I’m pretty sure you’ve already tried something similar. But if not, let me introduce you Sarma (cabbage rolls) – spicy sour cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, cooked in the oven or on the stove, in Serbia traditionally spiced with home made smoked bacon or other smoked meat and aleva paprika (ground chili) – we like it hot!
Serbian Sarma Recipe
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
Sarma is a traditional Serbian dish featuring spicy sour cabbage leaves stuffed with a savory mixture of ground beef, rice, and smoked bacon, baked to perfection.
Ingredients
- 20 small sour cabbage leaves
- 1 pound (450g) minced beef
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup (50g) rice
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Ground chili (aleva paprika), to taste
- 7 tablespoons (105ml) vegetable oil
- 4 slices smoked bacon or other smoked meat, chopped
- 1 cup (240ml) beef broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Wash the cabbage leaves and carefully remove the hard stem at the bottom of each leaf without tearing them. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and fry until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the minced beef to the skillet and cook until browned, breaking it apart with a spoon, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the chopped carrot, rice, salt, pepper, and ground chili to the beef mixture. Stir well to combine and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Place a spoonful of the beef mixture onto each cabbage leaf, fold the sides over the filling, and roll up tightly.
- In a large baking dish, arrange the cabbage rolls seam side down. Scatter the chopped smoked bacon over the rolls.
- In a bowl, mix the beef broth with the tomato paste and pour over the cabbage rolls.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours, or until the cabbage is tender and the flavors have melded together.
- Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking to allow the top to brown slightly.
Notes
For a spicier version, add more ground chili to taste. Sarma can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated in the oven. Serve with a dollop of sour cream for added richness. If sour cabbage leaves are unavailable, blanch fresh cabbage leaves in salted water for 2-3 minutes until pliable.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Serbian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 25g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
Looks great! Im going to make this. Question though, do you use cooked rice or dry rice?
This is real Serbian Sarma , Best recepie so far …
Good job young lady. I like the way you laid this all out. Easy for young Serbs who forgot how to make. Hristos se Rode.
Eli Dicklich from Casper, WY
This recipe is great! My family loved this! I can’t wait to make it for company. Thank you so much!
Hello everyone,
First, I want to thank Milica for a wonderful recipe and I will definitely try to make it. This is one of many traditional Serbian dishes, but for sure one of the most authentic ones. After looking for sour cabbage for a very long time, I finally found it at a Russian grocery store. It can definitely be found at some specialty stores like Asian markets, European stores and such. It is packed in jars and the label on it will say “whole cabbage leaves”.
I hope this helped
Where can I find sour cabbage?
odlicno
Zdravo, hvala puno for this recipe. Where can I find more of your recipes in English?
:)
Just came back from working in Belgrade for a year. I’m trying to introduce my family to this cuisine but want more variety in dishes. Any more Balkan/Serbian recipes you recommend?
Anything will work, don’t worry :) Thank you very much for your comment :)
Thank you for this recipe. My grandmother used to make this when I was a young boy. I have been trying to find a good recipe for years.
Happy to hear you found this!
I grew up on it and it continues to be my favorite dish… Lovely post!
These look so good! We have lots of cabbage in Portugal so I’m always willing to try a new recipe for cabbage leaves! I love the bacon/smoked ham part of it, though I’ll probably have to substitute it for presunto instead (usually salted cured ham) :)