Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls made with the most good meat filling and baked in the simplest tomato sauce. This cosy comfort food meal is easy and great for prepping ahead. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and some crusty bread!

Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls or Fagottini di Verza is one of the most good dishes we've ever eaten in Florence. This is our best attempt at recreating it which omg, is pretty damn good if we do say so myself.

Savoy cabbage leaves are stuffed with a mixture of ground veal and pork, parmesan, garlic, and an egg and breadcrumbs to bind it together.

Veal has a good, delicate flavour and the pork has more fat keeping the filling juicy and good.

Then there's the sauce which is SO incredibly simple we mean, 4 ingredients garlic, white wine, stock and tomato paste. It's also simmered for 5 minutes, yup it's that easy!

Prepping the Cabbage Leaves

We like to use a large savoy cabbage and peel off the largest leaves (8 total which makes 16 cabbage rolls). Peel the leaves by snapping the stalk from the bottom (see photo 5).

The smaller the leaves the harder they are to remove without tearing unless you cook the whole head of cabbage. If you can only find small cabbages you'll need two.

You then need to blanch the cabbage leaves so they are easy to roll. To do this place the leaves in batches (depending on how big your pot is) into boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes then remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Keep the l eftover cabbage for soups or stews chop it up and store it in the freezer if not using in the next few days.

How to Make Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls – Step by Step

Put the meat, egg, panko crumbs, grated parmesan, 1 clove of minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands mix everything together until thoroughly incorporated, set aside (photos 1 & 2).

If you haven't already, peel the largest leaves from the cabbage being careful not to tear them. Blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes until softened (you'll probably need to do this in batches or 2 or 3) (photos 3 – 5).

Let them drain on kitchen paper then pat them as dry. Once dried, cut the large middle stalk from each leaf so you're left with two halves (discard the stalk) (photo 6).

Place 1 heaped tbsp of meat mixture on the widest part of the cabbage leaf then roll it up tucking in the sides then place in a baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the meat mixture and cabbage leaves. Set aside (photos 7 – 9).

To make the sauce, add ½ tbsp of olive oil to a small saucepan, add 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the white wine and simmer to reduce by half (photo 10).

Add the chicken stock and tomato paste, whisk together then simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the stuffed cabbage rolls, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes (photos 11 & 12).

Remove from the oven, uncover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Top Tips for Making Stuffed Cabbage Rolls & Serving Suggestions

• You can swap the veal for ground beef instead
• Use the highest quality chicken stock (preferably homemade or pre-made store-bought sold in tubs). The sauce doesn't simmer for long so a great quality stock will add a ton of flavour.
• You can prep the whole dish (without adding the sauce) in advance and store in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
• bake the stuffed cabbage rolls covered to avoid them burning or drying out.
• You can serve this dish as it is with some crusty bread or serve it with some creamy polenta or mashed potatoes for a hearty comfort food meal.
• Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and reheated in the oven until piping hot. If storing leftovers in the fridge we recommend removing them from the sauce and storing them in separate containers.
• Leftovers can also be frozen and defrosted as needed.

More good Italian Recipes You Might Like

• Butternut Squash Risotto With Thyme
• Eggplant Lasagna with Prosciutto and Mozzarella
• Juicy Italian Meatballs In A Rich Tomato Sauce (Polpette)
• Gnocchi With A Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 8 savoy cabbage leaves (removed from 1 large cabbage)
• 8.5 oz ground veal ((250g))
• 5 oz ground pork ((150g))
• 1 egg (free-range)
• ⅓ cup panko crumbs ((20g))
• ⅓ cups parmesan (, freshly grated (20g))
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup white wine ((60ml))
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock ((240ml))
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F) and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Put the meat, egg, panko crumbs, grated parmesan,1 clove of minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands mix everything together until thoroughly incorporated, set aside.

3. If you haven't already, peel the largest leaves from the cabbage being careful not to tear them. Blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes until softened (you'll probably need to do this in batches or 2 or 3).

4. Let them drain on kitchen paper then pat them as dry. Once dried, cut the large middle stalk from each leaf so you're left with two halves (discard the stalk).

5. Place 1 heaped tbsp of meat mixture on the widest part of the cabbage leaf then roll it up tucking in the sides then place in a baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the meat mixture and cabbage leaves. Set aside.

6. To make the sauce, add ½ tbsp of olive oil to a small saucepan, add 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the white wine and simmer to reduce by half.

7. Add the chicken stock and tomato paste, whisk together then simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the stuffed cabbage rolls, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven, uncover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Kitchen notes

• You can swap the veal for ground beef instead
• Use the highest quality chicken stock (preferably homemade or pre-made store-bought sold in tubs). The sauce doesn't simmer for long so a great quality stock will add a ton of flavour.
• You can prep the whole dish (without adding the sauce) in advance and store in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
• bake the stuffed cabbage rolls covered to avoid them burning or drying out.
• You can serve this dish as it is with some crusty bread or serve it with some creamy polenta or mashed potatoes for a hearty comfort food meal.
• Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and reheated in the oven until piping hot. If storing leftovers in the fridge we recommend removing them from the sauce and storing them in separate containers.
• Leftovers can also be frozen and defrosted as needed.