Hearty Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Casserole Bliss

Cabbage rolls are pure comfort food, but rolling dozens of blanched leaves takes an afternoon. This Hearty Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Casserole gives you the same familiar flavors with far less fuss: tender cabbage, browned ground beef and rice in a savory tomato sauce.

It's an "unstuffed" cabbage roll casserole. Instead of wrapping each leaf around the filling, you chop the cabbage and layer it with the beef and sauce in the slow cooker. The rice is cooked separately and stirred in at the end, so it stays tender instead of turning to mush.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Cabbage roll flavor without the rolling. No blanching leaves, no wrapping, no toothpicks.
• Hands-off cooking. After about 30 minutes of prep, including browning the beef, the slow cooker takes over.
• Rice that's cooked just right. Cooking it separately means no crunchy or mushy grains.
• Simple, savory tomato sauce. Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and paprika, with an easy sweet-and-sour option.
• Feeds a crowd. Eight hearty servings, with leftovers that reheat well.

Ingredients and Notes

Exact amounts are in the ingredient list above. A few notes:

Green cabbage. One medium head weighs about 2½ pounds and gives about 12 cups of 1-inch pieces. It looks like a lot, but cabbage wilts down to about half its volume as it cooks. Pieces about 1 inch wide hold their shape; finely shredded cabbage turns soft and stringy over a long cook.

85% lean ground beef. It has enough fat for flavor, and you drain off the excess after browning, so the sauce isn't greasy.

No added cooking fat. 85% lean beef releases enough fat to brown itself and soften the onion, so the skillet doesn't need oil.

Onion and garlic. The onion softens with the beef; the garlic goes in at the end of browning so it doesn't scorch.

Low-sodium beef broth. You'll use 2½ cups in two places. Half a cup lifts the flavorful browned bits off the skillet; only that much goes into the slow cooker, because the cabbage releases plenty of liquid as it cooks. The other 2 cups cook the rice, so it's seasoned all the way through.

Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Together they make a savory sauce with some texture. Use the diced tomatoes with their juices. If you like the sweet-and-sour flavor of some cabbage rolls, see the variations.

Paprika, salt and pepper. Sweet paprika adds warmth and color without heat.

Long-grain white rice. This recipe uses 1 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice, cooked on the stovetop in 2 cups of the broth to make about 3 cups of cooked rice. It goes in only at the end. Raw rice can cook unevenly in a slow cooker full of cabbage, so it's cooked separately for reliable results. You can also use 3 cups of leftover cooked long-grain white rice (see the FAQ).

Optional toppings (not part of the core recipe): sour cream, chopped fresh parsley or dill.

Equipment

• A 6-quart slow cooker. USDA recommends filling a slow cooker between half and two-thirds full. The raw cabbage fills a 6-quart cooker generously at first and settles as it cooks.
• A 12-inch skillet for browning the beef.
• A medium saucepan with a lid for the rice.
• An instant-read thermometer to check the beef.
• A large cutting board and a sharp chef's knife for the cabbage.

Recipe Notes

• Times at a glance: 30 minutes of prep, including chopping and 8 to 10 minutes of browning. Then 5 to 6 hours on LOW, plus 15 to 20 minutes on HIGH after the rice goes in.
• Total time: the 6 hours 50 minutes in the recipe card uses 6 hours on LOW. On HIGH, plan on about 4 to 4½ hours in all.
• The rice takes about 25 minutes on the stovetop. Make it during the last hour of slow cooking, so it doesn't add to the total time.
• Reducing extra liquid, if needed, adds 20 to 30 minutes on HIGH and isn't included in the total.
• Yield: about 8 servings, roughly 1½ cups each.
• Not a dump-and-go recipe: the beef is browned and drained first, and the rice is cooked separately.

How to Tell When It's Done

Go by texture, not just the clock. Slow cookers vary, and so do heads of cabbage.

• Cabbage: the thickest pieces, near the core, are tender when pierced with a fork, with no raw crunch.
• Rice: the grains are tender all the way through and hot, and have soaked up some sauce without falling apart.
• Consistency: the casserole is moist and saucy, but a spoonful holds together on a plate instead of running across it.

Right after the rice goes in, the casserole is still loose and saucy, like this. Over the next 15 to 20 minutes the rice soaks up some of the sauce, and it thickens a little more as it stands.

About the beef: USDA lists 160°F as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground beef. Brown it until it reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer before it goes into the slow cooker. Color alone isn't a reliable test.

Serving Suggestions

These extras are optional:

• A dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley or dill on top
• Crusty bread or dinner rolls to soak up the sauce
• Mashed potatoes, like these creamy mashed potatoes
• A crisp green salad or cucumber salad for something fresh

If you'd like to try the classic rolled version, see Easy Cabbage Rolls or Favorite Stuffed Cabbage Rolls on a Vegetable Bed. For more cozy slow cooker dinners, try Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Amish Poor Man's Steak or Juicy Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing. Another beef-and-rice favorite is One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Rice.

Storage, Reheating and Freezing

Refrigerator. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour if the room is above 90°F). Divide them into shallow, airtight containers so they cool quickly, and use within 3 to 4 days.

Reheating. Reheat to 165°F. Warm portions in the microwave, covered, stirring halfway, or in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat. The rice absorbs sauce as it sits, so add a splash of broth or water if it seems dry. Don't reheat leftovers in the slow cooker, which heats food too slowly.

Freezing. Freeze cooled portions in airtight freezer containers for up to 3 months for best quality. The cabbage and rice will be a little softer after thawing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat to 165°F.