Cheesesteak Cabbage Rolls
A baked cabbage roll, browned in the oven to perfection, and bursting with that cheesy cheesesteak goodness! The flavors in these cheesesteak cabbage rolls are so deep from the caramelized onions, with a hint of bright and spicy flavor from the banana peppers. I made these a while back and used a tomato sauce like a traditional cabbage roll, but this time around I made a simple caramelized onion sauce and it brought them to the next level!
The inspiration for this recipe
I love cabbage rolls and I am always trying to think of new things to stuff in them. The only problem is that it’s not as easy as you would think. You need a nice chewy salty filling on the inside to make it really satisfying. I have tried a handful of varieties but never posted them here because they didn’t come out great! These on the other hand are fantastic. The filling is exactly what you would put into a cheesesteak, plus a little rice to make it exactly what you would want in a cabbage roll. This recipe is pretty easy and really tasty, the only thing that takes a while is caramelizing the onions!
Preparing the cabbage
Start by removing the core from the cabbage. You don’t need to get it all, just use your knife to cut some of it out. I have two cabbages here. The one on the right with the wrinkles is a little easier to use for cabbage rolls.
Boil the cabbage about 5 minutes on each side and the leaves become easy to take off. This will help you roll the cabbage up with the cheesesteak filling inside.
Make the cheesesteak filling
Pro tip for anyone making any cheesesteaks – Do not buy the shaved steak from the grocery store. Go to an Asian grocery store instead and by the thin sliced meat there. The meat is meant for hot pot. It is slightly thicker than the shaved steak from the store and works perfect in a cheesesteak. The other benefit of this is you can choose what cut of meat you want to use. I think ribeye is the best, but I also throw in some brisket sometimes!
Cook the meat in small batches so it browns well on all sides. Then add it to a bowl with caramelized onions, cheese, rice, and banana peppers. This will be perfect filling for the cheesesteak cabbage rolls!
Making the cheesesteak cabbage rolls
Add the cheesesteak filling to the cabbage leaf, then roll it up! I like to take out some of the thicker stem, then fold the sides in first, then roll it up tight.
Baking the cheesesteak cabbage rolls
Add them to a pan with the onion sauce. I didn’t take pictures of the onion sauce, but basically I caramelized a bunch of onions, then put half into the cheesesteak cabbage rolls, and made a quick sauce with the other half. Top with cheese and bake at 400 for a half hour.
Serving the cheesesteak cabbage rolls
Allow the cheesesteak cabbage rolls to cool for 5 minutes before you serve them!
Cheesy goodness!
I don’t think you need to serve these with anything. There is a little rice inside so you have a whole meal inside the cabbage.
So savory from the onions, and a perfect bite from that thicker piece of sliced steak. I really loaded up the cheese too!
Twists on this dish
You could add more rice to the cheesesteak cabbage rolls. You could also skip the rice if you wanted. I just like something starchy inside holding things together a bit. I suppose you could do some breadcrumbs if you wanted.
You also could do this with a more traditional cabbage roll tomato sauce if you wanted. If you are looking for a traditional cabbage roll recipe, check this one out.
For more fun twists on cheesesteaks, check out my mortadella cheesesteak, or my surf and turf lobster cheesesteak!
Cheesesteak Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 large onions diced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 head cabbage
- 1 1/2 pounds thin sliced steak I like ribeye
- 1/4 cup diced banana peppers
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz shredded provolone cheese
Instructions
Onions and onion sauce
- Melt the butter to a frying pan over medium high heat and add in the onions. Cook about 45 minutes until the onions have drastically reduced in size. Remove half of the onions and set them aside in a bowl.
- Add the flour to the remaining onions and stir to combine. Add in the beef stock and stir well. Bring to a simmer and simmer about 5 minutes. It will thicken up as it simmers. Remove from heat
Prep the cabbage
- Cut the core out of the cabbage. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and season it with salt. Add in the head of cabbage and boil it for about 5 minutes. Flip and boil another 5 minutes. Remove from the water and allow to cool.
- Remove the outer cabbage leaves as gently as possible, cutting as needed. You will need 10 leaves for large rolls.
Make the filling
- In batches, cook the steak in a pan over high heat to brown on both sides. Doing this in smaller batches helps the steak get brown. As each piece of meat finishes, add it to the bowl with the onions and continue to cook the remaining steak.
- When you are done with the steak, add in the cooked rice and banana peppers. Break up the steak with two forks as you stir it.
- Stir in half of both cheeses.
Make the rolls
- Preheat oven to 400
- Spread out a cabbage leaf on the work surface and cut away some of the thicker part of the stem. Add in the filling and roll it up. Refer to my photo if needed.
- Pour half the onion sauce into a baking dish and add the rolls to the dish as you finish rolling them.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the rolls, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake at 400 for about 35 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbling. If it isnt browned enough on top, you can finish it under the broiler for a few minutes.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.
I have been out of the country for the last 2.5 years, and just recently stumbled across your blog. In all my time here in Korea I have never been as hungry as I am right now. I am sending my mom a list of ingredients so when I finally get home for a visit I can start cooking some of these amazing looking cabbage rolls! I may even try to hit all the western food section and see if I can’t find a way to make them this weekend! Thanks for the inspirations (and hunger pain!)
These were so amazingly delicious! Everyone has to make them!!
Wow! So easy and they look absolutely amazing!
Bake for an hour at what temp?
350 should be good. I have fixed the recipe in the post to show the temp.
This is the low carb joy I didn’t know my life needed!