Stuffed Cabbage Soup with Beef and Rice

If you love stuffed cabbage but have no time or energy to make it, try its soup version. This Stuffed Cabbage Soup with Beef and Rice makes you equally happy!

Who doesn’t love Cabbage Rolls? I can eat it every. single. day. Even the thought of it served with lemon and yogurt on the side makes my mouth water. On the other hand, I am a busy mom mostly in need for easier and quicker dishes. Obviously, it’s not just me, so I’m proud to share the shortcut version with all busy moms out there today! Use the same ingredients of your favorite cabbage rolls recipe and make this stuffed cabbage soup. Way easier and faster because there is no tiresome step of rolling.

September is probably my favorite month. Not too hot or too cold. Just the perfect weather and beautiful colors outside. After a long salad season, the perfect time for baking muffins, breads or cookies and cooking comforting soups and casseroles has come back. I think the happiest person in the family about this weather change (meaning recipe change as well) is our little gourmet. He asks what soup I make for dinner almost everyday. Believe it or not, he can devour a hearty soup even on the hottest day of summer. I don’t feel like making soup though unless the temperature is cool enough. So you can imagine how pleased he was when he saw this stuffed cabbage soup on the table.

No matter what the season is, your all time favorite recipe on this blog is Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole(Video included), which is another shortcut of cabbage rolls. If you love it that much, I’m pretty sure that you will love this soup recipe as well. Maybe even more because it is far easier. Plus, it is one of those tasty one-pot dishes. I love the idea of cooking everything in the same pot. What’s more, it freezes well. This recipe is a life saver. I’m telling you!

About This Stuffed Cabbage Soup Recipe

• I love cabbage rolls a little tangy and spicy, so this stuffed cabbage soup has a similar taste. My family loves dried mint in any recipe, so I use it in this soup too. I don’t think it’s optional as it gives an amazingly appetizing flavor to the soup but you can start in a small amount if you are not sure. Besides dried mint, I use ground black pepper, cumin and sweet chili powder.
• I use hot water in this soup because we like it this way. As it already has ground beef, it doesn’t need to be flavored with beef or chicken stock. If you like
• Also, herbs are great ingredients that make the soup so flavorful and nutritious. I chop some fresh parsley in the soup right after everything is cooked and garnish it with fresh mint. You can use whichever you have on hand.
• Finally, serve it with extra lemon wedges. We do love it really tangy. Alternatively, you can top it with yogurt. That’s how my son loves it.
• This is not a vegetarian soup recipe, but you can definitely leave ground beef out to make it vegetarian.

Stuffed Cabbage Soup with Beef and Rice

Shortcut cabbage rolls in the form of soup.

• Author: Zerrin
• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 35 min
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: Turkish

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 12 oz lean ground beef
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 cup pureed or diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chopped white cabbage
• 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried mint
• 3 cups hot water
• ¼ cup rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Fresh mint for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a pot and cook diced onion until translucent. Add in ground beef and 1 tablespoon water. Cook it stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic cloves, pureed tomatoes, cabbage and spices. Cook it covered over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour hot water and rice. Bring it to simmer and cook covered until rice is cooked. You can add in  a little extra hot water if you think it’s too thick.
4. Add in chopped parsley and lemon juice. Remove from heat.
5. Garnish with fresh mint and serve.

Notes

If your leftover soup gets too thick overnight, add hot water when reheating.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 184
• Sugar: 3.9g
• Sodium: 683.2mg
• Fat: 8.2g
• Carbohydrates: 14.5g
• Protein: 13.5g
• Cholesterol: 36.9mg