Preppy Kitchen Recipes Soups Cabbage Soup

Cabbage Soup

By John Kanell Updated Jan 24, 2024
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Nourishing, warming, and bursting with flavor, my easy cabbage soup recipe is a cozy meal perfect for lunch or dinner! Loaded with vegetables and so easy to change up based on what you have in your kitchen, this is a must-try if you are looking for a no-fuss meal the whole family will love.

A bowl of cabbage soup with a pot in the back and glass of wine.

If you have a head of cabbage in your fridge, you need to try this unsuspecting recipe! Brimming with nutritious, wholesome ingredients, this cozy, comforting, brothy soup will warm you up from the inside out. Cabbage can be viewed as a bland or unexciting vegetable, but trust me. When you combine how quickly it comes together with the delicious taste from layers of flavor and seasonings, you’ll make this soup over and over!

Plus, it is so easy to whip up a batch — once you chop up the vegetables, it’s just a matter of sauteing them with garlic and then adding everything else to the pot to simmer away for about 25 minutes. It’s so simple, and what makes this the best cabbage soup recipe! If you want more vegetarian soup recipes, try my lentil soup recipe, tomato soup recipe, or black bean soup recipe.

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Ingredients needed to make cabbage soup.

Mirepoix — composed of chopped onion, carrot, and stalks of celery, a mirepoix builds flavor in the soup from the get-go.

Garlic — a generous amount of garlic goes into the soup to add deep flavor to the broth.

Cabbage — you need 1 small head of cabbage weighing roughly 1½ pounds. I recommend picking a green, white, or savoy cabbage.

Broth — while I typically use chicken broth in this soup, you can swap it out for beef broth or use vegetable broth for a vegetarian cabbage soup recipe.

Tomatoes — you need one 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes. Use plain or fire-roasted, depending on your preference.

Thyme — dried thyme adds a mouthwatering herbal element to the soup, infusing it with a somewhat floral, somewhat peppery flavor.

Garnish — chopped fresh parsley is a bright finishing touch. Feel free to swap it for more thyme, fresh basil, sliced green onions, or utilize the tops of the celery and finely chop the leaves for a finishing sprinkle.

How to Make Cabbage Soup

Set of two photos showing vegetables added to a blue pot.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chopped carrots, chopped celery, chopped onion, and minced garlic. Cook, stirring a few times, until tender, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the chopped green cabbage. Don’t be alarmed by how full the pot gets: The cabbage will slowly wilt down as the soup simmers.

Set of two photos showing chicken broth and diced tomatoes added to a pot.

3. Stir the chicken broth into the vegetables in the pot.

4. Add the diced tomatoes (along with any tomato juice left in the can), dried thyme, salt, and black pepper to the soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the cabbage is tender, which takes about 25 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

A pot of cabbage soup with a ladle inside.

Pro Tips for Making This Recipe

For a hearty cabbage soup: The recipe, as written, yields a lighter vegetable soup. To make a soup that’s more satiating, add 2 chopped potatoes to the pot along with the chopped cabbage. You could also add cooked rice or cooked orzo in the last few minutes of cooking.
For extra protein: If you’d prefer to try this recipe for cabbage soup with meat, cooked meats like shredded chicken breast, pulled pork, or browned ground beef or turkey are delicious ways to up the protein of this soup. If you’d rather keep the soup meatless, opt for rinsed and drained canned white beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas. Simply add these in the last 5 or so minutes of cooking time to heat through.
Use up extra veggies: If you have vegetables lurking in your refrigerator, this soup is the perfect way to use them up. Green beans, peas, bell pepper, or leafy greens such as spinach or kale are all excellent additions.
For a subtle heat, add red pepper flakes to taste.
Use fresh herbs: You can use 1½ tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme instead of dried thyme. Or substitute it with other herbs like basil, oregano, or rosemary.

A bowl of cabbage soup with a spoon tucked under some soup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to cut cabbage for soup

Cut the whole head of cabbage into 4 equal pieces, cutting through the stem end. Remove the thick stem (called the core) by making triangular slices into the cabbage quarter. Slice each quarter vertically into long, wide strips, then cut across those strips to get small cabbage squares.

What to serve with it

I don’t add anything other than sliced crusty bread, dinner rolls, or garlic knots on the side to add some heft to my meal and to soak up the tasty broth. The soup is delicious enough to stand on its own.

How do you store it?

Allow the cabbage and vegetable soup to cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat it in a medium to large pot over medium heat on the stovetop.

Can you freeze it?

Yes, it freezes very well! You can freeze individual portions or all of it. I tend to lean towards freezing single servings in freezer bags so I can thaw out only as much as I need. The soup will freeze well for up to 6 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat on the stove.

Is this recipe good for you?

This recipe is packed with fresh, hearty, and nutritious vegetables! While going on the “cabbage soup diet” is not recommended, the soup is packed with nutrients and fiber, and perfect for winter when cabbage is in ample supply.

If you’ve tried this cabbage soup recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!