Cabbage Roll Soup

This cabbage roll soup makes it incredibly easy to enjoy all the flavours of cabbage rolls with minimal effort. Featuring cabbage, lean beef and rice slowly simmered in a herby tomato broth, this unstuffed cabbage soup is comfort food at its best!

If you love cabbage rolls, you're bound to fall in love with this cabbage roll soup! It's basically a hassle-free way of enjoying the same amazing flavours.

Instead of spending a lot of time making traditional cabbage rolls, you use the same ingredients to make a delicious one-pot meal that requires very little hands-on time. Think of it as deconstructed cabbage rolls!

Why you'll love this cabbage roll soup

• You only need basic ingredients to make it. This stuffed cabbage soup is warm, comforting and made with staple ingredients like ground beef or turkey, rice and cabbage.
• It's very easy to make. Once you have your cabbage and veggies roughly chopped, it's just a matter of browning the ground beef, adding veggies, tomatoes, stock and rice and then simmer for about 30 minutes. This is one of those recipes that don't require you to babysit the pot.
• Leftovers are amazing! You can make a double batch of this stuffed cabbage soup to keep in the fridge for easy lunches or even freeze to have ready for those busy nights.

What goes into unstuffed cabbage soup?

Olive oil - I like to brown the ground meat in a bit of olive oil, but you can use any other oil you want, such as sunflower or canola.

Lean ground beef - I used lean ground beef with 5% fat to make this cabbage roll soup. If you don't mind the fat and calories, you can use 20% fat beef instead. Alternatively, make the soup even skinnier and healthier by using ground turkey.

Onion and carrot - Make sure you dice your onion and carrot about the same size, so they cook evenly.

Garlic - Add as much garlic as you want here - I love lots of garlic in my soups. You can either chop the garlic finely or crush it.

Herbs - A mix of dried oregano and thyme infuses this soup with so much flavour! A tablespoon of Italian seasoning mix is a great substitute.

Chopped tomatoes - Choose the best quality chopped tomatoes you can because it really makes a difference in flavour. You can substitute canned diced tomatoes with fresh ones, but they'll have to be very ripe.

Cabbage - White cabbage is best for this soup. Remove the core and chop the cabbage roughly.

Rice - Long-grain rice is best for cabbage roll soup. You can substitute it with brown rice if you want more fibres, but you'll need to simmer the soup for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Beef stock - If you use turkey, substitute the beef stock with chicken or vegetable stock. Use a low-sodium version as needed.

How to make stuffed cabbage soup?

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and brown the beef mince over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Break up the meat with your spoon as it cooks. Season with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Add the onion and carrot and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Next, stir in the garlic, dried oregano and thyme and cook for one more minute until fragrant.

Add the chopped tomatoes and rice and stir to combine.

Next, add the cabbage, stock and bay leaves.Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Remove the bay leaves, season to taste and serve hot, topped with a dollop of sour cream or thick yoghurt, if you like.

Leftovers and storage

• Cabbage roll soup freezes well, so if you have leftovers, allow them to cool completely and then place them into freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags. It will keep well for up to 3 months in the freezer.
• Thaw the soup in the fridge overnight before serving. Reheat in on the stovetop or in the microwave until piping hot.
• You may need to add a bit of stock or water when reheating because the rice will continue to soak up the liquid.

Recipe notes and tips

• This cabbage roll soup is hearty and satisfying on its own, but it's also great served with crusty bread or even a grilled cheese sandwich.
• Add some bacon with the ground meat for a delicious smoky flavour.
• Other ideas for extra flavour include a teaspoon of paprika or a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.

If you liked this cabbage roll soup recipe, you might also like some of my other easy soup recipes:

• Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup
• Chunky White Bean and Pancetta Soup
• Coconut Curry Soup with Crispy Tofu
• Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto)

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