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.
Jessica says
This is one of my new favorite soups !!! The flavor is fantastic !! I used 2 TBSP of brown sugar instead and substituted the tomatoes sauce for a can of tomatoes paste plus 3 cups extra of beef broth. Definitely adding this to my recipe book !!!
Lori says
This is fabulous! What is the actual serving size? One cup? More? I see this recipe has 6 servings. Stupid diet I’m on. Have to account for everything. Appreciate it!
Sara says
1 1/2 cups per serving!
olivia says
Have made this a few times and am doing so again tonight – sooo good.
I always make this when am craving cabbage rolls but don’t have the patience/energy/courage to make them.
To make it a bit more cabbage-roll-y, I add a tiny bit less sugar and an equal amount of vinegar, as well as a few tablespoons of chopped dill, and then once ladled into bowls, a little blob of sour cream on top.
Thank you for the recipe:)
Samantha V. says
I don’t usually put a review on recipes but I felt I needed to on this one! The only thing I did different was I used lean ground turkey breast and cooked it in my crockpot. This recipe is absolutely wonderful and is definitely a keeper!
Mary says
Did you brown turkey meat in pan then throw it in slow cooker???
Samantha V. says
I browned it in the pan first, it was so lean there was nothing to drain. I actually prefer using the ground turkey breast and that’s funny because I’ve never been a fan of ground turkey but in this recipe it’s great.
Mary says
Should I put rice right in it or wait till last hour of crockpot??
Samantha V. says
Mary,
Because I cooked it in my crockpot I actually made the rice separately then added it at the end because I was afraid the rice would soak up all the juice.
Lola says
I love this and have already made it twice. I keep it low carb by eliminating the rice & using a brown sugar substitute (Sukrin?) & judging the liquid by eyeballing it since there’s no rice to soak it up.
The only change I make is to cook it for 35 minutes- I’ve read in Italian recipes it’s necessary to get rid of the tanginess of tomatoes. Utterly gorgeous and infinitely easier than actual rolls.
Many thanks!
Laurie says
Yummy! My family loved the soup. I tweaked it by sautéing the onion and garlic, using 2 pounds of lean, 93/7, ground beef and omitting the sugar. I also added one can of diced tomatoes.
Felice says
👏! Made it for finicky husband and he likes it!! Suggested more seasoning as in cuminos, cracked red pepper and I put out sour cream is a garnish. Finishing up dinner now. Can it be frozen to store the leftovers? Thanks!
Sara says
Yes you can freeze it!
Angela Giovanni says
What does adding the brown sugar do? It’s not going to be sweet right? I really want to make this but my husband isn’t a fan of sweet and savory but I’m thinking it’s balances out?
Sara says
Traditional cabbage rolls have an element of sweetness to them, which is what the brown sugar tries to replicate. You can omit it if you prefer!
Nicole says
Also dont have the sweet tooth so l never add sugar instead l use periperi for mine
Tiffany says
I made this in my Instapot it was an easy and delicious recipe…
Paulette says
Fantastic due to not being able to get to the grocery store because of quarantine, I substituted the beef broth to my home depot chicken broth and also 2 dry pigskin of beef broth and 1cup of water.
Also purreed tomatoes instead of sauce!
Excellent this recipe is very versatile and yummy!
Thank you
PT,
Lori says
how long did you cook it in the Instant Pot?
Lori says
This was amazing! I love Golabki (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls) and it’s very similar in taste. Love cabbage! The only thing I did differently was cook all the ingredients, except the rice, for an hour. Then I added the rice for 25 minutes and holy cow! I like the texture of the cabbage more tender in soups. I made this before but only cooked the cabbage and everything for only 25 minutes. The cabbage was a little crunchier. Just my take on this amazing tasting soup! Making this again! YUM!
Nana says
Its really beautiful thank you so much im really grateful to come across this today and I shall definitely give it a try😋
Del Norris says
Please tell me what cans of tomato sauce are? I think this is an American recipe, and I am in Australia. I think it seem like a really good soup, but I need to know what the sauce is. P.S. All your recipes are great………….Del
Sara says
It’s tomato puree flavored with salt and garlic!
Cat says
Wonder what I could sub for rice? I’m not eating rice right now. Cauliflower rice?
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Amelia says
When I want a low-carb option I just make it without rice and I don’t substitute anything in its place! My husband and I both love this recipe, and he’s a picky eater (but Polish, so he likes cabbage rolls)!
SuZee says
Wow. Both hubby & I loved this soup. It tastes so good. It is surprising how easily & quickly it is to put together – it tastes like something simmered all day. We used about 1/2 the brown sugar.
Gerri S says
If using slow-cooker/crockpot, how much time would you recommend?
Sara says
3-4 hours on low, or 2 hours on high!
Lauren says
Delicious, easy and filling! I added kidney beans for a little pizazz!
joshlyn says
I made this today, it is amazing. I did cook it a little longer than 25 minutes, because the cabbage was a little crunchy. Served it with cornbread on the side.
Lora says
This is good. My only suggestion is to reduce the brown sugar. I’d go with 1.5 tablespoons.
Meryl H says
Absolutely delicious! I’m not even a cabbage fan normally but I followed the recipe exactly and we were blown away by how wonderful it tastes! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Nancy says
I would and did cook rice separately. I added a scoop of cooked rice to bowl and topped with soup mixture.
Laura says
We loved this! Super simple and sooo good. The only thing I changed is instead of adding rice I added 1 cup of uncooked egg noodles, which soaked up quite a bit of liquid. My significant other is apparently the only person on the planet who does not like the consistency of soup. But no matter the thickness the flavor is great. Great meal for cold night or as comfort food. I will be making this again tonight!