Traditional Holishkes Recipe: Sweet-and-Sour Stuffed Cabbage

Prep: ~1 hour | Cooking: 2–2½ hours | Serves: 6–8 | Makes: approximately 16–18 rolls | Difficulty: Intermediate

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Quick Overview

1. Soften a head of cabbage by freezing and thawing it, or by boiling it and peeling off the leaves
2. Cook the rice until about half done and mix it with ground beef, grated onion, an egg, salt and pepper
3. Roll about ⅓ cup of filling in each leaf
4. Whisk a sweet-and-sour sauce of crushed tomatoes, brown sugar and lemon juice, with raisins if you like
5. Pack the rolls into a heavy pot, cover them with the sauce and cook gently for 2 to 2½ hours
6. Rest for 15 minutes, then taste the sauce and adjust the sweet and the sour

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What Holishkes Are

Holishkes are Ashkenazi stuffed cabbage rolls: cabbage leaves wrapped around ground beef and rice and cooked in a tomato sauce, usually sweet and sour.¹ The name comes from the Slavic word for dove, since a rolled leaf is thought to resemble a dove’s breast. In Romania, Bessarabia and southern Ukraine the dish was called prakes instead, from the Turkish yaprak, “leaf.”²

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History and Cultural Roots

A food historian quoted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency traced the dish along two routes: Jews in Poland and the lands to its east learned it from the Tatars, and Jews in Hungary and the Balkans from their Turkish neighbors under Ottoman rule.¹ Sephardic Jews ate yaprakes, grape leaves stuffed with rice and usually meat, and as the dish moved north, cabbage took the place of the grape leaves.⁴ In the Middle East and Romania, rice was added to make the meat go further. After Jews emigrated to America, the dish took on variations such as a tomato stew or a sweet-and-sour sauce.¹

On the Holiday Table

Stuffed cabbage is tied to Sukkot, the fall harvest festival. Cabbage was cheap and in season, and some believe that stuffing a food stands for the time of harvest.¹ The same historian also tied the dish to Simchat Torah, which follows Sukkot: one stuffed cabbage on a plate looks like a rolled Torah scroll, and two side by side like a scroll rolled halfway.¹ A different explanation is a pun. On Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, the prayers reach kol mevaser, mevaser v’omer. Kol sounds like the German kohl, cabbage, and vaser is Yiddish for water, which gave rise to the custom of eating cabbage cooked in water, made more festive with a sweet-and-sour sauce.³

Stuffed cabbage also appears on the Shabbat table: the Forward calls it “the same stuffed cabbage of our childhood Shabbat dinners.”¹¹

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Traditional Holishkes Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from a comparison of published recipes; the sources are listed at the end of this article. Figures that are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s own estimates rather than taken from a published source are marked as such.

Published recipes use ¼ to ¾ cup of uncooked rice per pound (450g) of beef,^5,7,8,9 sweeten the sauce with about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or honey per pound of beef or more,^5,6,9 and add from 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup of lemon juice per pound.^5,6,9 The rolls simmer for 2 to 3 hours, or bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 1½ to 2 hours.^5,6,7,8,10 The amounts below sit inside those ranges. The number of rolls and servings, the water and the 15-minute rest are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

Ingredients

The cabbage

• 1 large head of white cabbage (approximately 1.8kg / 4 lb)

The filling

• 700g (1.5 lb) ground beef
• 150g (¾ cup) long-grain rice, partially cooked (see method)
• 1 large onion, grated or finely diced (about 150g)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

The sauce

• 800g (28 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
• 400ml (1⅔ cups) water
• 1 medium onion, sliced (about 150g)
• 60g (¼ cup, packed) brown sugar, or more to taste
• 60ml (¼ cup) fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
• 50g (⅓ cup) raisins (optional)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf

Method

Step 1: Soften the cabbage

Freeze the whole head a day ahead and thaw it completely at room temperature, and the leaves come away soft with no boiling.^5,6,8 Or core the head and lower it into a large pot of boiling water, peeling off the outer leaves as they soften, in rounds of about 10 minutes.⁷ Trim the thick center rib from each leaf so it rolls without cracking.

Step 2: Partly cook the rice

Rinse the rice, boil it in salted water for about 15 minutes, until roughly half done, and drain.⁷

Step 3: Mix the filling

Combine the beef, drained rice, grated onion, egg, salt and pepper and mix by hand until evenly distributed. Fry a small spoonful to check the seasoning before rolling.

Step 4: Roll the cabbage

Lay a leaf flat, stem end toward you, and put about ⅓ cup (80ml) of filling on the lower third.⁶ Fold in the sides, then roll up snugly. Patch any tears with a scrap of spare leaf.

Step 5: Layer and cook

Line a heavy pot with the sliced onion and any torn leaves, then pack in the rolls seam side down in tight layers.^6,7 Whisk together the tomatoes, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, raisins (if using) and salt, pour over the rolls and add the bay leaf. They should be just covered. On the stovetop, bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a slow simmer, cover and cook for 2 to 2½ hours; a vigorous boil can break the leaves apart.⁶ In the oven, bake covered at 180°C (350°F) for 1½ hours, then uncovered for 30 minutes, adding a little water if the dish looks dry.⁵

Step 6: Rest and taste

Rest the pot, covered, for 15 minutes.⁷ Taste the sauce and add lemon juice or sugar until the sweet and the sour balance.⁵

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Kitchen Tips

The sweet-and-sour balance is yours to set. Published recipes differ widely in how much sugar and lemon they use,^5,6,9 so taste the sauce at the end and adjust; one recipe holds back a second lemon for exactly that.⁵

Pack the rolls tightly, seam side down, so they hold each other in place, and keep the heat low.⁶ Holishkes taste even better the next day,⁵ so they are worth making ahead.

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A Lighter Version

Our Healthy Holishkes recipe keeps the same method but uses 93% lean beef, brown rice, less sugar and salt, and no-salt-added tomatoes.

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Nutritional Information

Per serving (one of 6–8, about 2–3 rolls with sauce):

• Calories: approximately 410–550 kcal
• Protein: ~20–27g
• Total fat: ~19–25g, of which saturated 7–9g
• Carbohydrates: ~42–56g
• Fiber: ~6–8g
• Sodium: ~720–960mg

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central).¹² How much of the cabbage is eaten is Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate, and the figures also vary with the fat in the beef and the brand of canned tomatoes.

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Storage and Reheating

Cooked holishkes keep in the refrigerator for 4–5 days and in the freezer for 2–3 months.⁶ Store them in a sealed container with the sauce so the rolls do not dry out. Thaw frozen rolls overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat gently, covered, in a pot on the stove or in a 160°C (325°F) oven until hot through, with a splash of water if the sauce has thickened; the reheating details are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between holishkes and prakas?
None in the finished dish. Both are stuffed cabbage; holishkes comes from the Slavic word for dove, and prakes from the Turkish yaprak, “leaf.” Families from Romania, Bessarabia and southern Ukraine used prakes, so the name tends to follow where a family came from.²

What keeps the rolls from falling apart?
A soft, trimmed leaf, about ⅓ cup of filling per roll, tight packing seam side down, and a slow simmer; a vigorous boil can break the leaves apart.⁶

Is stuffed cabbage a Sukkot food or a Simchat Torah food?
Both explanations are given. A food historian links it to the Sukkot harvest and to Simchat Torah, since a stuffed cabbage looks like a rolled Torah scroll,¹ while the Forward ties it to Hoshana Rabbah through the kol mevaser and kohl mit vaser pun.³

Can holishkes be made ahead?
The filling can be mixed and refrigerated for a few hours or overnight.⁶ The finished dish tastes even better the next day, so many cooks make it a day ahead and reheat it.⁵

Can holishkes be made without meat?
Yes. One published vegetarian version fills the leaves with sautéed mushrooms, toasted sunflower seeds, celery, carrot, onion, rice and egg, in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce.³ Rice went into beef fillings in the first place to make the meat go further.¹

Do I have to include raisins?
No. Some published recipes put raisins in the sauce and others leave them out.^5,6,9,10 Leave them out for a plainer sweet-and-sour sauce.

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Further Reading & Sources

The recipe is a compilation based on the published recipes listed here; these links are provided for readers who want to explore further.

1. Chavie Lieber, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Jews, Stuffed Cabbage and Simchat Torah (7 October 2012)
2. Philologos, The Forward, Philadelphia Prakas (24 July 2008)
3. Rukhl Schaechter and Eve Jochnowitz, The Forward, VIDEO: Delicious sweet and sour stuffed cabbage for Sukkot (13 October 2022)
4. Lauren G. Calin, Foodish, ANU Museum of the Jewish People, What’s Yours is Mine: The Shared Roots of Jewish Cuisine (7 December 2025)
5. Joan Nathan, Tablet, Joan Nathan’s Chosen Stuffed Cabbage (2 April 2021)
6. Tori Avey, toriavey.com, Stuffed Cabbage Leaves (Holishkes) (8 July 2025)
7. Leah Koenig, TASTE, Holishkes: Ashkenazi Stuffed Cabbage (no date on the page)
8. Miriam Szokovski, Chabad.org, Stuffed Cabbage (no date on the page)
9. Chabad.org Kosher Cooking (no author named), Sweet-and-Sour Stuffed Cabbage (no date on the page)
10. Naomi Ross, Jamie Geller, Traditional Stuffed Cabbage (23 September 2020)
11. Naomi Sugar, The Forward, Shabbat Meals: Sweet and Sour Stuffed Cabbage (9 November 2011)
12. U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central (SR Legacy)

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Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Heritage Healthy Kitchen makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content on this site. Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients, brands, and measurements used. This content is not intended as dietary, medical, or professional nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any dietary needs or health conditions. Heritage Healthy Kitchen is not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the use of recipes or information published on this site.

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