Healthy Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Soup Recipe
 
Healthy Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Soup Recipe Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef, ground turkey, or sausage – or a mix between them all.
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 small head cabbage, chopped
- 2 (14.5 ounces) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
- 6 oz water (or part vegetable or broth for more flavor)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Optional for extra spice:
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- A few leaves of chopped fresh basil
Healthy Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Soup Recipe Instructions
Here are the instructions and steps for the unstuffed cabbage soup!
- Heat a Dutch oven or extra-large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil and cook the onions until translucent. Cook beef or turkey meat and onion in the hot Dutch oven until browned.
- Drain and discard grease.
- Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, and fresh basil. I found by using the fire-roasted tomatoes it made a huge difference in taste.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil.
- Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender. This will take about 30 minutes. Note: It may seem like you don’t have enough water at first but when the cabbage cooks down it will be perfect
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
There are tons of healthy unstuffed cabbage rolls recipes out there or cabbage roll soups, but I ended up making mine with a bit more spice to bring it to a whole new level. Not only that but I am trying to eat more of the superfoods like cabbage. In fact, I was just reading on Wiki that studies show cabbage has protective effects against colon cancer amongst many other diseases. Cabbage is also an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6 and folate. So you may as well make an awesome recipe with something that is really good for you right?!
There are few “healthy” recipes that the whole family agrees upon but this is one they all like. If you don’t like spice, I suggest not adding the crushed red pepper. It’s not too spicy but the kids will notice it.
Recipe Notes for Unstuffed Cabbage:
This recipe has been extremely popular and lots of readers have commented on different spices they have used to make it even better. Â Here are some suggestions I’ve received:
- add a little brown sugar, celery seed with some crushed red pepper. (not for keto of course)
- Add 1Â Tbs of Worcestershire sauce ….. I PROMISE it makes the whole dish taste very different and worth it!
I always make a huge batch of this dish because it gets devoured in no time. Â My Cuisinart 6 quart pot is the best!!
You might also be interested in this Keto Chicken Parmesan Recipe that’s made in a slow cooker! It’s totally delicious and super easy to make.
Healthy Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe Nutrition
Serves 8
Calories 161, Total C 3.2g, Fiber 1.2g, Net C 2g, Sugars 1.8g, Fat 4.6g, Protein 25.5g
If you’ve tried a new spice variation leave a comment below! Â I would love to hear about it. This stuffed cabbage soup is so simple to make, the whole family will love it. This is our favorite healthy cabbage recipes we make all the time in the cooler months of the year.
On the search for more dinner recipes
Healthy Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef ground turkey, or sausage - or a mix between them all.
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 small head cabbage chopped
- 2 14.5 ounces cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 6 ounces can tomato paste
- 6 oz water or part vegetable or broth for more flavor
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Optional for extra spice:
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- A few leaves of chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or extra large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil and cook the onions until translucent. Cook beef or turkey meat and onion in the hot Dutch oven until browned.
- Drain and discard grease.
- Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, and fresh basil. I found by using the fire roasted tomatoes it made a huge difference in taste.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil.
- Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender. This will take about 30 minutes.
- (Note: It may seem like you don't have enough water at first but when the cabbage cooks down it will be perfect)
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy.
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I use 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes and 1 can of fire roasted salsa. I also add lots of cheese over the top after serving. These two changes makes this dish taste like a pasta less lasagna! It is absolutely delicious, and I don’t like cabbage!
I used 1 lb ground beef and 1 package of kielbasa. Also used the Worcestershire sauce. This doesn’t taste like the stuffed cabbage my grandma used to make, but it was extremely delicious, and I would definitely make it again!
Great recipe!
I followed the recipe but did not add in the optional cumin, basil, or red pepper flakes. Â Just didn’t sound like cabbage roll spices to me.
Instead of garlic cloves I used garlic powder along with minced onion (in addition to the chopped onion), paprika, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
I’m at high altitude so it took longer than 30 minutes simmering to get cabbage tender.
I only used 3 oz of water but next time I think I will use 3 oz of beef broth and make some rice on the side for those who want to add it in.
Definitely add the worcestershire sauce!
This was great! I added Worcestershire sauce, fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, and eliminated the basil. Next time I’m going to add mushrooms. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I forgot to add that instead of salt, I used Mrs Dash extra spicy seasoning.
I use saurkraut as well and also rotel diced toamtoes
with chiles
I make a similar in casserole form with sauerkraut drained and tossed with dill weed. Very traditional Hungarian stuffed cabbage flavor. Never, ever would I use cumin for stuffed cabbage. That takes it from a traditional stuffed cabbage taste to something entirely different. But I bet it’s delicious! 😉
Thanks for sharing! I have to follow a low sodium diet so I had to modify the recipe; I eliminated the salt and used no salt added tomatoes. I used stewed tomatoes. Low salt leave flavors flat so I upped the seasonings by half again, added extra onions (small), bell peppers, a few dashes if tobasco, and fire roasted hatch chilies. I do not miss the salt and it is not too spicy! Hope this helps someone.
Definitely. Helps me. Im on low or no sodium diet also. Thanks for your suggeation.
So I followed your recipe but I also added some mild Italian sausage it was phenomenal
Peppers help any recipe. Lol
Thank you, Karen. I would do exactly the same thing; looks absolutely scrumptious and so much easier than the disaster last time I tried to “stuff” cabbage leaves. Can’t wait to try this. Madge, Sherman Oaks, CA.
I like this with a bit of allspice or similar and paprika with caraway seed for seasoning. I mix the spices in while I’m sautéing the onion to richen the flavor of the spices.
I’ve made this many times and LOVE it!
I’m serving this for company tomorrow, so I cooked everything except the cabbage today, and will add that (and some pre-cooked brown rice) tomorrow when I reheat for serving. Personally, I left out the cumin, basil, red pepper, and the 6oz of water. I may add water after the cabbage cooks in it, but for now, it’s perfect without it! I added worcestershire sauce and brown sugar and it tastes sooooo good!!! Great budget friendly dish!!!
Hi, maybe I missed it but this is a 21 day fix approved recipe right? How many of each container is this soup?
I added about a 1/4 cup of the juice from a jar of peprocini, paprika instead of red pepper and a bay leaf….yum
I use flavored canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add three pinches of Italian Seasoning. For a party, I added another large can of crushed tomatoes. So popular it was gone before I could get any
I’m vegan, so I substitute soy crumbles for the ground beef. No one I’ve served it to, including co-workers at an office pot luck luncheon, can tell the difference. Like Eric, who posted earlier, I too add caraway seed. Why wouldn’t you?
It looks and sounds as if this is a soup. Do you think I could leave out the water and make it a more solid plate-style dish? Would that make the flavors too intense?
I make a similar one with cabbage, taters, carrots, onions and ham and I start out with jut a little chicken broth and some butter in a pan. Then the leftovers (if there are any) I add more broth to make it into a soup (adding more veggies if needed) better the second day cause all the flavors melt together.
I made it today and added an envelope of dry onion soup mix and some cayenne pepper.
Do you serve rice with this?
My mother made something very similar, and we nearly always served rice with it.
I add a teaspoon (or amount desired) cinnamon & a hand full of regular rice when I start it to cooking.
Tried it for the first time today! Used Italian herb tomato paste and Chicken Stock in place of water. Also followed the recommendation of ground turkey and Worcestershire sauce. Crock pot on low. Awesome!
I make a very similar recipe, but add one whole yellow chili pepper while it cooks. I remove it before serving. Adds a nice mild spice and good flavor to it.
I love this soup…I use V-8 juice……to add the spice flavors…….never really use a reciept. just put any vegetables the firdge….
Try it with caraway seeds.
I use saurkraut in my cabbage roll recipe. I wonder how that would work just to add a can to this
I always add saurkraut to mine, soup, cabbage rolls, or the unstuffed casserole and it is always wonderful!
I love this dish! I add chopped bell peppers to my version.
Could you freeze this recipe?
I’m not sure. I’ve never had enough left over to try it. Anyone else know?
If it were me, I’d freeze everything except the cabbage. Then when you’re ready to have it for dinner, heat it up on the stove and when hot add the cabbage.
For some reason freezing cabbage reminds me of freezing lettuce. lol
Thanks for that suggestion Susan.
I agree on putting cabbage in AFTER freezing the other ingredients. Good point on the it’d be like freezing lettuce
I freeze veg soup with cabbage in it all the time…No problems
yes you can freeze leftovers. I do it all the time and it’s so convenient when you need a meal at the last minute. Just pop it in the microwave frozen in all……if you have the right freezer to microwave container.
I am looking for the another recipe of menu. Thanks, Bonnie J
Chose to use Rotel….instead of fire roasted tomatoes….
Using hot rotel because I like my food extra spicy.