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Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls made with the most delicious meat filling and baked in the simplest tomato sauce. This cosy comfort food meal is super easy and great for prepping ahead. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and some crusty bread!
Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls or Fagottini di Verza is one of the most incredible dishes I’ve ever eaten in Florence. This is my best attempt at recreating it which omg, is pretty damn delicious if I do say so myself.
Savoy cabbage leaves are stuffed with a mixture of ground veal and pork, parmesan, garlic, and an egg and breadcrumbs to bind it together.
Veal has a delicious, delicate flavour and the pork has more fat keeping the filling juicy and delicious.
Then there’s the sauce which is SO incredibly simple I mean, 4 ingredients, garlic, white wine, stock and tomato paste. It’s also simmered for just 5 minutes, yup it’s that easy!
Prepping the Cabbage Leaves
I like to use a large savoy cabbage and peel off the largest leaves (8 total which makes 16 cabbage rolls). Peel the leaves by snapping the stalk from the very bottom (see photo 5).
The smaller the leaves the harder they are to remove without tearing unless you cook the whole head of cabbage. If you can only find small cabbages you’ll need two.
You then need to blanch the cabbage leaves so they are easy to roll. To do this place the leaves in batches (depending on how big your pot is) into boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes then remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Keep the leftover cabbage for soups or stews, chop it up and store it in the freezer if not using in the next few days.
How to Make Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls – Step by Step
Put the meat, egg, panko crumbs, grated parmesan, 1 clove of minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands mix everything together until thoroughly incorporated, set aside (photos 1 & 2).
If you haven’t already, peel the largest leaves from the cabbage being careful not to tear them. Blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes until softened (you’ll probably need to do this in batches or 2 or 3) (photos 3 – 5).
Let them drain on kitchen paper then pat them as dry. Once dried, cut the large middle stalk from each leaf so you’re left with two halves (discard the stalk) (photo 6).
Place 1 heaped tbsp of meat mixture on the widest part of the cabbage leaf then roll it up tucking in the sides then place in a baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the meat mixture and cabbage leaves. Set aside (photos 7 – 9).
To make the sauce, add ½ tbsp of olive oil to a small saucepan, add 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the white wine and simmer to reduce by half (photo 10).
Add the chicken stock and tomato paste, whisk together then simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the stuffed cabbage rolls, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes (photos 11 & 12).
Remove from the oven, uncover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Top Tips for Making Stuffed Cabbage Rolls & Serving Suggestions
- You can swap the veal for ground beef instead
- Use the highest quality chicken stock (preferably homemade or pre-made store-bought sold in tubs). The sauce doesn’t simmer for long so a great quality stock will add a ton of flavour.
- You can prep the whole dish (without adding the sauce) in advance and store in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
- Make sure to bake the stuffed cabbage rolls covered to avoid them burning or drying out.
- You can serve this dish simply as it is with some crusty bread or serve it with some creamy polenta or mashed potatoes for a hearty comfort food meal.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and reheated in the oven until piping hot. If storing leftovers in the fridge I recommend removing them from the sauce and storing them in separate containers.
- Leftovers can also be frozen and defrosted as needed.
More Delicious Italian Recipes You Might Like;
- Butternut Squash Risotto With Thyme
- Eggplant Lasagna with Prosciutto and Mozzarella
- Juicy Italian Meatballs In A Rich Tomato Sauce (Polpette)
- Gnocchi With A Brown Butter Sage Sauce
If you’ve tried these Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Step By Step Photos Above
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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 8 savoy cabbage leaves, removed from 1 large cabbage
- 8.5 oz ground veal, (250g)
- 5 oz ground pork, (150g)
- 1 egg, free-range
- ⅓ cup panko crumbs, (20g)
- ⅓ cups parmesan, , freshly grated (20g)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup white wine, (60ml)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken stock, (240ml)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F) and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Put the meat, egg, panko crumbs, grated parmesan,1 clove of minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands mix everything together until thoroughly incorporated, set aside.
- If you haven’t already, peel the largest leaves from the cabbage being careful not to tear them. Blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes until softened (you’ll probably need to do this in batches or 2 or 3).
- Let them drain on kitchen paper then pat them as dry. Once dried, cut the large middle stalk from each leaf so you’re left with two halves (discard the stalk).
- Place 1 heaped tbsp of meat mixture on the widest part of the cabbage leaf then roll it up tucking in the sides then place in a baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the meat mixture and cabbage leaves. Set aside.
- To make the sauce, add ½ tbsp of olive oil to a small saucepan, add 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the white wine and simmer to reduce by half.
- Add the chicken stock and tomato paste, whisk together then simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the stuffed cabbage rolls, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, uncover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
- You can swap the veal for ground beef instead
- Use the highest quality chicken stock (preferably homemade or pre-made store-bought sold in tubs). The sauce doesn't simmer for long so a great quality stock will add a ton of flavour.
- You can prep the whole dish (without adding the sauce) in advance and store in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
- Make sure to bake the stuffed cabbage rolls covered to avoid them burning or drying out.
- You can serve this dish simply as it is with some crusty bread or serve it with some creamy polenta or mashed potatoes for a hearty comfort food meal.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and reheated in the oven until piping hot. If storing leftovers in the fridge I recommend removing them from the sauce and storing them in separate containers.
- Leftovers can also be frozen and defrosted as needed.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adding rendered pancetta to the meat mix…🔥🔥🔥🔥
Oh sounds delicious!!
Excellent idea to add rendered pancetta to the meat mix for added flavor. That’s what Italian grandmas do. Also, Nonna doesn’t throw away anything—chop up the cabbage stalks & put in the bottom of the pan before adding the cabbage rolls & stalks
my initial comment got cut off. About adding the cabbage stalks,…with long slow cooking, either on the stovetop or in the oven, the stalks cook through & also help prevent the cabbage rolls from scorching on the bottom, especially if done on the stovetop.
Yum! I love how easy and delicious these rolls are!
Simply delicious! This will make the perfect back to school meal when we are all trying to get back into a routine and there isn’t much time to make dinner.
Thanks so much Kelly, this is great for prepping ahead so it would be so easy to make on busy weeknights!
You don’t see this recipe a lot in Italian-American cooking. Thanks for bringing it back with you!
Beautiful and comforting dish! It looks perfect for a cold rainy day.
It definitely is and we have plenty of those here in Scotland haha. Thanks so much Alison!
What a great recipe! I am used to make stuffed cabbage rolls with a regular cabbage, but I have never thought of using savoy cabbage leaves. Thank you for this great idea Emily and Nathan! I am gonna try your recipe for sure.
Thank you so much, Irina, we really hope you enjoy it!