This cabbage roll soup has all the same flavors as classic baked cabbage rolls, but with way less work! This unstuffed cabbage soup is hearty, filling and the perfect choice for an easy dinner option.
If you love cabbage rolls, but don’t love all the work involved, this quick cooking cabbage soup is for you!
Baked cabbage rolls are one of those nostalgic dishes that my grandma used to make. While I love the flavors, I don’t love all the work involved. Between boiling the cabbage, making the filling, wrapping everything up and then the bake time, it can turn into an all day affair! This cabbage roll soup has all the same flavors as the classic dish, but with a fraction of the prep time.
How to make cabbage roll soup
To make your unstuffed cabbage soup, you’ll need to start with some ground beef. I use 90% lean beef, it’s got great flavor but doesn’t make the soup overly greased. The beef is browned along with some onion before the rest of the ingredients get added to the pot.
After your beef is ready to go, everything else goes into the pot, including rice, carrots, tomato, spices and of course, cabbage. Bring the whole thing to a simmer and in about 25 minutes dinner is done!
What you end up with is a rich and hearty soup that has complex flavors. I know in many cases simmering a soup for longer helps to develop the flavors, but in this case you don’t want to over-cook the soup or else the rice will get mushy.
There is so much going on here, between the meat, veggies and rice, that it’s really a complete meal in one pot. I do often serve this cabbage roll soup with a side of crusty bread or a green salad, just to round out the meal. Even my kids love this one, they didn’t even mind the cabbage pieces which normally they might not eat.
I often make a double batch of this soup just so we have leftovers to eat for a few days, that’s how good it is! It’s absolutely perfect for a cold night, and the quick prep time makes it ideal for a busy weeknight.
More soup recipes
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Ham Bone Soup
- Tortellini Soup with Sausage
Cabbage Roll Soup Video
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 4 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage
- 2 carrots peeled, quartered and sliced
- 4 cups beef broth
- 3 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until beef is browned, approximately 4-5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cabbage, carrots, beef broth, tomato sauce, rice, bay leaf and brown sugar to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove bay leaf and discard.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from The Wholesome Dish.
- Not a fan of ground beef? Try ground turkey instead!
- You can substitute brown rice for white rice, but that will require about 20 more minutes of cook time.
I love this soup recipe!
I have a couple of suggestions
1. Cut the ribs out of the cabbage.
2. Add the rice about 10 minutes after the cabbage, carrots…… The root vegetables need a little longer cooking time.
So glad you enjoyed it, great suggestions!
the nutrition guide doesn’t say what a serving size is–how many cups is a serving
About 1 1/2 cups!
Hi, I’m wondering why the brown sugar? And can you notice it’s in there. Also would you cook the rice prior to adding it or just throw it all in and let it cook together the whole time?
The brown sugar is there because cabbage rolls have a touch of sweetness to them. You can omit it if it bothers you, a lot of people have made it without the sugar and had great results. The rice is meant to go into the soup uncooked, but you can pre-cook it if you prefer.
This was absolutely delicious! I had a cabbage I picked up from the market, but didn’t feel like making cabbage rolls. My boyfriend was expecting to hate it and assumed it would be bland. He was wrong! We both loved it. I served it with crusty buttered bread on the side. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Sorry but trying to make this but I’m using 3 pounds of hamburger meat when using this much meat do I double everything else?
Yes you can double everything else.
This was so simple and quick to make, absolutely one of my favourite soups now, fills you right up!
Yay so happy you liked it!
Any idea how long it would need to cook in the crockpot?
I’d say low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours. You’ll want to add the rice during the last hour so that it doesn’t get mushy. Hope that helps!
Being diabetic could I replace the rice with cauliflower rice? and use brown sugar blend that Splenda makes? I would make white rice on the side for the rest of the family.
Yes that would work, you just might want to add the cauliflower rice towards the end of the cooking time so that it doesn’t get mushy!
This is is yummiest soup ever. Will definitely make this again and again.
I cooked on high in my crock-pot and added the rice and cabbage 1/2 hour prior to serving. It was perfection. I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, I’ll have to try it in the crock pot next time!
Just made this soup. Love it. I’m wondering if I can freeze some?
You can freeze it but the rice will be softer when you reheat it.
This is a really good soup if you like cabbage. I found it a little too sweet with the brown sugar so next time I make it I won’t put as much. Definitely hits the spot!!
I made this tonight…it was delicious! I threw everything but the rice in the slow cooker and set it on high for 4 hours. When I got home from work I added some orzo (my husband is allergic to rice) and 15 minutes later it was ready. Will definitely make this again! Thanks!
Love orzo’s, have to try it.
I was wondering about substituting Linguisa for the hamburger. I know it’s not traditional for a cabbage roll but I though it would really boost the flavor.
That would work, or an Italian style sausage would work too!
Hi i live in Australia and was wondering if tomato sauce is the same as passata?
We dont have tomato sauce here.
Yes it’s the same!
Made this tonight with leftover cabbage and carrots from Sunday’s St Patrick’s day dinner, it was delicious!
Am I missing something? The cabbage was omitted from the ingredient list. Will be giving it a try soon!
The ingredient list shows 4 cups of coarsely chopped cabbage, hope you enjoy!
Can this be made without the brown sugar?
Yes, simply omit it!
A recipe for 1 serving? Looks good, but I can’t imagine making one serving of soup!
Hi, the recipe card says it serves 6!
Hi there,
Have you ever tried using ground chicken or turkey in this recipe?
Thanks!
Robin
Ground turkey would also be great in this recipe!
If I remove the rice would the cooking time change? My plan would be to add cauliflower rice to the soup once it’s done. Thanks for any help!
You can cook it for the same amount of time with or without the rice!
Thank you for sharing your delicious cabbage recipe, we love cabbage! I made this today using ground Venison what a great way to use Venison. I also added a can of Kidney Beans…so hearty!