¿Se puede congelar la col rellena?

Stuffed cabbages are a bit of a faff to make. Once they’re made, there’s no denying how delicious they are. So, is it possible to batch-prepared stuffed cabbage rolls in advance?

How to Freeze Stuffed Cabbage

Freezing stuffed cabbage is a great idea – they make a simple, convenient freezer meal that can be ready quickly. Here is the best method for freezing them:

1. Separate: Separating the cabbage rolls into portions will ensure you waste as little food as possible. Cabbage rolls are typically filled with a beef and rice mixture – meat cannot be refrozen. Therefore, to ensure you don’t have leftovers, freeze only as many as you can eat in one go.
2. Pack Into Bags: Pack the cabbage rolls into freezer bags. Removing excess air between the rolls will allow them to stay away from freezer burn more effectively, so carefully stacking them is for the best.
3. Press Out Excess Air: Pressing excess air out of the bag will work to ensure that no, or very little, frost forms directly on the rolls themselves. This will ensure they are as well-frozen as possible, leading to a hearty meal that retains texture.
4. Freeze: Freeze the stuffed cabbage at the centre of the freezer. This will place it as far as possible from physical ice in the freezer, preventing frost from forming on the rolls.

3 Tips for Freezing Stuffed Cabbage

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing stuffed cabbage to have the best results:

Keep Them Dry
Cabbage can become more delicate in the freezer. To prevent this from happening as the cabbage becomes soggy, try to keep it from being too wet as it sits in the freezer – pat it down with paper towels to reduce the overall moisture on the surface. 

Freeze With Aromatics
The aroma of cabbage can tend to permeate other ingredients in the freezer. To ensure that your cabbage rolls have a good smell to them when frozen, pack a few fresh herbs into the bag – a sprig or two of rosemary will make a significant difference! 

Cuidado al desembalar
Al desembalar los rollos de col, es muy fácil romper la hoja de col que rodea a los demás ingredientes de la receta. Para evitarlo, utilice las manos o utensilios recubiertos de silicona, en lugar de utensilios de metal o madera.

How Long Can You Freeze Stuffed Cabbage?

You can freeze stuffed cabbage for around 1 month before it might get a little worse for wear.

This will generally be seen in the cabbage becoming weaker and potentially falling apart or the meaty filling becoming more challenging over time.

How Do You Defrost Stuffed Cabbage?

The best way to defrost stuffed cabbage is to cook it directly from frozen. The best way to do this is to steam the stuffed cabbage rolls on a trivet in a medium-sized pan.

Don’t break apart the rolls to space them evenly. After a few seconds, they’ll begin to separate naturally.

After they’ve separated in the pan, spread the cabbage rolls evenly, and steam them for around ten minutes or until the filling is steaming hot throughout.

Can You Refreeze Stuffed Cabbage?

No, you cannot refreeze stuffed cabbage.

Generally, stuffed cabbage is packed with meat, which cannot be refrozen, as a rule.

If you’ve altered your recipe to make a meat-free version, the cabbage rolls can be refrozen safely. However, they’ll typically lose a lot of texture on repeated freezing, quickly becoming delicate and tricky to work with.

Does Stuffed Cabbage Freeze Well?

Yes, stuffed cabbage rolls do freeze well.

The main reason for this is that most stuffed cabbage recipes insist on rolling the cabbage tightly – this tightness ensures a dense filling, which is naturally less likely to succumb to freezer burn.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing stuffed cabbage or cabbage in general, then these may help: