Cabbage Roll Soup

I was feeling nostalgic for cabbage rolls but wanted a quick and easy dinner. My solution? Cabbage roll soup! It’s a hearty, warming bowl of comfort food that embraces all the goodness of cabbage rolls: ground beef, rice, tomatoes, and tons of green cabbage, flavored with the gentle spice of oregano and paprika. Prepared in just two easy steps, it's the perfect solution for when you're craving all those comforting flavors in half the time.

How To Make Cabbage Roll Soup

INGREDIENTS

• Ground Beef: Lean ground beef is the key to a rich, meaty soup that doesn’t tip into greasy territory. Look for 90% lean and you’re golden.
• Tomatoes: I prefer fire-roasted tomatoes for the savory depth they bring to the broth.
• Cabbage: For that classic cabbage roll flavor, standard green cabbage is the way to go. Its sturdy leaves are ideally suited to long simmering, turning sweet and tender while holding their shape and retaining some bite.
• Rice: I opted to cook the rice directly in the soup because (1) it adds bulk, (2) it thickens the soup, lending a little extra weight, and (3) I love a shortcut!
• Worcestershire Sauce: This flavor bomb condiment buttresses the savoriness of the ground beef in the soup.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apples and cabbage have a well-established affinity for one another, so apple cider vinegar was a natural pick when I wanted a bit of acid to perk up this soup.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

This soup comes together super-fast: no painstaking sweating of aromatics, no meticulous browning of meat. Instead, the two are thrown into the pot all at once and cooked just until the beef is cooked through and the veggies are tender. This shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes of your precious time; try to leave the beef in small chunks to preserve a bit of texture. Garlic goes in at the end; cook it just until fragrant.

Okay, let’s turn this meaty soup base into a proper soup. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the parsley and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the rice and cabbage are tender, about 20 minutes. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. Now go ahead and add the parsley to provide some color and freshness!

And with that our soup is done! Serve it up in bowls, topped with more parsley to make it nice and pretty.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Simmer, don’t boil: This soup is quick enough as it is. Don’t attempt to speed things further by cooking it at a boil. You’ll only overcook the cabbage and perfume your kitchen with a vaguely sulfurous odor.
• Cabbage roll soup toppings: I like to serve this soup with a toppings bar alongside—sort of like you would with a bowl of chili. What toppings work well with this soup, you may ask? Start with something creamy, like sour cream or Greek yogurt, and something cheesy, like grated cheddar or Swiss. Then include an herb like parsley, dill, or cilantro. Lastly, be sure to add a spicy option; I’m partial to pickled jalapeños.

Storage

If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.