Cabbage Roll Soup is a one pot soup recipe that’s made hearty with ground beef and of course plenty of tender cabbage! A bold tomato broth holds it all together and makes every spoonful more savory than the last.
Enjoy more of the best filling soup recipes like Italian Meatball Soup, Chicken Dumpling Soup and Sausage Orzo Soup.
Table of Contents
Cabbage is often an underestimated vegetable, but I promise I can change your mind with this Cabbage Roll Soup!
This easy soup recipe is perfect for when you just need a well-rounded meal all in one bowl to warm you up. It’s filling, flavorful, and loaded with nutritious veggies.
Essentially, this is a deconstructed cabbage roll served in soup form. Ground beef and rice keep you nice and full while cabbage and carrots give your body some wonderful nutrients.
While it’s healthier for you, don’t worry… It’s also delicious! The tomato broth is boldly flavored with garlic, Italian seasoning and more.
See how we make it down below!
Why we love this Cabbage Roll Soup:
- One Pot: Don’t you just love those two magic words? One pot recipes are the best because they’re easy to make and so quick and easy to clean up!
- Filling: No need to pair this cabbage soup with a side dish. It’s well-rounded with everything a meal needs! Protein, rice, and veggies will keep you satisfied.
- Flavorful: The robust tomato broth hosts a medley of flavors from Italian seasoning, garlic, ketchup and more.
- Nutritious: Cabbage is the star of the show here, and it offers a ton of awesome health benefits!
Cabbage Roll Soup Ingredients Needed:
- Ground Beef – Lean ground beef is my favorite to use in this soup recipe because it renders the least amount of fat. Feel free to swap it with ground pork or turkey if preferred.
- Cabbage – Cabbage is loaded with fiber, potassium, lots of vitamins and so much more. I love this veggie!
- Chicken Broth – I always recommend using low sodium broth. That way, you can do a taste test before serving to decide exactly how much salt you want to add.
- Onion – Use a white or yellow onion.
- Celery – Always give your celery a little rinse before chopping to get rid of any residue.
- Tomatoes – You’ll need both diced or crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to create the best rich tomato flavor.
- Brown Sugar – Feel free to start with a little bit and add more until you reach the desired level of sweetness.
- Ketchup – It may sound odd, but this simple condiment helps with both the sweetness and the tomato flavor!
- Carrots – Try to chop them into evenly sized pieces so they all cook through evenly and fit nicely on your spoon.
- Rice – I prefer to use long grain white rice. Feel free to swap that with long grain brown rice if you want – just note that it’ll need to cook longer and may absorb more moisture.
- Herbs – A medley of parsley, Italian seasoning and just one bay leaf creates the best herbaceous flavor.
- Garlic – You can swap with garlic powder in a pinch.
- Salt and Pepper – To taste.
How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup
Take a quick look at how easy it is to make this cabbage roll soup recipe! Scroll to the bottom of this page to find more detailed information on this easy process.
- Cook the ground beef in a Dutch oven (or soup pot) over medium heat until browned.
- Stir in the cabbage, carrots, celery and onion and cook until softened.
- Mix in the tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Pour in the broth and canned tomatoes.
- Bring to a simmer, then add the rice and bay leaf.
- Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the rice is tender. Then, add the ketchup, brown sugar and parsley to finish.
Variations and Substitutions
- Change the meat: Feel free to swap the ground beef with ground pork or turkey. The flavor will be different but it’ll still be tasty!
- Canned tomatoes can vary: Feel free to use either diced or crushed tomatoes — diced tomatoes will yield a thinner soup with tomato chunks, and crushed tomatoes will yield a thicker soup with no chunks.
- You can use brown rice: While white rice is my favorite here because it cooks quickly, brown rice also works! Just note that it’ll need to cook for longer.
How to Store Cabbage Roll Soup
Any leftover cabbage soup you may have will keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Just make sure it’s stored in an airtight container.
Add a splash of broth or water and reheat the soup for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops to distribute heat, until warmed through.
Can I freeze cabbage roll soup?
Yes! This soup is freezer friendly.
Allow it to fully cool to room temperature prior to pouring in a large zip-top bag. Lay it flat on a baking sheet and freeze for an hour – this will cause it to freeze nice and flat so you can optimize your storage space.
Cabbage roll soup will stay good frozen for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the fridge prior to reheating.
What to serve with Cabbage Roll Soup:
This Cabbage Roll Soup is a hearty dinner on it’s own, but we love serving with bread to soak up all of that delicious broth.
Some of our favorites are these Homemade Breadsticks, my Mom’s Homemade Buns, these Garlic Bread and this crusty No Knead Artisan Bread!
You might also enjoy these soup recipes:
Need more hearty, filling soup recipes that don’t require a side dish? Here are just a few more of my favorites:
- Tuscan White Bean Soup — loaded with protein!
- Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana — perfect for when you don’t want to slave over the stove.
- Sausage Tortellini Soup — so full of flavor!
- Italian Wedding Soup
Cabbage Roll Soup recipe
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 4 cups chopped cabbage
- 2 large carrots (peeled and chopped)
- 1 rib celery (finely chopped)
- ½ medium onion (finely chopped)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons salt (you may need up to 3 depending on your broth)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable or beef)
- 1½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz or 398 ml) or crushed
- 1 cup long grain rice (rinsed well)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook just until browned.
- Add cabbage, carrots, celery and onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add in tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and cook 2 minutes.
- Add broth, tomato sauce and canned tomatoes.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and stir in the rinsed rice and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until vegetables and rice are tender (about 10 minutes).
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon ketchup. Taste and add additional sugar and ketchup if needed, adjust seasonings as desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Marleen says
Hello Ashly,
Are you talking about a white cabbage?
Living back in Belgium now, there are so many kinds .
I am gonna make this soup this week for sure.
Thank you so much for all your yummy , easy recipes.
Marlene
PJ says
Hi Ashley,
Is there any reason this soup couldn’t be made in a slow cooker?
Thanks!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi! I haven’t tried it myself but it would likely work. If you test it out, I’d love to know how it goes!