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This simple cabbage roll soup recipe is a hearty and inexpensive soup that will keep you cozy all winter long! The bright tomato broth is bursting with savory flavors.
Try my Easy Egg Roll in a Bowl or Easy Chicken and Cabbage Stir Fry next if you’ve got cabbage to use up.
Why you’ll love it
Making this easy stuffed cabbage roll soup takes a lot less effort than cabbage rolls, but it has all the classic, comforting, and wholesome flavors you’re craving. We’ve got tender ribbons of cabbage, juicy ground beef, and plenty of rice in a richly seasoned tomato broth.
This has similar ingredients to Polish cabbage rolls. Cabbage is a staple in a number of European cuisines, and my Czech mom served it for us all the time in soups when I was little! It’s affordable and so delicious when cooked, much like in my Simple Sautéed Cabbage.
What you’ll need
- Ground beef – we’re using lean ground beef
- Onion and garlic – I like sweet (Vidalia) best
- Cabbage – green cabbage is what I use, but any variety is fine
- Tomato sauce – for concentrated tomato flavor
- Diced tomatoes – using fire-roasted tomatoes is a game changer for the taste. I like Muir Glen brand.
- Beef broth – the base of the soup and for more savory goodness
- Paprika – this is what adds that distinctive, signature flavor to many European dishes
- Italian seasoning – it’s a convenient blend of dried herbs that comes in one jar
- White rice – I use jasmine
Pro Tip
This soup will soak up the broth the longer you leave it, so feel free to cook the rice separately if you anticipate a lot of leftovers. That way, you can add it in as you need it. It’s tasty as a thicker soup as well, though!
How to make cabbage roll soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Brown the beef and onions in a large soup pot, then stir in the garlic, cabbage, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, broth, water, paprika, Italian seasoning, and rice. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer until rice is cooked. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Easy!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to use this Le Creuset Dutch oven for many of my soup recipes.
- Store the other half of your onion in this onion saver.
- The ladle pictured is this OXO ladle. It’s very sturdy and has fewer spills!
Substitutions and variations
- Swap the ground beef for ground turkey, ground pork, or even sausage meat.
- If you want to use brown rice, cook it first because it’ll take longer.
- Feel free to throw in other veggies from the fridge if you’ve got some that need using up.
What to serve with cabbage roll soup
- It’s a nice and filling soup, so round it out with a dinner roll or a slice of fresh bread. Try sourdough. Craving Garlic Bread? Sounds like a plan to me.
- A salad is always a good idea. Easily throw together my Creamy Balsamic Dressing (Easy, No Blender!) with spring mix and your favorite salad vegetables, or try this Easy Lemon Tahini Dressing to change it up.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftovers of this cabbage soup in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. The rice will absorb the broth over time, so add in extra broth if needed. Reheat in a saucepan slowly over a low heat.
- You can freeze it, but the rice can get a little mushy when reheating. If you’re planning on freezing the whole batch, I’d make it without the rice and then add cooked rice when thawing.
More cozy soup recipes
Will you give this stuffed cabbage roll soup a try? Please leave a star rating and review below! If you’ve made one of my recipes, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (28 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2/3 cup uncooked white rice (I used jasmine)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the ground beef and onion to a large soup pot and cook it over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned (about 8 minutes). If there's a lot of excess fat, spoon most of it out.
- Stir in the garlic, followed by the cabbage, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, broth, water, paprika, Italian seasoning, and rice.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it's just started to boil, give it a good stir, then reduce the heat and cover the pot with the lid slightly open. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Stir it occasionally to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Season soup with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- You may need to add more beef broth to leftovers as the rice tends to soak liquid up.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on November 16, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
I made this soup for dinner and it was so delicious! I added a little more cabbage and found that I had to cook it for more like 40 minutes. Loved it and will definitely make it again!
I’m glad it was a hit, Cindy! Thanks for taking the time to write me a review. 😀
This soup was delicious!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Betty! 😀
Turned out delicious! I did half lean burger and half bkfst sausage. Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Added 2 Tbsps of taco seasoning and frozen tomatoes. Will make again. Very satisfying meal.
Love that!
Great recipe. I added 1 – 6 oz can of tomato paste and a tsp of oregano. Came out perfect.
Wonderful!! 🙂
I found it very bland…. Had to kick it up a notch with hot sauce
Lovely and hearty soup. I doubled the hamburger and cabbage amounts and increased liquid slightly as I made it for someone else and know that’s their preference. I do wish I had doubled and browned the onion for even more flavor. Overall, will definitely be making again. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Lisa!! 🙂
Absolutely love this soup! I make stuffed pepper soup & my husband & I like this better. This will be my 4th time making it. Wanting to double & freeze some. Do you know if it freezes well? Thank you so much for the great & easy recipe!
I’m thrilled to hear that! I don’t think I’ve tried freezing this one (I have frozen other cabbage soups throughout the years, however), but I think it should be fine. 🙂 Thanks for your review, Gloria!
I made it with lean hamburger meat, a small cabbage and a few vidalia onions. It’s wonderful and helps with weight loss. I remember my Mom making this often. The cabbage and rice is very filling. I make it in my pressure cooker, so I made 2 cups dry rice with 4 cups of beef broth first. Once it was cooked, I put the rice in a separate container. Then made the soup in the pressure cooker too. This way you never have mushy rice. It tastes good with garlic bread or just bread and butter.
My family enjoys it as much as I do.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Everyone commented how great this recipe is during the cold winter, and here I am trying it at the end of the summer! LOL We still loved it, even my son who is not a big fan of cabbage said it was “okay”, he would eat it. Which is high praise!
I have no experience with a traditional cabbage roll, so had nothing to compare it to. For health reasons I substituted 99% fat free ground turkey for the ground beef. Added a little olive oil when cooking the turkey and onions. Even though I bought the smallest cabbage available, half of it was 4 cups so I used it. Used chicken broth instead of beef broth (due to ground turkey). Added 2 teas worcestershire sauce based on comments, and would add more next time. Also used smoked paprika instead of regular paprika since we all like it. Grocery store had no jasmine rice (our favorite) so used basmati instead. Still lovely.
Hubby added sour cream as garnish, and loved it! Thanks again for another hearty and healthy soup. Another delicious keeper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I’m all about soup year-round lol.