Go Back
Golumpki soup

Cabbage Roll Soup

This cabbage roll soup has all the same flavors as classic baked cabbage rolls, but with way less work! This unstuffed cabbage soup is hearty, filling and the perfect choice for an easy dinner option.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Calories: 263
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound ground beef (I use 90% lean)
  • 1 onion (finely diced)
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 4 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage
  • 2 carrots (peeled quartered and sliced)
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 3 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons parsley

Equipment

  • Large heavy-bottomed soup pot, 6-quart minimum
  • Sturdy wooden spatula or flat-edged wooden spoon
  • Chef's knife with a sharp blade

Method
 

  1. Brown the beef
    Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, season with salt and black pepper, and break it apart into small, uniform pieces with a spatula. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until no pink remains and the meat develops a light brown crust. Large chunks of beef left intact at this stage boil rather than brown once the liquids go in and produce a noticeably different, flatter flavor.
  2. Sauté the aromatics
    Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the browned beef. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion softens and turns translucent. Burnt garlic at this stage carries a bitter flavor through every component of the finished soup without any remedy.
  3. Combine everything
    Add the chopped cabbage, sliced carrots, beef broth, tomato sauce, uncooked rice, bay leaf, and brown sugar to the pot. Season with another pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir the full mixture so the rice distributes evenly across the bottom rather than clumping in one area.
  4. Simmer for 25 minutes
    Bring the pot to a full simmer over medium heat, then reduce to medium-low. Cook for 25 minutes, checking the rice at the 20-minute mark. Rice that simmers past 30 minutes absorbs enough broth to turn the soup into a dense, stew-like mass. Remove and discard the bay leaf before serving.
  5. Garnish and serve
    Scatter fresh chopped parsley over each bowl immediately before ladling. Add the parsley only to servings eaten right away, never to the storage container, as it turns dark and unpleasant overnight.