Chicken Cabbage Rolls with Paprika Tomato Sauce {Golumpki}

Jump to Recipe

Stuffed Ground Chicken Cabbage Rolls with Paprika Tomato Sauce are a delicious and healthy make-ahead family dinner with tons of flavor!

This is a great make-ahead family dish!  Stuffed Ground Chicken Cabbage Rolls with Paprika Tomato Sauce, or Golumpki are a traditional Polish and Slavic dish. This recipe uses ground chicken instead of beef to make it lighter. It infuses the chicken with tons of flavor from paprika, parmesan, tomato paste, garlic, and onion! It’s topped with a delicious and tangy tomato sauce so the kiddos just love this too! This is not only delicious and hearty, but it’s also lean and healthy!!

Growing up, my Mom made Golumpki, or Stuffed Cabbage, every so often.  My brother and I thought the name was so funny – we mispronounced it, thinking it was called gwumpky.  Golumpki is a traditional Polish dish, but was also popular in Slavic culture.  My Mom’s family having Czechoslovakian ancestry, made this dish from time to time.  It is basically meat filled cabbage rolls cooked in tomato sauce.  The traditional recipe is made with ground beef.  But I’ve created a lower calorie version with this white meat ground chicken recipe.

Benefits of Cabbage in this Chicken Cabbage Rolls Recipe

Cabbage can be and IS soooo delicious in this recipe and it is incredibly healthy with so many benefits, that I first became aware of during my studies for my Certification in Nutrition and Healthy Living. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable, like kale and broccoli.  We all know the health benefits of kale and broccoli, but cabbage is often overlooked.  Cabbage packs quite a punch in the health benefit department.  Also, you can get a large 3lb head of cabbage that can contribute to several meals for not a lot of money, so it’s a win, win, win!

In terms of the health benefits…first, cabbage has antioxidants, which help stop or delay damage to cells.  It is an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of manganese, both of which act as antioxidants. 

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

Cabbage Rolls Ingredients

• Green Cabbage – I used a head of basic white cabbage which has large leaves that can hold a lot of stuffing and roll easily. You can also you red/purple cabbage, Napa cabbage, or Savoy cabbage.
• Ground Chicken – I used 99% lean, but any fat content will work and the more fat, the more flavor. You can substitute with ground turkey, ground beef, or ground pork. I always have some raw ground chicken on hand in my freezer, as when sealed airtight, it can last for up to 6 months. Check out all of my tips for Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You can substitute with any neutral oil, such as vegetable oil, avocado oil, or even coconut oil.
• Onion, diced – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even scallions. If you don’t have fresh onion, you can also use a tablespoon of onion flakes or onion powder.
• Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best in this simple recipe, but you can buy the pre-minced garlic sold in a small jar or use dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
• Tomato Paste – Tomato paste gives that deep tomato flavor. If you don’t have it, you can skip it all together.
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper – I used coarse, but any will work.
• Egg – The egg helps to hold the chicken stuffing together. If you need to substitute, you can use another thick substance like mayonnaise, yogurt, or sour cream.
• Parmesan Cheese, grated – Grated is better than shredded in this recipe as it mixes through and helps to bind everything together.
• Paprika – You can use sweet or smoked paprika. You will probably not want to use hot paprika. But if you like spicy, you can add a bit of it. A substitute for paprika is chili powder.
• Cooked White Long Grain Rice – You can substitute with white short grain rice, brown rice or even quinoa.

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

• Tomato Sauce – You will want plain tomato sauce for this recipe. You could use an Italian seasoned version, but I recommend plain. You can substitute crushed or diced and blend them to smooth it out.
• Paprika – Paprika – You can use sweet or smoked paprika. You will probably not want to use hot paprika. But if you like spicy, you can add a bit of it. A substitute for paprika is chili powder.
• Garlic powder – Powder works great for this recipe to blend into the sauce. You can certainly use fresh garlic that’s been minced or pressed into a paste.
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper – Again, I use coarse for savory recipes, but you can use fine ground.

Easy Prep for Chicken Cabbage Rolls

It may seem like a lot, but trust me, this is an easy one to prep!  The first thing we start with is the cabbage. 

Remove the core of the cabbage, without disturbing the leaves.  Steam the entire cabbage head in a an inch or so of boiling water in a pot covered over medium heat so that the leaves are easily peeled off.

For the Filling, I cook the rice a day before and cool it in the fridge.

I also cook the chicken filling BEFORE stuffing the cabbage.  You could stuff the cabbage with raw filling, but I find that with lean ground chicken, it turns into a unappealing solid mass vs. textured browned ground meat.  I can also give the chicken a lot more flavor by browning it in a pan first.

So, preheat a large frying pan on HIGH heat and add the olive oil and then the ground chicken. Bread up the ground chicken with a spatula and then let it sit and get browned without touching. After 6-8 minutes, break up the chicken again and stir it around to cook all pieces so no pink is left. Add diced onion, minced garlic, tomato paste, water, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and scrape up any brown bits from the pan. Cook for 10 minutes on MEDIUM heat.

To a large bowl, add the cool rice and the chicken mixture. Mix to combine, which will cool the chicken. Add the egg and parmesan cheese and mix to thoroughly combine.

Assemble and Bake!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Remove about 12-14 outer leaves. The final number of rolls depends on how much meat you fill them with, but I generally get around 12 rolls.

Roll the filling in the cabbage leaves like you would roll and wrap a burrito.  The leaves are very pliable after being steamed.  Continue to fill and roll until you use all of the filling, squeezing every last golumpki stuffed cabbage into the pan!

Cover with tomato sauce and bake in oven.

Sink your fork in and enjoy the simple, but tasty flavors from the parmesan, chicken, and tomato, as well as the soft and hearty texture.  It’s a meal that the entire family will love, just as mine did growing up.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cabbage Rolls FAQs

Can I freeze these cabbage rolls?

You can freeze your fully assembled Stuffed Chicken Cabbage Rolls with the sauce on top for up to 6 months. You can bake it from frozen state or after thawing it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking it. However, if it is fully thawed through to the center, simply bake according to the instructions. If you bake it from frozen, bake it at 350 F degrees for an hour from frozen state. Test the center to see if it is warmed through in the center. If not, bake for another 10-15 and check again.

Can I use ground beef or pork instead of chicken?

You can use ground turkey, chicken, beef, or pork in these stuffed Chicken Cabbage Rolls recipe. Follow the same instructions for any of these.

Is this recipe Gluten Free?

This recipe is Gluten Free, but always check ingredient labels to ensure that there is no added gluten.