Hamburger Cabbage Soup is a hearty and healthy recipe for unstuffed cabbage rolls in a soup form! This soup is a snap to put together, so it’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
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For a budget-friendly dinner idea using wholesome ingredients, this cabbage soup recipe has everything you want! It’s like deconstructed cabbage rolls swimming in a super flavorful hamburger vegetable soup.
Trust us – everyone in your family will ask for a second helping of this meal!
This cabbage roll soup transforms this rich, savory dish into an easy, one pan meal that’s sure to become a staple in your kitchen.
For another easy one pot dinner with similar flavors, try our Unstuffed Cabbage Skillet.
Why You’ll love this Cabbage Roll Soup
- 3 cooking options. If you need a dump and go recipe, use your slow cooker for a crockpot soup. Another great solution for busy families is making it in an Instant Pot. Otherwise, make it in a big pot on the stove.
- Quicker and easier to make than cabbage rolls. You can enjoy the flavors of a classic comfort food meal on a busy weeknight, and without the messy rolling and clean up!
- Hearty, filling, and flavorful. With 23 grams of protein per serving, unstuffed cabbage soup will keep your body running, and it’s packed with healthy pantry staples that add incredible flavor.
Ingredients
For this cabbage roll soup you’ll need:
- olive oil- you can also use butter or avocado oil
- ground beef – ground turkey or ground chicken works here too
- onion, garlic
- cabbage – I prefer to buy it pre-shredded
- petite diced tomatoes – crushed tomatoes also work, but I like that the petite diced tomatoes add some extra texture.
- tomato sauce
- water
- beef broth
- long grain white rice – brown rice will work, but it will need more broth to cook!
- spices
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Ground Beef: You can substitute ground beef with ground turkey or ground chicken.
Veggies: Feel free to add in more or less veggies. You can use purple cabbage instead of green for a nice burst of color.
Tomatoes: If you don’t have petite diced tomatoes you can use canned crushed tomatoes or even tomato sauce. Either will work well!
Rice: You can use long or short grain white rice. Brown rice is healthier, but it takes more liquid to cook. If you want to use brown rice, we recommend cooking it separately, then stir it into the finished cabbage soup.
Beef Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Spices: Feel free to substitute fresh herbs for dried spices. Use double the amount of fresh herbs in place of dry herbs.
Low carb / Paleo / Whole30: Substitute cauliflower rice for the white rice to make a healthier deconstructed cabbage roll soup. Add the cauliflower rice just before serving, and use 1 cup less water than the recipe calls for.
How to make Cabbage Roll Soup
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes. Add garlic and onion and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT cabbage and stir together. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Once boiling, add cabbage and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, continuing to stir every few minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Liz’s Tips for the Best Soup
- If necessary, drain the ground beef after cooking. We typically like to use an 85/15 blend of hamburger to make ground beef and rice recipes like this. But, you can use a higher fat blend. If you do, drain the grease to prevent the broth from being too greasy.
- Don’t skip sautéing the aromatics. If you plan to make the cabbage soup recipe in a crockpot, this step is optional, but we recommend it. You’ll need to brown the hamburger anyway, so it isn’t going to take any longer. Softening and sautéing the onion and garlic adds a ton of flavor to the soup broth.
- Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf! It always tends to sink to the bottom of the pot, so you may need to use a slotted spoon or ladle to find it.
Serving Suggestions
With loads of veggies, ground beef and rice, this soup is a hearty meal by itself. But, if you want something else to serve with it, we suggest any of the following:
- crusty bread – this sourdough is our favorite or we love Gluten Free Focaccia!
- garnished with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley
- a simple salad like our Greek Salad
- a side of Grilled Vegetables In Foil
If you love hamburger soup recipes, you should try our Vegetable Hamburger Soup Recipe too! And if you love the ingredients in the cabbage roll soup, we also have an unstuffed cabbage roll bowls recipe.
Recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Soup FAQs
Cabbage soup contains ground beef, onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, beef broth, rice, a variety of spices, and, of course, cabbage!
Yes! Once cabbage is overcooked, it will not have a pleasant smell. You want to add the cabbage AFTER the soup has begun to boil and cook only until the rice is al dente.
– Pros: Cabbage soup is low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in essential nutrients, offering a budget friendly option for those seeking to manage their weight and boost their overall health.
– Cons: There aren’t many cons if you are making it at home and using low sodium broth. Some people may experience increased flatulence and bloating after consuming cabbage.
Storage
Storing:Â Unstuffed cabbage soup keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Just be sure to keep it in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing!
If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!
Reheat: You can reheat cabbage soup in the microwave or on the stovetop. If frozen you can thaw in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before, or just reheat directly from frozen.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy soup cookbook.
Hamburger Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion 1 medium onion
- ½ tablespoon garlic
- 4 cups chopped cabbage cut in small squares (about 1 small cabbage, core removed)
- 1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups beef broth low or no salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 2/3 cup long grain white rice
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes.
- Add garlic/onion to the ground beef. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Once onions/garlic have sautéed, add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT cabbage and stir together.
- Cover and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, add cabbage leaves and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes until rice is cooked to al dente, continuing to stir every few minutes.
- The rice will continue to cook slightly when taken off the stove. Remove bay leaf before serving.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
- Note: the rice will absorb broth as it cooks. You can add more broth to the soup when enjoying leftovers if you like a broth-ier consistency.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Set the instant pot to sauté for 15 minutes. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes
- Add garlic/onion to the ground beef. Sauté for an additional 5 mins.
- Once onions/garlic have sautéed, add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT cabbage and stir together.
- Make sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the instant pot so you don’t get a burn notice.
- Cover the instant pot and set the vent to Sealing, High Pressure for 3 minutes.
- It will take about 8-10 minutes for your instant pot to come to pressure. Once cooked, quick release the pressure valve. Stir in cabbage, and put the lid back on top of the instant pot for 2 minutes until the cabbage has wilted slightly. Remove bay leaf before serving.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
- Note: the rice will absorb broth as it cooks. You can add more broth to the soup when enjoying leftovers if you like a broth-ier consistency.
Crockpot Instructions:
- In a pot, heat olive oil. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes.
- Add garlic/onion to the ground beef. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Once onions/garlic have sautéed, add the beef/garlic/onion mixture to the crockpot.
- Add all remaining ingredients except cabbage to the crockpot and stir together.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. (All slow cookers are different, check yours to make sure the rice isn’t over cooking.)
- One hour before serving, add your cabbage to the slow cooker and stir to combine (you can add it in at the beginning, it will just be really soft if it cooks for that long!)
- Remove bay leaf before serving.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
- Note: the rice will absorb broth as it cooks. You can add more broth to the soup when enjoying leftovers if you like a broth-ier consistency.
- Slow Cooker Note: To avoid over-cooked rice, you can reduce the amount of water in this recipe by 1 cup, and cook your rice on the side. Stir in cooked rice when the soup has finished cooking
Joan Van Deelen says
This is really good! It’s fast & easy on the stovetop, and is delicious!