Satisfy your craving for something cozy, comforting, and delicious with cabbage roll soup.
Cabbage, beef, pork and rice are simmered in a flavorful tomato broth for the ultimate bowl of comfort food.
This easy cabbage roll soup recipe is reminiscent of my grandmother’s cabbage rolls and is the perfect meal for chilly days or cozy nights.
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Growing up with a Polish grandmother, dishes like cabbage rolls, rouladen, and haluski (cabbage and noodles) were staples in our family! Good easy simple comfort food!
- This cabbage roll soup recipe has the same great flavors found in my grandma’s cabbage rolls made into a cozy delicious soup.
- Easy prep, no rolling required!
- This dish uses simple ingredients, most of which you likely have on hand.
- It reheats and freezes well.
This Cabbage Roll Soup recipe was adapted from my favorite cabbage rolls to create a quick and easy meal without all of the work! We just simply add it to the pot and walk away; no rolling required!
How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup
Meat – My grandmother always made cabbage rolls with a mixture of pork ground pork and ground beef, which is what I use in this recipe. You can use just one or the other or substitute ground turkey.
If you’d like, add a few slices of bacon, it adds a delicious smoky flavor.
- Brown the meat.
- Add the cabbage and cook for a few minutes. Add the uncooked rice, broth, tomatoes, and seasonings.
- Simmer until tender.
This makes a nice rich and hearty soup loaded with cabbage, meat & rice which is very thick, almost stew-like. If you’d prefer a more soupy consistency, you can add more broth.
Bread for Dipping and Dunking!
This soup pairs well with any type of bread or dinner rolls for dipping and dunking.
Leftovers
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. The rice may soak up some of the broth so add a bit of water or broth if needed.
You can freeze leftover cabbage roll soup. Place individual servings in freezer bags or in an air-tight container. Freeze bags on a baking sheet and once frozen we stack them in the freezer upright to save space!
More Cabbage Favorites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound lean ground pork or additional ground beef
- ¾ cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1 medium head cabbage chopped, core removed, about 8 cups
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 ½ cups vegetable juice such as V8
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown the onion, garlic, pork, and beef over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in the chopped cabbage and let cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, V8 or vegetable juice, uncooked rice, paprika, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and let simmer until the rice is fully cooked, approximately 25-30 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Soup
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8elicious soup loaded with fresh vegetables, potatoes and lean beef. It’s all simmered in a tomato broth for the perfect family meal!
Made this for supper tonight, sooooo good!
After the cold, wet spring we’re having, this was a great dinner! Since the name said soup, I expected it much thinner, was pleasantly surprised!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this per the recipe the first time; however, today I decided to use the pressure cooker. I cooked the meat, onions and garlic then added the cabbage as indicated in original recipe. I then put all ingredients into my pressure cooker and cooked on the Soup/Stew setting for 15 minutes. Absolutely delicious.
How much is one serving? 1 cup or more?
Thank You!
One cup is one serving.
Made this tonight. Yum! I added wine, more rice and broth and a dash of hot sauce. Yum!! Big hit!!!
This turned out wonderful !
So glad you liked it!
How’s this work in pressure cooker?any tips ? And what kind of pork cause pork and Hamburg doesn’t sound good together
I have not tried this in a pressure cooker, however it should cook fine, just faster. You can use other options for pork. Some people have had success using only hamburger. I have used ground turkey and I usually use enough to sub for both the beef and pork. Hope this helps.
Delicious. For calorie counting purposes, any idea how many cups 1 serving is? It’s kind of hard to divide soup.
Serving size is ⅛th of the recipe, approximately 1.5 cups.
Gonna make some this week
I love these receipts
Do you use savoy or green cabbage?
I used green cabbage.
I just made this recipe this evening. It was delicious, however, I like my cabbage rolls with sauerkraut. I was missing that flavor when I was tasting the soup. The family enjoyed it, however the children did not enjoy it. I will freeze some of the leftovers and see how it reheats. Thank you for sharing this recipe it was very simple and straight forward.
One ingredient is left out and that is BACON…Brown bacon, onion and garlic..
Looks good! Where did you buy that beautiful pot??
The pot in the video came from Costco and is no longer available. The brand is Chantal and it is a Cast Iron Dutch Oven. You can find similar Dutch Ovens here on Amazon.
Can you substitute vegetable broth for beef broth?
Yes, that would work just fine.
I added sauerkraut, since my family uses it when making regular cabbage rolls, and I added a can of rotel tomatoes for a little kick. I LOVE this. It’s delicious!!!
Woohoo! We are glad that you enjoyed this recipe, it’s definitely a favorite!
Can this be made in a crock pot…for the cabbage roll soup
Yes, that would work just fine.
I have made this soup MANY times and only use 23 oz of sauce. I’ve never used tomato juice or any juice.I’ve also never used flour or any thicking agent of any kind. You can use chicken broth, vegetable broth or beef, whatever you like. Also pork, chicken, beef, Turkey, ground…again, what you like. Use more broth if you want it soupier. Make it pretty much how it suits you.
Thanks Holly, we are really enjoying this one.
So glad you love it Pipi! I agree, it’s pretty forgiving and versatile depending on what’s in your fridge! :)
I make a variation of this recipe. 1 1/2 lbs of beef, 4- 5 cups beef broth, 1 jar of sauce 23 oz. (or my own sauce if I have some left over), 5-6 cups par boiled cut up cabbage. ( 1 whole med. Cabbage ), 2 onions, 2 bay leaf, and 2or 3 cloves garlic, chopped. Saute’ beef, drain fat, add chopped onions, cook till flavors meld. Add cabbage, (boiled for 6-7 minutes) 4 cups beef broth, and sauce. Add desired spices, bay leaves, stir. Add 1/2 cup rice and cook for 25 minutes. Turn off…done !! Add bit more broth or water if you want soupier. Add 1 1/2 tsp. Lemon. Enjoy !! Freezes well….
Delicious, thank you for sharing!
Can I double this and use the pressure cooker??
This makes a very large recipe so I’m not sure if it would fit in a slow cooker.
Love the recipe.