You will love this Stuffed Cabbage Soup! It is a hearty twist on a cherished childhood recipe that is easy, delicious, and perfect for cozy days at home!
Stuffed cabbage is one of those foods that instantly takes me back to my childhood. One bite, and I am transported back to that blue-formica-topped kitchen counter watching Mom carefully roll the meat filling in the cabbage leaves.
Oddly enough, even as a child, this was one of my favorite meals, but then again I was also known to turn down a bowl of ice cream for a bowl of collard greens.
When I started seeing tons of Stuffed Cabbage soup recipes pop up, I thought… “I need to do that to Mom’s recipe.” So I did! Not only is this amazingly delicious, but it’s SO much easier than the original while still maintaining all that great flavor! Think of this like an unstuffed cabbage roll soup.
Tips for Perfect Cabbage Soup:
Add juice for a thinner soup! This recipe makes a thick soup. It’s really more stew-like. So, if you want a thinner soup, just add some more vegetable juice.
I use V8! The vegetable juice that I reference in this recipe is the V8 brand. You could really use any alternative brand, but V8 is just my preference. You can use the low sodium or spicy versions as well.
Salt to taste! Feel comfortable being generous with the salt on this one. It takes a lot to get it where it needs to be. I didn’t put a specific amount though because varying juices have various amounts of sodium, and I didn’t want you to end up with something that was too salty. Don’t ever be afraid to taste your food. That’s what adding salt and pepper to taste means.
Should the cup of rice in this cabbage soup recipe be cooked or uncooked?
I do not recommend cooking the rice before you add it to this soup. If you do that, you run the risk of your rice getting mushy and gross. And, no one wants mushy rice in this delicious bowl of goodness!
Can you substitute brown rice in this cabbage soup?
You absolutely can substitute brown rice for white rice in this cabbage soup. However, you might need to slightly adjust the cook time. It generally requires a longer cook time, so just make sure you give it plenty of time to cook up.
If you are looking for a healthy alternative, you could also substitute cauliflower rice. I recommend adding that particular rice in towards the very end of your cook time.
Can you freeze cabbage soup or reheat leftovers?
This soup recipe makes for great leftovers! In fact, I might actually prefer it the second day after all those flavors have time to get happy. You can store in it the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. It also stores well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe Card
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
- 3 cups vegetable juice ((like V8))
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 cup rice
- 1 medium head cabbage (cored and chopped)
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or very large dutch oven, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Once it starts to brown, add the chopped onion and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the grease way.
- Return the meat and onion to the pot over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add the undrained tomatoes, vegetable juice, and beef broth. Bring to a boil then stir in the rice. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the cabbage. Stir well.
- Cook, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender and the rice is fully cooked. Generously add salt and pepper to taste. Add additional vegetable juice if you'd like a thinner soup.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Mimi K
This soup is delicious. I admit, I never follow a recipe to the letter and always add something to make it my own but I gave this one top stars. My son in law loved it.
I’m happy to hear everyone liked it, Mimi!
Marilyn FIELD
Cabbage Soup is delicious 😋
Thanks, Marilyn! I couldn’t agree more!
Cindy Jordan
Hi Stacey! I have a question on the rice. I do not have luck cooking rice this way. I am afraid it will come out crunchy. Any tips on that? Thank you!
john
Cindy, I agree. Seems to take forever to cook rice in a crockpot. Maybe use minute rice instead, or even use precooked rice and add it in last 30 to 60 min. just a thought.
Yes! I think the best bet, after some further testing, is to add cooked rice in the last 30 minutes if you go with the slow cooker method.
Hey, Cindy! After further testing, I can’t produce a consistent result in the slow cooker, so I’ve removed that suggestion.
Pat
Not a fan of rice, would leaving it out change the thickness of the broth and could potatoes be a placement
I think leaving the rice out or adding the potatoes would certainly work. However, I think you might need a little more liquid if you add the potatoes.
Brenda
You say for the crockpot: “I’d cook it on low for 4 hours or high for 6 hours and wait until the last hour to add in your rice.” I don’t think you mean that.
Also, you said in the email that there is a secret ingredient – well, you’re right it is very secret. I have no idea which ingredient is secret.
You’re correct, I don’t mean that. I just got the numbers transposed. After further testing, however, I can’t produce a consistent result in the slow cooker, so I’ve removed that suggestion.
As for the secret ingredient, it’s the V8 juice. It adds so much flavor.
Cheryl
**Can you make cabbage soup in the crockpot?
I don’t see why not! Simply brown your ground beef before you combine it with all the other ingredients in the crock pot! I’d cook it on low for 4 hours or high for 6 hours and wait until the last hour to add in your rice**
Usually crockpot cooking on high is the shorter time and low the longer time. Am I misunderstanding the directions?
No misunderstanding, I just simply transposed the cook times. So sorry. After further testing, however, I can’t produce a consistent result in the slow cooker, so I’ve removed that suggestion.
Kathy Rodgers
I did add additional salt, but other than that, I used the ingredients listed. It tasted wonderful! I was concerned about my husband liking it as much as I did, but he loved it as well.
So glad y’all enjoyed it, Kathy! It looks delicious!
Andee
This is so good. My daughter, who lives in Arizona, requests this every time she comes to town. Much easier than rolling…. going to try brown rice next time..
So glad to hear she’s enjoyed this!
Regina
So many advertisements I couldn’t access the recipe.
Waste if time.
Hi Regina! The ads, while frustrating, are there to keep the recipes free for you. I’m sorry to hear about the aggravation. I hope that you’ll come back with the understanding that those ads are how I put food on the table at my house and that a little scrolling is all it takes for the free recipe. There’s also a handy “jump to recipe” button right at the top of every post.
dave maciel
extra touches to mirror my golomky recipe are some green pepper, skip the v-8 juice and put in a can of tomato soup, along with 1.5 ibs of ground beef put in 1/2 lb of Italian sausage and 1/2 lb of ground venison
Sounds great!
Dale Morgan
Should the cup of rice be cooked or uncooked?
You’ll want to add uncooked rice to this. Enjoy!
Pop Weyler
Tried this last night and it was better than I thought it would be. It was awesome. So much easier than rolling the cabbage but even tasted better. Added a little sugar at the end and it really brought out the flavors.
So glad to hear it turned out great for you!
Tanya
I almost always use minute rice when making a dish like this, but didnt this time, my rice is still stiff, ughhh, think Ill use minute rice next time
You can always add a little more liquid and cook longer if you have trouble. I’ve not had that issue with this one. However, minute or instant rice will also work.
Wendy Hampton
Holey moley! This is so good that I have even eaten it for Breakfast this morning. And lunch of course…and then dinner because it tasted so good the first two times. I must have needed some veggies in my diet! The V8 seems to add a lot of depth. I think I’m going to start adding to other recipes that call for tomatoes. Thanks again for sharing this great variation on cabbage rolls!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I really love adding V8 to recipes like this. It just gives them a kick!
Kelly Napier
Thank you for this recipe! Came in handy when I totally failed at attempting stuffed cabbage rolls for the first time. Bonus is that my son liked the soup much more than looking at a full leaf of cabbage around the other “stuff”. 🙂
LOL! Glad I could help out! Wrapping those things can be a booger!
Eden Isaac
I made this for dinner & it was amazing!
I’m definitely adding this to my Winter meal rotation. It was so easy, but it tasted like a lot of work went into it. Thank you for the great recipe. 🙂
You are so welcome! So glad y’all enjoyed it!
Scott
Tried this, was good but turned out very thick, more like a stew than a soup. I would recommend adding the cabbage first, as the inner thicker parts of the cabbage were a bit under done when made according to recipe. Overall great flavor, my wife adds a package of brown gravy mix to her stuffed cabbage as well, which I did add to this soup. It adds another dimension of flavor that is closer to our family stuffed cabbage recipe. Overall well done, will make again and thank you!
Good advice! I typically discard (or eat raw) the inner core. Love the addition of the gravy mix!
Patricia
Was wondering if you could sub brown rice instead? It looks so good!
Absolutely! Just keep in mind it will require a longer cook time.
Brenda
I’m going to have to try this, it sounds absolutely delicious! Have you tried freezing it? I’m wondering how it would do if frozen and then reheated for a second meal.
Yes! Works just fine. 🙂
Arlene Mcc
bookmark all your recipes
Love hearing that!!
Cat
Yum! I loved reading the part of your post where you talked about being a “strange kid” and preferring a bowl of collard greens to a bowl of ice cream. I laughed because as a kid I was the exact same way (and still am). To this day I prefer collards to ice cream. My mother, a chocoholic, does not understand my aversion to chocolate, lol.
Another thing I love about this post is that it’s a cabbage soup. My mom has always made a cabbage & kielbasa soup, which I love. So cabbage soup is a comfort food for me since I enjoyed it as a child. From one veggie-loving recipe addict and writer to another, I’d be happy to share the recipe if you want 🙂
I never turn down recipes! 🙂
Elyse B.
Made this it was really good!
Love hearing that! So glad you enjoyed it, Elyse!
Pam Croen
Made this today! Love it! It’s actually like a stew, unless you add some extra beef stock and V-8 juice! Live it thick, so no problem for me. I also added a few extra seasonings, oregano and time…just my taste. You really can’t go wrong with anything!
So glad you enjoyed it, Pam!!
Janice
Can you make this in a Crock Pot? It sounds wonderful.
I don’t see why not. Simply brown your ground beef, then combine it all in the crock pot!
Judy D Jewell
I mix half a bottle of bloody Mary mix and half a bottle of V8. Either can be added to get the taste you want.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing!!
Linda
What type of cabbage did you use?
Just plain green cabbage.
Martha
This recipe and a good sized cake of cornbread OMG what a meal, oh
yes a good tall cold glass of milk. WOW
I couldn’t agree more!! Yum!
Vicky
This sounds delicious! I loved your memory of your Mother. That’s what I’m hoping my 6 sons will have of me when they’re grown. Lovely memories in the kitchen 🙂
It’s such a great place to raise your kids! 🙂
Ren
Sounds Super Yum! Loved my Moms! Will admit never made it for my kids (Shame on me!) for the reason you stated “watching Mom carefully roll the meat filling in the cabbage leaves.”
This will be another this weekend meal! Thank you!
Btw! your Moms “Gravy and chicken recipe” was sooooooooooo good! Some people just don’t know what they missed!
Thank you again!
I hope ‘all will enjoy this one too! So glad to hear the Chicken and Gravy turned out well for you! Enjoy!
Doris
Thanks Stacey,i am going to make this.I have a recipe called cabbage wedge casserole,yet I have been reluctant to make it because of thinking the cabbage would absorb the grease.What do you think?
That what’s great about this one, you drain all that grease away. And using the leanest beef you can find will help even more.
Claudine
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for ages! A friend made this for me long ago and was never able to re-create it. Guess what we’re having for supper tomorrow??? LOL!
Thanks Stacey, and as always your recipes rock!
Thanks, Claudine! I hope you enjoy this and that it tastes just like what you remember!
Kari
What a great way to sneak cabbage into your diet!
Kari
https://sweetteasweetie.com/
JoAnn Johnson
Made this for dinner…really tasty! This is a keeper! Yummy!
Awesome! So glad y’all enjoyed it, JoAnn!!
Ha! So true! And it’s so good!