezer cubes and enjoy a hearty and nutritious dinner any time.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stuffed Cabbage rolls can last in the freezer for 3 to 6 months.
More Recipes that Use Cabbage
My kids actually REALLY love cabbage. I’m not sure what I did to earn that parenting badge, but I’ll take it. Here are a few more easy recipes that use cabbage, and are also family favorites.
- Cabbage Soup – nutritious and comforting!
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage – my kids go BONKERS for this one.
- Simple Coleslaw Recipe – so cool and refreshing with that perfect crunch!
- Teriyaki Shrimp Taco Bites – these are so fun and unique!
I can’t wait for you to give this Ground Beef Cabbage Roll Skillet a try! I know you’re going to love it as much as my family does.
Ground Beef Cabbage Roll Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 3 tsp garlic, minced
- ½ cup white long grain rice, uncooked
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 15 oz petite diced tomatoes
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth, or water
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp golden raisins, or substitute with 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 6 cups cabbage, chopped
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef with the onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess fat and return skillet to heat. Add in the garlic, rice, salt, pepper, oregano and paprika and stir to combine, cooking until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and raisins and stir till combined. Gently stir in the cabbage and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Let the mixture cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and cabbage is cooked. Enjoy!
Will definitely be trying this recipe in the near future.
leslieannstevenson@yahoo.com:
One pan meals are a favorite. They are almost always comfort food. There are usually leftovers. I get to use my favorite Dutch oven or braiser. Thank you for doing the giveaway.
I love cabbage rolls, like my Polish grandmother used to make.
I love one pot meals and I love this recipe. This is how I make them (cabbage rolls) now. Faster, easier than boiling the cabbage to separate the leaves, etc.
Don’t be afraid to try it.
I loved this recipe because the cabbage “isn’t” stuffed (even though I’ve enjoyed it stuffed before).
It made it easy and allowed us to enjoy each savory ingredient in the dish!
I am planning on making this for sure! I love Cabbage rolls since I was little. My dad is Serbian and his mom used to make these for him and she taught me how to make them. We call them Sarma. Regular cabbage rolls take hours to make. This version looks a lot less time consuming (which I love!) and will have the same flavors. This will be easy to make on a weeknight for sure.
This would be good to make for my dinner or a pot luck dinner. I like that the ingrediencies are basic in my home. I can do this cause it is easy
Looks like delicious recipe!
I’ve made this and due to living with someone who doesn’t eat red meat I used ground chicken. It turned out great!
Loving this recipe!❤️
One pan dinners are the best!
In minutes it’s ready.
I love recipes like this. Quick and easy!
disabled senior… I love one pan meals- no mess, no fuss, easy cleanup!
I love one pan recipes! After working all day I need a quick and easy recipe that will fill my family up. This one looks yummy, no raisins tho.
Unstuffed cabbage = all the yummy goodness of a great dinner without all the work. Personally, I skip the raisins
I love one pan recipes. I’m slightly disabled so making something like this is perfect for me.
All the flavor with easier clean-up!
I love one-pan, skillet meals. They make cooking so much easier after a busy day. This meal looks delicious!
So many good things to say about this recipe!! Been looking for a healthier version of many tried and true recipes and this one is perfect!! Can’t wait to try it on my family. I already have so many of your recipes saved and many are not just in our “do over” list but fall in the “must have often” caregiry. Also posted to my Facebook page. Thanks for all you do!
Denise in Stitches
Oregon
Yummy I love stuffed cabbage rolls but take too long. This was delicious.
Love this recipe! Love cabbage rolls but too difficult to make as rolls. This recipe is less mess and cleanup. Can’t wait to try it.
The recipe reminds me of the stuffed cabbage that my mom used to make. I love that you’ve converted it into a one pan meal. My favorite way of making dinner!
Love this dish I have made it many times but not this recipe. Love one pot recipes.
I love stuffed cabbage but don’t always have time to roll them will definitely be trying this recipe as it looks so tasty and easier.
This recipe looks delicious!
What a wonderful recipe… would be easy to make and convenient for me..
Being a widowed 70 year old that loves to cook and eat, all of these one pan recipes give me a lot of options for meals. I don’t mind leftovers and commonly have a variety of meals, single serving, in my freezer so it is a quick decision in the morning on the days menu. For you contest I couldn’t figure out how to “click the link” for your blog, and home maybe this is the correct way. Writing from the city of Moncton, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Drive to the easternmost end of Maine and one arrives in NB.
Sounds delicious! Almost like Greek grape leaves
This looks delish! One pan meals are so nice when cooking for a family. I never know how many I will be feeding 2-3 depending on who is home that night. So these types of meals are easy to make single or double recipes.
What a great recipe. I love that it is a time saving recipe and only uses one pan – perfect – thanks for sharing with us.
After living with Eastern Europeans for over 50+ years, this looks so much easier to prepare and eat than traditional stuffed cabbage.
Can’t wait to try it!
Love one pan meals because it’s the easiest cleanup!!
Oh my, this Ground Beef Cabbage Roll Skillet looks so amazing. I am hungry just seeing your picture of it. I want to make it, but need to pick up some cabbage and yellow raisins at the store.
Thanks for posting this recipe. I am always looking for more options for our dinner meal.
Your friend in the kitchen,
Love that this will save time instead of having to stuff the cabbage and that it uses just one pan but still be delicious.
I love deconstructed recipes due to the less prep while still maintaining all of the yumminess from the original style. I’ve loved every recipe I’ve tried from I Wash You Dry.
I’ll give this a try. Like stuffed pepper soup. I love one pot meals, not really into washing 30 pots and pans for a simple dinner and I really like cabbage rolls.
I will have to try your version. I love one pan dinners of any sort after a long day of working. The addition of raisins for the sweetness is intriguing also.
I love cabbage rolls! But I hate preparing them so this is a great idea! One question can you use cabbage that is frozen?
I love an easy one pot meal. I never would have thought to add raisins so thank you for that!
Awesome! What i love about the one-pan approach is allowing more time to enjoy, less effort!
Love the idea of this one pan dinner. I would have never thought of this. I typically will roast vegetables in the oven on cookie sheet but forget to include a protein so that I can have a complete meal. Need to check out more one pan dinner ideas. Thanks for sharing