A recipe for Balandeliai (Lithuanian Cabbage Rolls)! Green cabbage leaves are filled with a ground meat vegetable mixture and simmered until tender.
I first came across this Balandeliai recipe over on 10th Kitchen (no longer active) and loved the flavors so much.
Versions of cabbage rolls can be found across Europe and the Middle East with a variety of ingredients and cooking styles.
In Lithuania, their name translates to little doves. The rolls are filled with ground meat (I used beef, but have seen recipes with pork, lamb, or chicken), rice, and chopped vegetables.
After cooking until tender, they are served with a tomato sour cream sauce.
These cabbage rolls definitely take some time to make. Between preparing the cabbage leaves and sautéing the onions for the filling, it is a bit of a time commitment.
Once you stack the prepared rolls in the pot, they can be forgotten for an hour. No stirring, no mixing, just relax after all the work you have put into dinner.
Also, with 12 rolls, Chad and I had quite a bit of leftovers. This was the first time I have ever attempted cabbage rolls.
I look forward to trying more variations from other countries when I get more cabbage from my CSA box.
Looking for more recipes with cabbage?
Try my:
- Krpice sa Zeljem (Croatian Pasta with Cabbage)
- Jamaican Steamed Cabbage
- Krautflecken mit Speck (Cabbage, Noodles and Bacon)
Balandeliai (Lithuanian Cabbage Rolls) Recipe
Adapted from 10th Kitchen
Balandeliai (Lithuanian Cabbage Rolls)
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage
- 1 large carrot peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion peeled and chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 pound ground beef, lamb, pork, or chicken
- 1 egg beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken or beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and gently add entire cabbage. Boil for 3-5 minutes, until outer leaves soften slightly, but not falling apart. Remove as many leaves as you can easily, careful not to tear them. Boil the cabbage up to about 3 more minutes, as needed to remove the leaves.
- Discard the core and coarsely chop the extra cabbage leaves. Mix the chopped leaves with the carrot pieces and line the bottom of a large pot.
- Once the leaves are cool enough to handle, cut off as much of the center stem on the outside of each leaf as possible without cutting into the leaf.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, fry the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and cool. Once cooled, mix in a large bowl with the rice, ground meat, and egg.
- On a work surface, place a large spoonful of the meat and rice, about 1/2 cup, onto the cabbage leaf close to the bottom of the stem. Fold in the sides over the meat and roll up the leaf tightly to close. Repeat with remaining leaves until there is no meat and rice left.
- Place the filled rolls seam side down on the chopped cabbage and carrots in the large pot. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together tomato sauce, stock, and bay leaves. Pour over the layered cabbage rolls. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about an hour, until meat filling is cooked through.
- Remove the cooked cabbage rolls from the pot. Stir the sour cream into the remaining sauce. Serve the cabbage rolls hot with the sour cream sauce.
marie Zimmer
I put my cabbage on a pie plate and put in the microwave for a up to 5 min. then peal off the leaves till no more are soft, then put it back in micro for another few min. till the next few leaves will come off,etc. No boiling water to deal with.
Iveta
It’s better to boil it. It doesn’t loose it taste. I also always use the cabbage bullion for rolls sauce base or soup. You don’t need to trow it away!
Tara
Thanks for the tip!
Simonas
My mother always rolls balandėliai in plain flour and then fries them on a pan for a little bit with very little oil before putting them into a pot, cabbage gains a little more flavour and the flour helps thicken the sauce later.
Jane Duffy
Can these be frozen after they are made and cooked? If so what would you do to heat them up? Thank you.
Tara
Hi Jane! These are best frozen before cooking to help keep them from falling apart. If you do freeze after cooking, arrange in a covered baking dish with a layer of sauce in the bottom and more poured over the top. Reheat at 350˚F oven until heated through.