Cabbage Soup is the perfect savory vegetable soup made with cabbage, tomato, carrots, celery, and spices, ready in under 45 minutes!
When the weather gets cold in the winter, heat things up with a warm and cozy Soup! If you like Ground Beef Cabbage Soup, but want something meat-free, you need to try this veggie version!
Sabrina’s Cabbage Soup Recipe
Cabbage Soup is a savory vegetable soup made with carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, diced tomato and spices. I’ve been making this recipe 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 this soup for weight loss because it’s low calorie, but I also love it because 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.
Recipe Card
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 stir to combine. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Notes
- Change Serving Size: Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Conversion: To convert measurements to grams, click on the Metric option next to Ingredients in the recipe card.
- Kitchen Timer: Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
Nutrition
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Table of contents
Key Ingredients
- Cabbage: This recipe is calling for a half-head of green cabbage. You can use the preshredded stuff too.
- Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is great for this. You can also use avocado oil or even coconut oil if you prefer.
- Seasoning: I use 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 especially if you want to make a vegan soup.
- Carrots: Carrots add an earthy depth and natural sweetness to the soup.
- Celery: Just a couple of stalks will do. You can also add the leaves with the cabbage for a bit more fresh flavor.
- Tomatoes: I used canned stewed tomatoes not only because it’s easy but they are slightly sweeter and often stewed with basil so you get more Italian flavor.
How to Make
Time needed: 40 minutes.
- Fry vegetables
Fry the fragrant vegetables (garlic and onion) in some oil until translucent.
- Simmer soup ingredients
Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and simmer for about a half hour.
Can this be made ahead?
Yes! Pro-tip: Make a double batch so you can freeze half of it for a quick dinner another night! For easy prep, you could also 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 pre-shredded cabbage and precut frozen vegetables.
How to Store
- 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.
Ideas To Serve
- Low Carb: Make a healthy dinner Classic Wedge Salad which is like a regular salad, except the head of lettuce is cut into wedges for a fancy presentation.
- Bread: Some freshly baked Buttermilk Biscuits or a loaf of garlic bread from the grocery store are perfect for soaking up the broth.
- Lunch Combo: This light soup goes great with your favorite sandwiches as a filling lunch duo without adding a bunch of extra calories.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Slow Cooker
Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir together. Set the cooker on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 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
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.
Frequent 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, 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!
Variations
- Vegetable Additions: You can add more veggies, 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.
- Bulk it Up: Add chicken or beef 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: 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: Add Italian seasoning blend or use herbs like dried oregano, basil, parsley, marjoram and rosemary to give this an Italian flavor.
- Spicy: Use a spoonful of hot sauce or a dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to add some heat.
Related Recipes
More Vegetable Soup Options
Photos used in a previous version of this post:
Making this right now. Can’t wait! I did add hamburger to this and some tomato paste but other than that it’s made to a T. I’m also using a crock for mine instead. So tonight I’ll come back and let you know how it turned out??
Please do! Hope you enjoy!
We love this soup!
Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know how much you enjoyed it, Olivia.
GREAT SOUP! I added a spoon of peanut butter for protein and cut up a peeled small sweet potato in chunks for sweetness, with a large can of whole tomatoes. Delicious.
Peanut Butter?
I had everything except chicken broth so I used water, is this ok ,or not, ??? Did I change the taste or soup,
It works but you do lose flavor from not using broth.
This will change the taste of the soup a LOT. I’d expect the soup to be much more bland. You might be able to use water if you add a LOT more spices and cook it longer? You can make your own chicken broth by using leftover chicken bones or buy some premade stuff.
Sabrina, are the carbs on the nutrition facts total carbs or net carbs? Soup is delicious and such a good base to add in other things! I did add kale and it was wonderful! I used diced canned tomatoes instead of stewed, but my soup isn’t red like yours, more orange colored.
It comes from a program so I’m sorry but I’m not really sure. If you’re adding other items, you might want to use a online calculator to determine the nutritional information anyway. I’m so glad you love the soup though.
I made the soup and it had a nice flavor but I thought it would taste and look different.
The pictures show a broth that’s red like it had more of a tomato base. I followed the directions exactly but it didn’t look like that.
Why does the broth in your pictures look so red.
I realize this comment is very old, so I am so sorry for the delay in replying.
The red came from my stewed tomatoes, but if you want more tomato punch add in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. That’ll pump the tomato flavor up easily.
The soup is delicious. I cooked the veggies in bacon drippings then did 1/2 chicken and 1/2 beef broth, 2 tsp chicken bullion powder and a pinch of cayenne and 1 tsp of Italian season. Next time I might try ro-tel tomatoes. Thanks!
Used your basic recipe, used what I had on hand. Leftover cabbage from making Halupkis, tomato juice, fresh tomatoes and beef broth. Added red and green peppers, celery and leftover pork burgers that were broken apart. Tastes incredible!
Made it by direction and turned out WONDERFUL!!
Thanks for the recipe.
I Love the Recipes you provide, Keep them coming.
Thanks, Lester.
My family loved it – saving this recipe. I added the tomato paste and some left over cooked corn beef.
This soup is absolutely delicious! It’s also the first time that I didn’t have to adjust a soup recipe, I find that with most recipes I have to play around and add more spices etc. to get more flavour. This came out so delicious! Thank you so much!
Delicious!!
Made this last night and eating it now for lunch, it’s great! Filling and really healthy. I didn’t have the canned diced tomatoes so in a pinch I used up 3/4 jar of Tostitos medium salsa (which was too runny for chips, and the first ingredient was diced tomatoes anyway). The salsa actually gave it an even better flavor and just enough kick. I topped it off with some homemade croutons and let them soak up some of the broth… delicious!
This was an excellent soup and my whole family loved it! Thank you for a very tasty and nutritious soup recipe! Will definitely make again.
You’re welcome, Julia. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I love this soup. I used both chicken and veggie broth. I can’t help myself, I always add extra vegetables to my soups.
Sounds perfect to me too, Bernice. Thanks for the 5 stars.
My mom made delicious cabbage soup but never had a written recipe. This one sounded pretty close so I made it with the addition of beef flanken, because our cabbage soup always contained beef. It adds a nice richness to the broth. I also added red wine to deglaze, turmeric, brown sugar, tomato paste and a few shakes of crushed red pepper. It was delicious and I’ll be adding it to my soup rotation.
I made this last night (stovetop) and it is even yummier today, all the flavors are now absorbed. I like lots of flavor so took your suggestion and added in a package of Lipton onion and mushroom soup mix and used beef broth and a cup of red wine and had 1 frozen hamburger patty, so it went in also. To thicken up and add a little more protein I stirred in a can of retried beans, sounds weird but even my old fashioned Italian mother does that in her minestrone. I will be trying more of your recipes, they all sound delicious! And your pictures are very inviting also. Thanks!
Thanks for all of your suggestions, Julie.
Loved this…tweaked just a bit…added can of white beans. It tastes wonderful and I bet it will be even better tomorrow.
So warm and comforting. My mom made one very much like it when I was growing up. Now I have the correct proportions to recreate it, thank you so much!!
Hey Sabrina, when the recipe refers to 14.5 oz oz of stewed tomatoes, are you creating a tomato stew beforehand or just adding raw tomatoes to the soup? I did the latter and the soup isn’t nearly as red as it looks in your pictures. still delicious but just want to know if I’m making this properly
You can buy stewed tomatoes in cans from the grocery store. I just added those. Hope this helps!
Very good. I doubled the recipe and used a pound of ground beef and pound of hot Italian sausage with beef stock. I don’t like chunks of tomatoes so I blended those before adding. I have made this a couple times now.
I love trying things that I can put in freezer
My house got quite a few cabbages last fall in our CSA box. We chopped them up and froze the cabbage, not being able to eat it all at once! I’ve probably made this soup five or six times already – it’s easy and delicious 🙂 Lately I’ve been increasing the liquid and adding rice.
Great idea, Rachel.
I made this today and just had a bowl. It was so satisfying! i used low salt chicken broth but added chicken boullion instead of salt. I also added cut up ham. I will definitely enjoy this soup this week!
I made this today but future reference if you don’t have wine what can you use for for it
Great recipe,wife loves it
Your cabbage soup is just the way I’ve always made mine. Except adding the dry onion soup mix. Which I did. Thank you. Perked it good. I have used dry onion mix with pot roast & creamed soup. Also same with chicken roasted. Never thought to put in soup. Great idea. Look forward to more recipes from you. Thanks again. Ginger
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Great recipe! I added a little tomato paste after the onions cooked, and some white beans for protein. I also added a squeeze of lemon but I like some extra acidity. Excellent recipe and very hearty considering it’s veggies.
My future hubby and I really enjoyed this recipe. I used Veggie broth.
LOVED this soup! It was easy as described and I appreciated having instructions for both the Instant Pot as well as slow cooker or traditional. I used what I had on hand so had both chicken and vegetable broth together. I didn’t have an onion soup mix but I did add a packet of chicken bone broth which I do think added a depth of flavor. Looking forward to trying more of Sabrina’s recipes soon!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Paula. I look forward to seeing you around the site.
Very good and was super easy! I used fire roasted tomatoes and added ground turkey…perfecto!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Desiree.
I have made a variation before but yours is much more comfort and rich. I did boil some onions,celery,and cabbage and used that water in my broth. It was and is delish!!!
I added a packet of onion soup powder and it took it to a whole new level! Yummy, thank you!
Thanks for the suggestion, Katie.
We had this last night at midnight for new years. I threw everything into a crockpot around 5pm and I halved the recipe since there was only two of us. We have about two servings left over. It was perfectly cooked and convenient in the crockpot since we had to eat it at exactly midnight.
I made it exactly as written but my boyfriend snuck a couple slices of raw bacon into the crockpot to cook with it when there was about 6 hours left, so I’m sure that changed the flavor but it ended up amazing.
This recipe was simple to make and tasted great. We served with crumbled bacon on top.
Nothing wrong with a bit of bacon, haha! So glad you both enjoyed it.
I put in 1/2 cup of brown sugar at , 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 jar tomato sauce. Some chop meat. I box of chicken broth. 1/2 shredded cabbage 1/2 sautéed onion and if it’s too thick I add some water cook till cabbage is soft. It’s my grandma’s recipe from Russia. Yummy. Sweet and sour cabbage soup.
Thanks so much for sharing this simple and wonderful recipe!!! I was looking for this perfect way to enjoy my cabbage!!! YUM.
I really enjoyed this soup and it was a great detox. I used cole slaw mix to speed up prep. I also don’t like celery so I blended that to hide it. I’m making this again as it’s great for quick lunches.
Thanks for the 5 star rating, Heather.
Today, I made your soup and added other veggies like red and white beans, potatoes and green and red cabbage. It is absolutely delicious. My husband who is a meat and potato person asked for a second serving!
Thank you Sabrina. I will continue to look you up for more recipes.
Kind regards,
Marietta Chilton
I’m so glad to know it won him over! Thanks for the 5 stars, Marietta.
This soup was absolutely amazing!!! I cooked it in the instant pot, which caused it to be over cooked, so I will use my crock pot next time. I added ground turkey and did use the extra tomato paste, brown sugar and did add a few drops of Tabasco. I am making it again tonight. Tonight I think I will add rutabaga and maybe some kale. Thank you for sharing !!!
This is a family favorite. I always need to double the recipe. It is very adaptive. too. I add whatever other veggies that I have. Cubed butternut squash, etc. I have added cannellini beans and baby potatoes halved. A good quality vegetable stock also makes it richer.
Great ? recepies thanks
No comment yet I will make cabbage, veggies, chicken soup tomorrow. Then I will comment. Thanks. Theresa.
Definitely a great starter cabbage soup. I followed the directions and at the end I added leftover rotisserie chicken breast and it was delicious. Thanks!
I’ve made this recipe several times. It’s delicious! It’s a big hit with my family. They are hooked. I also add a half teaspoon of turmeric for additional good health. It also gives the soup a richer flavor.
Best ever. Simple and uncomplicated. Great taste!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Paul.
This stuff is amazing!!!!!!!!
Would I be able to add parsnips and rutabaga as well?
Sure 🙂
I have made this recipe several times. This time I used turkey stock I made from the Thanksgiving turkey, leftover turkey (about 2 cups, diced), and I substituted a few items I had on in the fridge to be used- for the celery substituted fennel bulb (about 1 C chopped), I added a few green onions in addition to 1/2 yellow onion, and red and green cabbage. This base recipe is a winner and this batch of soup was delicious!
Wow, that sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks for the review and for the Thanksgiving leftover spin. Happy Holidays!
Good base recipe. Added some paprika, oregano, and cumin, as well as tomato paste to make the broth a little thicker. Also didn’t have any celery on hand and was just fine without it, tho probably recommend if you have it!
Thanks for the review and the new ingredient additions, I love tweaking this soup recipe too!
I got You’re recipe for cabbage soup online,. Followed the directions that were in the recipe, For the soup. The best cabbage soup I’ve Ever made. Thanks for the recipe keep up the good work.
You are very kind, thank you so much for the good review!
I made this for my family last night and it was a HUGE delicious hit! Thanks so much for this recipe. Rarely can I find something that all 5 of us love.
I take that as a huge compliment! Thanks for coming back to let me know.
This turned out exactly like the photo and is a great base for add-ins. I added some leftover brown rice and parmesan and topped it with crushed blue corn tortilla chips. Thanks!