Hearty Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup

Cabbage Roll Soup is an easy way to serve your favorite stuffed cabbage rolls but without all the fuss. Hearty and full of vegetables, this soup tastes like it’s been simmering all day long but made in less than 30 minutes!

Who can use a one pot meal right about now?I know I do! I HATE doing dishes. I would rather run my dishwasher 100 times a day than do dishes.

Not doing dishes is a HUGE plus, but I also want my meals to be hearty and delicious.

This unstuffed cabbage soup is just that!

Cabbage Roll Soup

This recipe is a remake of my aunt’s recipe. I loved her cabbage rolls growing up. I looked forward to them every Thanksgiving because they weren’t the usual cabbage rolls.

They were really sweet and sour and tangy and so delicious. The ultimate comfort food!

The year she hosted Turkey day, I got to help her in the kitchen and learn her SECRET! And I am sharing it with you today.

Her cabbage rolls were LEGENDARY and the whole family loved them (and still do). But when I am not in the mood for all the rolling, I make them into a soup.

Not because I’m lazy (I really am LOL) but because I just want to eat them without all the fuss.

Ready for the secret?!?!

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Ingredients Needed

Ground beef – Use lean ground beef or substitute ground turkey or ground pork.

Cabbage – Use green cabbage or substitute red cabbage.

Tomato juice – This is the secret ingredient. Try it with spicy too!

Lemon juice – Also a secret ingredient to balance out the richness of the tomatoes.

Pantry staples – White rice, beef broth, diced tomatoes, sweet onion.

The surprise ingredients are tomato juice and lemon juice. You can really call this sweet and sour cabbage, like my aunt intended.

You might think that the lemon juice and all the tomatoes would make it too tangy/tart, but it really works. She used to throw a little stevia in the broth but I am not a fan of that.

Check out the tips section for more tricks:)

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How to Make Cabbage Soup with Hamburger

First: In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent.

Second: Add the spices and ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Drain if desired. Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, and broth and bring to a boil.

Third: Add the rice and stir. Lower the heat to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and stir to combine.

Fourth: Simmer for 20 minutes or until cabbage is tender and rice is cooked through. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

For the full recipe and detailed baking instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post.

Can you freeze it?

Yes! This is a great soup to make ahead and freeze for an easy dinner on a busy night.

Chill the soup down, place in freezer safe containers (I LOVE these!) and freeze for up to 3 months.

I recommend portioning out the soup for quicker thawing. This is also a great way to portion it out for an easy and healthy lunch!

Can you make it in a crock pot or slow cooker?

If you want to make this delicious soup in the slow cooker you certainly can! Just saute the onion and ground beef separately.

Then add it and all the other ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3.

You can add the rice in the beginning or you can wait and add it 30 minutes before serving. I like to let the soup cook on low all day and when I am getting ready for dinner, add the rice.

By the time I change into my comfy clothes and get the table set, the rice is cooked and the soup is ready to serve!

Can you make this in an instant pot?

Yes! Using the sauté function, cook the onions and ground beef. Then add all the other ingredients and set the instant pot to the soup setting.

Cook for 5 minutes and let the steam self release for 10 minutes. It’s ready to go!

This unstuffed cabbage roll soup is a one pot meal that everyone will love! It’s hearty with less than 250 calories per serving. I eat this when I am watching my weight.

It’s SO much better for you than those boring diet cabbage soups that are basically water with zero flavor.

Tips for No Leftovers

• If you don’t have tomato juice, you can use tomato paste and water, canned tomato soup, or tomato puree.
• Try V8 juice if you want to pack in more veggies per serving. The spicy flavor is really good for this recipe
• If you are making this soup ahead of time and are freezing all of it, I recommend leaving out the rice and adding cooked rice before serving
• I like to make convenient lunch portions by freezing in these easy, reusable containers. They also help with portion control!
• Italian sausage is also a great beef alternative that will add lots of flavor! Check out these other ground beef recipes!
• Don’t eat red meat? Make this with ground turkey or chicken and substitute chicken broth for the beef broth.
• Toss in a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of garlic powder for an extra flavor twist.
• Two acidic for you? Add a bit of artificial sweetener like stevia or add two tablespoons of brown sugar to sweeten it a bit.
• Not a fan of sugar? Add in some finely chopped carrot with the onion and it will naturally sweeten the soup.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please write a five-star review in the comment section below (or on Pinterest with the “tried it” button – you can now add pictures into reviews, too!), and be sure to help me share on facebook!

Gather your ingredients for this great soup recipe, take 30 minutes, and dinner is ready!

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