Active time: ~1 hour | Total time: ~2½–3 hours | Serves: 6 | Difficulty: Medium
Quick Overview
- Soften the cabbage in boiling water and peel off the leaves one by one
- Half-cook the rice and mix it with ground pork and fried onion
- Roll the filling in the leaves and pack the rolls tightly in a pot or baking dish
- Pour over a tomato sauce, with or without sour cream, and cook covered for 1½–2 hours
- Serve hot with sour cream
- For Christmas Eve, make the lenten holubtsi further down: buckwheat and mushrooms, no meat, no dairy
What Holubtsi Are
Holubtsi are Ukrainian cabbage rolls: leaves of fresh cabbage or sauerkraut wrapped around a filling of buckwheat or millet, rice, or meat. The Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine’s entry on traditional foods also records a mountain version, in the Hutsul region and Bukovyna, where the rolls are made of yeast dough and baked in sour cream.1
The name is linked to holub, the Ukrainian word for pigeon. A guesthouse host in Zhytomyr region, interviewed by Suspilne, tells it as a story: birds were once wrapped in cabbage leaves so they wouldn’t burn on the fire, and later cooks put a filling in the leaf instead.2 It’s best read as a folk story rather than documented history. This article gives the everyday pork-and-rice version and a separate lenten version with buckwheat and mushrooms for Sviat Vechir, Ukrainian Christmas Eve.
History and Cultural Roots
Rice is the newcomer in this dish. Older holubtsi were filled with millet, buckwheat, corn or potatoes, and rice mixed with meat came into use in the twentieth century.2 A folk-culture specialist at the Vinnytsia Regional Centre of Folk Art told Ukrinform in 2024 that millet is still the base grain there, while rice is a much “younger” filling.3
The wrapper changes with the season and the region. Besides fresh cabbage and whole leaves of sauerkraut put up for winter, cooks in Vinnytsia region roll the filling in beet greens, grape leaves and, in hard times, even horseradish leaves.3 In the village of Orlivka in southern Odesa region, holubtsi made of grape leaves with rice and pork are called sarmale, and in one Bulgarian village there the grape-leaf rolls, called hushky, are filled with rice or bulgur and herbs.4 In Teplyk and Bar communities the filling is mashed potato with fried onion, often with cracklings.3
In May 2023 Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture added the preparation of holubtsi to the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.5 That December the entry was extended to Volyn, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Luhansk and Chernivtsi regions and a community in Rivne region.6
Holubtsi on the Holiday Table
Sviat Vechir
The Christmas Eve holy supper is a meal of twelve ritual dishes with no meat and no milk. In the Hutsul order recorded in the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, cabbage rolls come fourth, after beans, fish and potato dumplings.7 A 2025 Explainer piece on the twelve dishes says holubtsi for this supper were made only lenten, without meat or lard.8 The filling was rice, millet or buckwheat, sometimes with dried mushrooms or fried onion, and the rolls came to the table warm and without sour cream, sometimes with oil and fried onion or a little mushroom broth poured over.8 In Vinnytsia region, holubtsi of sauerkraut leaves are often the ones put on the lenten Christmas Eve table.3 The lenten holubtsi below follow that pattern. The other dishes of the supper are collected on our Sviata Vecheria menu.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Once the fast is over, meat comes back. The encyclopedia’s entry on traditional foods lists cabbage rolls among the dishes served on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Epiphany, along with roasts, fried sausages, jellied meat and borsch.1 The Christmas Day dishes are collected on our Rizdvo menu, and the New Year table on our Malanka feast page.
Weddings, christenings and wakes
Holubtsi are everyday food and ritual food at once: in Vinnytsia region they are served at weddings, at memorial meals and at christenings.3 In the north of Odesa region, women making them for a wedding sit in a circle and sing folk and ritual songs while they roll, usually enough to fill up to ten pots of eight to ten liters each.4
Traditional Holubtsi 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.
The published recipes are close to each other. For a medium cabbage they use 450–500g of ground pork or a pork and beef mix and 150–200g of rice boiled only part way, with one or two onions and a carrot.9,10,11 The sauce is tomato: paste or canned tomatoes thinned with water, sometimes with sour cream stirred in, plus bay leaves and allspice.9,10,11 Cooking times run from 40–50 minutes on the stove to 1½–2 hours in the oven.11,9,10 The amounts below sit inside those ranges. The number of rolls, the filling for larger leaves and the serving size are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.
Ingredients (makes about 20 rolls, an estimate)
The cabbage
- 1 medium white cabbage, about 1.2–1.3kg (2½–3 lb)
The filling
- 500g (1.1 lb) ground pork, or a mix of pork and beef
- 150g (¾ cup) round- or medium-grain rice
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- Salt and ground black pepper
The sauce
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- 150g (⅔ cup) sour cream, or leave it out for a plain tomato sauce
- 2–3 bay leaves
- 3–4 allspice berries
- Salt
To serve
- Sour cream
Method
- Soften the cabbage. Cut out the core and lower the whole head into a large pot of boiling salted water. After 2–5 minutes, start lifting off the outer leaves with a fork as they turn soft and pliable, and keep going until you have enough.10 A young cabbage needs only a few minutes; an older, tighter one can take up to 15.9
- Trim the leaves. Let them cool enough to handle, then shave down the thick central rib with a knife so the leaf rolls without cracking. Cut very large leaves in half.10
- Half-cook the rice. Rinse the rice, cover with 300ml (1¼ cups) of water and boil about 10 minutes after it comes to the boil. Drain off any water left and let the rice cool.9,10
- Make the filling. Fry the first onion in 1 tablespoon of oil until golden. Mix it with the ground meat and rice and season with salt and pepper.9,10
- Roll. Put about 1–1¼ tablespoons of filling on each leaf for small rolls,10 a little more for a large leaf (an estimate), fold in the sides and roll up. Line the pot or baking dish with 2–3 spare leaves so nothing catches, then pack the rolls in tightly, seam side down.10,11
- Make the sauce. Fry the second onion and the carrot in 2 tablespoons of oil for 3–4 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste, water, sour cream, bay leaves and allspice, and salt to taste.10 Pour it over the rolls.
- Cook. On the stove, cover and simmer on low heat for 1½ hours.9 In the oven, cover with a lid or foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 1½–2 hours.10
- Serve. Serve hot with sour cream.9,10
Lenten Holubtsi for Sviat Vechir
Lenten recipes keep the method and change the filling and the sauce. The grain is buckwheat, rice, millet or wheat, a cup to 300g of it, cooked with onion and carrot fried in oil and with mushrooms, dried or fresh.12,13,8 The sauce is water or mushroom broth, often with a spoonful or more of tomato paste, and the rolls cook for 40–60 minutes on the stove or about 1 hour 20 minutes in the oven.8,13,12 The amounts below sit inside those ranges. The number of rolls and the serving size are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.
The cabbage
- 1 large white cabbage, about 1.5–1.7kg (3¼–3¾ lb)
The filling
- 50g (1¾ oz) dried mushrooms, porcini or mixed forest mushrooms
- 600ml (2½ cups) water, for the mushrooms
- 250g (1¼ cups) buckwheat groats
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Salt and ground black pepper
The sauce
- 500ml (2 cups) of the mushroom broth, topped up with water if needed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1–2 bay leaves
To serve
- Sunflower oil and onion fried in oil (optional)
How to make lenten holubtsi
- Cook the mushrooms. Rinse the dried mushrooms, cover with the 600ml of boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain, keeping the broth for the sauce, and chop the mushrooms.14
- Steam the buckwheat. Rinse the buckwheat, pour over about 200ml (generous ¾ cup) of boiling water, cover and leave it to steam until it is still a little firm in the middle. Drain off any water left.12
- Fry the vegetables. Fry the onions in the oil until soft, then add the carrot and the mushrooms and fry about 10 minutes more over medium heat. Mix with the buckwheat and season with salt and pepper.12
- Prepare the leaves. Soften and trim the cabbage leaves as for the pork holubtsi above; lift each leaf off as soon as it turns translucent so it doesn’t overcook.14
- Roll and pack. Put about a tablespoon of filling on each leaf, roll up and pack the rolls tightly in a pot or baking dish.12
- Cook. Stir the tomato paste into the mushroom broth and pour it over the rolls with the bay leaves.13 Cover and simmer on low heat for 45–60 minutes,13 or bake covered at 180°C (350°F) for about 1 hour 20 minutes.12
- Serve. Serve warm, without sour cream. If you like, pour over a little oil with fried onion, or a spoonful of the mushroom broth.8
Kitchen Tips
Most torn leaves come from the blanching. Lift each outer leaf off the moment it softens instead of boiling the whole head until everything is limp, and trim or flatten the thick rib before rolling, since that is where a leaf cracks.14,10 An older cabbage needs more time in the water than a young one.9
Pack the rolls close together, seam side down, so they hold each other in place while they cook, and keep a few spare leaves under them so the bottom layer doesn’t catch.10,12 The size is up to you: small or large, it doesn’t change the taste.9
Nutritional Information
Per serving, one sixth of the recipe, without sour cream at the table:
Pork and rice, with sour cream in the sauce
- Calories: approximately 435–530 kcal
- Protein: 17–21g
- Total fat: 27–33g, of which saturated 9–11g
- Carbohydrates: 32–40g
- Fiber: 4–5g
- Sodium: 435–530mg
With a plain tomato sauce, without the sour cream: approximately 390–475 kcal and 22–27g of fat, of which saturated 7–8g.
Lenten buckwheat and mushroom
- Calories: approximately 280–345 kcal
- Protein: 8–9g
- Total fat: 9–12g, of which saturated about 1g
- Carbohydrates: 47–58g
- Fiber: 9–11g
- Sodium: 390–475mg
A tablespoon of sour cream adds about 30 kcal and 3g of fat.
Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). They vary with the fat in the meat, the size of the cabbage, the amount of sauce and how much salt goes in.
Storage and Freezing
Cooked holubtsi keep in the refrigerator for 3–4 days in a covered container, and in the freezer for 3–4 months.15 Reheat them until they are hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F) in the center.15 Keeping them in their sauce stops the leaves from drying out; that is a Heritage Healthy Kitchen suggestion rather than a published figure.
Traditional Holubtsi
Ingredients
The cabbage
- 1 medium white cabbage, about 1.2–1.3kg (2½–3 lb)
The filling
- 500g (1.1 lb) ground pork, or a mix of pork and beef
- 150g (¾ cup) round- or medium-grain rice
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- Salt and ground black pepper
The sauce
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- 150g (⅔ cup) sour cream, or leave it out for a plain tomato sauce
- 2–3 bay leaves
- 3–4 allspice berries
- Salt
For serving
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Cabbage: Cut out the core, lower the head into boiling salted water and lift off the leaves with a fork as they soften (2–5 min, longer for an older cabbage). Shave down the thick ribs.
- Rice: Rinse, boil in 300ml water about 10 min, drain and cool.
- Filling: Fry the first onion in 1 tbsp oil until golden; mix with the meat and rice, salt and pepper.
- Roll: Put 1–1¼ tbsp filling on each leaf, fold in the sides and roll. Pack tightly, seam down, on a layer of spare leaves.
- Sauce: Fry the second onion and the carrot in 2 tbsp oil 3–4 min; stir in the tomato paste, water, sour cream, bay and allspice; salt. Pour over the rolls.
- Cook: Simmer covered on low heat 1½ hours, or bake covered at 180°C (350°F) 1½–2 hours. Serve with sour cream.
Lenten Holubtsi with Buckwheat and Mushrooms
Ingredients
The cabbage
- 1 large white cabbage, about 1.5–1.7kg (3¼–3¾ lb)
The filling
- 50g (1¾ oz) dried mushrooms, porcini or mixed forest mushrooms
- 600ml (2½ cups) water, for the mushrooms
- 250g (1¼ cups) buckwheat groats
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Salt and ground black pepper
The sauce
- 500ml (2 cups) of the mushroom broth, topped up with water if needed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1–2 bay leaves
For serving
- Sunflower oil and onion fried in oil (optional)
Instructions
- Mushrooms: Simmer the rinsed dried mushrooms in 600ml boiling water 10 min. Strain, keep the broth, chop the mushrooms.
- Buckwheat: Pour about 200ml boiling water over the rinsed buckwheat, cover and steam until still a little firm; drain.
- Filling: Fry the onions in the oil until soft, add the carrot and mushrooms and fry 10 min. Mix with the buckwheat, salt and pepper.
- Roll: Soften and trim the cabbage leaves, lifting each off as soon as it turns translucent. Roll about a tablespoon of filling in each and pack tightly.
- Cook: Pour over the broth mixed with the tomato paste, add the bay leaves. Simmer covered on low heat 45–60 min, or bake covered at 180°C (350°F) about 1 hr 20 min.
- Serve: Serve warm, without sour cream; a little oil with fried onion, or mushroom broth, if you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my holubtsi unroll in the pot?
Usually because the leaves cracked or the rolls had room to move. Trim the thick rib before rolling, and pack the rolls tightly, seam side down, on a layer of spare leaves.10,12
Do I have to cook the rice first?
The published recipes all do, but only part way: 5–10 minutes of boiling before it goes into the filling.11,9,10 It finishes cooking in the pot with the sauce.
Can I use sauerkraut leaves instead of fresh cabbage?
Yes. Holubtsi are made with fresh cabbage leaves or with sauerkraut,1 and in Vinnytsia region whole leaves are fermented for winter for this purpose.3
Why are the Christmas Eve holubtsi made without meat and sour cream?
The holy supper on Christmas Eve is a meal of twelve dishes with no meat and no milk.7 Holubtsi for it are filled with grain and sometimes mushrooms or fried onion, and served without sour cream.8
Stove or oven?
Either. Published recipes simmer them covered on low heat for 40 minutes to 1½ hours, or bake them covered at 180°C (350°F) for 1½–2 hours.11,9,10
Can I freeze holubtsi?
Yes, cooked. They keep 3–4 months in the freezer; reheat until hot all the way through.15
Looking for a Lighter Version?
A lighter take on the same rolls is in our companion article, Healthy Holubtsi.
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.
- S. Stechishin. Traditional foods. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Holubtsi of fresh cabbage or sauerkraut with buckwheat, millet, rice or meat; Hutsul and Bukovynian holubtsi of yeast dough; cabbage rolls on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
- Inna Yerokhina. (6 January 2021). Strava iz sotneiu nazv: istoriia holubtsiv [A dish with a hundred names: the history of holubtsi]. Suspilne Zhytomyr. Interview with a rural guesthouse host: the name and the story behind it, older fillings, rice in the twentieth century.
- Antonina Mnikh. (22 June 2024). Vinnytski holubtsi: korolivski, khrinovi i z hychky [Vinnytsia holubtsi: royal, horseradish and beet-leaf]. Ukrinform. Interview with a folk-culture specialist of the Vinnytsia Regional Centre of Folk Art: millet as the base grain and rice as the newer one, other wrappers, holubtsi at weddings, wakes and christenings, sauerkraut-leaf holubtsi on the lenten Christmas Eve table.
- Anastasiia Poia. (24 December 2023). Holubtsi vyznaly nematerialnoiu kulturnoiu spadshchynoiu Ukrainy vid Odeshchyny [Holubtsi recognised as intangible cultural heritage of Ukraine from Odesa region]. Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia. Holubtsi rolled for weddings in Kodyma district; grape-leaf sarmale and hushky in southern Odesa region.
- Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Natsionalnyi perelik elementiv nematerialnoi kulturnoi spadshchyny Ukrainy [National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine] (PDF). Entry 66, “Preparation of the Ukrainian traditional dish Holubtsi,” order No. 234 of 4 May 2023.
- Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. (20 December 2023). Order No. 719 on extending the geographic area of an element of intangible cultural heritage (PDF). Entry 66 extended to Volyn, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Luhansk and Chernivtsi regions and a community in Rivne region.
- Petro Odarchenko. Christmas. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (updated 2005). The holy supper of twelve meatless and milkless dishes; cabbage rolls in the Hutsul order.
- Bohdana Pavliuk. (17 December 2025). 12 strav na Sviatvechir: shcho i chomu maie buty na sviatkovomu stoli [Twelve dishes for Christmas Eve: what should be on the table and why]. Explainer. Lenten holubtsi at the Christmas Eve supper and how they were served; published recipe.
- Yevhen Klopotenko. (14 February 2023). Sokovyti holubtsi z rysom i voloskymy horikhamy [Juicy holubtsi with rice and walnuts]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe (pork and rice, simmered in tomato; the walnuts are left out here).
- Yevhen Klopotenko. (23 October 2025). Holubtsi v dukhovtsi u tomatno-smetankovii zalyvtsi [Oven-baked holubtsi in a tomato and sour cream sauce]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe.
- Debra Cummings. (21 January 2023, modified 6 September 2026). Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls (Holubtsi). Fine Foods Blog. Published recipe.
- Yevhen Klopotenko. (4 April 2023). Pisni holubtsi z hrechkoiu ta hrybamy [Lenten holubtsi with buckwheat and mushrooms]. klopotenko.com. Published recipe.
- Diana Sharodi. (8 December 2025). Pisni holubtsi z hrybamy na Sviatvechir [Lenten holubtsi with mushrooms for Christmas Eve]. The Page. Published recipe (wheat and mushroom filling).
- Yevhen Klopotenko. (28 December 2021). Holubtsi bez miasa z bilymy hrybamy u dukhovtsi [Meatless holubtsi with porcini in the oven]. klopotenko.com. Used for the dried mushrooms and their broth only; the recipe itself uses butter and sour cream.
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety. Refrigerator and freezer storage; reheating.
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.
Cook by Occasion
The lenten holubtsi are part of our Sviata Vecheria menu, and the pork holubtsi of our Rizdvo menu and Malanka feast.
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