Cabbage Roll Soup (Gluten Free + Paleo Friendly)
Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup – We’ve taken classic stuffed cabbage rolls and made them easier than ever by turning the recipe into this hearty, warming, delicious soup. It’s amazing! (Gluten-Free, Paleo-Friendly)
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a classic recipe that’s been around for AGES. Steamed cabbage leaves are stuffed with a filling mixture (usually meat and rice), rolled up tightly, then smothered in a tomato sauce and baked. It’s simple and inexpensive, and they’re one of those recipes a lot of grandmas have in their back pocket.
I love the idea of a traditional Stuffed Cabbage recipe, but I wanted to make them as easy as possible, which meant a lot less of the steaming and stuffing and rolling you do in a stuffed cabbage recipe, and a whole lot more “let’s just cook this in one pot, mmkay?”
This cabbage roll soup is my idea of perfect. It’s easy, inexpensive, and completely delicious. It’s also really flexible, so it fits into a LOT of different meal plans and eating styles. The perfect recipe to kick off the new year!
As I mentioned this cabbage roll soup is a flexible recipe, which I always love. You can use chicken or turkey sausage instead of pork. You can use ground beef or turkey and a few teaspoons of Italian seasoning. You can add plenty more veggies (see below for suggestions), and you can even swap out the rice for something else–brown rice, cooked quinoa, more veggies, etc. There are so many options!
It’s hearty and warming without weighing you down or throwing your healthy eating game off. I made this a few times while testing it, and it makes SUCH amazing lunches. The soup gets better with time, so the flavor will only appreciate and intensify as time goes on.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST CABBAGE ROLL SOUP:
PALEO? WHOLE30? NO PROBLEM! This cabbage roll soup is TOTALLY paleo & Whole30 friendly. Instead of using the rice, I’ve made this with grated zucchini and cauliflower rice. Of the two, I much preferred grated zucchini, but the choice is yours! You can also simply add more veggies instead. I like any combination of zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, and spinach/
WANT MORE VEGGIES? GREAT! Again, whether or not you include the rice, you can add 1-2 cups of almost any veggie here, but a few nice ones I’ve tried are carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, and spinach.
WATCH THAT SODIUM. If possible, I recommend buying or making lower sodium options of several of the ingredients, as this can become too salty. Our grocery store sells house-made chicken or pork sausage that doesn’t contain any fillers, nitrates, or “extras.” I make my own stock and use low-sodium vegetable juice for this.
CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE SAUSAGE. I’ve made this with pork and chicken sausage, but you can absolutely use turkey if you prefer. Use whatever you like or what’s on sale!
LOVE THIS CABBAGE ROLL SOUP RECIPE? YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…
- Slow Cooker Thai Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup
- Salsa Verde Chicken & Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Paleo Beef Stew
- Gluten Free Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Taco Soup
Used for this post: White Dutch oven // two-handled soup crocks
PrintStuffed Cabbage Roll Soup
- Total Time: About 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup – The BEST Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe! This soup is packed with flavor and SO delicious! (Gluten Free, Paleo Friendly)
Ingredients
- 8–12oz Italian sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 3–4 cups green cabbage, chopped or thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- (optional: 1-2 cups extra veggies such as diced zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, or baby spinach)
- 2/3 cup uncooked rice (or 1 cup cauliflower rice)
- 1 (14oz) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (or regular diced tomatoes)
- 3 cups vegetable juice
- 4–5 cups broth (veggie or beef), plus more as needed.
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a small drizzle of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot.
- Add sausage and cook over medium heat until completely cooked through, 6-8 minutes.
- Add onion (and extra veggies, if using). Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and saute over medium heat 5-7 minutes, or until softened.
- Add cabbage and garlic and cook 5-7 minutes more.
- Add uncooked rice, canned tomatoes, vegetable juice, and broth. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook 20-30 minutes, or until rice is cooked through and veggies are tender, adding more water or broth as desired.
- Stir in fresh basil and serve!
Notes
If you’re grain free or doing a Whole30, you can add extra veggies to this soup in place of the rice. I like adding about 1 cup grated zucchini and then a combination of diced bell peppers and carrots).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Dish, Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Cabbage Roll soup, Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup, Cabbage Soup
Absolutely let’s cook this all in one pot! This looks delicious and I love how versatile it is!
Love love love
★★★★★
YAY! I love hearing that!!!
How do you make your veggie juice? I only rated this four stars because there was no recipe for the veggie juice
★★★★
Natasha – i don’t make my own vegetable juice. I’m talking about store-bought tomato-based vegetable juice blends (like V8 or Garden Delight).
Ok, thank you for getting back to me so soon.
This recipe is a family favorite! We use ground beef or turkey.
★★★★★
So glad to hear that! 🙂