Cabbage Roll Skillet Meal

All the goodness of cabbage rolls without precooking the rice or parboiling the cabbage in this one-pan deconstructed cabbage roll skillet recipe. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. JUMP TO THE RECIPE
2. COOKING NOTES
3. MORE MAIN DISHES WITH RICE

UPDATE 10/7/24... Here I sit, over 10 years later, updating this recipe with better photos, reading the words I wrote a decade ago and so many things come to mind. The first of which is that my photography was so bad in the beginning 🤣

But more importantly, I'm thinking back to those days when we struggled so hard to make ends meet. Thanks to the good Lord's mercy and our refusal to give up, things are a whole lot different now. But man, oh man, I can remember being equal parts sick of having to cook hamburger meat again and being truly grateful I had it.

If anyone out there is struggling and needs a reminder, just keep working hard, take comfort in the ones you love, do the next right thing, be grateful for what you have and yes, it will get better! 

Once again I found myself staring at a pound of ground beef trying to think of something new to do with it. Lord, I get sick of it but I’m thankful for it nonetheless because, when we’re on that last stretch before payday, sometimes it’s what gets us by.

So anyway, I’m standing there with the refrigerator door open, hoping inspiration will smack me down when I spotted a head of cabbage. I immediately thought of a conversation I’d had the week before with a sweet little lady at the grocery store about cabbage rolls.

Then I shot that idea down because I didn't feel like taking the time to blanch the cabbage leaves or precook the rice.

But I still had cabbage rolls on the brain when the wheels started turning… What if I cooked all the ingredients together in a skillet and made sort of a deconstructed cabbage roll dish!? Like a casserole. But quicker! Kinda like an “unstuffed” cabbage roll!

I grabbed up all the ingredients and prayed it would work! And it totally did!

I ate and ate and ATE this stuff last night! I couldn't get enough of it! Husband kept telling me to lay off or me and my belly full of cabbage were going to have to sleep on the couch! 

How can I describe this meal to you to give it proper credit?? For one, it's the texture. I absolutely love the way the ground beef stands up to the soft rice and cabbage.

I also love the way the drippings from the beef coat the cabbage so you get a little "southern fried cabbage" vibe in the very best way.

Then the way the drizzle of the tomato topping brings enough twang to cut through the richness and the tiny bit of sweetness just balances everything perfectly... it all just works.

NOTES ON CABBAGE ROLL SKILLET MEAL

1. You’ll need a large skillet with fitted lid to cook this dish. It is important to have a tight-fitting lid to ensure the rice cooks properly.
2. If you don't have a skillet large enough to hold everything (or don't have a big one with a lid), use a large, wide pot like a Dutch oven.
3. The rice will absorb the liquid so to ensure the dish is properly seasoned, taste the broth after everything has been mixed well (before the 20-25 minute cook time) then add more salt and pepper if necessary.
4. If the canned tomato soup seems like an odd ingredient to make the tangy topping with, just trust me on this one! Not only does it make things super easy, it's already been cooked and reduced which is what happens with the homemade sauce in classic stuffed cabbage rolls. 
5. Feel free to make the Tangy Tomato Topping in the microwave. We just need to heat it through and ensure the brown sugar dissolves. 
6. This is also DELICIOUS with a mixture of ground pork and beef (half and half) and I image it would be good with ground pork sausage as well!

MORE MEALS FEATURING RICE

If you love main dishes with rice AND you especially like recipes that don't require you to precook the rice first, check out some of my other favorites!

HIBACHI CHICKEN & RICE - A one-pan skillet meal with hibachi chicken and rice that uses everyday ingredients and way less expensive than take-out! 

SAUSAGE & RICE CASSEROLE - a simple rice bake perfect for supper, side dishes, potlucks and Thanksgiving (sometimes called Rice Dressing). 

CREAMY CHICKEN & RICE - An easy casserole for creamy rice and fork-tender chicken that cooks in one dish. 

PORK CHOP CASSEROLE - A family favorite pork chop bake made with rice and French onion soup. 

BAKED CHICKEN & RICE - A family-sized casserole with everyday ingredients for tender rice and rotisserie-seasoned chicken. 

JAILHOUSE RICE - A casserole recipe with rice, ground beef and sausage perfect for feeding a crowd. 

Recipe for How to Cook Cabbage Roll Skillet Meal

Cabbage Roll Skillet Meal

Yield: 6 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 55 Min

All the goodness of cabbage rolls without precooking the rice or parboiling the cabbage in this deconstructed cabbage roll recipe that cooks in a skillet!

Ingredients

Main Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 small cabbage, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14.5-oz. can beef broth
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

Tangy Tomato Topping:

• 1 10.75-oz. can condensed tomato soup
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

Main Instructions:

1. Brown ground beef with salt and pepper in a large skillet over high heat; do not drain. 1 lb. ground beef, 1 tsp each salt and pepper
2. Add cabbage, onion and garlic then continue cooking about 6-8 minutes or until cabbage is starting to soften. 1 chopped cabbage, 1 diced onion, 2 cloves minced garlic
3. Add beef broth and rice then stir well. Taste broth for seasoning then add more salt and pepper if desired. 1 can beef broth, 1 cup rice
4. Cover skillet with fitted lid, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until rice is cooked through.
5. Remove skillet from heat then let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve with Tangy Tomato Topping.

Tangy Tomato Topping:

1. While the finished cabbage dish is resting, combine condensed tomato soup (without water), vinegar and brown sugar in a small pan then cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sauce starts to bubble. 1 can soup, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 Tbsp brown sugar
2. Drizzle topping over prepared cabbage dish or individual servings.

Notes

1. You’ll need a large skillet with fitted lid to cook this dish. It is important to have a tight-fitting lid to ensure the rice cooks properly.
2. If you don't have a skillet large enough to hold everything (or don't have a big one with a lid), use a large, wide pot like a Dutch oven.
3. The rice will absorb the liquid so to ensure the dish is properly seasoned, taste the broth after everything has been mixed well (before the 20-25 minute cook time) then add more salt and pepper if necessary.
4. Feel free to make the Tangy Tomato Topping in the microwave. We just need to heat it through and ensure the brown sugar dissolves. 
5. This is also DELICIOUS with a mixture of ground pork and beef (half and half) and I image it would be good with ground pork sausage as well!

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2014/01/unstuffed-cabbage-roll-skillet.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2014

unstuffed, cabbage roll, deconstructed, stir-fry, skillet, meal, cabbage, hamburger, ground beef, rice, tomato topping, tangy, recipe, how to, best, easy, campbells tomato soup, original

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