A Greek winter classic! These Lahanodolmades / Lahanodolmathes recipe will amaze you. Cabbage leaves stuffed with juicy mince, rice and herby filling, topped with a delicious thick lemony flavoured sauce… Serve with lots of freshly ground black pepper!
What is Lahanodolmades (Greek stuffed cabbage rolls)?
In Northern Greece (Kozani), stuffed cabbage rolls are called yiaprakia and are a traditional Christmas dish, that is never missing from the Christmas table. Yiaprakia are made with ground pork and brined cabbage (toursi). And of course they are a wintery variation of the popular summer meze, stuffed vine leaves!
What you’ll need to make Greek stuffed cabbage rolls (Lahanodolmades)
I used beef mince for this recipe but the traditional dish does tend to use pork mince, so it is up to you which you choose to use. You can also make it Lesvos style and leave the sauce off the recipe but I find it adds to the dish so much I wouldn’t miss it out.
Greek Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Key Ingredients
Cabbage: You’ll need about 2kg or 70 ounces of cabbage for this recipe. You can experiment with different types but I find a simple green cabbage works well. It is strong enough to be rolled without breaking up.
Filling: Ground beef mince is the main part of the filling and this is mixed with onions, rice, herbs like parsley and dill, and salt and pepper. Don’t forget the egg whites as these bind the ingredients together.
Lemon sauce: The lemon sauce finishes the dish perfectly and is simple to make. Just like most white sauces, you’ll need butter, flour, and milk then some lemon and salt and pepper.
Key Preparation Tips
To make these delectable Greek stuffed cabbage rolls (Lahanodolmades), start by washing the cabbage thoroughly. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and carefully open up its leaves before washing them.
In a pot with a large volume, add some water and bring to a boil. Blanching the cabbage leaves in boiling water will make them softer and more manageable.
Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and place them on a clean work surface. Repeat the procedure for the remaining leaves.
Remove the thick inner vein on each leaf and set them aside once they’ve cooled just a little (you’ll need them later).
Prepare the stuffed cabbage rolls stuffing
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, chopped onions, parsley, dill, egg whites, and seasonings with your hands and knead until all of the delicious flavors have been absorbed by the meat.
Place one leaf on a flat surface (if it’s too big, cut it in half or thirds), place spoonfuls of filling in the bottom center of the leaf, and then fold over both sides.
Place the filling in a mound on the folded leaf. Bring both sides in towards the middle and roll them up (not too tightly). Continue with the rest of the leaves and filling.
Cover a large pot with the removed substantial inner vein of the leaves (earlier steps) and the smaller cabbage leaves that were too small to roll.
Place the stuffed cabbage rolls, fold side down, on top of the stuffed cabbage. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Place an inverted plate on top to keep them from floating while cooking and fill the pan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil over medium heat for about 1 hour, until the cabbage is soft.
Drain the remaining water and set the cabbage rolls aside.
Prepare the lemon sauce for the stuffed cabbage rolls
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the flour and whisk to make a paste.
Pour in the lemon juice and slowly whisk in the milk, while pouring. Whisk 3/4 cup of the drained liquid into a thickening sauce by adding it gradually to the mixture.
Finally, pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls, season with black pepper, and enjoy while hot!
Why are my cabbage rolls tough?
The main reason why cabbage rolls may be tough is that they haven’t cooked for long enough. Cabbage is quite a tough vegetable and needs a little extra cooking to make sure it is soft enough to make the rolls enjoyable. So don’t be afraid to cook it a little extra if it still feels tough once you have reached the advised cooking time.
Variations
If you want to make an Avglolemono sauce to go on top of these Lahanodolmades rolls, then it will work just as well. This is a lemon sauce that uses eggs in it rather than just the simple version I have used here.
Making ahead of time and storing
You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat them by either boiling them or steaming them. But I would store them separate from the sauce to stop the cabbage from becoming soggy.
Serving suggestions
These Greek stuffed cabbage rolls (Lahanodolmades) work perfectly as a main meal or you can make smaller versions and serve them as an appetizer alongside other favorites.
The perfect warming dish for a cold wintery weather! Lahanodolmades are stuffed cabbage rolls with juicy mince, rice and herby filling, topped with a delicious thick lemony flavoured sauce.
To make these delicious stuffed cabbage rolls, start by preparing the cabbage. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, open up carefully its leaves and wash thoroughly. In a large, deep pot, add some water and bring to the boil. Take some of the cabbage leaves and blanch them in the boiling water; parboiling the cabbage leaves before rolling them will make them softer and easier to roll. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean working surface. Repeat with the rest of the leaves. Once cool a little bit, remove the thick inner vein on the leaves and set aside (you will need them later).
Prepare the stuffing for the stuffed cabbage rolls. In a large bowl add the ground beef, the rice, the chopped onions, the parsley, the dill, the egg whites and season; knead the mixture well, squeezing the ingredients with your hands, so that the meat absorbs all the wonderful flavours.
Place one leaf on a flat surface (if it is too big, cut it in 2 or 3 smaller pieces), add a spoonful of the filling on the bottom centre of the leaf; be careful not to overfill the rolls, as the rice will expand during cooking. Fold the lower section of the leaf over the filling towards the centre; bring the two sides in towards the centre and roll them up (not too tightly). Continue with the rest of the leaves and filling.
Layer the bottom of a large pot with the removed thick inner vein of the leaves (see step 1) and the smaller cabbage leaves that were too small for rolling. Lay on top the stuffed cabbage rolls, fold side down, and top in snugly packed layers. Season with salt and pepper and pour in the olive oil. Place an inverted plate on top to hold them down when cooking and pour in enough water to cover them. Place the lid on and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and boil over medium heat for about 1 hour, until the cabbage is tender.
Drain the remaining water and set aside. Prepare the lemon sauce for the stuffed cabbage rolls. Melt the butter over medium heat, add the flour and whisk to form a paste. Pour in the lemon juice and ladle slowly the milk, whilst whisking. Pour in 3/4 of a cup of the drained liquid and whisk, until the sauce thickens a little bit.
Pour the sauce over the stuffed cabbage rolls and season well with freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!
These actually taste better the day or two after preparation. Don’t have to warm up. Try serving cold right out of the Fridge…..Hard to stop eating these things, Like Potato Chips !!!!!! So make up a large pot of them and eat for a week. You will not tire of them even after 5 or 6 days…..
Best ever with mince of your choice follow all other recipe onion herbs rice garlic tomato paste chick stock lemon salt pepper but i do wine leaves & i do not heat them up straight out of pkt or jar cause i also love the brine taste un them as well
I made a couple of changes, but turned out fantastic. Used ground turkey, rest of the stuffing the same. Sprayed Pyrex dish with olive oil, laid out the rolls, poured about 3/4 cup of chicken broth, covered and baked for 60 minutes on top rack at 400 degrees.
Doubled the amount of sauce and used half and half instead of milk. After baking, basted the stock out of the dish, whisked it into the sauce, ladled it over rolls and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. I have my wife and 2 15 year old twin girls. They loved it. Thank you.
OK Eli…..i’m Danish American and I married a Greek from Athens(yes..a city boy)who came here when he was 18yrs old. His mom makes the most INCREDIBLE lahanodolmades!!!! Like I could cry at the thought of how fabulous they are!! She sautes the onion, meat, rice . I just can’t believe that the meat is cooked before getting wrapped in the leaf? Seems like you’d lose all that flavor…..so I’m trying your version. I’ve tried to make them before and they were close to hers but I feel as though all of our ingredients bought here are just different…they don’t have that rich warm flavor. Well…..here goes. I’ll tell you how it goes after!
OK…..WOW!!! the recipe is perfect! It is always tempting to add things like garlic etc…and yes that may be tasty, however, this is a Greek dish and when you add or change ingredients you take the Greek out of it. I also just watched a video of an Italian Grandma making Italian Stuffed Cabbage. It also sounded delicious but it had different ingredients that made it Italian. This is a fabulous recipe and it’s going into my permanent recipe file. Thanks Eli…..you will be my 1st go to for different Greek recipes.
p.s. my husbands first gift to me was the book “The Greek Cookbook” by Sophia Skoura….HAHA!
I would like to try this. Nice to find authentic Greek recipes. However, I am puzzled as for which cabbage to choose from. There are so many choices in our country and no picture of your cabbage in the recipe. White, green, red, kale, pointed, oxheart, Chinese, paksoi, what is the best choice?
I had difficulty separating the cabbage leaves…in the end I put the whole thing into the boiling water which softened the leaves making it easier to remove them without too much trouble….what kind of rice do you recommend?
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I’m going to make them this week yum <3
Hope you like them and don’t forget to let me know how it went or if you have any feedback 🙂
Adding garlic and oregano to the meat mix is a nice addition
Ah thats a great idea! I’ll give it a try and see how it goes 🙂
Lemon sauce with milk have not heard but will give it a try
What side dish goes well with these?
These actually taste better the day or two after preparation. Don’t have to warm up. Try serving cold right out of the Fridge…..Hard to stop eating these things, Like Potato Chips !!!!!! So make up a large pot of them and eat for a week. You will not tire of them even after 5 or 6 days…..
This is a yummy dolma. We call it ” lahana(cabbage) dolmasi(stuffed) in Turkey. Try to add some tomato paste to the stuffing. Scrumptious!
We usually make a cabbage rolls with pickled cabbage…now I tried Greek recipe…Jast loved it
Anyone ever try this using Chinese Cabbage? Seems it would be a lot easier than the regular Cabbage.
Best ever with mince of your choice follow all other recipe onion herbs rice garlic tomato paste chick stock lemon salt pepper but i do wine leaves & i do not heat them up straight out of pkt or jar cause i also love the brine taste un them as well
I am so happy this recipe is like my grandmother’s and had lost it. So glad I found it.
Hi Maria! I’m really happy you liked the recipe!
I made a couple of changes, but turned out fantastic. Used ground turkey, rest of the stuffing the same. Sprayed Pyrex dish with olive oil, laid out the rolls, poured about 3/4 cup of chicken broth, covered and baked for 60 minutes on top rack at 400 degrees.
Doubled the amount of sauce and used half and half instead of milk. After baking, basted the stock out of the dish, whisked it into the sauce, ladled it over rolls and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. I have my wife and 2 15 year old twin girls. They loved it. Thank you.
OK Eli…..i’m Danish American and I married a Greek from Athens(yes..a city boy)who came here when he was 18yrs old. His mom makes the most INCREDIBLE lahanodolmades!!!! Like I could cry at the thought of how fabulous they are!! She sautes the onion, meat, rice . I just can’t believe that the meat is cooked before getting wrapped in the leaf? Seems like you’d lose all that flavor…..so I’m trying your version. I’ve tried to make them before and they were close to hers but I feel as though all of our ingredients bought here are just different…they don’t have that rich warm flavor. Well…..here goes. I’ll tell you how it goes after!
OK…..WOW!!! the recipe is perfect! It is always tempting to add things like garlic etc…and yes that may be tasty, however, this is a Greek dish and when you add or change ingredients you take the Greek out of it. I also just watched a video of an Italian Grandma making Italian Stuffed Cabbage. It also sounded delicious but it had different ingredients that made it Italian. This is a fabulous recipe and it’s going into my permanent recipe file. Thanks Eli…..you will be my 1st go to for different Greek recipes.
p.s. my husbands first gift to me was the book “The Greek Cookbook” by Sophia Skoura….HAHA!
I would like to try this. Nice to find authentic Greek recipes. However, I am puzzled as for which cabbage to choose from. There are so many choices in our country and no picture of your cabbage in the recipe. White, green, red, kale, pointed, oxheart, Chinese, paksoi, what is the best choice?
Its plain old green cabbage, nothing too fancy 🙂
Kalimera eprepe na kaneis youtube ego nomizo thelo na se pantrefto na mou ftiaheis dolmades kai na pigenoume Ellada kathe kalokeri.
I had difficulty separating the cabbage leaves…in the end I put the whole thing into the boiling water which softened the leaves making it easier to remove them without too much trouble….what kind of rice do you recommend?