A hearty mix of quinoa and lentils are simmered in savory tomato broth with tender cabbage to make this easy and healthy vegan soup.
I know. This is total winter food. Sometimes I have to share a super wintry recipe in the middle of April.
I keep a big list of recipe ideas, and what happens quite often is I get some idea I think is great, but it’s totally not seasonally appropriate. So I put it on the back burner and intend to keep it there for six months or more, only to forget about it or forget what I thought was so awesome about it, and end up never making it at all.
So it’s usually best to deal with these things immediately.
Why Turn Cabbage Rolls Into Soup?
If you made my quinoa lentil cabbage rolls, this recipe will look familiar. It tastes just like the cabbage rolls too, but there’s way less work involved in putting the soup together. Just throw everything in a pot! I loved the cabbage rolls big time, and I just recently found out that cabbage roll soup is a thing, which makes total sense, because who doesn’t love an extra easy version of a favorite dish?
So, if you’ve been thinking of making my cabbage rolls but don’t feel like rolling (totally understandable), this one is for you. The best part? While this is indeed comfort food to the max, it, like the rolls, is super healthy.
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Quinoa & Lentil Cabbage Roll Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 cups sliced cabbage, about 1 small head
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup dried brown lentils
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, for serving, optional
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and continue to cook for about 5 minutes more, just until the cabbage begins to soften. Add the garlic and sauté until very fragrant, about 1 minute more.
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Stir in the broth and lentils. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
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Stir in the quinoa, tomatoes, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, and liquid smoke. Continue simmering until the quinoa and lentils are fully cooked, about 20 minutes more.
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Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
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Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Serve.
Sometimes I think you are psychic. I start thinking about a food and within a day or so, you post about it! Last night, my mom and I talked about cabbage rolls and I said, “I guess I could easily vegetarianize them…” and here you are! I think I’ll start with the rolls this week and hit up the soup later :)
We’re going to try this here in frigid Fairbanks, AK. Vegan 9 years.
Hey there(: I just cooked this delicious dish with my dad for our little family and enjoyed it quite much! So thank you for sharing it! Maybe its interesting for you, I am vegan since a few months and vegetarian since I’m 14 years old(not a big deal, cus I’m 19 now haha) and found this Pinterest
Lovely greetings from overseas from Germany(:
That’s awesome! I went vegetarian at 13! I’m glad the soup was a hit with you and your family. :)
Hi Alissa, and Happy Earth Day !! ~~
Yes, it’s Springtime, BUT the weather in NE Oklahoma is bitterly cold… soup is cooking in the slow cooker even as I type. Next week, I’ll be making your cabbage rolls, SO enough will be left over for me to make soup. I love soup year ’round !! Thank you, as always, for all the hard work, and for sharing your grand recipes !!
Happy (belated) Earth Day Nancy! We’ve been having some chilly days here too, so I’m still enjoying lots of soup as well! I hope you enjoy the cabbage rolls. :)
Thanks for the fabulous recipe! I made this on the weekend and it was simple, inexpensive and very delicious!! My boyfriend loved it as well – there’s a good amount of heat!! I’ll definitely be making this again!!
I’m glad to hear you both liked it! Thanks Christine!
Is it possible to get the calories and nutritional values to the recipes?
I don’t normally calculate nutrition info, but here’s a link to a great tool if you’d like to give it a try: https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594
Made this for dinner tonight and just can’t stop thinking about it. Flavor and texture were spot on! I left out 2 cups of broth and cooked it in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes. Going to cut it in half next time, though; made a ton. A/C runs 12 months out of the year in deep south Texas, so it’s always soup weather.
Glad you enjoyed it! And I’m so with you – I just want to run the AC and eat soup all summer too!
I came to the comments to see if anyone successfully used an IP, so thanks for posting!! :-) We’re also soup-loving, AC-blasting Texans.This looks yummy!
I had to come back and comment again. I did what Christie did but added Quorn veg crumbles for my GF carnivore husband and this soup is INCREDIBLE. I’ll be making this a few times a month, it’s so good. Thank you for this recipe!!!!
Did you just add all the ingredients at once and then set the timer for 20 minutes? Curious if the quinoa was mushy.
Quinoa upsets my stomach. What can I use as a sub that would work with the recipe?
I think rice or millet would work!
Just made. Didn’t have liquid smoke so I used cumin instead. Don’t use oil so sautéed onions with water.
Soup was great only problem was I ate to much. This will definitely be in the soup rotation.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!!
This is delicious! I omitted the liquid smoke and added a half teaspoon of oregano. I also used white rice instead of quinoa.Very pleased. We are serving with pierogies for Christmas tomorrow but snuck a taste tonight :)
I bet this was great alongside some pierogies!! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Dana!
Love your recipes! Question, how do you think this would hold up without the quinoa or is there anything you’d put it it’s place?
Thanks Brittany! I think rice or bulghur would make a nice sub for the rice!
Made this last night! Absolutely loved it!! The seasonings are spot on!!!! So very delicious!!!!!
Yay!! I’m glad to hear it! Thanks Rebecca!
This was so good! My cupboards are pretty bare, but I knew I had lentils, an onion, and 3/4 head of cabbage. Your recipe popped up and was just perfect! The only thing I didn’t have was fresh parsley and quinoa, so I just used rice and threw in dried parsley while it simmered. I was suspicious that there were so few spices, but resisted the urge to tinker, and it turned out so hearty and delicious! Plus, it will feed me for several days!
Perfect!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! I’ve had a few people ask about subs for the quinoa, so I’m glad to hear that rice worked well!
Do you have to soak the lentils before adding to the soup? I havent used dried lentils in a long time but really want to try this recipe, it looks great!
Nope! I never soak my lentils before cooking. :) Enjoy!
This was really good, I think because we are used to tomato sauce on our cabbage rolls I added a 14 oz can to the soup and we used rice. My meat eating husband said it was good. Every Vegan recipe that he will eat is a lifesaver and this was easy and tasted great.
Can this be cooked in the slow cooker? If so, what adjustments should be made and for how long should it cook? This looks delish and I worked love to throw it in the crock pot before I have to be back at work! Please advise
I think it would work in a slow cooker, but I’m not sure! If you give it a try, just make sure to add the ingredients in batches according to the recipe – if you add the lentils at the same time as the tomatoes and vinegar they might not cook all the way.
I made it in a slow cooker and it worked beautifully. I put it all the ingredients (raw) into the pot and set it on low for the day. The lentils kept their shape, btw. Can’t rave enough about this recipe!
That’s awesome!! I’m so glad it worked out and so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Mardy!
Perfect soup for a cold New England day.
I’m glad you think so!!
This soup is amazing! It is very tasty and nourishing. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you think so! Thanks Tara!
I love this recipe – I omitted the oil and used 1 teaspoon paprika and do the instant pot method. It is an amazing recipe and so filling.
Thanks so much Colleen! I’m glad you like it!
What’s the instant pot method?
There was a comment from someone else – 2 cups less broth and 20 minutes in the instant pot.
I don’t even know where to begin, THAT is how good this recipe is! I have only been eating a plant based diet since April and this is one of the foods I miss, cabbage rolls. Deconstructing them into soup was brilliant! I was tempted to tweak it a bit to include TVP or frozen crumbles thinking I’d miss the meat but am so glad I didn’t cuz it’s perfect just the way it is written. Bravo Alissa!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks so much!
I made this last night and we really enjoyed it. My only criticism is that it was too salty as written for the products I used. Still edible and good, just saltier than I would prefer. Next time I would use 4 cups broth plus 4 cups water, salt free tomatoes, and start with 1 tbsp soy sauce and add from there. I used reduced sodium tamari and it was still a bit much. My fiancé loved it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Definitely make adjustments if they’re needed – some vegetable broths can be super salty! Thanks Claire!
I LOVE this recipe – but it makes a ton! I’m the only one who will eat this in my house – has anyone successfully frozen it?
I’m glad you like it! I think it should freeze just fine.
I used cauliflower rice instead of the quinoa for a lower carb version. It was delicious! My husband scarfed it down!
Great idea! Glad it was a hit!
This soup was amazing. We didn’t want to use liquid smoke and substituted Himalayan smoke salt instead. I could have asked for better results! Def saving this recipe for winter days!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
any reason not to use carrots?
I think they’d be a delicious addition! I’d probably add then at the beginning and sauté them a bit with the onions. Enjoy!!
I made this in instant pot. I used 1/2 Cup of brown lentils (soaked for 3 hrs), 32oz of veggie stock and only one can of tomatoes. I omitted quinoa and added 2 cups of cooked brown rice after pressure cooking on high for 13 minutes. It came out perfect. If you want softer cabbage pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Thanks for a delicious recipe that is very adaptable!
I’m so glad you like it, and thanks for the Instant Pot tips!!
I made cabbage rolls a month back for the time and it was delicious. Today I made your soup because someone gave us a cabbage that I needed to use, and it tasted just like the rolls. There was a ton of flavor, and I love the addition of liquid smoke!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them both! Thanks Lillian!
This was really tasty! I used red lentils and added some lemon juice and mushroom powder (dried shiitakeI blitzed in a high-speed blender) to the broth for extra flavor, it was really good!
Sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I really enjoyed this recipe. I love cabbage rolls but do not love making them so this soup was perfect! My hubby said it was pretty good which is a win in my books. I made a couple small changes though, I added celery, rainbow carrots, extra garlic, no-beef bouillon in place of veggie and used rice as that’s what hubs prefers. This one I will make again when I’m wanting cabbage rolls!!! Yum!
This was fabulous and I was skeptical prior to making it! I did it in the instant pot with the addition of baby carrots and mushrooms. Didn’t have wine vinegar or liquid smoke so they were omitted. Instead of quinoa, I used precooked brown rice added after everything was cooked. Set the instant pot for 13 minutes with 10 minute NPR. Release the remaining pressure, add rice and enjoy.
This was delicious! I don’t use oil, so just sauteed in water, and it worked great. This will definitely be a go-to recipe for me now!