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.
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!
