Cabbage Roll Soup

Big wooden bowl of unstuffed cabbage soup with a blue napkin to the side and dried herbs.

4.41 from 45 votes

A hearty soup recipe the whole family will love, this unstuffed cabbage roll soup recipe includes all the delicious flavors of traditional cabbage rolls in the form of soup. Mix it up with various veggies to customize it.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 438kcal

Author: Julia

Equipment

1 large pot such as a Dutch oven

Ingredients

1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 medium yellow onion chopped
2 large carrots chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 small head green cabbage chopped (about 4 cups)
1 lb ground beef *
2 vine-ripened tomatoes chopped**
1 (16-oz) can tomato sauce
4 cups chicken broth or beef broth
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
¼ tsp black pepper to taste
Sea salt to taste
3 cups cooked brown rice or white rice optional***

Instructions

Heat the avocado oil in a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, carrots, garlic, and cabbage and stir well. Cover the pot and allow the vegetables to cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
Scoot the vegetables off to one side of the pot and transfer the ground beef to the empty surface. Brown the ground beef in that one area of the pot before mixing it in with the vegetables.
Add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and sea salt (the rest of the ingredients) Cover, and bring the soup to a full boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. You can keep the soup going at a gentle simmer for an hour if you have the time, but it will be ready within 20 minutes of boiling.
Stir in the cooked brown rice (if adding).
Serve cabbage roll soup in big bowls with fresh parsley sprinkled on top. If you'd like, you can top this easy soup recipe with sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Notes

*Use 1.5 to 2 lbs of ground beef (or ground meat of choice) for higher protein and a heartier soup.

**Use 1 can of diced tomatoes instead of 2 fresh tomatoes if you’d like.

***You can use 1 cup of uncooked white rice and add an additional 2 cups of broth. Note that the soup will take more time to cook if you use uncooked rice. I don’t recommend using uncooked brown rice because the soup will take over an hour to make.

Nutrition