This is the best Cabbage Roll Soup recipe with ground beef, pork, cabbage, and rice in a tangy tomato broth. It's a cozy, one-pot meal that delivers all the rich, savory flavors of traditional cabbage rolls without the fuss.
Cabbage Roll Soup is healthy comfort food, and I'm here for it!
Cabbage Roll Soup is healthy comfort food, and I'm here for it!I love eating old-fashioned cabbage rolls, but they’re definitely a labor of love and this cabbage roll soup recipe gives me all those nostalgic, cozy flavors without spending an hour rolling cabbage leaves! It’s hearty enough to please my meat-and-potatoes crew, and I love that it makes a big pot with plenty of leftovers for lunches the next day.
Try my other soup recipes, like Homemade Chili, Hungarian Goulash, Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, or Creamy Zuppa Toscana!
How to make Cabbage Roll Soup:
Cook Meat: Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Cook ground beef and pork, breaking it up into small pieces, until browned.
Sauté Vegetables: Add onion and cook for 2 minutes then add garlic. Add carrots and cabbage and cook 2 minutes.
Add Broth and Seasonings: Add beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire, paprika, oregano, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Stir in rice. Cover pot, reduce heat, and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, until rice is cooked through. Add additional beef broth if you’d like to soupier. Taste soup and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Remove bay leaf. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. (I enjoy this stuffed cabbage soup recipe with a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes on top, too).
Follow me for more great recipes
Recipe
Cabbage Roll Soup
Equipment
- Soup Pot or
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ lb ground sausage
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large yellow onion , chopped
- 2 medium carrots , quartered and sliced
- 5 cups chopped cabbage , (packed)
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 5-6 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 3/4 cup dry jasmine or long-grain white rice
- Juice from ½ of a small lemon
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Brown meat: Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Cook ground beef and pork, breaking it up into small pieces, until browned.1 lb lean ground beef, ½ lb ground sausage
- Saute Veggies: Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic. Add carrots and cabbage and cook 2 minutes.1 large yellow onion, 2 medium carrots, 4 cloves garlic, 5 cups chopped cabbage
- Finish soup: Add beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire, paprika, oregano, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Stir in rice.5-6 cups low-sodium beef broth, 2 8 oz cans tomato sauce, 1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 bay leaf, ¾ cup dry jasmine or long-grain white rice
- Simmer: Cover pot, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, until rice is cooked through.
- Taste and serve: Add additional beef broth if you’d like to soupier. Taste soup and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Remove bay leaf. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. (I enjoy this soup with a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes on top, too).Salt and freshly ground black pepper, Juice from ½ of a small lemon, 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Notes
Nutrition
Follow Me
This post contains affiliate links.
Could this be made in a slow cooker?
Absolutely! Just brown the meat and sauté the veggies first, then toss everything (except the lemon juice and parsley) into your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. The rice should be perfectly tender. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley right before serving. Easy peasy!
I’m trying to find more ways to incorporate cooked cabbage into my diet. I subbed two kinds of slightly sprouted lentils, green and black, for the meats, and barley instead of rice, and this is a really great addition to my collection. Makes my cranky cancer-treatment-abused stomach very happy.
I just wanted to note how awesome it is that your recipe card has the ingredients at each step. It’s way better than scrolling up and down the whole time. That was one of the things my husband and I were super happy about. Cooking this tonight to marry flavors for tomorrow night. Thank you!
I learned to make rolls years ago BUT we always added sauerkraut to the broth! YUM YUM
What type of sausage? Italian or breakfast?
Great question! I usually go with mild Italian sausage for this one—it adds flavor without overpowering the soup. But breakfast sausage would work too if that’s what you’ve got!
I am not a sausage fan. What can be used instead?
You can easily swap the sausage for more ground beef or try ground turkey or chicken if you want something leaner. Ground pork would work too! Just use 1.5 lbs total of whatever meat you prefer. The soup will still be delicious!
I made this recipe last night and it was really tasty! While not exactly the same taste as the cabbage rolls my mother used to make, it definitely takes you to that memory and fills that craving. This made much more than I was expecting so I will have plenty to freeze, which makes me happy because I love having frozen soup on hand. I did not add the lemon juice or parsley, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. This is going into my soup rotation. One question, will my printed out recipe be worth more in the future, since mine has the brown sugar typo on it? Ha ha! Thanks for another great recipe!
How much brown sugar? It’s not listed in the ingredients.
Sorry the brown sugar was a typo! There’s no brown sugar and the typo has been fixed. We hope you enjoy this soup!
Natalie, I like the idea of the brown sugar; could you share the typo amount, please? 🤣
Delicious! I love cabbage rolls, but don’t take the time to make them. This tastes the same and is easy to make. I added a dollop of creme fraiche when serving.
I cannot read how many carbs! Please help. TIA
It’s 21 grams of carbohydrates per serving, which is about 1 1/2 cups each serving. We hope you enjoy this soup!
Thanks!! I feed a type 1D. I can’t wait to make this!!
Number 3 of the instructions, says brown sugar in the list to add, is that a mistake? If not, what is the measurement? Thanks!
Yes, that is a mistake. There is no brown sugar in the recipe.