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    Home » Soups & Stews

    Cabbage Roll Soup with Rice Meatballs

    Published: Jan 18, 2021 · Modified: Feb 21, 2023 by Cristina · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    One rice meatball on a spoon above a large pot of cabbage roll soup with a couple bay leaves on top.

    Cabbage roll soup is a win-win -  all of the flavour of traditional cabbage rolls without the effort of rolling! The rice meatballs are a fun addition - they have a nice firm bite that turns plain cabbage soup into something you'll really want to eat.

    As a Romanian I've been eating cabbage rolls all my life but this was my first time making the so-called 'deconstructed' cousin of the classic dish. I know it's really popular in the food blogging world and one of my IG community even explicitly told me that it's delicious and I have to try it pronto. Well now that I have finally made it, I totally get what the fuss is about. It's really good!

    Cabbage roll soup with rice meatballs is all of the flavour of traditional cabbage rolls without the effort of rolling!

    Both my husband and I had the same reaction - "it's just like cabbage rolls ...but it's also soup!".  We looove soup in this household so it was a perfect marriage of flavour and concept. 10/10 highly recommend.

    Besides being really good, it's also really easy to pull off. I just used a package of ground chicken, an egg, some rice, a tetra pack of diced tomatoes (essentially 1 can), onion, some soup veg and of course cabbage.

    How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup

    Saute the cabbage first before adding the aromatics. By sauteing the cabbage first until it's reduced, it forces some of the water out of the cell structure so that the cooked cabbage is denser and maintains its bite. If you simply cover it with water, the water in the cabbage won't be forced out and the cabbage will be much softer and could get mushy.

    After reducing the cabbage add the aromatics - in this case I used ½ a finely diced onion (the other half for the meatballs) and a precut soup mix that has a large proportion of finely diced leek as well as some carrot, and parsley. The proportions are in the recipe at the bottom of the page.

    The diced cabbage having just been placed into the pot to saute in oil.
    The cabbage is more transparent and reduced in volume after having been sauteed in oil.
    Finely diced vegetables and cabbage in a large pot before the water is added to turn it into soup.

    While the cabbage is reducing mix and shape the meatballs - this only takes 10 minutes or so.

    An overhead view of a stainless steel bowl with the ingredients for rice meatballs about to be mixed. In the bowl there's rice, onion, egg, ground meat, spices, and a mix of finely diced carrot, leek and parsley.
    A stainless steel bowl containing the mixture for the rice meatballs after being mixed but before forming into balls.
    Twelve rolled rice meatballs sitting on a cutting board ready to be cooked.

    Once the cabbage and aromatics are reduced add the seasoning, diced tomato, and water.

    Add enough water to cover and simmer for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes gently place the meatballs in, add enough water again to cover, and simmer another 25 minutes.

    Pouring the diced tomatoes into the pot that already contains the cabbage and finely diced vegetables.
    The cabbage, vegetables, diced tomatoes and spices in a pot about to be cooked.
    Cabbage roll soup steaming on a gas stove in a large white soup pot.

    Pro tip: Make use of all flavour. Use the tomato box or can to pour water into the pot.

    Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Sprinkle with some fresh chopped parsley or dill if you so desire.

    Type of Cabbage

    As far as the cabbage goes, I used mostly the stalks from a large head of napa cabbage. Once cooked they're soft but not mushy. The leafy ends were used for Asian Style Napa Cabbage Rolls which likewise only called for a package of ground chicken, some rice, aromatics and Asian pantry staples.

    These two dishes were a great way to make use of a whole head of napa cabbage. The soup is a generous 5 servings and the napa cabbage rolls make 2-3 small meals but would go further with some yummy Asian sides.

    If you're looking for other ways to use some cabbage you may also like Slow Roasted Caramelized Cabbage, Cabbage Phyllo Spirals, or Savoury Cabbage Pancakes. What can I say I love cabbage :p

    Cabbage roll soup with rice meatballs is all of the flavour of traditional cabbage rolls without the effort of rolling!

    The seasoning here is in the Romanian style so I used smoked paprika, summer savoury, black pepper and bay leaves.

    Additions / Substitutions

    You can add basically any vegetable to develop the flavour of the broth. For example carrot, parsnip, celery root or red pepper would add nice flavour and sweetness.

    If you want to use green beans, broccoli or cauliflower better to put those in near the end so they don't get mushy or release the sulfur like smell that some from overcooking those types of vegetables.

    If you don't like cabbage and just want to skip that part you can do a lot with just the rice meatballs - see my recipe for Romanian Rice Meatball Soup.

    A large pot of cabbage roll soup with rice meatballs and a few bay leaves.

    Recipe

    Cabbage Roll Soup with Rice Meatballs

    Cabbage roll soup is a win-win -  all of the flavour of traditional cabbage rolls without the effort of rolling! The rice meatballs are a fun addition - they have a nice firm bite that turns basic cabbage soup into a full meal.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine: International, Romanian
    Keyword: Meatballs, Soup, Stew
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
    Servings: 5 servings
    Calories: 333kcal
    Author: Cristina

    Ingredients

    • 350 grams ground pork you can substitute other ground meat like beef or chicken
    • ½ cup rice
    • 1 egg
    • 1 yellow onion finely diced
    • ½ napa cabbage
    • ½ leek finely diced
    • 1 carrot finely diced
    • ¼ cup parsley finely diced
    • 1 small can diced tomatoes
    • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
    • 1.5 teaspoons summer savoury or thyme
    • ¾ teaspoon black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 teaspoons oil for sauteing
    • 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    Meatballs

    • In a bowl combine the meat, half the onion, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon summer savoury or thyme, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, the rice, the egg, and 2-3 tablespoons of finely diced parsley.
    • Mix well until even.
    • Shape into approx. 24 balls (keeping in mind they will expand in size as the rice cooks).

    Soup

    • Heat oil on medium heat in a large soup pot.
    • Add the cabbage and saute until it gets soft and transparent.
    • Add the leek, carrot, half the diced onion and half the parsley and continue cooking a few more minutes.
    • Add the diced tomato, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1.5 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon summer savoury or thyme, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and the bay leaves.
    • Add enough water to cover and then simmer over medium-low heat without a lid for 25 minutes.
    • Gently add the meatballs into the soup making sure they are at least half submerged.
    • Add more water to cover.
    • Simmer another 25 minutes, rotating the meatballs halfway through.
    • Stir in remaining parsley.
    • Taste and adjust seasoning.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 1013mg | Potassium: 749mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3597IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 3mg

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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Ole

      January 21, 2021 at 7:11 am

      i’m making this today. sounds so good and as a romanian myself, i loove cabbage rolls. yuuum. P.S: can you share the brand of you white pot/pan, please?

      Reply
      • Cristina

        January 21, 2021 at 7:27 am

        Hey 🙂 the pot is a Le Creuset 30cm enamelled cast iron saucier. Just got it over the holidays and loving it. Even used it for fries the other night and they didn't stick. https://www.lecreuset.nl/nl_NL/p/campagnard-in-geemailleerd-gietijzer/CI1180.html?dwvar_CI1180_color=meringue Hope you enjoy the soup! Curious if you'll react like I did haha 😛

        Reply
        • Ole

          January 22, 2021 at 9:24 am

          so: it was really yummy but interestingly enough it didn’t remind me of cabbage rolls in taste nor texture ..🤔 Actually i was missing potatoes in this beucase i usually put potatoes in both ciorba de varza and ciorba de perisoare..also some “afumatura” because i also put it in both 😜 I’m from Ardeal, we put afumatura, boia and sour cream in everything…

          Reply
          • Cristina

            January 29, 2021 at 2:37 pm

            Hey! Sorry for the delay and thank you for the feedback! I know what you mean - it definitely reminds me more of like Polish or German cabbage rolls than Romanian. We also love our afumatura, slanina and boia in Dobrogea 😛 that being said I find a good smoked paprika can go a looong way and I use it in everything to the point my husband has said 'maybe not everything needs smoked paprika?' haha in my world it does. As for afumatura in ciorba de perisoare - I tried it once but it was more by accident - didn't know that was a thing! Do you just mix it into the meatball mixture? And is it bacon or something else? Thanks again for the feedback and hope you enjoyed the soup nonetheless!

            Reply
    2. John-Paul LaPré

      February 13, 2021 at 2:59 am

      Sorry, the recipe confuses me. The list of ingredients suggests a 1/4 cup of finely minced parsley, and that all of it be used making the soup. However, it also says to use 203 tablespoons of it when making the meatballs! Really? That's 12 cups! Please let me know if I'm wrong, ASAP. I want to make it.

      Reply
      • Cristina

        February 13, 2021 at 8:46 am

        Hey there sorry for the confusion. It's meant to say '2-3 teaspoons'. I've corrected it now. Hope you enjoy the soup!

        Reply
    3. Jack LaPre

      February 20, 2021 at 1:39 am

      Thanks for the correction, and the recipe! It came out great, and we loved it. I will prepare it again, soon.

      Reply
    4. Lois Roberts

      November 01, 2021 at 10:03 pm

      do you cook beef before u add to meat balls

      Reply
      • Cristina

        November 02, 2021 at 1:37 pm

        Hi Lois. No, the meat should be raw or the meatballs won't bind together properly.

        Reply

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