Cabbage Roll Soup
This cabbage roll soup recipe delivers all the sweet, tangy, savory flavor of traditional stuffed cabbage in a single pot, with no blanching or rolling required.
Equipment
- Dutch oven - 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed soup pot with a tight-fitting lid
- Chef's knife - sharp, for the cabbage, onion, and garlic
- Large cutting board - with a groove or lip to catch cabbage juices
- Wooden spoon - for breaking up the beef and scraping browned bits
- Ladle - for serving
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- Glass storage containers - with airtight lids for leftovers
- Small bowl - for the chopped parsley and optional sour cream
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil - 15 ml
- 1 pound lean ground beef - 450 g, 90/10 blend
- 1 medium yellow onion - about 1 cup or 150 g, diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 0.5 medium head green cabbage - about 1 pound or 450 g, cored and chopped into spoon-sized pieces (about 5 cups)
- 5 cups beef broth - 1.2 L, low-sodium preferred
- 1 can diced tomatoes - 15 ounces or 425 g, undrained
- 1 can tomato sauce - 15 ounces or 425 g
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste - 32 g
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce - 15 ml
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar - 13 g
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar - 15 ml
- 2 teaspoons paprika - sweet Hungarian paprika gives the best flavor
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt - plus more to taste
- 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 0.666 cup uncooked long-grain white rice - 125 g
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley - finely chopped, for garnish
- 0.5 cup sour cream - 120 g, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the cored cabbage into spoon-sized pieces (about 5 cups). Open the canned tomatoes, sauce, and paste, and measure out the spices.
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion, salt, and pepper, and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, breaking the beef into crumbles, until no pink remains. Spoon off excess fat if needed.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then add all the cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the cabbage has softened slightly and begun to wilt.
- Pour in the broth, diced tomatoes with juices, and tomato sauce. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, paprika, thyme, oregano, and bay leaf. Stir well, scraping up browned bits, and bring to a boil, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the uncooked rice. Cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the rice is tender and the cabbage is completely soft.
- Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, then taste and adjust salt, pepper, or brown sugar. Thin with up to 1 cup of extra broth if desired.
- Ladle into bowls and top with chopped fresh parsley. If using sour cream, add about 1 tablespoon to each bowl off the heat, stirring in or leaving as a dollop.
Notes
- Chop the cabbage to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces so every bite fits on a spoon and softens evenly.
- Use 90/10 ground beef so it browns with enough fond to flavor the broth without leaving a greasy layer; if using 80/20, drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
- Green cabbage holds its shape through the simmer better than savoy or napa; red cabbage turns the broth a muddy purple.
- Use uncooked long-grain white rice; short-grain or instant rice breaks down and turns to paste.
- Keep the lid on and the heat low, lifting only to stir, so the rice cooks evenly and the broth does not reduce too much.
- Buy low-sodium broth and tomatoes so you can season at the end instead of fixing an over-salted pot.
- Add the apple cider vinegar last, off the heat, so its brightness does not cook off.
- For the best freezer texture, make the soup without the rice, freeze it, and stir in 2 cups of freshly cooked rice when reheating.
- Store leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months; the soup thickens as it sits, so add broth when reheating.
- Prep the onion, garlic, and cabbage a day ahead and store in separate airtight containers to cut active work to about 5 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1BowlCalories: 250kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 17gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 800mgPotassium: 900mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9g
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