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Cabbage Roll Soup

All the comforting flavours of my favourite cabbage rolls, but in a soup! No rolling required. This soup comes together quickly, and is full of vibrant flavours thanks to the seasonings that make classic cabbage rolls so memorable. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, and crusty bread on the side.

Course Soup
Cuisine German, North American
Keyword cabbage, cabbage rolls, caraway seeds, tomato passata
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef, see Notes
  • 1 large yellow onion chopped
  • 4 medium garlic cloves minced
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 cups shredded green cabbage packed cups
  • 2 medium carrots diced into quarter moons
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp crushed caraway seeds, use a mortar and pestle, or even just a glass bottle crushing the seeds inside a plastic bag
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 4 cups beef broth plus more if desired, see Notes
  • 2 tsp beef bouillon I like Better than Beef Bouillon paste see Notes
  • 1 22 oz (680 ml) or thereabouts jar tomato passata or sauce, see Notes
  • 3/4 cup (180 ml) uncooked rinsed basmati rice see Notes
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat. Add the ground beef, and start browning. Half way through, sprinkle with salt and pepper to begin the seasoning process. Cook till browned and crumbled, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the onions and garlic and cook till starting to soften, about 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add in the cabbage, and carrots, and stir through. Add the bay leaves, and sprinkle in the caraway seeds, smoked paprika, white pepper, and nutmeg, stir to coat everything.
  4. Add in the 4 cups of broth, the bouillon, and the tomato passata.
  5. Bring to a simmer and then cook, over medium low heat, partially covered, till the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
  6. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

  7. Meanwhile, prepare the rice using your preferred method. Once cooked, set aside till needed. I cook mine in a rice cooker with 1 1/4 cup water, lightly salted. Once cooked, set aside till needed.

Serve

  1. To serve, spoon some of the rice into each bowl. Ladle the soup over the rice and stir through to combine. Finish with parsley.
  2. To store, place the soup into a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days. Store any unused rice in a separate container.
  3. See blog post for details.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to use ground turkey, chicken or even pork in place of the beef.
If you don't want to use the bouillon, use a few good dashes of Worcestershire Sauce.
Don't worry about the exact size of the tomato sauce or passata. If you have a jar of homemade and it is larger, that's fine.
If you will be eating all the soup in one sitting, feel free to cook the rice in with the soup. Just be prepared to add extra broth to make up for the amount that the rice absorbs. You can add it in when you add the liquids to the vegetables.