This Polish Cabbage Soup Recipe is a perfect one pot meal. Flavorful and satisfying, this Golumpki Soup also known as Unstuffed Cabbage Soup or Cabbage Roll Soup, is even better the next day. I am proud to be sponsored by Veal, Discover Delicious, funded by Beef Farmers and Ranchers for today’s recipe.
As many Polish recipes are, this Golumpki Soup is a humble recipe often referred to as peasant food. Simple ingredients create a hearty meal.
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Top Tip: Some cook the rice for this soup IN the soup itself. However, my family and I have found that it can become gummy when leftover as well as soak up the liquid. Instead, we choose to ladle the soup over rice and mix it into the soup.
Feel free to make this soup either way. Recipe variation in notes of recipe card below. Check out my 1-minute TikTok Video or Instagram Reel to see how it's made.
This cabbage soup recipe is flexible. If you want to add in additional vegetables such as carrots, leeks, or peas even though they are not traditional. You sure can, to either help stretch the soup or make it more vegetable laden.
Growing up when my 100% Polish grandmom, babci and aunts would make stuffed cabbage that we called golumpki. We never had tomato sauce with it. We ate those delicious bundles made with love and tradition, often. Later, when I was introduced to this soup, it was a whole new flavor profile for me. I totally enjoy it as does my family.
This recipe uses ground veal for the meat portion of the soup. Ground veal is a great choice for this soup recipe since it cooks quickly, has a wonderful texture and it picks up the flavors of the soup beautifully.
If ground veal is not something you cook with, give it a try. Veal Bolognese, Grilled Stuffed Poblanos and this Orecchiette Pasta Recipe are a few favorite ground veal recipes of mine.
Did You Know?
1 serving (3 oz.) of lean veal has 27 grams of protein and has just about 170 calories. To get that much protein, it takes about...
- 4 servings (12 oz.) firm tofu (260 calories) OR
- 4-½ servings (9 tablespoons) of almond butter (880 calories) OR
- 4-½ medium hard cooked eggs (330 calories) OR
- 1.66 cups hummus (900 calories)
What a calorie difference! Click here for more information on veal nutrition.
Unstuffed Cabbage Soup Ingredients
- Butter
- Onions
- Garlic
- Salt pepper, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes & oregano
- Ground veal
- Crushed tomatoes
- Sugar (optional)
- Beef stock
- Green cabbage
- Worcestershire sauce
- White rice
Variations
- This is a pretty straightforward recipe, the only variations would be adding in sliced or diced carrots, maybe some leeks for an extra depth of flavor or even peas at the very end to make the soup more vegetable heavy.
- You can of course also swap the ground veal for a meatloaf blend of veal, beef and pork or all beef.
- Swap crushed tomatoes for diced, or swap canned for fresh and break them up yourself.
- You choose to omit the rice.
Tips
- The better quality your tomatoes, the better the soup. If you come across fire roasted tomatoes, those are always my first choice.
- Use as much or as little cabbage as your heart desires.
- Use beef broth or stock, beef bone broth or vegetable stock or broth. Each offers a slight flavor variation.
- Depending on broth / stock used, salt accordingly.
- Be aware that if you combine the rice to your pot of soup after it’s been cooked, any leftovers may need additional beef broth as the rice will soak it up.
Storage
- Store leftovers in a sealed container or large mason jar, reheat gently and enjoy.
- If taking my suggestion of combining rice and soup as you eat it, you can either reheat any leftover rice covered with a bit of water in the microwave, let the soup heat it through, make a fresh batch or use those 90 second microwavable rice bowls found in the supermarket.
Serve Golumpki Soup with
- A nice warm crusty loaf of bread or rolls to dip in the soup is wonderful! Yum!
I hope this delicious Unstuffed Cabbage Soup becomes a part of your cold weather rotation of soups and that you and your family enjoy it as much as my family and I do!
For all sorts of information about modern day veal farming, veal nutrition and veal recipes, visit Veal Discover Delicious. XO - Colleen
More Veal Recipes
I hope you enjoy this easy and satisfying soup recipe! XO Colleen
Colleen Kennedy is the author of 3 cookbooks and has appeared on QVC and other shows inspiring home cooks of all levels. She has a popular TikTok channel @ColleensCooking with hundreds of short recipe videos. Colleen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and kids, she started the food blog, Soufflé Bombay in 2009. Read more about her here.
Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- ½ TBS Butter
- 1 heaping cup chopped Vidalia onion
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- Salt & Pepper to taste I do like a lot of black pepper for this recipe
- 1 TBS smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste and desired spiciness
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 pound ground veal
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional or to taste
- 2 ½ cups beef stock beef broth or beef bone broth
- ½ a head of a small green cabbage more or less to taste
- 4-5 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
- 3 uncooked cups white rice made to package instructions
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt butter then add onions & garlic and sauté a couple of minutes, moving them around.
- Add in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika and oregano.
- Sauté while stirring to incorporate another 1-2 minutes.
- Add in ground veal and mix to combine.
- Season veal with additional salt and pepper and cook for another few minutes, partially browning it.
- Add in crushed tomatoes, sugar (if using) and beef stock, stirring vigorously to combine.
- Reduce heat to low, tuck in cabbage, place a lid on top and cook for 15-20 minutes or until cabbage is done to your liking. Stirring occasionally.
- Add in Worcestershire.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Serve over white rice, stirring soup and rice until combined. Enjoy!
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