Vegetarian Cabbage Roll Soup

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This vegetarian cabbage roll soup is filled with protein-rich lentils and all of the delicious flavors you love from traditional cabbage rolls. Naturally gluten-free and vegetarian/vegan.

I have yet to meet a cabbage soup I don’t love. But this one has turned into an especially delicious and nostalgic favorite for our family over the past few years. ♡

It’s inspired by the Ukrainian cabbage rolls that we learned to make a few summers ago while hosting a mother and daughter who had to flee their country after the war broke out. The language barrier when they arrived meant that the majority of our conversations around the house usually progressed quite slowly, communicating back and forth using Google Translate along with plenty of hand motions and laughter. But we quickly found that one of our favorite ways to connect was simply by cooking in the kitchen together, taking turns introducing one another to some of the traditional dishes we grew up with and loved best. I think they would report that my chocolate chip cookies won the award as their favorite American recipe, haha, but Elena’s homemade cabbage rolls definitely ended up being a new favorite for us.

Her classic combination of cabbage, rice, and veggies rolled up and cooked in a savory tomato sauce always felt like such delicious comfort food. And while Elena loved to make a big batch of traditional pork cabbage rolls for the majority of us around the table, she always lovingly made sure to prepare an extra vegetarian option just for my husband (either with Beyond meat or some sort of legumes), that I honestly ended up enjoying just as much. Steaming the cabbage and assembling each of those individual rolls can be a time-consuming labor of love, though, so we also came to enjoy “soupifying” her recipe. And now, over a year and a transatlantic move later, simmering a big batch of cabbage roll soup has become one of our family’s favorite ways to remember our time together.

We love swapping in protein-rich lentils here in place of meat and seasoning the cozy tomato broth with a hint of smoked paprika and bay leaf. But there are all sorts of creative ways that you can season this soup with various herbs and spices, so feel free to get creative if you’d like! I also like to take the shortcut of steaming up some store-bought frozen brown rice to add to the soup, but you’re welcome to add in your favorite kind of rice, farro, orzo, or whatever grains you prefer. Just don’t forget to finish the soup with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of fresh herbs to brighten things up. Delicious!!

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