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Our Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe is simple comfort food that feeds a crowd! Less work than traditional cabbage rolls with all of that same delicious, hearty flavor.
It’s officially soup season in our house.
I mean, if I had my way, we’d eat soup all year long, but my husband exists and he gets a little huffy about soup in the summer. I suppose if I was doing yard work in 100 degree heat all day and then came inside to a bowl of soup, I’d probably be confused too.
Anyway! It’s soup season and that means this Cabbage Roll Soup is on repeat, right alongside our taco soup recipe and cheeseburger soup. Allll the soup, please.
We love cabbage rolls, but I never make them myself…too much work! Cabbage roll soup just so happens to have all the same flavors without all of the rolling!
Serve this with our beer bread or some 7 Up Biscuits for a hearty meal.
What is a Cabbage Roll?
A cabbage roll is a mix of ground meat (usually beef) with other ingredients like tomatoes and rice that is wrapped in cabbage leaves.
This is an unstuffed cabbage roll soup recipe, which is basically just a deconstructed cabbage roll with all the same ingredients in a savory soup!
I’m using lots of ground beef, diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, rice, and of course plenty of chopped cabbage! It’s all cooked in a savory mix of beef broth and tomato juice.
You’re going to love this cabbage soup with hamburger meat!
Ingredient Notes:
Ground Beef – We love beef cabbage soup so I’m using a whole pound of ground beef! You can use a lean or fattier blend if you prefer. You could also switch things up and use a different meat like ground chicken, turkey, or pork!
Cabbage – You’ll need some freshly chopped cabbage for this soup. It’s filling and nutritious and it’ll soak up all the savory flavors in the soup.
Broth & Tomato Juice – I’m using beef broth and tomato juice to make up the majority of the liquid in this homemade soup recipe. Use a good quality beef broth and tomato juice to get the best flavor! V8 works well here, too.
Rice – Along with the cabbage this filling ingredient will bulk up the soup and soak up all the savory flavors in the beef broth and tomato juice. I prefer to use a long grain white rice. Do NOT use instant rice.
Ro*Tel: We like a hint of spice in our soup, so we use canned tomatoes with green chiles. If preferred, you may use plain canned diced tomatoes, but the soup won’t have quite as much flavor.
Seasonings – A few additional ingredients you’ll need to add flavor include minced garlic and onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and grated parmesan for topping.
What We Love About CABBAGE ROLL SOUP:
- Filling: This is the best cabbage soup recipe because it is so filling! Loads of ground beef, cabbage, and rice mean that this soup will fill you up in no time.
- Budget Friendly: This soup recipe will go a long way and feed a crowd! Plus the ingredients are budget friendly making this a great choice for weeknight dinners!
- Easy: Cabbage rolls are a favorite, but they can be a bit time consuming due to the rolling of the filling in cabbage leaves. This soup has all the same flavors without all of the work.
How To Make Cabbage Roll Soup:
Beef: To start, you’ll want to brown some ground beef in a dutch oven or stock pot.
Onion & Garlic: Once the beef is starting to brown and has broken up a bit, stir in the onion an garlic and cook those for about 5 minutes or until the beef is cooked through.
Cabbage: Next, you’ll want to chop up a head of cabbage and add that to the pot along with the beef broth, tomato juice, rice, Worcestershire sauce, and my secret ingredient – Ro*Tel!
The Ro*Tel adds a little kick to the soup without making it spicy. Just gives it a zing. We love it!
Simmer: This soup is so easy! Just bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and then cook for about 25 minutes.
Serve: Once the rice is cooked through, you’re ready to serve.
We like to top ours with a little freshly grated Parmesan. Serve it up with some easy air fryer dinner rolls or a salad!
My Favorite Dutch Oven!
This gorgeous Dutch oven is perfect for making soup, pot roast, and more. It goes from stove to oven as needed and looks pretty enough to leave out on your stovetop as decoration.
Recipe FAQs:
You can use straight tomato juice if you like, but I always reach for the V8. It packs in some extra vegetables without really altering the flavor so I feel good about feeding it to my kiddos.
You can keep any leftover soup stored in an airtight or covered container in your fridge for up to 4 days. This soup is great for leftovers and will reheat well on the stove or in the microwave.
Yes, this soup recipe will freeze well. Let the soup cool completely before transferring to a freezer safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More Homemade Soup Recipes!
- Crockpot Potato Soup: So cheesy and so easy!
- Cauliflower Soup: It’s a healthy low carb alternative to potato soup!
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup: I top this with little bits of pie crust in place of crackers and it’s SO GOOD!
- Homemade Tomato Soup: Perfect with a grilled cheese for lunch.
- Ham and Bean Soup: The perfect way to use up any leftover ham!
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 sweet onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium cabbage chopped, core removed
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 ½ cups tomato juice
- 2/3 cup long grain white rice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 28 ounces canned tomatoes with chiles
- 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
- Grated parmesan for topping
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large stock pot or dutch oven and brown over medium heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks.
- As the meat is beginning to brown, add the onion and garlic to the pan and continue cooking and stirring until beef is cooked through.
- Add the cabbage, beef broth, tomato juice, rice, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes with chiles (undrained), and salt to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired.
- Serve immediately, topped with grated Parmesan, if desired.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in October 2018. It was updated with new text and photos in November 2023. Original photo below.
John Craig says
Can I use little macaroni instead of rice, I like pasta better and will probably chop up a jalapeno pepper, instead of the tomatoes and green chiles!
Karly Campbell says
Hi John! You could try adding pasta, but I haven’t tried it myself. I think it would work just fine though.