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Cabbage Roll Soup has all the flavors of traditional cabbage rolls without the hassle of making them! This soup is hearty, healthy, full of flavor and perfect for a weeknight dinner!
Looking for another easy variation of cabbage rolls? Try my unstuffed cabbage rolls skillet.
Why you’ll love it
Tastes just like cabbage rolls – If you love all the flavors and ingredients used in traditional cabbage rolls then I think you’ll enjoy this unstuffed cabbage roll soup. There’s no boiling the cabbage, filling, wrapping and baking involved.
One pot dinner – This soup is all made in one pot on the stovetop. Prep is minimal and it only needs about 30 minutes to cook.
Hearty and healthy soup – Between the vegetables, ground turkey (or ground beef if you prefer), rice, and flavorful tomato broth, this is a soup that will fill you up, keep you satisfied, and one you can feel good about eating.
The ingredients
- Ground turkey – I like to use 93/7 lean ground turkey. You can use 99% lean, but it won’t be as flavorful and the texture will be more dry.
- Onion, carrots, and garlic – The aromatics that give the soup lots of flavor.
- Cabbage – The star ingredient! Use green cabbage.
- Smoked paprika, dried oregano, bay leaf, cinnamon – Yes, you read that right, cinnamon. The small amount of cinnamon used in the soup gives it a warm indistinguishable flavor without tasting like a baked good.
- Thyme – I like to use fresh thyme whenever possible. I prefer the flavor over dried. You can use dried thyme, I suggest using a 1/2 teaspoon.
- Worcestershire sauce – You may not be able to pronounce it, but it adds great depth of flavor to the soup.
- Chicken broth – I always use low sodium broths and stocks to have better control over the sodium in the soup.
- Tomato sauce
- Crushed tomatoes – You can also use diced tomatoes or fire roasted diced tomatoes.
- Maple syrup – This adds a hint of sweetness to the soup and helps balance all the acidity from the tomatoes. You can replace it with brown sugar if you prefer.
- Apple cider vinegar –
- White rice – It goes into the soup uncooked and will thicken the broth as it cooks. I like to use jasmine rice, you could also use long grain white rice.
How to make cabbage roll soup
Brown the meat and onion – Add a little olive oil along with the ground turkey, onion, and garlic to a large pot or Dutch oven. Sauté the meat crumbling it with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper.
Add in the carrots and cabbage – Once the meat is browned add in the carrots and cabbage. Sauté for several more minutes until the cabbage starts to wilt.
Add in remaining ingredients – Add in the spices, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, and rice. Stir everything together and bring the soup to a boil.
Simmer the soup – Let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. If the soup is too thick for your liking, pour in extra broth until it’s a consistency you like. Taste for seasoning and then remove the bay leaves.
Recipe tips and variations
- Substitute ground turkey and chicken broth with ground beef and beef broth if you prefer.
- Because the rice cooks in the soup it will get quite thick, almost like a chili. If you want the broth to be thinner just add additional broth at the end of the cooking until it’s a consistency that you like.
Cabbage roll soup: FAQs
You can freeze the soup, however the rice will be mushy once it’s defrosted. To avoid this I recommend leaving the rice out of the soup and adding cooked rice in when you reheat it.
Cabbage soup will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator before the rice starts to get mushy. You can also cool the soup completely and freeze it in an airtight contain for up to 3 months. See above for tips about the rice in the soup.
More hearty soup recipes
- Beef and Barley Soup
- Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Ground Turkey and Vegetable Soup
- Lentil Minestrone Soup
Did you make this Cabbage Roll Soup? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 3 cloves of garlic grated (about 2 teaspoons)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 5 cups chopped green cabbage
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups beef or chicken broth
- 16 ounce can tomato sauce
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil to a large pot or Dutch oven. Once the oil is hot, add in the ground turkey, onion, and garlic. Sauté the meat crumbling it as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the meat is browned and the onions have softened, about 8 minutes, add in the carrots and cabbage. Sauté for another 3-4 minutes or until the cabbage starts to wilt.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and stir everything together. Bring the soup to a boil then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir the soup occasionally so that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- If the soup is too thick for your liking, pour in extra broth until it’s a consistency you like. Taste for seasoning and then remove the bay leaves and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
