Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Meatballs (Unstuffed)

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Unstuffed Sweet and Sour Cabbage is a traditional Eastern Jewish dish. Hearty and perfect for a cold winter’s day, I hope you enjoy this classic.

If you’ve never had sweet and sour cabbage with meatballs, I suggest it’s time you try it! This classic Eastern European dish is perfect for a cold winter day. Though I turned up my nose at the soup part when I was a wee one, I did manage to devour the meatballs. Isn’t that the best part?

As a child we never ate stuffed peppers and we never had stuffed cabbage. In fact, I don’t remember my mother stuffing anything! The funny thing about this recipe is that is that the real title is unstuffed cabbage.  I imagine that is versus stuffed cabbage.

The meatballs are what I believe would be the stuffed  inside the cabbage leaves.  Except just as a ground beef mixture. Well, I don’t know about you, but I think this is a whole lot easier than stuffing cabbage leaves  and certainly a lot faster!

Sweet and Sour cabbage with meatballs is what many consider a soup. It thickens quite fast, the softer the cabbage becomes. So the more it simmers, the thicker it gets. If you want it soupier, just add more liquid.

I have a hard time thinking of this as unstuffed cabbage, when it is really just cabbage and meatballs. Let’s call this what it is! There are so many versions of stuffed cabbage or cabbage soup but this sweet and sour version is simple, filling and tasty.

But what makes it sweet and sour cabbage and why is that so good?

Honey and lemon juice make this unstuffed cabbage recipe mouthwatering good. Both can be adjusted if you prefer it more sweet or more sour. I have also seen vinegar used in place of lemon juice. 

A few other tips when making this sweet and sour cabbage: I have made the meatballs with turkey but have not tried ground chicken. Ground beef holds together the best.

Use good tomatoes. They are a key component of this recipe. Spend a little more than the store brand!

And whatever paprika you choose to use, please make sure it is fresh. Smell it. It should smell good. If you can’t smell anything, it isn’t fresh!

Also, don’t forget lots of fresh ground pepper when you serve this.

Sweet and sour cabbage with meatballs popped into my head as something to bring to a friend of mine’s mother. She was out of town and I felt like her mom could use some company.

Being me, meant that I couldn’t go empty handed, so I brought this cabbage soup and a giant loaf of artisan bread from one of my favorite bread bakeries. Holishkes or stuffed cabbage is a popular Polish dish, and my friend’s mom is Polish.

Manservant was out of town and I knew this dish wasn’t something he would relish, so it was my time to make it and enjoy it without him picking around the cabbage for the meatballs!

This recipe makes a lot, but sweet and sour cabbage can be frozen.  Just don’t forget it is in there!

(This is an updated post from 2015.)

A few things I use to make this soup: Hungarian paprika is always good. And if you want to make it a bit spicier feel free to add hot paprika. A great pot is always good and you know I prefer Le Creuset.

However this one is really good, too!

 

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More Cabbage Recipes:

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Egg Foo Yung)
Kohlrabi Cabbage Fennel Salad
Vietnamese Style Cole Slaw
My Mom’s Secret Cole Slaw

Jewish Recipes