Cabbage Roll Soup

Cabbage Roll Soup with ground beef, vegetables and a rich tomato broth produces dreamy comfort food for the fall and winter months. This hearty soup recipe is easy to prepare and takes the edge off of chilly weather.

If you’re all in when it comes to ground beef, a cabbage, or a true soup lover, this easy, healthy cabbage roll soup will tantalize your taste buds!

What is cabbage roll soup, you may wonder?

We’re taking the concept of traditional cabbage rolls and preparing them in soup form. The main reason I love enjoying the trappings of cabbage rolls in this way is that the soup version is so much easier and less time consuming to prepare.

If you are wondering to yourself the last time you made cabbage rolls, it’s likely because they take so much time. The shorter cooking time of this unstuffed cabbage roll soup recipe makes a big difference so that you can enjoy all the flavors of cabbage rolls in this great recipe.

And if this is your first time experiencing deconstructed cabbage rolls, you’re in for a real treat because the prep is super simple.

We simply cook everything up in a large pot like deconstructed cabbage rolls on the stove top, let it simmer to flavorful perfection, and enjoy it in big bowls. Look at it as a a bowl of unstuffed cabbage rolls with comforting broth.

In addition to the ease of preparation, the high-fiber cabbage and protein-packed beef make the soup so nice and filling. 

You end up with a satisfying meal that is relatively low in calories and such a belly pleaser!

Let’s discuss the healthy ingredients in the best cabbage roll soup recipe.

Ingredients for Cabbage Roll Soup:

Avocado Oil: Used to sauté the vegetables and brown the beef, we use avocado oil as a great high-temperature cooking oil. If you typically cook with olive oil, you can use it here.

Ground Beef: One of the main characters in this delicious pot of soup, ground beef generates rich and inviting flavor and also brings plenty of protein to the meal.

If you love your soups meaty, use 1.5 to 2 pounds of ground beef instead of one pound of ground beef.

I like using grass-fed ground beef with an 80/20 blend of meat to fat. For me, this yields the tastiest results because the fat brings so much flavor.

You can absolutely use lean ground beef (90/10 or leaner), ground bison, ground venison, ground sausage, ground pork, or any ground meat you enjoy.

Fresh Cabbage: The second main character in this cabbage roll bowl of soup, we need a small head of cabbage.  One small head of green cabbage yields about 4 to 6 cups of chopped cabbage leaves.

Yellow Onion, Carrots, Garlic, Vine-Ripened Tomatoes: Supporting the main ingredients, these delicious veggies add sweet, tangy, bold flavors to the soup to bump up the flavor profile. Feel free to scale up the onion and garlic if you’d like.

You can swap the vine-ripened tomatoes for one can of diced tomatoes or any type of tomato you have on hand.

Beef Broth and Tomato Sauce: The broth is a combination of tomato sauce and beef broth (or chicken broth) to make a rich broth that brings all the cozy vibes. You can substitute tomato paste for the tomato sauce. 

Italian Seasoning, Sea Salt, Black Pepper: The seasonings here! Italian seasoning adds herby delicious flavors to the soup and we season the unstuffed cabbage soup with salt and pepper to taste. If you have garlic powder on hand, you can add more to bump up the flavor. 

Cooked Brown Rice (or White Rice): Cooked rice adds a tender texture and a heartiness that makes the soup a complete sou[. You can leave it out for a low carb meal or adjust the amount depending on your personal taste. You can also add cauliflower rice for a low-carb or keto option.

Optional Additions:

• Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, brown sugar, or cane sugar to take the edge off of some of the acidity and create a slightly sweet counterbalance.
• Toss in any of your favorite vegetables. Cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, and zucchini are all great options. If you have vegetables in the refrigerator that need to be used up, toss them in!
• Use any type of broth, including vegetable broth, bone broth, beef stock, chicken stock, etc. for this delicious cabbage roll soup.
• If you prefer ground turkey or ground chicken over ground beef, feel free to make the switch.
• For some umami flavor, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. 
• Mix in fresh herbs like fresh parsley, fresh rosemary, or oregano if you have them on hand.

Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients list for this hearty meal, let’s make some ground beef and cabbage soup!

How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup:

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. 

Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can also freeze the soup in freezer bags (or a freezer-safe container) for up to 3 months. 

The soup tastes even better the next day and the 2-3 days following preparation. For this reason, don’t be afraid to make it well in advance of when you need it.

If you prefer slow cooker recipes or using your Instant Pot, you can prepare this recipe in your crock pot or pressure cooker for an easy dinner. 

And that’s it! A comforting soup recipe the whole family will love. 

Make it any night of the week for a delicious healthy weeknight meal, or meal prep it in advance for weekday lunches and busy weeknight dinners. It’s one of those simple recipes that makes the perfect meal for family gatherings and cold winter nights.

If you’re looking for more healthy soup recipes, also try out these reader favorites!

More Healthy Soups:

• Albondigas Soup
• Rustic Minestrone Soup
• Ground Turkey Taco Soup
• Sicilian Meatball Soup  
• Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
• Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Deconstructed cabbage roll soup for days!

Cabbage Roll Soup

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.

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Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 Servings

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.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (of 6) · Calories: 438kcal · Carbohydrates: 51g · Protein: 27g · Fat: 13g · Saturated Fat: 4g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2g · Cholesterol: 56mg · Sodium: 683mg · Fiber: 12g · Sugar: 25g

Author: Julia Mueller

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: cabbage and beef soup, cabbage roll soup, ground beeg and cabbage soup recipe, healthy soup recipes, hearty soup recipes, unstuffed cabbage roll soup

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