Weight Loss Cabbage Soup is an easy vegetable soup that’s great for healthy eating that is flavorful and filling. Made in only 20 minutes!
This incredibly simple Soup Recipe is even healthier and easier than Classic Cabbage Soup. It’s not only healthy, it’s also delicious and enjoyable, just like Stone Soup and Lentil Stew.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Weight Loss Cabbage Soup Recipe
Just because this is a healthy cabbage soup, doesn’t mean it’s bland! The flavorful ingredients like garlic, tomatoes, basil, and oregano give this broth-based soup an excellent taste while remaining low-calorie. This is a delicious recipe that you can enjoy for an easy healthy meal or as a light starter to a larger meal.
One of the best things about this soup is how easy it is to make. The process is literally to just chop up all the veggies and add them to the seasoned soup base in a large pot or Dutch oven. It simmers until the vegetables are softened and fork tender, then it’s ready to eat!
What is Weight Loss Cabbage Soup?
Weight Loss Cabbage Soup is also known as Diet Soup and Wonder Soup. It’s the central part of an eating plan that has been around for years that includes enjoying “unlimited” bowls of this low calorie soup. I am not advocating to be a nutrition professional nor am I advocating that you follow any specific diet. I just wanted to offer the popular recipe along with its background so you can enjoy it whether you are dieting or not.
Ingredients
- Soup Base: I’m using a vegetable broth as the base. You can easily find pre-made veggie broths in your local grocery store.
- Cabbage: Chop up one head cabbage or use two bags of pre-shredded cabbage. I would suggest using green cabbage, as red cabbage will turn your soup bluish purple.
- Aromatics: The soup base also starts with an aromatic blend of 1 yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves, 3 carrots, and 3 ribs of celery. The onions and garlic add a sharp pungent flavor, while the carrots and celery add an earthy sweetness. They also help bulk up the soup while adding fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients.
- Tomatoes: You’ll use 1 can of diced tomatoes (28 ounces) along with the juices to add more flavor, extra nutrients, and make it more hearty and filling.
- Spices: The blend of kosher salt, black pepper, dried oregano, and dried basil give this soup a delicious Italian flavor. You’ll need ½ teaspoon of each seasoning.
How to Make
Time needed: 30 minutes
- Chop Veggies
Cut the cabbage into 1 inch chunks. Chop all the other vegetables into edible bite-size pieces.
- Cook
Add all of your ingredients to your soup pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer on low until the carrots and cabbage pieces are tender, about 20 minutes.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 cups cabbage , cut into 1 inch chunks
- 3 carrots , cut into ½ inch bites
- 3 ribs/branches celery , cut into 1/2-inch bites
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes , do not drain
Instructions
- Add the vegetable broth, onion, garlic, cabbage, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and diced tomatoes then stir well.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes until cabbage and carrots are tender.
Video
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Yes, you can make this cabbage soup ahead. You can prep all the veggies the day before and store them in the fridge. Or you can make the whole thing, cool it, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Nutritional Facts
I love this soup because it makes a great starting point for healthy eating because it’s low in calories, nutrient-dense, fat-free, and sugar-free. Cabbage is the foundational veggie in this healthy soup. It’s a wonderful vegetable that’s been cooked for thousands of years, an excellent source of vital nutrients, and may even be good for your blood pressure.
Chef’s Note: Meal Prepping
- Prep Extra: Start by cutting up all your vegetables. This reliable recipe will be enough for several servings, but you may want to double up if you’re eating it for the whole week.
- Store Extra: You can combine the full recipe right away, or divide the ingredients into serving-sized containers to store in the fridge. Then you can just add broth and heat up one serving at a time.
- Cool First: If you make all the soup right away, then let it cool to room temperature and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You can heat each serving in the microwave or on the stovetop for a few minutes to eat.
How to Store
- Store: You can keep this recipe at room temperature for 2 hours before you store it. Keep a lid on it when not being served. To store Wonder Soup, let it cool to room temperature then put it in an airtight container. This recipe can keep well in the fridge for up to a week.
- Reheat: Reheat on the stovetop or covered in the microwave.
- Freeze: You can also store the soup in the freezer. It will store well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Serving Ideas
- Potatoes: If you want to bulk this dish up but still keep your dinner healthy, try serving it along with some baked sweet potatoes or oven roasted red potatoes.
- Toppings: Top the soup with chopped green onion and a sprinkle of fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro.
- Bread: What goes better with soup than a simple freshly baked bread? My homemade Soft Dinner Rolls or Easy Garlic Bread would both be perfect!
Alternative Cooking Methods
- Slow Cooker: This is a great slow cooker meal. Add all the ingredients, cover with the lid, and let it cook on low for 4 hours. If it cooks too long it might get too soggy. This cooking method is especially useful if you add roast beef or chicken to your soup.
- Pressure Cooker: This one is quick and easy. Just add all the ingredients to the pot. Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Press the natural release valve and serve when ready!
Frequent Questions
If you’re counting your caloric intake, your calories per day is very important. Thankfully, this is a low-calorie meal with only about 60 calories per serving (one cup).
To make this veggie soup more filling, try adding in some leftover cooked meat like chicken, turkey, or ground beef. It may not be as low in calories, but it will still be healthy and delicious. You can also cook rice or lentils in the broth.
You can exchange the vegetable broth in the recipe for chicken broth or beef broth if you prefer. You can also use low-sodium broth if you’re trying to reduce sodium.
Regular green cabbage is best for soup because it cooks slower to absorb all the flavors without losing its texture. You could also use savoy cabbage or add bok choy after 10 minutes of simmering (it cooks fast). I just wouldn’t recommend using red cabbage because it will turn the broth an unappetizing purple-blue color.
Variations for Wonder Soup
- Seasonings: Play with the flavor by adding seasonings like sweet paprika, thyme, rosemary or Italian seasoning. For some heat, add some red pepper flakes or hot smoked paprika.
- Vegetables: You can switch up the veggies or add even more. Try adding some bell peppers, green beans, green peppers, or mushroom slices.
- Grains: Make this soup more filling by adding a half cup of brown rice, white rice, or short pasta to the soup ingredients. Cover and cook the soup until the pasta or rice is cooked and veggies are tender. You could also use a half cup of lentils.
- Fish: White fish would go really nicely with this recipe, like cod or halibut. Give the fish a good pan-sear in olive oil before adding it to the soup.
- Meat: You can add chicken, pork, or even lamb to the soup. Steak would be amazing too. If you really want to step it up, cook pork sausage or chorizo with the meat to add a ton of flavor! Brown the raw meat and simmer the soup until it’s cooked through.
More Delicious Hearty Cabbage Recipes
Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Tasty. I did add spinach, thyme, a little more pepper and an extra tsp. of vegetable ‘Better Than Bouillon’ that is used with water as that’s what I had. I ended up chopping up the diced tomatoes after I put them in. I didn’t use ‘petite diced’ but I will next time. This is a good recipe that you can tweak to your taste.
I made this tonight got the first time. The only change was I added cayenne pepper for some heat. It was absolutely delicious. Thanks
Could this be made in a slow cooker ?
I like the lite recipe. It’s easy to add in a few ingredients to change up the flavor if you get tired of it.
can you fix cabbage fat burning soup without onions bell peppers black pepper as i cant eat these orspicy foods cause i get chest pains from them
Sure, it can be adjusted but it will change the flavors a bit.
I have made this soup several times and I have added Italian Flavored Ground Turkey and it was the hit of the party!! About 1 lb. to 2 lb. works great!
I had this soup years ago.I bought all the ingredients that I remembered from years ago but I thought we had used chicken broth. Would using chic.be just as tasty as veg.broth. Thank you
Thanks, Colleen!
I have seen 2 answers from you for a serving. You answered 2 cups and then further down you answered 1 cup. Can you please tell me which one it is?
thank you
The usual serving size for soups is 1 cup. Sorry for the confusion!
Can you have hard boiled eggs for breakfast with this cabbage diet soup?
I don’t see why not! Sounds delicious!
Is a serving size 1 or 2 cups? I’ve seen comments for both.
Only need to lose about 20 pounds, especially belly fat, so I can fit into my clothes. Am 84 years old and am eating as healthy as I can. So, I would just eat this soup two or three times a week because it is super healthy.
Hi Sabrina
Can I add potatoes to the cabbage soup, and still get the same weigh loss results. I understand that day two of the diet we are allowed to eat a potato. Would adding potatoes in the soup have negative affects on losing weight.
Thank you
Maria
Absolutely, potatoes are one of the most filling and low-calorie foods we can eat. Adding potatoes this soup will be so yummy and filling.
I plan on making this today.
Can I eat oatmeal for breakfast, this soup for lunch, and a bowel of soup with dinner?
Of course, you can Jennifer!
If I want to lose 20 pounds in a month how often do I eat the soup
Is it able to cook in crockpot
3 stalks for all of this or three ribs?
yes, three stalks chopped for the whole thing.
I used three ribs of the stalk; that was plenty of celery. Three stalks would make it celery soup; competing with the cabbage as the main ingredient.
Awesome soup! The only thing I added was a few tablespoons of lemon juice (because I love lemon juice) and red pepper flakes to give it a kick! Will absolutely be making this soup again for my lunch during the week. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So happy you loved it, thank you!
What is considered a serving size?
A serving size for this would be approximately 2 cups
Other recipes call for the onion, garlic, celery and carrots to be fried first. How does this change the flavour?
I’m a type 2 diabetic my blood sugars go high then low I need to loose at least 25 lbs. and am 70 year old not a big fruit or veg person but would this soup be alright to at everyday or when??
Like a few others, I’d heard and saw results from co workers years ago and three weather at 103 in MN today, with 70% humidity along with new covid, I need a jump start to her rid of the 20 I gained in isolation! Scratch soup my favorite to make! Thank you for recipe!
I add a can of drained beans, white or red. Your body needs some protein with every meal. This soup is delicious.
I have gained a lot of weight and I want to lose weight about 100 pounds. All the way my health is not good. If I lose this weight I’ll be happy and healthy skin I can do more for myself please help me do this I’ve have tried pills but it didn’t help me at all
You can do this. Just have faith in yourself. I don’t have as much as you to lose, I have lost over 100 pounds. I use this to maintain my weight loss. Have a blessed day and remember to believe in yourself.
love this supportive comment!
I have made this a few times with great results. I am also trying to lose about 100, so I am just doing it Mon-Fri then eating smart over the weekend with a little treat. I know it says not to continue this more than 7 days, but I need 40 lbs gone so i can schedule knee surgery. Helpful hint: I puree all of this after its cooked and drink like tomato soup! I think it’s delicious. Good luck!!
Hello! I’ve eaten this soup many times in my life. I’ve been heavyset the majority of my life. My mother made me this soup in middle school and I lost 20 lbs in just a few weeks. Over the years when I need to get a little excess weight off, I still make it. I eat it for my lunch and I would occasionally eat up to 5 unsalted saltine crackers with it. For dinner i have baked chicken breast (season how you like) and a baked potato sprinkled with bacon bits and shredded mozzarella cheese -or- broiled/baked seasoned fish over rice -or- a simple taco salad, simple but filling light meals.
Also, add 30 minutes minimum of daily exercise. Even if it’s just walking around your own home for a period of 30 minutes. Or 15 minutes in am and 15 minutes in pm. Or 10 minutes prior to breakfast, 10 minutes prior to lunch and 10 minutes prior to dinner.
Great snacks: apple slices topped with a little bit of peanut butter and raisins, celery with peanut butter and raisins, 6-8 baby carrots and small bowl cottage cheese, and sounds odd but cottage cheese with peeled and sliced peaches. YUM!
Best of luck on your journey! It’s worth it. It’s hard but I myself am starting this journey again, as I type this, and we share a weight loss goal.
Sending positive vibes and cheering from afar!
??Amanda
Thank you for your insight, Amanda!
I’m starting today . I’m wondering how you did with this soup diet ? I have fallen and now ready to get on this weight loss journey. We can do this !
This soup is delicious
I just made this soup for the first time to kick start weight loss. I added a few extras because I West Indian from Trinidad but it came out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you Trisha! Good luck on your journey!
so did I. I made mine like our corn soup
Me again –
I just want to also mention that some versions of this weight-loss soup call for beef broth.
I always use vegan “beef” broth which I like better anyway. I used about 1/2 of that and 1/2 vegan vegetable broth. Yum
I LOVE this soup! As others have said, it’s very comforting. Using my new 7 quart stock pot I doubled the recipe and added a can of no-salt-added green beans. Instead of getting a head of cabbage and some carrots and chopping them up, I used bags of coleslaw mix of cabbage and carrots and it’s worked great. I like the texture too.
Question: I love tomatoes but recently learned I need to limit them due to their potassium content 🙁 Do you have any ideas how I might make this without the tomatoes or at least much less? I would want to replace that bulk and flavor somehow.
Thank you for your consideration! — Linda
I haven’t tried it, but I hear red bell peppers or tamarind is a substitute for tomatoes.
Tamarind is perfect sub! Great fresh flavor. In Mpls only place I can find anymore it’s Oriental groceries, the larger ones. Good luck!!
You can use tomato paste out of the tube. It’s concentrated and you need a tiny bit and still get the puch of flavor
I love this soup and crave it. I make it on Sunday or Monday and eat it throughout the week. It is so delicious and really feels like comfort food. Thank you for the recipe. I don’t change a thing!
I eat a big traditional breakfast but then eat this cabbage soup through the day it does a good enough job to keep me slimmed down.
If you want to make it extra low carb skip the carrots. I like to add extra onion and green peppers to mine, chopped. But the base is tasty and easy to adjust to your liking. This helped me lose the baby weight with my middle child. Now 5 years after my youngest I’m ready to commit again to losing everything I gained. This is a great way to start and to pop in the microwave instead when you want to reach for those potato chips.
I’m the biggest I’ve ever been in my life. Well, you know how smart the body is. Here recently, I’ve been CRAVING cabbage, cauliflower (my previously least fav food?), roasted any veggie, broth, everything veg. And I just remembered something I’d heard about when I was little: this “Cabbage Soup Diet” and I’m glad I found this recipe! I’m going to treat it more like a “Stone Soup” situation and just use any veggies I have on hand to go with the cabbage and broth. I’m excited to see what flavors I can cook up while I (hopefully) watch this fat go back to where it came from xD
My body totally does that too when I feel like it’s been too much food recently. I actually started making this soup with ground chicken just so I stayed full longer. I hope it works out well for you too!
I dont have a traditional kitchen at the moment so i put a little evoo on the bottom of a crockpot and turned it up high and cut up the veggies given the past year I bumped up the garlic and threw in ginger smells darn good.
I have all the ingredients to make this soup. Since I need to take off a few pounds I decided it’s a good way to start. I noticed you put ginger in your recipe. Will you enlighten me how did it affect the taste and how much did you add to the recipe. I was thinking of adding cayenne pepper so I don’t want to overpower the ginger. Thanks for the input. Have a blessed day
I added squash and zucchini I had hopefully it will be good.
Hi I gained 90 bl after I have 5 kids and I have back pain and knee pain every day I am 38 and I tired everything to lose weight and it didn’t working for me
Do I eat the soup only all day or I can eat other food and do I have to exorcise or i will still lose weight.
Thank you!
Really love this soup. I made it tonight with bone broth and a package of lipton soup mix and very tasty! Can you add potatoes to this soup?
Yes though it may need to cook longer than due to the potatoes needing more time depending how you like them cooked. I’m so glad you love the soup.
Actually that isn’t necessary…carrots take longer to cook than cut up potatoes…yes, even sliced. However I would recommend adding the potatoes when soup comes to a boil but before simmering. Giving carrots a head start.
Curious about this recipe for diet. How long can you eat only this soup for weight loss.
I don’t have that information, sorry.
I believe it’s 1 week
This soup is delicious.
But how many cups are in a serving? I’m assuming maybe 2 cups?
One serving is equal to 1 cup. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Would you recommend cubed Firm Tofu?
That would be a great addition.
How often should I eat the soup to loose the weight?
I’m not a dietitian so I don’t really have any information on that. You might be able to find more information through another site online. Sorry.
This is a fat burning soup, so you can consume as much as you want all day if that is all you are eating. This is a really good way to cleanse and detox the body as well as lose weight.
I made mine a little different I made my own bone broth I did the cabbage onions a little garlic carrots celery and fresh parsley I also added some smoked paprika of course grinder pepper and some Himalayan salt absolutely delicious thank you so much for sharing your talents with us stay blessed?
Such a great idea to use your own bone broth. I’m sure it lends to a lot of flavor.
Thanks for sharing!
I added more veggies.
Other time added beef..
You’re welcome!
I know cabbage soup has been around for yrs, but this is the first time I made it. I was so pleased with the ease and more importantly the flavor of this soup recipe. My husband of over 52 yrs. asked me to please make more. My 18 yr old granddaughter said “ she can’t believe how good it is”. I sent the recipe to my 30 ur old granddaughter and she said she can’t wait to make it!! I think I might put some zucchini in the next batch, although it’s perfect as is. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’m happy to know that it’s a hit in your family.
Can I use purple cabbage instead of green?
Of course 🙂 Enjoy!
How many calories does each serving have?
57 calories per serving.
This soup is awesome! I make a big pot of it and take some up to my cousin and sister in law every week. We are trying to get our beach bodies back; after being home bound. I use I box of low sodium chicken broth & one box low sodium veggie broth. We just love it! It’s so flavorful, you would never know it’s diet soup!
I’m so glad you love it!
I love cabbage soup that much I’ve been eating it for years
The soup is great! It does make you lose a lot of water weight. This recipe is little different than my original one I had several years ago because it had green peppers and bullion in it instead of vegetable broth. Can’t wait to make to start my new diet and how do you feel about that now
Your nutritional data is useless without knowing serving portion volume/measurement, stating just he number of servings is meaningless. Being diabetic, I need to know serving amount in a measurement, it’s critical and absolutely necessary for me to manage my daily food intake in trying to control my condition.
The serving size is 1 cup.
You’re too nice, this person is too rude. How about thank you for the awesome recipe. Btw what’s the serving portion etc. It’s all about the approach. Sorry I had to say something.
The serving size is 1 cup for this recipe.
And I am so glad you said something.The lady is doing us the favor …by posting the recipe….Like she said…SHE IS NOT A DIETICIAN….
All you had to do was ask.
I am definitely going to try this thank you! For the rude people who says it’s useless because you need this you need that you , you , you … all you had to do is ask or don’t do it.
If you are concerned you should consult your physician. You accomplished nothing with a rude comment to Sabrina. Vegetable soup is just that, common sense should apply here. It is reasonable to assume a diabetic patient would have some knowledge of portions and what a healthy diet consists of. Otherwise, if you are worried I suggest you delete cabbage soup from your diet and not get your blood pressure up over 1 cup or 2. Lastly try meditating.
My reply for Tibbs was posted further down the line of comments. It is meant for Tibbs. My apology to Vanessa.
Nasty mouth!! Be nice.
The recipes is easy to read and fix I’m always looming g for something different to cook everyday
Thanks, Mearlene.
This soup is so delicious!! Hubby has been taking it to work, as he needs to cut down on the corporate lunches, and he has literally dropped a few pounds and absolutely loves it! I do, too!! Used Imagine brand low salt vegetable broth, and it really is very tasty and not bland. The sodium content is so low, too, which is a plus. You can add any veggie you want as well and make it your own. Thank you for a great recipe!
Glad to hear how much you guys love it, Kim. Thanks for the 5 stars.
Great tasting!
This soup is DELICIOUS !!! So easy to make and yes very fulfilling. Love it will be making another batch as soon as I get another head of cabbage.
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you enjoy it, Debbie.
This soup is amazing
Thank you, Debbie!!
I am excited…making this TONIGHT! Not only that, but I will be back to this site. You ladies here seem so supportive of one another and sometimes you need that in your life. Thanks for having me!
I make this soup about once a week. Excellent recipe.
I’m glad you love it so much, Drea.
Can you add kidney beans for protein without adding too many calories?
Depends on what too much means, Kidney beans are 100 calories for a 1/2 cup, so even at a 1/4 cup it is a solid use of 50 calories to me. I add kidney beans to salads all the time and find them filling.
Hi. I noticed there are two ingredients in the directions part of the recipe that are not listed in the ingredients : Tomato sauce, and beef broth. Are these substitutes?
Thanks
Thank you for catching that. I’ve edited the recipe card to read correctly now.
I made this today and used 12 oz jar of medium chunky salsa and 15 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes. I followed the recipe for the rest, but used 2 smaller bay leaves in the simmering part.
Spicy, zesty delicious.
I may just use mild chunky salsa next time and red pepper flakes.
I had planned to try this recipe, but there is a discrepancy between the ingredients and the instructions. The instructions mention tomato sauce and beef broth, but neither is in the ingredient list. It looks like someone copied and pasted from another recipe and didn’t change some things.
Thank you for catching that error. I’ve edited the recipe card to read correctly now. I hope you enjoy it!
Looking for the Cabbage Soup Recipe.
Here’s the direct link:
https://dinnerthendessert.com/cabbage-soup/
Just to say you put vegetable broth in the ingredient list, but say beef broth in the method!
Sorry about that. I used vegetable broth for this recipe. Enjoy!
Hi
Does it make difference using Chinese cabbage instead of regular cabbage, I like the texture and the flavour of the Chinese cabbage.
Thank you