Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
All the classic flavors but with less effort, this Unstuffed Cabbage Soup is prepped in just 10 minutes of hands-on time for an easy dinner. Packed with veggies and made in one pot, this soup is hearty, savory, and deliciously comforting.
📌 Quick Look at this Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe
- 😋 Flavor Profile: Cozy, savory cabbage roll flavors in soup form with tender beef, sweet tomato broth, and soft cabbage and rice in every bite.
- 🕒 Total Time: About 40 minutes
- 🥄 Texture: Hearty and thick with tender rice, soft cabbage, and crumbled ground beef in a rich tomato broth.
- 👩🍳 Best For: Easy weeknight dinners, meal prep, or cold-weather comfort meals.
- 💡 Pro Tip: Stir often while simmering so the rice doesn't stick, and add extra broth when reheating since the rice continues to soak up liquid.
Summarize & Save This Content On
Summarize & Save This Content On
You'll want to curl up with a bowl of this stuffed cabbage soup again and again, it's that good. Just like my potato broccoli cheese soup, it's packed with warm, savory flavor and filling ingredients.
I personally love that this meaty cabbage soup brings back my favorite dinner, but in a more manageable way. It has the same traditional beefy, tomato flavor, but it curls around you and warms you up, too. The perfect soup recipe for chilly days, just like this Philly cheesesteak soup, of course.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make: No stuffing or rolling, this cabbage soup with ground beef makes it easy to enjoy your favorite meal.
- Perfect flavor: The soup has savory beef, a warm tomato base, and tender bites of cabbage.
- Texture: The rice cooks as the soup simmers bringing the dish together, adding body and a bit of thickness.
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Ground beef: The leaner, the better, for this cabbage soup with hamburger, because you don't want to have to drain too much from the pan and lose flavor.
- Broth: Beef broth will pair best with the soup, but vegetable broth in the Instant Pot works well too. If using a store-bought broth, opt for low-sodium so that the soup doesn't taste too salty.
- Beef bouillon: This is an optional add-in, but it deepens the savory flavor of the broth.
- Long-grain white rice: Long-grain rice works best as it takes just a smidge longer to cook and retains its texture without becoming too soft.
- Tomato sauce: Not to be confused with marinara sauce, which would bring too much of a herby taste. Canned tomato sauce is just cooked tomatoes, blended until smooth.
Check the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and quantities of each one.
Dietary Modifications & Variations
- Swap the Proteins: Though ground beef is classically used, you can use ground pork, turkey, or chicken, or a mixture of ground meats in the unstuffed cabbage soup recipe, similar to this ground chicken soup.
- Spice: If you enjoy a pinch of heat in the cooler months, add some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the soup.
- Vegetarian: Make the recipe vegetarian by using crumbled ground tofu in place of the beef and vegetable broth as the base.
- Low Carb: Skip the rice and reduce the broth by 1-2 cups. Enjoy with just the cabbage and ground beef or stir in some cauliflower rice right at the end of cooking for a bit of rice texture. This may make the soup a bit more brothy since you aren't adding the starch from the rice.
How to Make Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
Step 1: Sauté the Base. Cook the onions, carrots, and green pepper with olive oil in a large pot. Cook until the onions are softened and translucent. Remove them from the pot and set aside.
Step 2: Brown the Beef. In the same pot, cook the beef until browned, taking time to break up larger chunks.
Step 3: Season the Beef. Stir the garlic into the beef along with the onion mixture and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Step 4: Add the Liquid. Add the beef bouillon, tomato sauce, rice, cabbage, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and bay leaf to the pot. Heat and bring the soup to a simmer.
Step 5: Simmer the Soup. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the soup with the lid cracked for 20 minutes until the rice is tender. Stir frequently.
Step 6: Final Touches. Remove the bay leaf from the cabbage and ground beef soup, then season it with salt and pepper before serving. Garnish bowls of soup with fresh parsley and serve with some cheddar biscuits on the side.
Lyn's Top Tips
- Simmering: While the soup is simmering, make sure the lid is cracked to let extra steam escape. This slight evaporation helps create the soup's consistency.
- Stir frequently: You need to stir the soup frequently while the rice is cooking to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Adjust the heat: Keep an eye on your soup and lower the heat if the soup comes to a really strong simmer.
- Storing: Once cooled, store the cabbage soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat the soup over low to medium heat on the stove, adding a splash of broth if it seems too thick. You can also reheat it in the microwave in intervals, stirring between.
Soup-er Toppings & Serving Suggestions
- One of my favorite ways to enjoy this stuffed cabbage soup recipe is topped with cornbread croutons for extra comfort.
- Pair the soup with your favorite garden salad for more vegetables or a side of crusty dinner rolls for dipping.
- For a hearty meal, pair it with these pumpkin cornbread muffins or a half of a brie grilled cheese.
Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can make cabbage soup in the slow cooker by following all the directions to saute the vegetables and brown the beef on the stove. Then, combine the remaining ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Yes, you can freeze cabbage soup. Once it cools, store it in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for 2-3 months. When you're ready, let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating it over low to medium heat on the stove. You may want to add a splash of broth to loosen it up.
If you're worried about the cabbage becoming too soft in the soup, don't add it until the last 15-20 minutes of simmering. This way, it doesn't have time to become overcooked and will retain more of its crisp texture.
Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 lb lean ground beef such as 90 or 93% lean
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups beef broth low-sodium
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon optional
- 2 cans tomato sauce 15 ounce cans
- ½ cup long-grain white rice
- 5 cups coarsely chopped cabbage packed firmly to measure
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper plus more to taste
- 1 dried bay leaf
- Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and pepper, and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the onion turns translucent. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
- Return the pot to the heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 4-5 minutes or until crumbled and brown.
- Stir in the garlic and the reserved onion mixture, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the beef broth, beef bouillon (if using), tomato sauce, rice, cabbage, brown sugar, sea salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to medium-low and cook with the lid ajar for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir the soup often throughout the cooking time to prevent the rice from sticking.
- Remove the bay leaf and discard. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, garnished with chopped fresh parsley.
Recipe Tips
- When measuring the cabbage, pack it firmly into the cup. You want just the right amount.
- Cook with the lid cracked to allow a small amount of the soup's liquid to evaporate. This concentrates the flavors and contributes to the soup's consistency.
- If you notice that your soup isn't lightly bubbling on top when it's simmering, you may need to increase the heat slightly.
