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.
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
Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe
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 oz canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 ½ cups V8 or other vegetable juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and 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!
My Husband and I made this yesterday; and it was delicious!!
I’m so glad it made a large batch; so we can freeze some for leftovers.
This is definitely a keeper!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Jennifer!
I always enjoy your recipes and this one was delicious and simple.
I made this amazing soup today! So full of flavor with it’s tomato based broth. This recipe really comes together quickly; I like my cabbage relatively crunchy, so I didn’t cook it as long as suggested, but that’s personal choice. Now to start tweaking and experimenting a little only because this is such a great base from which to leap! Thank you, Holly, for another wonderful recipe!
This recipe for cabbage roll soup was so quick and easy. all the ingredients are pantry staples and my husband loves it! Truly a keeper as most of your recipes are. thank you!
Can’t wait to try this soup. Maybe, wait until the winter. Sounds like a good soup to make in the cold winter to warm the belly.
This looks amazing and I can not wait to try it. I love looking over your recipes and wish I was as talented as you in the kitchen. I am only cooking for one now so I just make less on the portions.
God Bless.
Thank you for the kind words Deborah! I can’t wait for you to try this recipe.
sooo good!!!
Boring and bland. Needs more spices and more acidity.
This is delicious! What is a serving size?
Serving size is ⅛th of the recipe, approximately 1.5 cups.
This was really good, thanks for the recipe! I think next time I will cut way back on the thyme if I use it at all. I love thyme but I don’t make my regular cabbage rolls with it. It was a different taste – still very good but unexpected to my tongue I guess lol. This recipe is a keeper for winter meal times. Cabbage rolls without the work. Thanks again!
If you don’t like thyme- leave it out completely. It ruined the soup. Even my husband didn’t like it!
Excellent soup….tasty. Thank you for giving us this recipe.
Delicious!! Husband and I couldn’t stop eating the soup.
You are amazing thank you love always
love it
I add a little more spices such as garlic and onion powder, it’s quick easy and delicious, hits the spot every time !
I like this recipe however there are a few things I would like to see. Instead of saying 1 medium cabbage or 1 large onion. I would prefer to see 3 cups of cabbage or whatever it works out to. People new to cooking would like to see more precise measurements.
Hey Kathy, thank you for the suggestion (sorry for the delay in reply, we launched a new site update today and have been a bit behind). In this recipe we find that a large onion, regardless of size, works well but I can see that it would be helpful with the cabbage. Mine was about 8 cups.
Love all your Recipes
Thanks, Shirley! We appreciate the love ❤️
I ate this every workday for lunch for several years. Love it.
I love this soup. I’ve been making it for several winters. I substitute Chicken andouille sausage because I’m obsessed with it. Since I’m doing low carb these days, subbing cauliflower rice. So good. Thank you so much.
You’re very welcome Susan, so happy that you love the soup so much!