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Crockpot Cabbage Roll Soup
A hearty slow-cooker soup inspired by stuffed cabbage rolls, made with ground beef, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, and rice. It simmers in one crockpot, with rice added near the end so it has time to cook without turning to mush.
Servings: 6 cups
cups
Equipment
- 6-quart slow cooker
- Cutting board and knife
- measuring cups and spoons
- Wooden spoon or sturdy spatula
- Instant-read thermometer
- Ladle
Ingredients
Soup Base
- 1 pound lean ground beef, thawed
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small green cabbage, cored and chopped into bite-size pieces, about 6–7 cups
Tomato Broth and Seasonings
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Added Near the End
- ¾ cup uncooked long-grain converted or parboiled rice
To Finish
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
Prep and Fill the Slow Cooker
- Prepare the vegetables and beef. Dice the onion and carrots, mince the garlic, and cut the cabbage into spoon-size pieces. Break the thawed ground beef into small chunks with your fingers or a spoon. Smaller pieces are easier to break apart once cooked.
- Add the soup ingredients. Put the ground beef, onion, carrots, garlic, cabbage, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, paprika, salt, pepper, and bay leaf in the slow cooker. Stir gently so the beef is distributed through the liquid and vegetables. The crockpot will look very full at first; the cabbage will shrink as it cooks. Keep the ingredients below your slow cooker's fill line.
Cook the Soup
- Cook the soup base. Cover and cook on low for 6–7 hours. The soup should be gently steaming, the cabbage softened, and the beef cooked through. Around the halfway point, stir and break the beef into smaller pieces with a spoon. Check that the beef reaches 160°F in several places.
- Add the rice. Stir in the converted or parboiled rice and make sure it's submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook on high for 1½–2 hours, until the rice is tender. Check it near the 90-minute mark. Slow cookers vary, and the tomato-rich broth can make rice take longer than it would in plain water.
- Check the texture. Taste a few grains of rice; they should be soft all the way through, with no hard center. The cabbage should be tender and the broth should smell savory and tomato-rich. If the soup is thicker than you like, stir in hot broth a little at a time.
Finish and Serve
- Finish the soup. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and parsley, if using. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or vinegar. The vinegar should brighten the tomato flavor, not make the soup taste sour.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls while hot. The rice will keep absorbing broth as the soup sits, so have extra broth nearby for second helpings or leftovers.
Nutrition Facts
Crockpot Cabbage Roll Soup
Amount per Serving
Calories
180
% Daily Value*
Fat
4
g
6
%
Saturated Fat
2
g
13
%
Trans Fat
0.3
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
0.3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
2
g
Cholesterol
47
mg
16
%
Sodium
958
mg
42
%
Potassium
1143
mg
33
%
Carbohydrates
14
g
5
%
Fiber
5
g
21
%
Sugar
7
g
8
%
Protein
23
g
46
%
Vitamin A
3832
IU
77
%
Vitamin C
61
mg
74
%
Calcium
93
mg
9
%
Iron
3
mg
17
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Notes
- Cut the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. I know a bag of coleslaw mix looks like a shortcut. Finely shredded cabbage cooks down to almost nothing over a full day, and you lose the cabbage-roll feel.
- If you do want browned beef, brown it in a skillet first and drain it. You get a deeper flavor and less fat in the pot. Add it to the slow cooker with the rest of the soup base and still check that it reaches 160°F. The cook time stays about the same.
- Adding other vegetables? A diced bell pepper, a zucchini, or a potato all work. Extra vegetables soak up broth, so check the liquid before you add the rice and top up if it looks low.
- For a smoky version, stir in about 4 slices of cooked, crumbled bacon during the last hour.
- If the tomatoes taste sharp even after the vinegar, a teaspoon of brown sugar rounds them out. Add it in small pinches and taste between each one
