Golumpki Soup
Updated Aug 24, 2025
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Golumpki soup is a warm and hearty soup that is satisfying and nutritious. You can make this easy recipe in just 45 minutes.
As a bonus, the leftover soup will taste even better later in the week!
Golumpki Soup (Stuffed Cabbage Soup) Details 🥣🇵🇱
- What it is: Weeknight cabbage roll soup with classic Polish gołąbki flavor, no rolling.
- Time & yield: ~45 minutes | Serves 8.
- Core ingredients: Green cabbage, Italian sausage (turkey or pork), onion, rice, garlic, tomato paste + diced tomatoes + V8, beef broth, Worcestershire, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper.
- Why it works:
- Brown the tomato paste for deeper, sweeter flavor.
- Layered tomato base adds body and brightness.
- Worcestershire, thyme, paprika mimic true stuffed-cabbage notes.
- How to make Golumpki Soup (snapshot): Brown sausage → soften onion → add cabbage + garlic → toast paste → add tomatoes, V8, broth, rice, seasonings → simmer 25–30 min until tender.
- Make-ahead: Better next day; freezes well. Reheat gently with a splash of broth.
- Slow cooker: Brown meat, then combine everything in the cooker until cabbage is soft and flavors meld.
- Swaps & tips: Turkey or pork sausage; small-dice cabbage for faster, even cooking; choose low-sodium V8/broth if needed.
- Serve with: Crusty bread or buttered rolls and a crisp salad.
- Trust factor: From our reader-favorite gołąbki recipe with step-by-step technique.
SAVE & SUMMARIZE THIS GOLUMPKI SOUP RECIPE ON:
Why You’ll Love this Cabbage Roll Soup
This is my shortcut to the cozy golumpki flavors my Polish Babcia taught me, minus the rolling.
I brown the tomato paste until it turns brick red for sweetness, then let the cabbage and rice do the rest; it’s even better the next day.
If you want a full Polish spread, make this golumpki soup alongside our homemade pierogi dumpling recipe, or keep the weeknight vibe going with our slow cooker Italian hamburger soup.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Cabbage: (Small or medium size.) For golumpki soup, cut the cabbage into very small pieces so it softens quickly and adds a mild sweetness without getting soggy.
- Italian sausage: You can use turkey or pork. Just like we do in our White Bean and Sausage Soup, brown it well to add flavor. **. * ** Rice: Simmered raw to thicken the broth and give it a taste like stuffed cabbage. Parboiled stays a little firmer.
- Tomato base: Toast the paste until it turns brick red. Then, add diced tomatoes and a splash of V8 to balance the acidity and body. In Hearty Italian Peasant Soup, we do the same thing with the toast.
- Seasonings and scents: To get the classic golumpki flavor, sweat the onion and garlic all the way through, then add a little Worcestershire, thyme, and paprika.
How to Make Golumpki Soup
This unstuffed cabbage roll soup starts with fresh cabbage and ends up as a bowl of savory comfort food.
This easy golumpki soup recipe is ready from start to finish in just 45 minutes!
To make this golumpki soup, start by browning one pound of sausage. We prefer Italian sausage and to save a few fat calories, we like to use turkey sausage.
Next, you will add chopped onion to the brown sausage. Stir it around until it softens, and this will add a nice savory flavor to this stuffed cabbage soup recipe.
Green cabbage is the most common, but feel free to use a purple cabbage to add some color to this golumpki soup!
The Tomato Base in Golumpki Soup
- Tomato Paste
- Diced Tomatoes
- V8 Juice
Anytime you add tomato paste to a recipe; you should gently brown it first. Doing so will slightly cook the tomato paste making the flavor of the golumpki soup a bit sweeter, through the caramelization process.
Once the tomato paste is browned and stirred in, add one 28 oz. Can of diced tomatoes to this golumpki soup recipe. If you can find unsalted or reduced sodium diced tomatoes, use those.
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V8 juice will give loads of flavor to this cabbage roll soup recipe. Once again, save a ton of unwanted salt and use the reduced-sodium variety if you can find it.
Now you’ll stir in some beef broth for this golumpki soup. Homemade broth is always best because you know what’s in it and what isn’t in it, IMHO. If you have to use store-bought beef broth, once again, reduced sodium is best!
Have you ever asked,”What’s the difference between broth and stock?” Click the link, and we can help explain it!
Add a Few Flavor Boosters to this Golumpki Soup
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Thyme
- Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
Finally, the hard part about this savory golumpki soup, allowing the ingredients to get to know each other.
Once you have everything in the pot, you’re going to cover it and allow it to simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes.
This hearty golumpki soup recipe can be put together in a matter of a few minutes. The longest part of the process will be the 25-30 minutes you have to wait until the cabbage is softened and the flavors have come together. Because of this, Cabbage Roll Soup is great for a weeknight fall and winter meal.
We made this pot of golumpki soup on the stove in one of my favorite pots. But, once you brown your meat, you could quickly put all of the ingredients in your slow cooker and let it simmer away for hours. How is that for convenience?
Golumpki Soup Recipe Questions and Answers
The Polish word gołąbki, meaning stuffed cabbage rolls, is spelled golumpki in the United States. Although stuffed cabbage is a common ingredient in both cuisines—Germany has a similar dish called Kohlrouladen—the word “golumpki/gołąbki” is unique to Poland.
A filling of ground meat (typically beef or pork), rice or barley, onion, and seasonings is wrapped in cabbage leaves and simmered in a tomato or broth-based sauce to make traditional Polish gołąbki. With cabbage, Italian turkey sausage, onion, rice, garlic, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, V8, beef broth, Worcestershire, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper, our Golumpki Soup transforms those flavors into a one-pot meal.
No single food “burns” body fat, even though soup can be satisfying and cabbage is nutrient-dense and low in calories. The well-known “cabbage soup diet” is a very low-calorie, short-term plan that is not a sustainable fat-loss strategy, but it may help you lose a few pounds quickly, mostly from water and glycogen. Activity, sufficient protein and fiber, and a generally balanced eating pattern are the keys to long-term weight management.
The four-ingredient standard is not formally recognized. If you want to know how to make golumpki soup, start with the following if you want a simple, weeknight version:
Cabbage
Onion
Diced or crushed tomatoes
Chicken or vegetable broth
Simmer until the cabbage is soft. To recreate the traditional stuffed-cabbage flavor, we use a longer list of ingredients for the golumpki soup on this page.
Can You Freeze Cabbage Soup for Later?
Absolutely! This golumpki soup freezes well for an easy and delicious leftover meal.
If you have been afraid to make stuffed cabbage, our stuffed cabbage soup recipe is for you. It’s a quick way to get the same beautiful flavors you would get from cabbage rolls. I know that this will become one of your go-to soup recipes this fall and winter season. Enjoy. -Scott
Delicious Cabbage Recipes
Common Side Dishes
Fried Cabbage Receipe with Bacon
Common Side Dishes
Savory Cabbage and Bacon with Onion
Casserole recipes
Cabbage Roll Casserole
Keto Recipes
Keto Enchiladas
If you love homemade soup, be sure and try our Fennel Soup Recipe. It’s perfect for cold weather eating!
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Golumpki Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground Italian turkey sausage
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 small to medium cabbage cut and diced
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 2-3 Tbs minced garlic
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cup V8 juice
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- In a stock pot, over medium heat, brown the turkey sausage.
- Add onions to pot and cook until onions soften.
- Add cabbage to pot and cook until cabbage starts to soften, maybe about 2-3 minutes.
- Push ingredients to the edges of the pot to create an opening in the middle of the pot.
- Add tomato paste and cook until tomato paste starts to darken, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in remaining ingredients to the pot and allow soup to come to a slight boil.
- Lower temperature to a simmer and cover.
- Cook for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the cabbage and rice are softened.
Notes
- To make a richer base for Golumpki Soup, brown the sausage deeply.
- To make the flavor sweeter and fuller, toast the tomato paste for 1–2 minutes until it is deep red before adding liquids.
- Put in uncooked rice late (in the last 20–25 minutes) so it stays firm. If the soup thickens while it sits, add warm broth to thin it out.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi guys, I just want to thank you for all the hard work, and time you put into your website. The recipes are absolutely delectable. I am fairly new to your site, but already plan to make several of your recipes. : )
Keep the cabbage coming, it’s one of my favorite foods!
Hi Jan, Thanks for the nice feedback. Hope you are having a nice fall and we will look for some new ways to enjoy cabbage and get them on the site for you!