If you love Polish stuffed cabbage but don’t feel like rolling cabbage leaves, this soup is for you. It has the same familiar flavors, just in a much easier form.
This soup is what I make when I want all the familiar flavors of gołąbki without committing to the whole process. Everything you love is here: tender cabbage, well-seasoned meat, a rich tomato broth, gentle sweetness, and that unmistakable Polish aroma from bay leaves and allspice.
This soup keeps the soul of stuffed cabbage and skips all the fuss of stuffing, rolling and waiting.
Chopped cabbage cooks directly in the broth, soaking up flavor instead of just wrapping it. Tomato paste gives depth, canned tomatoes add body, and the classic Polish seasoning combo – bay leaves, allspice, paprika, marjoram – does exactly what it’s supposed to do.
Ground turkey makes it lighter and perfect for everyday cooking, but if you want a more traditional flavor, a beef and pork combo works beautifully too.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 small carrots, grated or finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1½ lb ground turkey (a beef and pork combination works beautifully too)
1½ lb white cabbage (700 g), chopped
24 oz tomato sauce or 2 cans diced tomatoes (14 oz each)
4 tablespoons tomato paste
7 cups water or broth (I use water with 1 tablespoon Chicken Better Than Bouillon)
½ cup rice (cooked separately)
Spices & Seasonings
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon marjoram
2 bay leaves
4 allspice berries
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
How to Make Polish Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Prep the vegetables.
Start by finely dicing the onions and peeling and dicing the carrots. Chop the cabbage into bite-size pieces. If some of the leaves are thicker near the core, chop those pieces a little smaller so everything cooks evenly and softens at the same time.
Brown the meat.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground turkey (or a beef and pork mixture). Cook the meat until fully browned, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks. Once it’s cooked through, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
Build the soup base.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook them gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they become soft and translucent. The onions should not brown. Add the carrots and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring.
Combine all ingredients
To the pot with the onions and carrots, add the tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes), tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, allspice berries, paprika, marjoram, salt, sugar, and black pepper. Pour in the water or broth. If using water, stir in 1 tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon. Add the chopped cabbage and the browned meat, then stir everything together.
Bring to a boil and simmer.
Cover the pot and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed. Continue simmering for another 30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and the flavors are well blended.
Step 6: Cook the rice separately and serve.
While the soup simmers, cook the rice in a separate pot according to package instructions. Cooking it separately keeps it from soaking up too much liquid and getting mushy. Serve the soup spooned over rice in each bowl.
Storing and Freezing
This soup stores and freezes beautifully, and like many cozy Polish dishes, it often tastes even better the next day as the flavors have time to deepen and settle. Leftovers are just as comforting, if not more so.
For best results, store and freeze the soup without the rice. Rice continues to absorb liquid as it sits, which can make the soup overly thick and the rice soft and mushy. You can always thin it out with extra water or broth when reheating, but the texture is much better when the rice is cooked separately and added fresh when serving.
Smacznego!
Polish Stuffed Cabbage Soup (Gołąbki Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 3 small carrots grated or finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1½ lb ground turkey a beef and pork combination works beautifully too
- 1½ lb white cabbage 700 g, chopped
- 24 oz tomato sauce or 2 cans diced tomatoes 14 oz each
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 7 cups water or broth I use water with 1 tablespoon Chicken Better Than Bouillon
- ½ cup rice cooked separately
Spices & Seasonings
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon marjoram
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables. Start by finely dicing the onions and peeling and dicing the carrots. Chop the cabbage into bite-size pieces. If some of the leaves are thicker near the core, chop those pieces a little smaller so everything cooks evenly and softens at the same time.
- Brown the meat. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground turkey (or a beef and pork mixture). Cook the meat until fully browned, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks. Once it’s cooked through, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
- Build the soup base. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook them gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they become soft and translucent. The onions should not brown. Add the carrots and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring.
- Combine all ingredients. To the pot with the onions and carrots, add the tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes), tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, allspice berries, paprika, marjoram, salt, sugar, and black pepper. Pour in the water or broth. If using water, stir in 1 tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon. Add the chopped cabbage and the browned meat, then stir everything together.
- Bring to a boil and simmer. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed. Continue simmering for another 30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and the flavors are well blended.
- Cook the rice separately and serve.While the soup simmers, cook the rice in a separate pot according to package instructions. Cooking it separately keeps it from soaking up too much liquid and getting mushy. Serve the soup spooned over rice in each bowl. Garnish with fresh Parsley.
