Why cabbage roll soup replaced my stuffed cabbage rolls
I made these Stuffed Cabbage Rolls one St. Patrick’s Day and fell in love with the rich tomato flavors, hearty beef, and tender cabbage. But man, was it a lot of work!
Last year, I simplified the recipe by creating this Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls recipe. Plop everything in one skillet, yup, no tedious rolling of the meat filling into delicate leaves!
But, this year I wanted something even cozier… so let me introduce you to the BEST Cabbage Roll Soup recipe! (If you’re not a big meat eater, you’ll want to check out this Cabbage Soup with Vegetables instead, it’s vegan and vegetarian!)
It’s every flavor I fell for on that St. Patrick’s Day, minus the hour I spent folding leaves.
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
- Ground beef: Avoid a fatty blend, since a lean 90/10 or 93/7 keeps a slick of grease off the top of the soup. Ground turkey, venison, or pork all work too.
- Cabbage: Go for green, since purple will turn your soup a dark maroon color. You only need a small head, and leftovers go straight into Sautéed Cabbage.
- Carrots: Slice them into thin rounds so they soften in the same time the cabbage does.
- Rice: Make sure it’s UNCOOKED, because it all cooks up in the pot together. Cauliflower rice works for a low-carb version.
- Onion: You need a finely diced onion, preferably a small sweet one. White or yellow will work, but avoid a red onion.
- Garlic: Minced fresh garlic creates a real depth of flavor in the sauce. Avoid garlic powder if you can.
- Beef broth: Beef adds the most to the soup, but vegetable or chicken broth will work if that’s what you have.
- Canned tomatoes: You need BOTH crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce here, ideally a brand without added sodium. Tomato paste won’t work.
- Brown sugar: Don’t skip it, since it balances the acid in the tomatoes and gets you that sweet-and-tangy thing cabbage rolls are known for. Honey works if that’s what’s in the pantry.
Step-by-step Instructions
Please see the recipe card below for the full instructions, ingredient amounts, and a printable recipe.
Prep the veggies.
Dice the onion into very small pieces and slice the carrots into thin rounds. Cut the cabbage into 1-inch pieces, and here’s a guide on how to shred cabbage if you want a head start.
Sauté the base.
Add oil and the onion to a large Dutch oven over medium heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Toss in the garlic and keep it moving for another 30 seconds, just until it smells good.
Pro Tip: Keep the onion moving. It’ll burn if you walk away from it, and a scorched onion flavors the whole pot.
It saves SO much time!
Since it’s super important to get the garlic pretty small for this recipe, a garlic press like this one is a lifesaver!
It’s easy to use, finely minces the garlic, and does it in a fraction of the time as chopping it up by hand.
Brown the beef.
Push the onions to the side, add another tablespoon of oil, and cook the ground beef 7 to 8 minutes. Crumble it with a potato masher as it cooks, since smaller pieces disperse through the soup best.
Pro Tip: Go lean on the beef. A fattier blend leaves a layer of grease across the top, and there’s no straining it out once the cabbage goes in.
Add everything and simmer.
Add the cabbage, carrots, broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and seasonings. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and cook 20 to 25 minutes until the rice is tender. Stir in the fresh parsley right before serving.
Pro Tip: Keep the lid on tight. You’ll lose too much liquid to steam otherwise, and that matters when there’s uncooked rice in there drinking it up.
FAQs
They’re close cousins. Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls are a thicker skillet dish you eat with a fork, and this soup takes the same beef, cabbage, rice, and tomato and loosens it up with broth so you eat it with a spoon.
Yes. Swap in cauliflower rice for a low-carb bowl, or leave it out entirely and expect a thinner, more brothy soup. If you want more body without the rice, here’s how to thicken soup.
Neither, exactly, though they lean more Polish. Stuffed cabbage rolls appear throughout Central and Eastern Europe as gołąbki, holishkes, and sarma, and their exact origin is unclear. So why St. Patrick’s Day? Beef and cabbage are also staples of Irish cooking—which is exactly the mix-up I made the first time I rolled them! Either way, you get sweet-and-tangy tomato, tender beef, and perfectly softened cabbage.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Keep in mind the cabbage will soften and the rice will absorb more liquid after freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in a saucepan with a splash of broth as needed.
Oops! What did I do wrong?
My cabbage turned limp and smells strong. It simmered too long, and overcooked cabbage goes limp with a strong smell. It’s still fine to eat, but start checking the pot at 20 minutes next time.
My soup came out too thick. The rice keeps drinking up liquid, especially as it sits. Stir in another splash of broth until it looks the way you want.
My rice is still hard. Cooking time shifts with the size of your pot and how full it is. Put the lid back on and give it another 5 minutes before you check again.
It tastes flat. Nine times out of ten it needs salt, or it needs the sweetener. The brown sugar is what balances the acid in all those tomatoes, so don’t leave it out.
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Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil avocado or olive, divided
- 1 small sweet onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 pound ground beef venison or turkey, 90/10 or 93/7
- 4-5 cups cabbage cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
- 4 cups beef broth regular sodium
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes canned
- 8 ounces tomato sauce canned
- ½ cup rice uncooked, white or brown*
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar white or coconut sugar
- 1 ¾ teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil and onion to a large Dutch oven over medium heat and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic and continue sauteing for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.1 small sweet onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Push the onions to the side and add another tablespoon of oil along with the ground meat. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until cooked through. Crumble the meat with a potato masher.1 pound ground beef
- Add the cabbage, carrots, broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, Worcestershire, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and let cook for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is tender.4-5 cups cabbage, 2 large carrots, 4 cups beef broth, 15 ounces crushed tomatoes, 8 ounces tomato sauce, ½ cup rice, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, 1 ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon paprika
- Mix in the fresh parsley just before serving. Enjoy!2 tablespoons fresh parsley
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Video
Notes
- Rice: Sub in cauliflower rice if necessary.
- Sugar: Use honey if needed, but don’t skip a sweetener to balance the acid.
- Prep-Ahead: The cabbage and onions can be cut 1-2 days before you cook the dish.
- Storage: Place the leftover soup in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
- Freezing: You can freeze leftovers in an airtight container or in individual portions in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Allow the cabbage soup to thaw in the fridge. For best results, reheat in a saucepan over medium heat.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to serve with cabbage roll soup?
This one is basically a full dinner in a bowl, so it just needs something to mop up the tomato broth.
Bread is the move. A pan of Honey Jalapeño Cornbread is what I reach for, and Mini Cornbread Muffins are easier to hand a toddler.
If you want something green alongside, a Green Bean Salad keeps the whole meal on the stovetop and out of the oven.
And if you bought a bigger head of cabbage than you needed, Sautéed Cabbage and Fried Cabbage with Bacon will use up the rest of it.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
When it’s cold out, the Dutch oven basically lives on my stove. These are the bowls we come back to.
Cabbage Soup with Vegetables
50 mins
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
30 mins
Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
40 mins
