Lazy Woman’s Stuffed Cabbage

As the weather has gotten colder, we’ve been craving comfort food, but are trying to keep things pretty healthy. Fortunately, I recently figured out how to recreate the fantastic flavors of my mother-in-law’s amazing stuffed cabbage recipe without all the work. As someone who never really like stuffed cabbage before I had hers and who now makes it often, I can attest that this is some good stuff!

Several of my friends have asked for this recipe, so I’m posting it here for anyone interested.  Thanks, Mom, for sharing your recipe!

Crock Pot Stuffed Cabbage


28 oz. of your favorite tomato sauce
6 tbs brown sugar
7 tbs lemon juice
7 tbs water, plus extra if needed
1 package uncoooked ground turkey breast
1 package french onion soup mix
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice or bulgur wheat
½ large head cabbage (or one small cabbage), cored and chopped into large chunks
2 egg whites

Whisk wet ingredients in medium bowl. Put thin layer in bottom of crock pot, reserving the rest.

Mix turkey, rice/bulgur, egg whites and 1/2 of seasoning packet into mini meatballs and put in crock pot.

Add chopped cabbage and the rest of the onion soup mix. Pour tomato mixture over the whole mess and mix all ingredients, adding additional water if necessary to ensure all ingredients are adequately covered with liquid. Crock it up on low for 6 to 12 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes* for maximum goodness.

Note: If you don't have time to do the crock pot version, you can boil the cabbage for 10 - 15 minutes and layer everything in a casserole dish to bake at 350 for 1 - 2 hours.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 6-12 hrs
Yummy comfort food at the end of a long day: Priceless

*We’ve been making a reduced fat/lower calorie version of mashed potatoes by using roasted cauliflower and 3 small potatoes. Chop 1 head cauliflower and 3 small potatoes (with skin on) and wrap in foil sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Dump everything into a food processor, add about ½ cup warmed chicken stock and ¼ cup instant potato flakes, salt and pepper to taste. We find this to be quite delicious!