This homemade cabbage roll soup mix recipe makes a super tasty, creamy soup. It's gluten free, only needs meat and water to serve it, and can even be made keto friendly!
Time to fix that!
Starting things off, we have my cabbage roll soup mix recipe - pretty much the ultimate comfort food, and it was definitely a family favorite this past camping season.
It’s perfect to cook over a campfire any time of year, but was especially nice on cold winter nights. Well “cold”, anyway - we didn’t really get a proper winter.
This deconstructed cabbage rolls soup is made in 2 stages - as a packet of mix that you can make in batches ahead of time, and the ~5 minutes of work to actually serve it.
It’s got a creamy, savory tomato broth... plus rice, meat, and cabbage. Classic cabbage rolls, just in soup form!
You can even do this up as a low carb meal - taking inspiration from my Keto Cabbage Rolls!
Whichever way you go with it, this is the best cabbage roll soup recipe for camping - an easy recipe to start out with, perfect for batch processing / meal prep, good for long term storage, and it’s a healthy soup.
It’s a hearty meal with great flavors - your whole family will love it!
One packet makes 2 hefty portions or 4 small bowls of cabbage roll soup.
If you’re having a side at all, definitely expect 4 servings from the soup - it’s VERY filling!
Ingredients
The ingredients for this unstuffed cabbage roll soup mix recipe can be looked at in two sections: The ingredients for the mix itself, and then the ingredients you’ll need to use the mix.
Some of the ingredients aren’t necessarily pantry staples - and they can be a little bit of an investment up front.
If you’re like us and camp often - and love easy dinner options to cook over the camp fire - you’ll definitely go through the specialty ingredients.
Beyond this recipe, I also use them in several more instant meal recipes that I’ll be publishing in the future -loads of good stuff!
Some notes for you:
The Instant Soup Mix Packets
These are the ingredients you’ll measure into freezer bags, ahead of time.
Dehydrated Cabbage
Basically the main ingredient of the soup!
You can buy Dried Cabbage Flakes if you like, but it’s SO easy to make from fresh cabbage... I can’t bring myself to pay the convenience upcharge.
Regular green cabbage is SO cheap - I’ll buy a bunch of it and make enough for a dozen or more instant soup packets in one go.
All you need to do is slice up a head of cabbage - I’ll usually stick to the outer ⅔ or so, the green leaves.
Separate any pieces that are stuck together, and arrange in a single layer in your Food Dehydrator.
Let your machine run until the cabbage is dried through. Allow it to cool to room temperature, then bag it until you’re ready to assemble your soup mixes.
For reference, I find that you get about 1 oz dried cabbage (enough for 1 soup packet) from 13 oz of fresh cabbage.
The last time I made a batch, 3 lb, 3 oz of fresh made 3.9 oz dried.
Rice
The rice you choose is going to depend on your dietary needs.
As I’m low carb, I use Kaizen Rice - a keto rice product made from lupini beans.
Alternatively, you can dehydrate cauliflower rice and use that instead.
Instant Rice works well - and is much cheaper than Kaizen! - for those who don’t need to keep it keto.
Regular instant white rice - like Minute Rice is a good default, but you could also use Instant Brown Rice if you prefer.
Due to the amount of time it takes to cook - and different water uptake - wild rice isn’t really a suitable option in this recipe.
Powdered Bone Broth
I use Powdered Chicken Bone Broth, rather than chicken bouillon - for a few reasons.
It’s higher in protein, more neutral flavoured, not as salty, and just plain tastes better. All around, a great base for this recipe - I use Organika Chicken Bone Broth.
You can try using a powdered vegetable broth - or beef broth, if you prefer a beef base - instead of the chicken broth, though.
If you can find something that’s just pure vegetables / beef - without a bunch of additives, salt, or seasoning - that’s going to be your best bet.
Specialty Ingredients
The ingredients that you’ll likely need to order online are:
Heavy Cream Powder
Sour Cream Powder
Tomato Powder
The heavy cream powder and sour cream powder give you a creamy texture with perfectly balanced flavor.
The tomato powder takes the place of the tangy tomato sauce you’d usually have on traditional cabbage rolls - it’s basically dehydrated tomato paste.
These ingredients are ones we lean on heavily in our instant camping mix recipes - and I’ve got a bunch more coming!
Honestly, though - we could probably live on this soup alone. It’s definitely a favourite!
Finally, you’ll want a little Xanthan Gum, to help thicken the soup and prevent it from splitting.
Everything Else
Rounding out the soup packet ingredients, you’ll need:
Onion Flakes
Dried Parsley
Garlic Powder
Caraway Seeds (Optional)
Ground Black Pepper
Salt
... These ones are all pretty straightforward, easy to come by, and self-explanatory, though!
Cooking and Serving
To use a soup packet, you’ll need a few more ingredients, in addition to water:
Ground Meat
We tend to use ground chicken or ground turkey, but lean ground beef is another great option - you can even use ground vegan meats, if that’s your thing.
I’ll section a lb of ground meat into two ½ lb portions, wrap and freeze them. Then, when it’s time to make a batch of soup, I’ll take them out a bit early to thaw.
If you’re using bacon - see below - or a fattier ground beef, you can usually skip using oil to cook the meat.
When using ground poultry or lean beef, you want a little olive oil or vegetable oil to cook it in.
Bacon - Optional
While this is optional, I find that it really elevates the soup.
We’ll cut up a lb of fresh bacon and divide it into 4 packets, and keep them frozen for trips. When we pull out a ground meat packet, we’ll also grab a bacon packet.
Super easy!
Garnish - Optional
We’ll usually serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream, but that’s optional. The soup gets some sour cream taste from the soup mix powder, so it doesn’t NEED it.
You can also top it with some fresh herbs if you happen to have them - parsley, green onions, or chives are all nice options.
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How to Make Cabbage Roll Soup Mix:
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:
Soup Mix
Measure the rice, cabbage and onion flakes into a medium ziplock baggie, set aside.
Measure remaining soup mix ingredients into a snack sized baggie.
Press out as much air as possible, seal.
Ideally, label with some version of the following “Cooking & Serving” info, below.
Each ingredient gets measured into each bag, before starting on the next ingredient:
Cooking & Serving
Cook ground meat and bacon (if using) in a medium pot or large skillet, using a little vegetable oil over medium heat (stove top), or a medium fire.
Bring to a low boil, simmer until the rice and cabbage are rehydrated to the right texture.
Add the contents of the dry mix pouch, stir well to combine.
Continue simmering until the soup has thickened. Serve hot - with a dollop of sour cream, if you have some handy!
More Camping Recipes
Looking for great ideas to cook on a campfire, or in an RV? Here's a few simple recipes to start with!
Banana Protein Pancakes
Camping Breakfast Skillet
Camping Tacos, 2 Ways
Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken
Egg Roll Soup Mix
Gingerbread Latte [Protein Powder Mix]
Hobo Eggs
Homemade Mushroom Jerky
Hot Chocolate Mix [Protein Powder Mix]
How to Make an Epic S'Mores Board
Instant Camping Pancake Mix
Instant Cream of Chicken Soup [Protein Powder Mix]
Italian Wedding Soup Mixes [Just Add Meat & Water!]
Pepperoni Jerky
Pumpkin Chai Latte [Protein Powder Mix]
Smoky Campfire Chili
Traditional Bannock
Vegan Tofu Jerky
Cabbage Roll Soup Mix
Equipment
- Ziplock Baggies
Ingredients
Soup Mix:
- 1 oz Kaizen Rice Or regular instant rice
- 1 oz Dehydrated Cabbage
- 1 tablespoon Onion Flakes
- ¼ cup Chicken Bone Broth Powder
- 1 tablespoon Heavy Cream Powder
- 1 tablespoon Sour Cream Powder
- 2 teaspoon Tomato Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon Caraway Seeds optional
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Assembly:
- ½ lb Lean Ground Beef or Ground Chicken
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ lb Chopped Bacon Optional
- 4 cups Hot Water
Instructions
Soup Mix:
- Measure the rice, cabbage and onion flakes into a medium ziplock baggie, set aside.
- Measure remaining soup mix ingredients into a snack sized baggie. Press all air out, seal, and place inside the baggie of vegetables and rice.
- Press out as much air as possible, seal. Ideally, label with some version of the following info:
Assembly:
- Cook ground meat and bacon (if using) in a medium pot or skillet, using a little vegetable oil.
- Add water and vegetable packet, stir well to combine. Bring to a low boil, simmer until the rice and cabbage are rehydrated to the right texture.
- Add the contents of the dry mix pouch, stir well to combine.
- Continue simmering until the soup has thickened. Serve hot!
Nutrition
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