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Cabbage Roll Soup
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Cabbage roll soup is the perfect way to enjoy cabbage rolls without all the work. An easy weeknight dinner option, this unstuffed cabbage roll soup has all the same flavors as classic baked cabbage rolls, including cabbage, beef, and rice simmered in a tomato broth, but turns those flavors into a hearty soup.
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Nothing is cozier and easier than a bowl of cabbage roll soup made in your Dutch Oven. Lots of chopped vegetables, beef, and rice, are simmered in a flavorful tomato broth to make this soup the ultimate comfort food.
Baked cabbage rolls are a notoriously labor-intensive comfort food, requiring that you make the filling, wrap the filling in boiled cabbage leaves, layer everything in a baking dish, and finally bake your dish. This easy cabbage roll soup has all the same flavors but can be made in just a fraction of the time as the baked version.
While this soup is plenty hearty on its own you can also serve it with a side of crusty bread, homemade dinner rolls, or green salad. Cabbage roll soup is both filling and the perfect choice for an easy dinner option.
Cabbage Roll Soup Ingredients
- Lean ground beef
- Yellow onion
- Baby carrots
- Garlic paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Italian seasoning
- Cabbage
- Beef broth
- Petite diced tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Ketchup
- Bay leaf
- Long grain white rice
- Parsley
Consisting of almost everything you would find in a traditional stuffed cabbage roll recipe, cabbage roll soup is essentially an unstuffed or deconstructed version of the traditional recipe. The ingredients just aren’t rolled inside of the cabbage leaves.
Cabbage roll soup is essentially a one-pot recipe. Brown the meat, and then add in all the other ingredients and let them simmer. Rice adds a great texture to the soup, just be careful not to overcook the soup or the rice will get too soft.
The soup achieves complex flavors from the combination of the sweet green cabbage, the tangy broth, the various herbs, and the Worcestershire sauce. Simmered altogether they create a hearty stew-like soup. It's easy to make a double batch of the soup so you have enough for a crowd or to ensure leftovers.
How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup
FIRST STEP: In a Dutch Oven add the ground beef and cook over medium heat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain grease. Add beef back to the pan along with onions, carrots, and garlic paste. Cook until onions are soft, about 5-7 minutes.
SECOND STEP: Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasonings. Stir to combine.
THIRD STEP: Add cabbage to the pot and let cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add beef broth, petite diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup, 2 bay leaves, and rice to the pot. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes. Don't uncover the pot while cooking as the rice needs to cook through.
FOURTH STEP: At the 30-minute mark remove the lid and check the doneness of the rice. Cook covered for an additional 5 minutes if the rice still needs to cook and soften.
FIFTH STEP: Remove the bay leaves and discard. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve hot.
Cooking Tips
This soup comes out very thick, almost stew-like. If you prefer a thinner soup, you can add more broth to reach the desired consistency once the rice is cooked.
Make sure to use white rice and not brown rice, because brown rice takes much longer to cook.
Use at least 80% lean ground beef. If you prefer not to drain any excess grease you can use 92% lean.
Storing this Recipe
IN THE FRIDGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The soup will become thicker over time as the rice will absorb more of the liquid.
IN THE FREEZER: Soup can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight and reheat the following day.
Cabbage Roll Soup
Cabbage roll soup is the perfect weeknight dinner, easy to make and full of flavors.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion diced finely
- 1 cup baby carrots chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ head cabbage cored and chopped into 1 inch pieces (about 5-6 cups)
- 5 cups beef broth
- 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 16 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 bay leaf
- ½ cup uncooked long grain white rice
- Parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
- In a Dutch Oven add the ground beef and cook over medium heat. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain grease. Add beef back to pan along with onions, carrots, and garlic paste. Cook until onions are soft, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and Italian seasonings. Stir to combine.
- Add cabbage to pot and let cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add beef broth, petite diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup, 2 bay leaves, and rice to the pot. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Don't uncover the pot while cooking as the rice needs to cook through
- At the 30 minute mark remove the lid and check the doneness of the rice. Cook covered for an additional 5 minutes if the rice still needs to cook and soften.
- Remove the bay leaves and discard. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve hot.
Notes
PRO TIP: You can also make this into a crockpot cabbage roll soup easily. Brown the beef in a pan then move it to the crockpot and continue the process. You will need to cook for 6-7 hours for a standard crockpot to make sure the rice is tender, and you may need to add more broth during cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 1328mg | Potassium: 828mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2661IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg
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Comments
Linda says
Patricia,
To lower the sodium I would eliminate the salt and use no salt added tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth.
Sharon says
My Mom never used garlic or tomatoes only used ketchup and i loved the piggies that way.
Vicki says
Can I use brown rice instead of white rice? Or anything other than white rice?
Yessi says
Yes grain can be substitute.
Yessi Santana says
You can use low sodium ingredients for beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, no salt added ketchup, and so on. I hope this was helpful. If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Judy says
I have never used garlic, onions or carrots in my regular stuffed cabbage because my gramma never did. We all love her recipe.
This however looks terrific! Will upgrade the stars after we make it!
Thanks for this!
Judy