Golumpki Soup Recipe (Easy Stuffed Cabbage Soup)
A hearty one-pot Polish-American soup with all the flavor of stuffed cabbage rolls. Ground beef and pork, chopped cabbage, rice, and a sweet-tangy tomato broth. Better the next day and freezer-friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 1/2 lb ground pork (or use 1.5 lbs total ground beef)
- 1 small head green cabbage, chopped into 1-inch pieces (4 to 6 cups)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (see rice note
- 1 to 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 to 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For serving
- Sour cream
- Fresh parsley or dill
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and pork. Cook 5 to 7 minutes until deeply browned, breaking up the meat. Drain most of the fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
- Add diced onion. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Add chopped cabbage. Stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes until just starting to wilt.
- Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, paprika, oregano, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir well and bring to a boil.
- If adding rice directly to the pot, add it now. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until rice is cooked through and cabbage is tender. If cooking rice separately, simmer covered for 20 to 25 minutes until cabbage is fully soft.
- Remove bay leaves. Taste and adjust: more brown sugar if too acidic, more salt if flat, more broth if too thick.
- Ladle into bowls over cooked rice if stored separately. Top with sour cream and fresh herbs.
Notes
Rice note: For best results with leftovers, cook rice separately and add to individual bowls at serving time. Rice cooked directly in the soup will absorb the broth as it sits, turning the soup into thick stew by the next day.
Meat: Beef and pork combination is the traditional approach. All beef works fine if that is what you have.
Tomatoes: Fire-roasted diced tomatoes add noticeably more depth than regular. Crushed tomatoes (1 can, 28 oz) can replace both the diced tomatoes and sauce in a pinch.
Storage: Refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze up to 3 months. Always add extra broth when reheating.
Meat: Beef and pork combination is the traditional approach. All beef works fine if that is what you have.
Tomatoes: Fire-roasted diced tomatoes add noticeably more depth than regular. Crushed tomatoes (1 can, 28 oz) can replace both the diced tomatoes and sauce in a pinch.
Storage: Refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze up to 3 months. Always add extra broth when reheating.