Cabbage Soup is the PERFECT savory vegetable soup made with cabbage, tomato, carrots, celery, and spices, ready in under 45 minutes!
When it gets cold outside, heats things up with kitchen favorites like Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast, the yummy Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup, and the hearty Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Stew!
Cabbage Soup is a savory vegetable soup made with carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, diced tomato and spices. We’ve been making cabbage soup for years because it’s the perfect thing to make when it’s cold outside, plus you can do it in the slow cooker on days when you’re busy.
A lot of people make cabbage soup for weight loss because it’s low calorie, but one of the best parts is that it’s totally inexpensive and super easy to make Serve it with freshly made bread or dinner rolls, You can even cut up leftover Homemade Rotisserie Chicken and throw that in there, too.
If you’re having this for lunch, serve it with some crackers or breadsticks and a simple salad. You can also sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth if you’re needing this to be vegetarian style. Pro tip: make a double batch of this cabbage soup recipe so you can freeze half of it for a quick dinner another night!
For easy prep, cut up all of the vegetables used for one pot of this soup, wrap in a sealable bag and freeze. Then you just need to pull the bag out of the freezer and cook (or slow cook) with broth and spices! For even easier prep, use preshredded cabbage and precut frozen vegetables.
How to Make Cabbage Soup
Making Cabbage Soup is actually really simple! Some vegetables will be fried in a bit of oil to create a great flavor, and then a soup is created with the rest of the ingredients. Check it out!
- Step One: Fry the fragrant vegetables (garlic and onion) in some oil until translucent.
- Step Two: Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and simmer for about a half hour.
- Step Three: Serve hot with easy Garlic Bread or scrumptious Black Pepper Bacon Biscuits!
More Great Cabbage Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want the broth to be a little bit thicker, add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste and stir well.
This recipe is naturally dairy-free and gluten free (with gluten free broth)!
Good question! There are a lot of similarities between the two. The differences are in that the ingredients used are in different measurements. Plus, there’s a different blend of spices. But the biggest difference is that Weight Loss Cabbage Soup is not made with oil, like regular Cabbage Soup, so there’s less calories.
While this recipe here is utilizing green cabbage, you can use purple (red) cabbage, or even a blended mix of both!
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Key Ingredients in Cabbage Soup
This is such a healthy and delicious soup, you’ll want to make it on a regular basis. The ingredients are pretty simple and everything can easily be found at your local grocery store! Check it out!
- Cabbage: This recipe is calling for a half-head of green cabbage. You can use the preshredded stuff too. Make sure it’s the freshest you can find!
- Oil: Extra virgin olive oil (aka EVOO) is great for this. You can also use avocado oil or even coconut oil if you prefer.
- Seasoning: We are using simple thyme in this recipe. But you can use Italian blend or Herbes de Provence (an incredible french blend of dried herbs).
- Broth: Look for the low sodium chicken broth. Vegetable broth works great here too!
- Carrots: Carrots add a hearty depth and non-sugary sweetness to the soup. Feel free to use orange, purple, and even yellow carrots!
- Celery: Just a couple of stalks will do. Make sure they are washed thoroughly as they can often have dirt stuck on them from the farm.
- Tomatoes: We’re using a 14.5oz can of stewed tomatoes here since it’s super easy. But if you prefer, you can dice up a cup of fresh tomatoes too! Fresh cut tomatoes work really well in the alternative slow cooker and pressure cooker options.
Alternative Cooking Methods for Cabbage Soup
- Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup: Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir together. Set the cooker on low for eight hours, or on high for four hours. The soup is done when the vegetables are soft and your kitchen smells amazing. Pro tip: use a crock pot liner for virtually no clean up!
- Instant Pot Cabbage Soup: Use the sauté function for the oil with onion, garlic, and spices for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients. Once it’s done sautéing, add everything to the instant pot and stir. Lock the lid and set pressure on high for a total time of 10 minutes, then let the pot naturally release, about another 15 minutes.
Variations on Cabbage Soup
- Vegetable Additions: You can add more veggies to cabbage soup, like green beans, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, kale, spinach, or or cauliflower. If you add leafy greens, add them at the end just a few minutes before you serve, otherwise they’ll get mushy.
- Pure Veg, Non-Veg: Add chicken or beef to this cabbage soup recipe if you want more protein, and rice or potatoes for more carbs. For a vegetarian protein option, use white beans or extra firm tofu cut into cubes.
- Beef Cabbage Soup: If you’re making beef cabbage soup, use ¼ cup of red wine to deglaze the onions and simmer until reduced by half. Then follow the recipe as normal. I like to use ground beef, which is a lot like deconstructed cabbage rolls!
- Italian Cabbage Soup: Add a packet of onion soup mix or Italian seasoning if you want more onion and herb flavor.
- Spicy Cabbage Soup: Use a spoonful of hot sauce or a dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to add some spice to this cabbage soup recipe.
- Sweet & Savory: If you want a sweet and savory soup, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
How to Serve Cabbage Soup
- Low Carb: Serve your hot soup with aClassic Wedge Salad which is like a regular salad, except the head of lettuce is cut into wedges for a fancy presentation.
- Carb-alicious: Get some butter melted on fresh Buttermilk Biscuits, a side of Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes. For dessert, try a quick homemade Apple Bread with a scoop of ice cream. Is your mouth watering yet?
- Perfect Luncheon: Serve the soup alongside the appetizing Tomato Goat Cheese Galette for a yummy lunch that is perfect for any time of the year!
More Hearty Soup Recipes
How to Store Cabbage Soup
- Serve: Serve your soup nice and hot. Keep covered when not being served. Refrigerate within 2 hours.
- Store: Cabbage soup will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, when sealed tightly. You can have this for dinner, then pack a few lunches with it, then freeze whatever is leftover for another day.
- Freeze: Let it cool completely before putting it into an airtight container and freezing. This will keep for about 2-3 months in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth (vegetable broth is fine too)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper , or to taste
- 1/2 head cabbage , chopped in 1 ½ inch chunks
- 4 large carrots , peeled and chopped
- 2 ribs celery , sliced thinly
- 14.5 ounces stewed tomatoes (just under two cups fresh cut tomatoes)
Instructions
- In a large pot add the olive oil over medium heat then add in the onions and garlic, onion and cook until the onions are see through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the broth, salt, pepper, thyme, cabbage, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post:
Made this soup many years ago. Just happened across the recipe again, and its simmering and smelling on so good. Can’t wait to dive in.?
Enjoy!
This soup is delicious! I threw in some leftover steak and some barley. Wow. Even my fussy meat and potatoes guy, loved it. Definitely a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Do you know of anything to use other than tomatoes, tomato paste? I have to watch my potassium level and of course, tomatoes, etc. are HIGH IN POTASSIUM
I’m not sure what to substitute that would give you the same flavors.
This is a delicious recipe! I added a little bit of fresh ginger and red lentils for my protein. So so good! I will be making this again 🙂
Love those suggestions, Jessica.
I just made this! It smells delicious and I’m looking forward to sharing it with our family.
How to make cabbage soup in a slow cooker?
I gave instructions in the post above for how to make this in a slow cooker. Enjoy!
So dont pre cook any of the veggies? Just throw it all in the crockpot?
Correct, it’ll all cook together. Enjoy!
This is so delish ?. I added in scrambled seasoned ground beef and finished it with some 35% whipping cream before serving.
Delicious!! Thank you for this easy recipe…I doubled the ingredients and added 2 lbs. lean ground beef. This soup will be made again and again!
Thanks for taking the time to come back and letting me know how much you enjoyed it, Bernie. I appreciate the 5 star rating.
Hi if i’m adding beef & rice how much of each do I put in? Also, do I add more broth or keep that the same?
Here’s my recipe for stuffed cabbage soup:
https://dinnerthendessert.com/stuffed-cabbage-soup/
So we made this tonight. After tasting testing we realized we forgot to add an ingredient, but the recipe never instructed when to add Thyme….? Delicious without, we added 2 more cups broth(substituting boillion cubes) and three heavy sashes habanero Tabasco Sauce.
Thanks for catching that. I’ve edited the recipe card to include it in the instructions now. I’m so glad you enjoyed it even without the thyme.
I am going to make this soup but I wanted to know if I can use a different flavor of broth like onion? as I always find the vegetable or beef broth to bland when I attempt to make soup.
Thanks
Yes, absolutely! I sometimes use mushroom stock because it adds more flavor too.
I added chicken bouillon for more flavor
So delicious! I tweaked part of the recipe and sautéed the holy trinity (carrots, onion, celery) together first. Then the garlic, added red pepper flakes, and then the tomatoes.
I made homemade stock for this recipe with a ton of fresh herbs so i skipped that entirely. Added in the cabbage…i need high protein meals so the whole chicken i used for the stock went right in there to!
This was delicious. We were going to freeze half of it, but it never made it to the freezer. I changed the meat , went with some sausage and kielbasa instead of beef, worked like a charm.
Sounds amazing!
So yummy… I added white beans for protein, but the broth is my favorite part; I used toasted Italian bread to enjoy that part. AND MY TEENS LOVED IT AS WELL!
This is so good, & super easy. I’m going to serve it with blueberry cornbread. I think I’ll add some potatoes next time, although it’s delicious as is.
Looks like a great soup going in the crock pot Tonite. Thank you.
Excellent dish. I cut it in half because I’m the only one in the family that likes good food. I used a small red cabbage and added lemon juice, parsley and red pepper flakes when serving.
Cabbage soup looks delicious.
Looking for a new way to make cabbage soup
I’m hoping you’ll give this recipe a try.
I made this soup tonight, I was not feeling well what better to eat. Added a half rotisserie chicken breast turned out very good. Will definitely make again.
Hope you start feeling better soon.
Could I used crushed tomatoes instead?
Yes 🙂
Delicious!
My family loved it and we’ve found that it tasted even better with a bit of lemon juice.
Made this soup today. Very good. Lots of flavors. Added a can of beans, an extra can of stewed tomatoes, a red pepper and a green pepper. Yummy !!!
Made this soup last night and it was fantastic and full of flavor. Thank you for the recipe and it reminded me of my grandmother’s recipe.
I was wondering about the serving size of this soup. Is it 130 kcal for one cup of soup?
Yes 🙂
Wonderfully simple and lots of flavors. I added some extra veggies like asparagus and zucchini as well. Next time I think I will try adding some sausage as well.
The cabbage I have is HUGE…what size do you use usually ? Or do u know how much the cabbage you use weighs approximately…
I’d say about 4 packed cups or around 20 ounces of cabbage. Hope this helps!
Are the carrots supposed to real soft when done
They’re soft but still have a bite to them. They shouldn’t be mushy.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks great!
Simple, delicious and nutritious! Thank you Ms. Snyder ???
I am making this soup and added polish sausage cut in small pieces and had chicken broth, smells real good and half of cabbage, used this recipe, happy I did. Thank you.
Super simple and delicious. I made only half the recipe since it is just two of us during the lockdown. My only substitution was yellow carrots. I Google for recipe ideas using the main ingredient I want. I keep finding that the recipes I choose consistently are by Chef Sabrina!
Yay!! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know, Ann. I really appreciate the 5 stars.
To freeze the vegetables, do they need to be frozen before or after cooked?
Sorry, your comment got stuck in my spam filter. I freeze this after it’s been cooked. Enjoy!
IF you are making the Soup ‘that’ same day, cook it up then freeze what is left over. IF you have ‘extra’ veggies/cabbage AFTER making the soup, you can prep, cut/slice, put them either in smaller zip lock bags to placed inside a larger zip bag then freeze OR place ALL prepped veggies into one large zippy bag, then freeze for use at a later date. Hope this helped 🙂
Just made this soup and it is delish. I stir fried a half pound off Italian sausage in with
the onions and garlic. Only had 1 4 cup box of broth so added 2 cups of better than bouillon. Didn’t think it needed 8 cups. Also added Kale. So good!
I am making it for the second time this month. Really nice soup and it freezes well.
I’d call that a winner! Thanks for letting me know, Mireio.
I made two batches of this last night and they are amazing! I had a giant cabbage and so I made it into different batches – one with vegetable broth and one with chicken broth. They are both really tasty! Had it for dinner last night and lunch today – and I think it is even tastier today after having a chance for all of the flavors to come together even more. I added a can of french cut string beans and a can of sweet kernel corn. I also had scallion onions so I cut those up and threw them in as well. It is a really delicious vegetable soup! Perfect soup if you find yourself with a giant cabbage! Even my 5 year old ate it and thought it was wonderful. Last night I served it over ditalini pasta – but I think it would be really tasty with brown rice as well. Simple recipe, tasty and delicious!
The simmer time was more like 40 minutes, good texture no flavor.
Hi there, I’m about to make this recipe. Can I purée or mince a can of diced tomatoes since I don’t have stewed tomatoes?
Thanks!
Sure
Very good! I thought ut wouldn’t have enough flavor with hardly any seasonings listed, but it’s very flavorful! So simple. Hearty. Delicious!
Loved it ! Not a fan of thyme , so I didn’t add. I used petite diced tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand. Quick , delicious and just happens to be so good for you !
Fabulous and so easy. I used vegetable base; added oregano, chopped red pepper, tomato paste, and cannellini beans. This will be my go to veggie soup.
Thanks for sharing.
I made this today because I had half a head of cabbage that I didn’t know what to do with. The soup was a big hit! My husband even l said he thinks it was the best vegetable soup he’s ever had! And just last night he said he was done eating cabbage since I’d bought 2 heads of cabbage to make several different St. Patty’s Day meals this week and he was getting tired of cabbage at every meal. So that says a lot since I wasn’t sure he’d even eat it tonight! My tweaks were diced tomatoes with their juice since that’s what I had on hand and some garbonzo beans. The house smelled heavenly while it was slow cooking!
How long would I cook this is the instant pot?
I have no stewed tomatoes. Any suggestion for a substitute? The only thing I have is a large can of diced tomatoes.
They won’t break down the same as stewed tomatoes. Your best substitution would be canned tomatoes instead. Good luck!
U can use diced tomatoes too
Has anyone used tomato sauce instead of stewed tomatoes?
You forgot to include adding the thyme to the garlic and onions when cooking the garlic and onions. Great recipe!
Soup was really good! So easy, yet was very flavorful! I added 2 frozen chicken breast, let the soup simmer for 8 hours on low in the crock pot. The chicken was so tender, shredded it in the pot. Delicious dinner!
It states that there is 8 servings with 13 carbohydrates per serving. But doesn’t tell what the serving portion is. I would like to know how much I can have.
1 cup 🙂
This recipe is unbelievable. I just finished making a pot and I can’t stop eating it. So filling and heartwarming and healthy. My tweaks were using a can of diced tomatoes and their juice instead of stewed. Used purple, yellow and orange organic carrots. Four cups of homemade chicken stock and 2 cups of Better than Bouillon. Also 1-1/2 cups finely diced ham, 1/2 cups orzo (added to broth uncooked), and 2T tomato paste. I will be making this recipe over and over. Thank you!
The bullion broth taste great, however has a lot of sodium. So, if you use it, do not put the salt in. I also think you can add chopped zucchini and spinach to veggie it up.
We added sour cream when we served it. I always double recipes first try and the kids and hubby loved it!!
I just made this soup for my family and it was a HUGE hit!!
Really really good. I did as per recipe .
Love this recipe, quick and easy. Tastes great. Added garbanzo beans to keep it clean. Yum 😉
One head of cabbage that I did not want to throw away or let it go bad in the refrigerator. So I needed a little help and I am doing this search for my dinner. Thank you for such a great website full of information.
You’re welcome, Lenora. Glad to have helped.
This recipe was amazing, we loved it here!
I added fried andouille sausage, and 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes with chilies, sautéed the onions, garlic and cabbage and tossed it into the instapot for 30 minutes. It has an amazing flavor and is just what I was looking for!!! Thank you for the pointers on the cabbage soup, I hope you try it with the additions I did.
I’ve made it three times now in the last month…,,I always love making a good soup and this one is absolutely great!
The only change I’ve made is to cut down to one carrot and celery stick and a whole 28oz can of stewed tomatoes….but that’s cause I love tomatoes!
Thank you for your recipe
Oh and my husband can’t get enough of it either ?
Wow, that’s so awesome that you love it so much. Thanks for letting me know.
Yummy. I added Italian sausage to mine! So good.