The BEST Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe - The Kitchen Gir (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Cabbage roll soup has all the comfort of stuffed cabbage rolls in soup form with loads of cabbage, lean ground beef, and rice in a rich tomato and beef broth.

There’s a reason stuffed cabbage soup is so popular. It has the delicious flavors, textures, and comfort of traditional cabbage rolls, yet there's no time spent rolling. There's plenty of beef and lots of cabbage. It's perfectly balanced!

It’s game changing, actually. Like, easy peasy dinner for the whole family! It could win awards on comfort alone, just like stuffed pepper soup, lasagna soup, zuppa toscana, or white chicken chili.

Cabbage roll soup ingredients

Recipe amounts are included in the printable recipe below.

• olive oil - or preferred oil
• lean ground beef - or preferred fat percentage. Feel free to substitute sausage too!
• garlic cloves - fresh garlic is recommended but a smaller amount of garlic powder would work too.
• onion - white or yellow onion
• carrots - or other vegetables as desired
• canned crushed tomatoes - canned diced tomatoes or tomato sauce could be used in equal amounts
• tomato paste -not a requirement, but adds tomato richness to the soup flavor
• uncooked long grain white rice -or cooked brown rice can be added after this recipe cooks. I don't recommend instant white rice for the Instant Pot version of this recipe because it will overcook in said cooking time.
• brown sugar - or white sugar
• Worcestershire sauce - or soy sauce
• smoked paprika - for a spicy kick, use cayenne or chili powder
• chopped cabbage - use fresh green cabbage or frozen
• beef broth or beef stock - chicken or vegetable broth would work too!
• salt and pepper - add to taste
• fresh parsley - for garnish

How to make cabbage roll soup

Full recipe instructions for Instant Pot or stove are in the printable recipe below.

1. Once you have ingredients chopped and ready to cook, you’ll brown the ground beef in the Instant Pot or soup pot, along with the garlic and onions.

2. Next, add carrots, white rice, tomato sauce ingredients, seasonings, cabbage, and beef broth.

3. Give everything a good stir before cooking whether you're stove cooking or pressure cooking.

4. Once it's cooked, grab some French bread and feed your army this delicious stuffed cabbage soup!

Why we love stuffed cabbage roll soup

• budget friendly - It feeds an army and uses mostly pantry staples.

• easy to scale - this recipe can easily be halved to make a 2 quart yield for

• family friendly flavors - Beef cabbage soup is seasoned mildly to make it family friendly, which makes it super customizable.

• made for Instant Pot or stove - Recipe includes the classic soup pot version AND Instant Pot method. Grab these other Instant Pot soup recipes while you're here!

Recipe tips and variations

• Use sausage in place of ground beef for even more meaty flavor. Or use ground turkey for a lighter version.
• Don't want sugar? Leave it out or substitute your favorite sugar alternative.
• Add other vegetables to stuffed cabbage soup, such as cauliflower, broccoli, and zucchini.
• Substitute white rice by adding 2 cups cooked cauliflower rice or cooked brown rice after the soup has cooked.
• Add a spicy kick to your cabbage roll soup by using some cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, or chili powder in place of, or in addition to the paprika.
• Feel free to season this soup any way you like. To make it family-friendly, I used mild seasonings. I'm also leaving the salt and pepper up to you because sodium in canned good varies so widely.

Can you freeze cabbage roll soup?

You sure can! In fact, and this recipe yields 4 quarts, so there’s plenty to freeze if you’re a small family. To freeze this soup, allow it to cool completely, then package into freezer safe storage containers or zip top bags. Freeze up to 90 days, or longer if vacuum sealed.

📖 Recipe