Quick Recipe Overview
Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 45 minutes | Total: 1 hour | Servings: 6 | Difficulty: Easy | Cuisine: Polish-American | Category: Main Course, Soup
Intro
Golumpki soup is a tomato-based cabbage roll soup with ground beef, chopped cabbage, and rice. The broth is savory and lightly tangy, the cabbage turns tender, and the rice gives each spoonful a little body. Everything cooks in one pot, so there are no cabbage leaves to blanch, fill, or roll.
This Polish-style cabbage soup borrows the ingredients of stuffed cabbage rather than reproducing a family-specific traditional recipe. A spoonful of tomato paste deepens the broth, while a small splash of apple cider vinegar at the end balances the sweetness of the carrots and tomatoes. Allow about an hour from chopping to serving.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One Dutch oven handles browning, simmering, and serving.
- Regular uncooked white rice cooks directly in the broth.
- Chopped cabbage gives you cabbage roll flavor without wrapping individual rolls.
- The recipe makes six generous portions with practical instructions for thickened leftovers.
Recipe Card
Golumpki Soup
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Brown the beef: Heat the olive oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and cooked to 160°F. Spoon off excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
- Soften the vegetables: Add the yellow onion and carrots to the ground beef. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the carrots begin to soften.
- Toast the seasonings: Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, sweet paprika, dried thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- Build the soup: Stir in the low-sodium beef broth, crushed tomatoes, green cabbage, uncooked long-grain white rice, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Simmer until tender: Reduce the heat to low and partially cover. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so the rice does not stick. The rice should be tender through the center and the cabbage soft. If needed, simmer for 5 more minutes and add a splash of broth to loosen.
- Finish and serve: Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, taste, and adjust the salt. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the fresh parsley, if using.
Notes
Recipe Tips
Cut the cabbage into roughly 1-inch pieces so it fits on a spoon and softens alongside the rice. Use the firm white ribs as well as the leaves, trimming only the hard core.
Keep the soup at a gentle simmer after adding the rice. Stir along the bottom every few minutes because rice can settle beneath the cabbage. The pot should bubble gently, not boil hard.
Taste after adding the vinegar, then adjust the salt. Broth, Worcestershire sauce, and canned tomatoes vary in saltiness, so adding more before the soup finishes can oversalt the pot.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Swapping rice without changing the method: Brown rice takes longer, and instant rice softens much sooner. Use regular long-grain white rice for the timing given here.
- Packing in extra rice: More rice absorbs more broth and can turn the soup into a thick stew. Measure the dry rice before rinsing.
- Stopping while the rice is chalky: Taste a few grains before serving. Simmer a little longer if their centers are firm.
- Ignoring the pot bottom: Stir during simmering to keep the rice and tomato solids from catching.
Variations
For a beef-and-pork version, replace half the ground beef with ground pork and cook the mixture to 160°F. For ground turkey, replace all the beef and cook it to 165°F; use chicken broth if preferred. These changes affect the nutrition estimate.
For cooked rice, omit the uncooked rice and start with 5 cups of broth. Simmer until the cabbage is tender, then stir in 1 1/2 cups cooked white rice for the final 5 minutes. Add more broth to reach the consistency you like.
If you would rather bake a beef and rice dinner, try cheesy ground beef and rice casserole. It offers a creamy, oven-baked alternative to this tomato broth.
What to Serve With It
Serve the soup with rye bread or a plain dinner roll for dipping. It already contains beef, vegetables, and rice, so a simple side is enough.
For something crisp alongside a smaller bowl, serve a portion of Italian grinder chopped salad. Browse the Recipe Index for other easy dinner ideas.
Storage
Divide leftovers among shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours, or within 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F. Keep at 40°F or below and use within 3 to 4 days. Rice continues to absorb liquid, so a thicker texture the next day is expected.
For longer storage, freeze cooled portions in freezer-safe containers, leaving room for expansion. Use within about 3 months for best quality and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The cabbage and rice will be softer after freezing.
Reheating
Warm only the amount you plan to eat in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add a splash of broth or water, stir often, and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Check that it reaches 165°F throughout.
For the microwave, use a covered microwave-safe bowl with a vent. Heat in short intervals, stirring between them, until evenly hot and 165°F. These temperatures follow FoodSafety.gov guidance for ground meat and leftovers.
Make Ahead
Chop the cabbage, onion, and carrots up to a day ahead and refrigerate separately in covered containers. Measure the dry seasonings into a small bowl so they are ready when the vegetables soften.
For soup made a day ahead, use the cooked-rice variation and refrigerate the cooked rice separately from the soup. Reheat both thoroughly, then combine in individual bowls. This keeps the rice from soaking up most of the broth overnight.
FAQs
Is golumpki soup the same as cabbage roll soup?
They refer to the same general idea: the meat, cabbage, rice, and tomato flavors of stuffed cabbage served as soup. This version uses ground beef and chopped green cabbage with a tangy tomato broth.
Do I add cooked or uncooked rice?
Use 1/2 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice in the main recipe. It cooks in the broth while the cabbage softens. For leftover cooked rice, follow the adjusted broth quantity and timing in Variations.
Can I use brown rice?
Not as a direct swap with the same timing. Cook brown rice separately according to its package, then add it near the end using the cooked-rice variation. The soup may need a little extra broth.
Why did my cabbage roll soup get thick?
Rice keeps absorbing liquid after cooking. Stir in broth or water a little at a time during reheating until the soup is as loose as you like, then taste for seasoning.
Can I make it without rice?
Yes. Omit the rice and start with 5 cups of broth. Simmer until the cabbage and carrots are tender, adding more broth if needed. The yield and nutrition will change.
Can I freeze golumpki soup?
Yes, but the rice and cabbage soften after thawing. For the best texture, freeze the soup without rice and add separately cooked rice when reheating. Heat the thawed soup and rice to 165°F before serving.
