Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup

A black ladle lifting a hearty scoop of cabbage roll soup from a large skillet, showing tender cabbage, ground beef, tomatoes, and rice in a rich red broth.

Forget boiling cabbage leaves and wrestling them into tidy rolls. This easy stuffed cabbage soup gives you all the flavors — beef, cabbage, tomatoes, a little sweet, a little tang — in one big pot. Serve it with a swirl of sour cream on top, and you’ll never miss the rolls.

Course Soup

Cuisine American - Vintage

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 256kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil olive or vegetable, whatever’s handy
1 pound ground beef
14 ounce bag coleslaw mix yes, the shortcut bag — cabbage + carrots all done for you or 14 ounces shredded cabbage
1 large onion chopped
14 ounces beef stock
14 ounces V-8 juice
28- ounce can crushed tomatoes with puree
1 cup water
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or cider vinegar in a pinch
1 teaspoon salt
⅓ cup long-grain rice uncooked
Fresh parsley for garnish
Sour cream for serving

Instructions

Heat oil in a big soup pot over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned and crumbly, about 5–7 minutes. Drain if needed.
Stir in coleslaw mix and onion. Cook for 4–5 minutes until slightly softened.
Add broth, tomatoes, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Stir in the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 40–45 minutes, until rice is tender and the soup is rich and thickened.
Taste and adjust seasoning (add more salt, pepper, or lemon if you like it tangy).
Ladle into bowls, top each with a generous dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with parsley.

Slow Cooker

Brown the beef.
Toss everything except rice into the slow cooker for 6-7 hours.
Cook rice and add 15 minutes or so before serving.

Notes

Storage:

Soup will keep in the fridge for 3–4 days and actually tastes better once the flavors settle down and decide to behave.

If you’re freezing it, do yourself a favor and freeze it without the rice. Freeze the broth-y part for up to 3 months, and add fresh rice when you reheat.

Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of broth or water if it thickened up.

Tips:

Use cole slaw mix. It’s pre-shredded cabbage without the emotional damage of chopping a whole head yourself.
Don’t overcook the rice. It’ll drink the broth like gossip at a church potluck. Add more liquid if things get thick.
Freeze without the rice. Unless you enjoy thawing cabbage-flavored concrete. Add fresh rice when reheating.

Nutrition