All the flavours of cabbage rolls in soup form. Let it cook away in the slow cooker or crockpot or you can make it on the stovetop as well.
I don’t use my slow cooker all that often, but in the depths of Winter there is something so nice about a warm and hearty soup cooking away on the counter. This cabbage roll soup is just that! Don’t worry if you don’t have a slow cooker. I’ve included the instructions for a stovetop version, as well.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes on the key ingredients …
Cabbage – Start with a whole green cabbage. You’ll only need about 1/3 or less of it, depending on the size. Find some uses for the rest of the cabbage below.
Uses for leftover cabbage – for coleslaw, cabbage stir fry, add it to mashed potatoes for colcannon, cabbage sautéed with butter and bacon in a skillet, “egg roll in a bowl”, roast cabbage wedges in the oven with olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Tomato Sauce – Start with a large can of tomato sauce. I generally use Hunt’s brand tomato sauce. In place of tomato sauce, you could use a similar-sized can of diced tomatoes.
Ground beef – You can use medium, lean or extra lean ground beef. We will be spooning off the fat anyway.
Carrots – You will need about 2 carrots for this soup. For the slow cooker, you can halve or quarter and slice. For the stovetop version, chop the carrots smaller to ensure they cook thoroughly in the shorter cooking time.
Rice – Long-grain rice is recommended, but basmati works fine as well. Cook according to package directions. I like a little more rice in my soup, soup I start with 3/4 cup of uncooked rice. If you prefer less, reduce that amount to about 1/2 cup of uncooked rice.
How to make slow cooker cabbage roll soup
This is a summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below.
- I have a two-piece slow cooker, with the top part stove-top safe. If you don’t, simply brown the meat in a skillet on the stovetop.
- Spoon off and discard the excess fat from the beef.
- Add the onion to the pot.
- Cook the onions with the beef until the onions are softened.
- (If using a skillet, transfer the beef and onion to the slow cooker now. Add the chopped cabbage and carrots to the slow cooker.
- Add the tomato sauce to the slow cooker.
- Add the beef broth to the slow cooker.
- Add the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and just a bit of salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf. Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions in a lidded saucepan or a rice cooker (start the rice 30-40 minutes before the soup is done). Add the cooked rice to the soup. (You can also spoon the hot soup over rice in a bowl if you want to keep the rice separate.)
- Add some chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley to the soup.
- Taste the soup and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Recipe tips!
- You might be wondering if you couldn’t just add the rice to the slow cooker and skip making it separately. Adding the rice to the soup in a slow cooker is a bad idea for a couple of reasons. First, if you put it in at the start, it would be overcooked and mushy. If you put it in partly through cooking, it may be either undercooked or overcooked when the soup is done. What’s more, the rice will absorb a lot of the lovely broth for this soup as it cooks together.
- Adding the rice at the end of cooking is a little extra work, but it allows you to control how much you add and it will always be perfectly cooked.
- You can also opt to keep the rice and soup separate and simply spoon the hot soup over some cooked rice in the bowl. This is a great option if you are planning for leftovers. Keeping the soup and rice separated will keep the soup from becoming stew-like in the refrigerator.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
If you intend to make the soup ahead, it is best to keep the rice and the soup separated until serving. Refrigerate the cooked rice and soup separately.
Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This soup will freeze well for up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, or other cooking oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup onion , finely diced
- 4 cups green cabbage, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups carrots, peeled and diced or quartered and sliced
- 4 cups beef broth
- 23 oz (680 ml) canned tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
To add after cooking:
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups cooked long grain or basmati rice, from 1/2-3/4 cup uncooked rice
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 Tbsp dried parsley)
Instructions
- You can also make this soup on the stovetop. Start with a large soup pot or Dutch oven, then follow the stovetop method instructions detailed in the Recipe Notes below.
- If you have a two-part slow cooker with the top part being stovetop safe, you can brown the ground beef and onion in that. Otherwise, use a skillet on the stovetop to cook the ground beef and onion and transfer it to the slow cooker when done.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring regularly, until the ground beef is browned, about 4-5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is softened, 2-3 minutes more.
- Transfer the ground beef mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add the cabbage, carrots, beef broth, tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the bay leaf.
- Start the rice to cook in a saucepan or rice cooker per package instructions, about 30 minutes before the soup is done.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW. Remove and discard bay leaf.
- Tip! Alternately, you can add the cooked rice to a bowl and spoon the hot soup over it. This method keeps the rice out of the soup and prevents leftovers from becoming stew-like.
- Stir in the cooked rice and fresh parsley. Taste the soup and add salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed. *Proper salting of soup is really important. Season generously. If the soup tastes "flat" it needs more salt!
Notes
- You might be wondering if you couldn’t just add the rice to the slow cooker and skip making it separately. Adding the rice to the soup in a slow cooker is a bad idea for a couple of reasons. First, if you put it in at the start, it would be overcooked and mushy. If you put it in partly through cooking, it may be either undercooked or overcooked when the soup is done. What’s more, the rice will absorb a lot of the lovely broth for this soup as it cooks together.
- Adding the rice at the end of cooking is a little extra work, but it allows you to control how much you add and it will always be perfectly cooked.
- You can also opt to keep the rice and soup separate and simply spoon the hot soup over some cooked rice in the bowl. This is a great option if you are planning for leftovers. Keeping the soup and rice separated will keep the soup from becoming stew-like in the refrigerator.
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I made this today and we enjoyed it very much. I used orzo rather than rice as we prefer pasta in our soups. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Elsie. Thanks so much!