Cabbage Roll Soup
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The best Cabbage Roll Soup recipe! You get all the flavors of cabbage rolls with out all the hassle, it’s easy to make and deliciously flavorful. A tasty new recipe to add to the dinner rotation!
A Comforting Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe
This Cabbage Roll Soup is so much faster than making traditional cabbage rolls yet it tastes just as good! It’s a hassle-free, cooked in one pot recipe!
You have a quick prep of ingredients, veggies are sauteed, then everything is just simmered until the cabbage and rice are tender. And during that time all those delicious herby, beefy, tomato-y flavors meld together perfectly.
It’s a soup that is made with basic ingredients, it’s incredibly hearty, and I think you’ll agree it’s just super satisfying comfort food. It’s made up of an abundance of veggies, the rice will help fill you up, and you get a fair amount of protein from the beef so it’s an all around win!
This is so delicious that you’ll likely find yourself converting from the traditional, more labor intensive cabbage rolls to this easier soup method from here on out instead!
Cabbage Roll Soup Ingredients and Possible Substitutes
- Lean ground beef – use at least 80% lean ground beef. If you don’t want to have to drain excess fat use 92% lean. Ground turkey will work great too.
- Olive oil – needed for browning the beef.
- Yellow onion – wondering how to chop an onion? Check out how Gordon Ramsey does it here.
- Carrots – I prefer to chop them up small rather than just into round disks.
- Garlic – maybe not standard to traditional cabbage rolls but who can resist garlic?
- Cabbage – key ingredient! Just use regular green cabbage.
- Beef broth – chicken broth will work great too.
- Tomato sauce – similar to tomato passata or puree in other countries if you are looking for an alternative.
- Canned petite diced tomatoes – the standard cut are fine too, I just like that mini size.
- Brown sugar – this adds a nice background sweetness. White sugar would be fine too.
- Worcestershire sauce – this adds great depth of flavor. A little goes a long ways.
- Paprika – just use the standard sweet paprika not smoked.
- Dried oregano, thyme, bay leaves – of course if you have fresh herbs even better. General rule, use 3 times as much when going with fresh (except for the bay leaves, use the same quantity).
- White rice – brown rice won’t really work here because it takes over twice as long to cook. You could try pre-cooked brown rice, adding near the end and reduce the broth slightly.
- Fresh parsley – this adds a nice pop of fresh color and flavor.
Scroll down for full recipe and print option (in recipe box below).
How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup
Here’s a quick breakdown of the recipe steps:
- First you’ll brown the beef then transfer and reserve fat in pot.
- Saute the veggies in batches.
- Pour in broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes, seasonings and return cooked beef.
- Bring to a light boil, add rice. Cover and simmer until rice is tender.
- Stir in more broth to thin as desired, stir in lemon and parsley. So easy!
How Much Does the Recipe Yield?
The recipe makes approximately 4 quarts, or 8 2-cup servings.
How to Freeze Cabbage Roll Soup
- Let the soup cool for a while (I like to let it cool about 30 minutes).
- Transfer to airtight containers.
- Remember to leave about 3/4-inch at the top for soup to expand so the container doesn’t break.
- Transfer to freezer and freeze up to 3 months.
- Thaw overnight (or it may take up to 2 days to thaw if you froze a big batch) and reheat the following day on the stove or in the microwave.
How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup in a Crockpot
How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup in a Crockpot- First brown the beef, transfer to slow cooker.
- Saute onion, then garlic, transfer to slow cooker along with other ingredients up to and including rice.
- Cover and cook on low heat 6 – 7 hours until rice is tender.
- Stir in more broth as needed, lemon and parsley.
What to Serve with Cabbage Roll Soup
I love to serve this with buttered fresh bread of some sort. Here are a few great options:
More Delicious Cabbage Recipes to Enjoy
- Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls – again all the flavors of cabbage rolls without all the extra work!
- Cabbage Soup – a healthy vegetarian soup.
- Egg Roll in a Bowl – another simplified recipe.
- Roasted Cabbage Wedges – a simple yet delicious side dish.
Follow Cooking Classy
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large yellow onion , chopped (1 3/4 cups)
- 2 large carrots , chopped (1 1/4 cups)
- 5 cups packed chopped cabbage (16 - 19 oz)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth, then more to thin if desired
- 3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp* packed light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp dried paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme or 2 1/2 tsp chopped fresh
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 cup dry long-grain white rice
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add beef, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring and breaking up beef occasionally, until browned. Transfer beef to a plate lined with paper towels while reserving 2 Tbsp of the rendered fat in pot.
- Add onion and carrots to pot and saute 2 minutes, then add cabbage and garlic and saute 3 minutes longer.
- Pour in beef broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes, brown sugar, Worcestershire, paprika, oregano, thyme and bay leaves. Return beef to soup mixture.
- Season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a light boil, then add rice, cover pot and reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
- Stir in more beef broth to thin as desired (it will thicken as it rests and become almost like a stew), then stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve warm.
Notes
- *Recipe originally listed using 2 Tbsp brown sugar but I've the years I've found 1 Tbsp is plenty.