I can vividly remember having M&M cabbage rolls for dinner throughout my childhood. (I mostly remember gladly eating the inside of the rolls and having my parents tell me that I needed to at least try to eat the cabbage too). Now that I’m in my thirties, I want to enjoy a recipe that is similar, but hopefully with less resistance. This Cabbage Roll Soup, inspired by The Recipe Critic, seemed like a good place to start.
Other than preparing all of the ingredients, all that needs to be done is putting them into a pot. It’s that simple. If you’re not the biggest fan of tomatoes, you can omit the chopped tomatoes and replace their liquid with either water or more broth.
Best of all, I enjoy eating this far more than actual cabbage rolls. With the help of this soup, I realized that what I had liked the least about cabbage rolls was the texture of the cabbage. Rather than it being on the soggy side of things, the cabbage remains quite crunchy in this dish. Thank goodness.
Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
2 lbs. Ground Meat of Your Choice (Beef, Pork, or Chicken will all work fine!)
1 tsp Salt and Coarse Ground Black Pepper
2 Yellow onions, chopped
8 Tbsps Butter, divided
1 Head Cabbage, cut into 8 wedges and sliced thickly
2-8oz cans Chopped Tomatoes, not drained
56oz Crushed Tomatoes
6 cups Beef Broth
2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
4 cups Rice, uncooked
Instructions
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and rice. Crumble the ground beef, cook and drain. Set aside. Add two tablespoons butter and onion and sauté until tender. Remove and set aside with the ground beef and rice.
Add in 2 Tablespoons butter and cabbage and cook until the cabbage is tender and starts to wilt. This may take a bit of time. I always choose to put the lid on the pot to create more steam. In either case, keep an eye on it to ensure the cabbage doesn’t begin to burn.
Then, add the ground beef, rice, and onion back to the pan. Add in the crushed tomatoes, beef stock and chopped tomatoes, and Italian seasoning and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Serve. Add optional salt, pepper and/or red chili flakes to taste.