Name: Cabbage Roll Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; ½ large onion ((chopped)); 1 1/2 teaspoons salt ((to taste)); 1/2 teaspoon pepper ((to taste)); 2 bay leaves; 2 sprigs of fresh thyme ((snipped)); 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce; 1 pound lean ground pork; 1 pound lean ground beef; 1 cup uncooked white rice; 24 ounces diced tomatoes ((undrained)); 24 ounces crushed tomatoes ((undrained)); 6 cups beef broth*; 1 head of cabbage ((cored and chopped))

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

If you’re looking for an easy way to enjoy stuffed cabbage rolls, try this cabbage roll soup! We include instructions for the slow cooker and the Instant Pot. Or you can make it on the stovetop! You may also love our firecracker chicken nachos.

cabbage roll soup in a bowl

Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe

Who loves cabbage rolls? I’ve never actually made cabbage rolls, I remember having them during my teen years at a friend’s house several times. I consider them similar to stuffed peppers, which I love. This cabbage roll soup takes all of the flavors of cabbage rolls and turns them into an easy dinner recipe!

Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup

So what’s in cabbage roll soup? Ours has two meats, both ground pork and ground beef. There are crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes, onion, rice and of course cabbage! You use beef broth as a base, but the tomato flavor really stands out. You can adjust the flavors to be a little spicier if you’d like, but we go for a milder soup.

How to Make Cabbage Soup

You can make cabbage soup 3 ways: in the slow cooker, in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop. If you have time in the morning, we find that the slow cooker method is the easiest to “fix and forget”. If you don’t have time in the morning, using the Instant Pot is a quicker solution in the afternoon.

Be sure to choose lean ground meats. This is especially important if you are using the Instant Pot method. With the other 2 methods you can drain off fat easily. If all you have on hand is a higher fat meat, cook the meat first and drain off fat before adding the onions and spices.
Use fresh thyme. You can easily snip fresh sprigs of thyme with kitchen scissors. Sometimes just adding one or two fresh herbs can make a big difference in taste! If you don’t have fresh thyme, use about ½ teaspoon of dried thyme.
Heads of cabbage are all different sizes. The head of cabbage we used was a smaller one. It probably equaled about 5 cups of cabbage. Fill up your Instant Pot or slow cooker as much as you can. The cabbage will cook down as it simmers!

Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup

We used a 6 quart Instant Pot for this recipe. The pot was VERY full…as full as it could get. I would recommend using a larger 8 qt Instant Pot for this soup.

If you make this soup in your Instant Pot, you’ll want to plan about 90 minutes. Much of that time is hands-off, but you do want to plan time for the pot to come to pressure, which for us was about 25 minutes.

Set the pot for 35 minutes on high pressure and do a quick release when it is done.

Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup

We like making the cabbage soup in the slow cooker. I’m a morning person, so taking the time in the morning to get the slow cooker ready is easiest for me. Especially when after school hours get so busy! It’s nice knowing dinner is done. Simply brown the meat on the stovetop first, drain the fat and add the spices and onions. Then throw the rest of the ingredients on the slow cooker. Boom. Done.

Other Soup Recipes

Cabbage Roll Soup

5 from 2 votes

If you're looking for an easy way to enjoy stuffed cabbage rolls, try this cabbage roll soup! We include instructions for the slow cooker and the Instant Pot.

Servings 12

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Come to Pressure 20

Total Time 55

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion (chopped)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (snipped)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 pound lean ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup uncooked white rice
24 ounces diced tomatoes (undrained)
24 ounces crushed tomatoes (undrained)
6 cups beef broth*
1 head of cabbage (cored and chopped)

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions:

Press saute mode. Add oil.Once oil is hot add in onions, seasonings, herbs, and worcestershire sauce. Stir and allow onions to get a little soft, about 1-2 minutes.
Add in both ground pork and beef. Stirring often, brown the meat.
Once meat has browned, hit the cancel button to stop the saute mode. Add in remaining ingredients and stir together to combine. Cover the Instant Pot with the lid set to sealing and set timer to 35 minutes high pressure on the manual setting.
Once the timer goes off, press the cancel button, and do a quick release.
Serve warm with sour cream and cheese if desired.

Slow Cooker Instructions:

Brown the pork and beef in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Stir well. Drain off any fat.
Add the onions seasonings. Cook and stir for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Place the browned meat in a slow cooker.
Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.
Serve warm with sour cream and cheese if desired.

Video

Notes

I used the larger Instant Pot. A smaller pot will work, but be careful not to overfill it. Add the beef broth last and only add as much as you can so not to go over the fill line.

For a more liquidy soup, add in an additional 2-3 cups of beef broth (or water) to the soup, once it is done.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, parsley (optional)

**You can also make this on the stovetop! Follow the slow cooker instructions except simmer on the stove on low heat, covered, for 90 minutes or until the rice and cabbage are cooked.

Nutrition

Author Julie Clark

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Calories 279

Keyword easy cabbage soup, easy soup recipe, instant pot soup, slow cooker soup