Cabbage Roll Soup 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. Rich, hearty, and satisfying, this easy-to-make recipe takes just 20 minutes of hand-on prep and is ready to serve in under an hour.
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What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
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.
The answer - Cabbage Roll Soup! This easy-to-make 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. You can make this soup recipe with just 20 minutes of prep time, and have it on the table ready to serve in under an hour.
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
★ Ground meat: The ingredient list for this recipe lists ground beef; however, we often substitute ground turkey in this soup with excellent results.
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!
★ 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.
Substitutions: Napa or Savoy cabbages will also work.
★ 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.
★ Rice: The cooking times for this recipe are based on using long-grain white rice. You can also use basmati rice.
★ Hot Sauce: We make this with either Tabasco or Sriracha. Use your favorite hot sauce.
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)
★ 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.
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.
★ Lemon juice: Fresh is always best, but in the case of this recipe, you can substitute bottled juice if necessary.
TIP: Make it a habit to zest every piece of citrus that goes through your kitchen before juicing it. When sealed in a small, air-tight bag, citrus zest freezes very well, and will keep for up to three months in the freezer.
How to Make this 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.
Stir soup and season to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped herbs as desired.
FAQs & Expert Tips
Put this soup recipe is on your short list of fast, easy, budget-friendly meals! (The leftovers are delicious, too!)
What to Serve with Cabbage Roll Soup
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Classic Tuscan-Style Panzanella Salad
- Mashed Potato Pancakes
- Sweet Skillet Cornbread
This soup will keep in the fridge for about five days. Reheat it in the microwave or and on the stovetop.
Cabbage soup can also be frozen, and will keep for three months or more when properly sealed.
Cabbage Roll Soup, like most soups, always tastes even better the next day!
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Cabbage Roll Soup
Equipment
- 1 10-inch Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven or heavy soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped; ~16 ounces
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth or more
- 28 ounces tomatoes
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- ½ head cabbage very thinly sliced; ~1½ pounds
- 1 cup coarsely shredded carrots (2-3 medium)
- ½ cup long white grain rice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or more, as desired
- 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- 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 break up in the pan as it browns.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a low simmer over medium heat, and then reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Stir soup and season to taste.
- Garnish with fresh chopped herbs as desired.
Notes
- 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)
- 1 tablespoons = Slightly sweet
- 2 tablespoons = Medium sweet
- 3 tablespoons = Quite Sweet
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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