A healthy, filling, and delicious casserole the whole family will love.
I’m guessing most of us have certain foods that remind us of childhood. Certain flavors that deeply connect us to intimate moments from our past. If you are a Finn like me, Cabbage Casserole (called kaalilaatikko in Finnish) is probably one of those foods.
Cabbage casserole is to Finns like spaghetti is to Italians, tamales to Mexicans, and curry is to Eastern Indians. It’s almost as old as Finland itself and is an essential part of the Finnish culinary tradition. I would bet that one forkful of cabbage casserole for most Finns evokes memories of family meals and the scent of baked cabbage, probably made by grandma.
I’m going to have to admit here that this was NOT the recipe I was planning on posting this week. You may have noticed that my last couple of posts have been uber healthy but not exceptionally beautiful recipes. I’ve been focusing on my health and starting the year off with some major liver loving (cabbage is awesome for the liver!) Detox cabbage soup has been a staple for me this January. The food photographer in my wanted to make some amazingly colorful, eye-catching dish.
But life isn’t always colorful and perfect. I’ve learned to just be real and to blog about what’s happening in my life. And this Finnish Cabbage Casserole is what’s happening. Easy real food that’s healing to my body. I’ve eaten more cabbage this month then I’ve eaten in years. I actually really love it.
I’ve made the recipe as authentic as possible, just like I remember my mother and my grandmother making it. It’s basically just cabbage, beef, and rice. It’s all baked together in a good quality broth until crispy and golden on top. It’s savory, hearty, and so comforting. (I don’t usually eat a ton of grains, but I’ve noticed that a bit of white rice has been nice while I’m healing. #teamwhiterice)
Finnish Cabbage Casserole Cooking Tips:
- chop the cabbage instead of shredding it. Many recipes call for shredded cabbage. The texture is much nicer if you chop it instead.
- saute cabbage in covered pot. Many recipe call for boiling the cabbage in water. I find the flavor much nicer if you cook it in a bit of fat instead.
- cook rice beforehand. Some recipes call for uncooked rice to be added. I find that uncooked rice tends to not soften enough for my taste.
- use a cast iron skillet. I’m a big fan of cooking in cast iron. The casserole will cook a bit faster and will stay warm on the dinner table. ( Any regular baking dish will do though. You can use a 9×9 square, 9×11 rectangle or a large oval baking dish.)
- use a good quality broth. Traditionally, this recipe calls for beef broth. I usually use chicken broth because that’s what I have on hand. Homemade veggie broth works as well.
- beef is traditionally used in this recipe, but you can use ground turkey or bison if that’s what you like.
- this recipe is kid-friendly. Unless you are my Little One who HATES onions. I will often make this recipe without the onion and use garlic-flavored ghee instead to cook with. It’s still uh-may-zing.
- the maple syrup is TOTALLY optional, but is part of the authentic taste. Traditionally, the recipe calls for 3 tbsp of golden syrup, which is a bit much for me. But a tiny bit of sweet really does bring out the flavor of this dish.
This recipe may not be the most stunning recipe to look at, but it’s one of those dishes that you’ll want to make again and again. Anyone I’ve ever made it for has really enjoyed it. And it’s so easy to throw together. Makes great leftovers.
Hope you love it as much as I do! Here’s to evoking good memories with food.
xo,
Katja
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Finnish Cabbage Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white rice (like this OR like this)
- 3 tbsp butter, ghee, or coconut oil – divided
- 1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey or ground bison)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- one cabbage (about 2 pounds), sliced and chopped
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (like this)
- pepper, to taste
- 1 and 3/4 cup good quality broth (beef, chicken, or veggie)
Instructions
- Cook rice as you usually would. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400’F. Grease a 12 inch cast iron skillet and set aside. (*see note)
- Melt 1 tablespoon fat of choice in a skillet and add beef, onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook until meat is completely browned.
- In another large pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoon of fat over medium heat. Add chopped cabbage and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook covered until soft, stirring occasionally – about 8-10 minutes. Turn down heat if cabbage is sticking to pot or add a tablespoon of water.
- Once cabbage is done, turn off heat and add cooked rice, meat/onion mixture, optional maple syrup, and pepper to taste. Mix to combine. Scrape into prepared skillet or baking dish. Pour broth over the casserole.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown on top. (Casserole will cook faster in a cast iron skillet. Longer cook time is for regular baking dish.) Cover with foil if top is getting overly brown.
Notes
- I’m a big fan of cooking in cast iron. The casserole will cook a bit faster in cast iron and will stay warm on the dinner table. Any regular baking dish will do though. You can use a 9×9 square, 9×11 rectangle or a large oval baking dish.
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Katja, the casserole looks delicious and I am looking forward to trying it. I have a question…since the rice is already cooked, 1 3/4 cups of broth seems like a lot. Is that amount correct?
Thank you for sharing a traditional Finnish recipe!
Yes. The broth cooks away as it cooks for almost an hour in a hot oven. I have found that it’s the perfect amount of broth. Hope you love it.
Hi Katja! I made this for dinner last night and it was very tasty! I may double the rice next time just for my own taste. Have you tried freezing this? If so, could you please give me some guidelines for how to best do so (e.g. whether to bake first or not). Thanks!
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Hi, Rebecca! Yay! So glad you liked it. My family likes a bit of extra rice in it too. It’s a super versatile recipe. And yes, I do freeze it. I bake it first then freeze it in individual portions for lunches later. You can definitely freeze the whole thing as well. 🙂
What is your thought on not using rice but cauliflower instead, and sugarfree maple syrup or maple flavoring instead of the real syrup?
You could totally use cauliflower rice. I wouldn’t cook it first. Just add it to the cabbage and beef. You can just leave the maple syrup out. I’ve never used sugar free maple syrup or maple flavoring so hard to say how they will taste. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
I loved this,and so did the family…I can’t believe you had any left to freeze, We Finnished it!
Thank you Katja, and your ancestors. Way yum….Have you ever tried it with brown rice?
I did add mushrooms and garlic, my jewish ancestors, I guess.
Hi, Erica! I usually make a double batch and freeze the other batch in smaller portions for lunch later in the week. Yay! So glad you guys liked it. I have not tried it with brown rice. I’m sure it will be fine. I prefer the light texture of white. I love that you added a Jewish touch to my Finnish dish! xo
Made this several times exactly per the recipe and it’s been welcome by hubby and kids. Fairly fast prep, easy, budget friendly, nutritious, and satisfying. Thank you, Katja!
★★★★★
Yay! I am so happy to hear that your family enjoys it. 🙂
Cooking this for the first time
Possibly had it as a child. Is that rice 1/2 cup before it is cooked or after? Didn’t look like much so I put in 1 cup cooked.
It’s 1/2 cup uncooked. But you can add as much or little as you like. I often add a bit more to bulk up the recipe. 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. I have been trying to find this as I loved it when my aiti made it. I just ate 2 bowl fulls, plus added some raisins like my aiti did, lol. I cook and bake a lot of Finnish food and this was my last to find. I never measure anything either, still old fashion. I am a true Finn , born there, still speak Finnish and have my sauna.
Tuula Rautiainen
MMMMMMM! Raisins sound so good. My family never added them. I have to try it. My mummi made the best kaalilaatikko. I was born there too. Still speak it with my parents. Oh, I wish I had a sauna. 🙂
Loved this. The simplicity of the ingredients made me question whether this dish would be bland. But it wasn’t at all! This dish was delicious and I am making it again tonight for the second time. Healthy, easy to prepare, flavorful and filling. Don’t be afraid to add the maple either! Thanks for sharing
★★★★★
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it. 🙂
My husband’s father was finnish and I love trying new recipes. What could go wrong…nothing with this recipe, loved it!
Yay! I haven’t found one person who doesn’t like this simple recipe. 🙂
I can see why it’s comfort food -tasted great!
★★★★★
Yay! So glad you liked it. Yes, total comfort food for me. 🙂
I made the recipe tonight. I did not have the Maple Syrup, so that was skipped. I see that you and a couple other people liked more rice, so I used one cup of rice. Other than that, I followed the recipe and used a cast iron pan. It was easy to make and came out great.
My wife proclaimed that this was her new favorite meal!
Thank you for the great recipe
★★★★★
I am so glad to hear that. Yay! 🙂
Yum! Even better the next day. Has me thinking of possible variations – season ground pork as you would for sausage, use gluten-free sourdough rice bread cut in chunks instead of rice, add part broth and part apple juice for moisture, cabbage of course, maybe a few chili flakes. I’ve also made your crispy chicken thighs a lot. Thank you for this blog!
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All of that sounds delish! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This was such a delicious healthy recipe, using rather durable ingredients: grocery shopping is limited with the coronavirus! I’m lazy so tried to make it a one-pot dish by cooking everything in my dutch oven (browned meat and onions first, put aside in tupperware for leftovers, then sauteed cabbage before combining and popping in the oven). Thanks so much!
Yes, this is a perfect quarantine meal. I love recipes with just a few simple ingredients. Glad you liked it. Stay healthy! 🙂
My mom used make this often . We grew our own cabbage Ang always.haf.plenty. She used venison for the meat. Used to pig out
YUM! You are lucky!
I haven’t tried this yet. I have made a similar dish with bacon, potatoes and cabbage. We love that. It doesn’t call for any broth.
Oh, that combo sounds delish! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it came out perfectly and is going to become a regular meal for me. I love all things Finnish and hope to visit again soon.
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Such a simple and easy recipe and surprisingly so delicious. I was looking for something to do with a head of cabbage and this was perfect. I used ground beef and basmati rice (because that is what I had). If I did this again, I might use ground turkey and brown rice.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed it. I love simple recipes like this.
Almost as good as the recipe my Finnish “mother”taught me 60 years ago when I was an exchange student in Helsinki.
She browned the onions in the beef fat before addicting the cabbage, As it cooked down (on the stovetop) she added a teaspoon full of all spice along with salt and pepper. She always served it with lingonberry sauce on the side.
★★★★
YUM… I love lingonberry sauce. 🙂
Can you use a Dutch oven for this recipe?
Yes. I would leave the lid off.
Dear Katja,
This has become an all-time family favorite, and I can’t even tell you how many times we have made this casserole. We always think there will be leftovers, but somehow, we always end up empty. The only alternation we make is to add dried forest mushrooms and lots of parsley to give it the earthy taste I remember from childhood. Thanks a million for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. I’ve never added dried mushrooms. I need to try that. YUM! 🙂
This dish was a brilliant way to repurpose leftover holiday turkey! Rather than ground meat, I simply chopped up some of our leftover roasted turkey and used the delicious broth from the roasting. It was delicious and quite different than our usual turkey leftover dishes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Oh, what a fabulous idea! Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂
I was craving kaalilaatikko like an old Finnish friend used to make. This recepie hit the spot for sure! I made it vegetarian with a ground pea protein and it was delicious! I didnt have time to make lingon berry sauce so that is my task for tomorrow evening 🙂
I also used purple cabage becasue that’s all I could find.
Thanks for the receipe. 🙂
★★★★★
I love this recipe with purple cabbage. And I love lingon berry sauce.
Katja, I finally made the casserole tonight and it was delicious! The top was brown and caramelized…so good!
Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it. 🙂
My husbands fathers family is from Finland, so I made this….oh my goodness. It is beyond delicious!!!! I made homemade cranberry sauce to go with it, since, we don’t have lingonberries, here in Maine. Thank you so very much, for this recipe!, hope you don’t mind me sharing it with everyone I know!!!
Yay! I love it! Great idea to use cranberry instead of lingonberry. I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂
I made this last night and it tasted delightful, surprisingly nice! Thank you for recipe.
Love this recipe. I used what I had in the freezer, which was hot ground sausage, and also frozen Spanish riced cauliflower. I also added fresh garlic. This pared very well together and so glad it is versatile enough to use different meat, etc. Thank you for sharing!
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We made this last night and it was delicious! I’m a vegetarian, so I used beyond beef, I added more rice and mushrooms, but otherwise followed the recipe. I’ll definitely be making this often!
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