Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup

All the flavor, none of the fuss! 🥣✨ This Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup takes the classic flavors you love—savory beef, tender cabbage, and rich tomato sauce—and transforms them into an easy, hearty bowl of comfort. It’s thick, delicious, and ready in under an hour.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings: 4 people

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

The Base

1 lb Lean ground beef or 50/50 mix ground beef and pork sausage
1 Yellow onion chopped
3 Garlic cloves minced
1 1tbsp Olive oil

The Veggies & Grain

6-8 cups Large green cabbage, roughly 1/2 head chopped into bitesize chunks
2 Carrots peeled and chopped
1/2 cup Uncooked long-grain white rice

Broth and Seasoning

4 cups Beef broth low sodium preferred
15 oz Diced tomatoes 1 can
8 oz Tomato sauce 1 can
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Dried thyme or Italian seasoning
1 Bay leaf
1 tbsp Brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Equipment

Large pot or Dutch oven

Method

Brown the Meat: Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the meat is browned and the onion is soft (about 5–7 minutes). Drain any excess fat if necessary.
Add Aromatics: Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Build the Soup: Add the chopped cabbage, carrots, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, thyme, brown sugar, and bay leaf. Stir well to combine.
Simmer: Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and let simmer for about 15–20 minutes, or until the cabbage begins to soften significantly.
Add the Rice: Stir in the uncooked rice. Cover again and simmer for another 15–20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
Finish: Remove the bay leaf. Taste the soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. If the soup is too thick, splash in a little extra broth or water.

Notes

Serving Suggestions

Garnish: Top with a dollop of chopped fresh parsley or dill.
Creamy: Serve with a spoonful of sour cream stirred in right before eating (highly recommended!).
Side: Serve with crusty bread or dinner rolls to soak up the broth.

Tips for Success

Rice Texture: Rice expands significantly as it sits in liquid. If you plan on freezing leftovers or eating this over several days, cook the rice separately and add a scoop to each bowl just before serving. This prevents the rice from absorbing all the broth and becoming mushy.
Low Carb / Keto: Swap the white rice for cauliflower rice. Add the cauliflower rice during the last 5 minutes of cooking so it doesn’t get too soft.
Extra Tang: If you like your cabbage rolls with a bit of zip, add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar right at the end of cooking.

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup