Cabbage Roll Soup

Rich, hearty, and satisfying, this easy-to-make Cabbage Roll Soup recipe takes just 20 minutes of hand-on prep and is ready to serve in under an hour.

Classic cabbage rolls are one of our favorite weekend meals, especially in the colder months. However, they take time and effort to make, and sometimes we just don't have either one of those things.

This Cabbage Roll Soup recipe is just the thing when you’re craving the cozy flavors of homemade cabbage rolls but are short on the time (or energy) to make them. Quick and easy-to-make, this soup has all the savory, spicy-sweet, satisfying flavors of the classic Polish-style cabbage rolls, but requires only a fraction of the time or work. It requires just 20 minutes of prep time, and is ready to serve in under an hour!

Jump to:

• Cabbage Roll Soup Ingredients
• How to Make this Soup Recipe
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip
• More Cabbage Recipes
• What to Serve with Cabbage Roll Soup
• Cabbage Roll Soup
• Food Safety

Cabbage Roll Soup Ingredients

• Ground beef: The ingredient list for this recipe lists ground beef; however, we often substitute ground turkey in this soup with excellent results.
• Chicken broth: The stock or broth you use will determine the flavor base for your soup. You can used boxed or canned broth; however, we prefer to use a richer homemade chicken broth. (If you've never made homemade chicken stock, be sure check out our super-easy step-by-step tutorial. Homemade stock is easy to make, economical, and freezes very well.)
• Cabbage: We recommend using regular green cabbage for this recipe. Napa or Savoy cabbages will also work.
• Onions: Use yellow (preferred) or white onions.
• Rice: The cooking times for this recipe are based on using long-grain white rice. You can also use basmati rice. 
• Tomatoes: We recommend using petite-cut canned tomatoes with garlic and basil if you can find them. 
• Tomato sauce: If I can find it, use a tomato sauce infused with garlic and onion. Regular tomato sauce will work fine, too.
• Hot Sauce: We make this with either Tabasco or Sriracha. Use your favorite hot sauce.
• Brown sugar: Use light brown sugar. The amount of sugar needed depends both on the amount of sugar in the tomato sauce you use and your personal preferences.
• Lemon juice: Fresh is always best, but in the case of this recipe, you can substitute bottled juice if necessary.
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic.
• Carrots
• Olive Oil
• Dried oregano
• Ground Ginger
• Salt
• Pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make this Soup Recipe

In a Dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil until they become translucent and barely begin to brown; about 8-10 minutes.

Add ground meat and chopped garlic to the onions and continue to cook, breaking up meat in the pan as it browns.

Add all remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven or soup pot.

Bring the mixture to a low simmer over medium heat, and then reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 25 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked.

Stir soup and season to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped herbs as desired.

Substitutions

• Ground beef: Recently, we started making this soup with mild Italian sausage (usually chicken sausage). The sausage changes the overall soup flavor just a bit, but we love how it turns out!
• Vegetarian/Vegan: This recipe can easily be made for vegetarians or vegans by substituting a veggie-meat product for the ground meat, and vegetable broth for chicken stock.

Variations

Spicy

You can adjust the heat of the soup by changing the amount of hot sauce you use. 

• ½ teaspoon = Very Mild (barely there)
• 1 teaspoon = Mild to Medium (a little spicy, but definitely not hot)
• 2 teaspoons or more = Nicely Spicy (still not hot)

Sweet

The amount of sugar needed depends both on the amount of sugar in the tomato sauce you use and your personal preferences.

I like my cabbage rolls (and my cabbage roll soup) to have a decidedly sweet note; however, if you prefer yours less so, adjust the sugar accordingly.

• 1 tablespoons = Slightly sweet
• 2 tablespoons = Medium sweet
• 3 tablespoons = Quite Sweet

DO NOT omit the sugar entirely; you need to use enough to offset the tomato sauce's acidity. 

Equipment

My standard practice when making mosts soups is to use my enameled cast iron Dutch oven. A Dutch oven allows you to sauté and simmer on the stovetop, and the enameled (i.e., glass) surface won't react to ingredients. A good Dutch oven promotes even heating and has great heat retention, and goes from stovetop to table with ease.

You can also use a medium stockpot to make this recipe.

Storage

Cabbage Roll Soup will keep in the fridge for about five days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop. It can also be frozen, and will keep for three months or more when properly sealed in air-tight freezer containers.

Top Tip

Put this soup recipe is on your short list of fast, easy, budget-friendly meals. Cabbage Roll Soup (like most soups) always tastes even better the next day!

More Cabbage Recipes

What to Serve with Cabbage Roll Soup

Cabbage Roll Soup is hearty and filling all by itself, so often, we just serve it with simple slice of homemade bread or a salad on the side. However, when we need a more substantial meal, mashed potato pancakes, buttermilk bisquits, or cornbread make delicious sides.

Food Safety

• This soup recipe can be cooked to near boiling temperature (212°F).
• To refrigerate, cool soup to 70°F within two hours, and then down to 41°F (fridge temp) or below within the next four hours.
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat.
• Always wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
• Store food in suitable, covered containers.

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

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