Easy Cabbage Roll Soup takes all the flavors you love from stuffed cabbage rolls but turns it into soup form! Full of flavor, filling, and simple, this unstuffed cabbage roll soup is sure to be a family favorite.
Click HERE to save recipe to Pinterest
I love cabbage rolls, but I have to say, making them is a lot of work. Unstuffed cabbage roll soup is the best of both worlds – you get all the delicious flavors of traditional cabbage rolls but with way less effort!
This one pot cabbage roll soup is warm and comforting, and it pairs perfectly with onion dill bread or quick and easy beer bread!
INGREDIENTS
GROUND BEEF– Regular, lean, or extra lean ground beef works in this recipe. I like to use sirloin because it is lean and has great flavor. If your beef gives off grease, make sure to drain it before proceeding to the next steps so you don’t have greasy soup.
CABBAGE – Chopped cabbage – how big or small you chop it will be your preference, but remember it will wilt when cooked.
ONION – I use yellow onion in this soup because it is mild and a bit sweet. White onion is stronger but will work well, too.
CARROTS – Diced or shredded carrots, up to you.
BEEF BROTH – Beef broth is used as the base of the soup.
TOMATO SAUCE – Canned tomato sauce gives color, flavor, and depth.
RICE – I like to use white rice, brown will work as well. It cooks right in the soup.
GARLIC – Fresh is best but I often use minced garlic packed in oil that I always have on hand.
OLIVE OIL – Olive oil is used to sautée the ground beef. It is fully cooked fully before it goes in the soup. If you’re using a fattier cut of beef, you can skip the oil.
SALT & PEPPER– because everything is better with salt and pepper!
TOOLS FOUND ON AMAZON TO HELP YOU
- Stock Pot – Stock pots are so great to have if you make soup often! This one is perfect for stovetop but it’s also oven safe.
- Meat Masher – I use this masher all the time! I love it because it breaks the meat up quickly.
- Veggie Chopper – This veggie chopper will cut your prep time in half! It’s so convenient and way quicker than chopping veggies up with a knife.
- Souper Cubes – These pre-portioned trays make it so easy to prepare this soup ahead of time and freeze it!
HOW TO MAKE CABBAGE ROLL SOUP
One of the things I love most about this recipe is that it’s so easy to make. It’s made in just one pot and takes 40 minutes from start to finish!
STEP ONE: Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat, then add the beef. Break it up into smaller pieces as it cooks until it’s fully browned and no pink remains.
STEP TWO: Add the diced onions and carrots into the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened.
STEP THREE: Next, add in the minced garlic and chopped cabbage. When the cabbage becomes tender, it’s time for step four!
STEP FOUR: Add the beef broth, tomato sauce, uncooked rice, salt, and pepper into the stock pot and mix everything together until combined.
STEP FIVE: Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat to let it simmer until the rice is fully cooked. This should take around 30 minutes.
HOW TO STORE CABBAGE ROLL SOUP
Cabbage roll soup makes great leftovers! You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for between 3-5 days. The rice will absorb some of the liquid over time, so the soup will become thicker. If you prefer it a bit thinner, just add in a little extra beef broth when you reheat it!
If you are planning to make the soup ahead of time, you can also leave out the rice and add cooked rice to the soup when serving.
CAN YOU FREEZE UNSTUFFED CABBAGE ROLL SOUP?
Absolutely you can! You can freeze the soup using a pre-portioned freezer tray, tightly sealed freezer bags, or an airtight container and it will last for around 2 months. It’s a great recipe for meal prep!
CAN I MAKE IT IN THE SLOW COOKER?
You can absolutely make this soup in the slow cooker. You’ll still need to do the first step of browning the meat on the stove, but then you can add the rest of the ingredients, except for the rice, to the slow cooker. Cook it on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. In the last 20 minutes of cooking, add in the rice so it can cook right in the slow cooker. Longer than that you risk it getting mushy.
NEED MORE SOUP RECIPES? TRY THESE:
Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Loaded Potato and Cauliflower Soup
Crockpot Split Pea Soup
Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add beef and cook until no longer pink.
- Add onion and carrots and cook until tender. About 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and green cabbage and cook until cabbage begins to soften.
- Pour in beef broth, tomato sauce, rice, salt and pepper and stir until combined.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked through.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.
I made this cabbage roll soup and it’s very good! Yummy.
Happy to hear that – thank you for reporting back!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!! I didn’t use carrots though and I added a can of diced basil, oregano, garlic tomatoes.
Ooh, I like that addition. Thanks so much for reporting back!
So,so good! Hubby loves it!
Yay 🙂