Today we show you our favorite recipe for Romanian stuffed cabbage, aka Sarmale! These will be a hit in your home!! We also include a vegetarian option 🙂 The traditional recipe makes 80 rolls – please cut the recipe for less!

Easy Stuffed Cabbage (Romanian Sarmale, Traditional and Vegetarian)

Romanian Sarmale is a traditional dish made with ground beef, rice, onions, and spices. This vegetarian version has mushrooms instead of meat for an easy but filling dinner meal.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Romanian

Servings 8

Ingredients

Traditional (Meat) Ingredients:

2 large onions
1 TBS of Paprika
1 TBS ground pepper
2 TBS salt
1¼ cup rice any kind you would like
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup of water
10 oz or 8oz of tomato sauce
2 lbs ground pork
2 lbs ground chuck/beef
1 bag sour krout 1 pound
2 large cabbage savoy
4 oz bacon

Vegetarian Ingredients:

1 large onion
1 TBS of Paprika
1 TBS ground pepper
2 TBS salt
¾ cup of rice any kind you would like
8 oz tomato paste
1 cup of water
10 oz or 8oz of tomato sauce
3 8 oz packs of mushrooms
1 bag sour krout 1 pound
1 large cabbage savoy

Instructions

Before Filling & Rolling:

Core cabbage
Add to boiling water for 5 minutes
Start peeling off leaves as they fall off – If not tender to remove, keep in water until they fall off

For Traditional (Meat) Stuffed Cabbage –

Sautee onions
Mix in paprika for another min
Mix in pepper and 1 tablespoon salt
Mix in tomato paste
Mix in rice & once all mixed, take off heat to cool
Combine meats and rice mixture together
Add a tablespoon of salt & 1 cup of water to the meat/rice mixture
Cut Cabbage leaves into two (remove the spine)
Put half of one leaf on a board and take your filling mixture and make a long oval into your hand, put that on the cabbage leaf and roll it & tuck at the end *see video for how this is done. Repeat these two steps until you are done with cabbage and/or meat filling
Take a large pot and add oil and 1 bag of sour krout & on top of that 4 oz of bacon* (Bacon for traditional)
Arrange cabbage in a circular formation until 2 inches from the top
Pour a cup of water with a cup of 8 oz of tomato sauce on top of everything
Put any extra leaves on top
Cover & watch until boils (medium-high) then put to medium-low for about an hour/hour and 1/2

For Vegetarian Option:

Sautee onions
Mix in paprika for another min
Mix in pepper and 1 tablespoon salt
Mix in tomato paste
Mix in rice & once all mixed, take off heat to cool
Sautee mushrooms & add to rice mixture
Add a tablespoon of salt and 3/4 of a cup of water to the mushroom/rice mixture
Follow the same stops 8-14 as above, serve, & enjoy!

Video

Keyword sarmale, vegetarian

Easy Stuffed Cabbage (Romanian Sarmale, Traditional and Vegetarian)