Description
Hearty Polish Stuffed Cabbage Soup brings classic comfort straight from grandmother’s kitchen to your bowl. Savory ground beef, tender cabbage, and rich tomato broth blend into a soul-warming meal you’ll crave on chilly evenings.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1 head green cabbage
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
Liquid Base:
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
Additional Ingredients:
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 bay leaf
Garnish/Optional:
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Core and roughly chop the green cabbage into bite-sized pieces, ensuring uniform size for even cooking.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Sauté diced onions until translucent and fragrant, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds, stirring continuously to prevent burning.
- Incorporate ground beef and ground pork, breaking meat into small crumbles and cooking until completely browned and no pink remains.
- Sprinkle salt, black pepper, paprika, and add bay leaf to the meat mixture, stirring to distribute seasonings evenly.
- Pour in chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water, bringing the liquid to a gentle simmer.
- Stir in uncooked rice and chopped cabbage, ensuring all ingredients are well combined.
- Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and let the soup simmer for 25-30 minutes until cabbage is tender and rice is fully cooked.
- Remove bay leaf before serving.
- Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley and a dollop of sour cream.
- Serve immediately while piping hot.
Notes
- Use uniform cabbage pieces to ensure consistent texture and even cooking throughout the soup.
- Brown meat thoroughly to develop deep, rich flavors and eliminate any potential raw meat taste.
- Low and slow simmering helps tenderize cabbage and allows seasonings to meld beautifully, creating a more complex taste profile.
- Swap ground meats with plant-based alternatives like crumbled tofu or lentils for a vegetarian version that maintains hearty protein content.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Eastern European
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 325
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg