Yesterday may have technically been the first day of Spring, but when I took my dog out last night before we went to bed, I looked up to see that it was SNOWING. Yeah, so I’m still over here making hot soup because I’ve got a chill that I can’t seem to shake. I decided to make a Beef and Cabbage Soup this week because I’m taking advantage of post-St. Patrick’s Day cabbage sales and I’ve kind of been craving red meat lately. I love combining beef and cabbage because it has this awesome ability to fill you up without weighing you down. This soup is filling, but still surprisingly light, similar to my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry.
Use Up Leftover Vegetables
Another reason I love this recipe is that it’s the perfect catch all for leftover vegetables that you may need to use up. I kept this base recipe super simple (and it’s still delish), but there are a number of other vegetables that I think would go really great in this soup, like celery, potato (small cubes), green bell pepper, or carrots. BUT, I would limit it to adding just 2 or 3 to avoid the pot getting too full.
What Type of Tomatoes Can I Use?
I took advantage of canned “stewed” tomatoes for this recipe because I love their subtle sweetness and herb-infused flavor. These are quite common in grocery stores in the U.S., but I’m not sure if there is something similar in other countries. If not, I would substitute a large can of whole peeled tomatoes with juices, and perhaps double the herbs and add a small dose of brown sugar to the soup.
Looking for a vegetarian cabbage soup? Try my classic Cabbage Soup recipe.
Beef and Cabbage Soup
Servings 6 about 2 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 1 lb. ground beef ($5.99)
- 5 cups cabbage, shredded (about 1 lb.) ($0.29)
- 2 15oz. cans stewed tomatoes ($0.98)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- freshly cracked black pepper ($0.07)
- 6 cups beef broth* ($0.78)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.06)
- 1 lemon ($0.32)
- 1 handful fresh parsley ($0.25)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a large soup pot with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes). Add the ground beef and continue to sauté until browned. If using a higher fat content beef, drain the fat once the beef has browned.
- Add the shredded cabbage, stewed tomatoes (with juices), oregano, basil, some freshly cracked pepper (I like it peppery, so about 20 cranks of a pepper mill), the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Stir everything to combine.
- Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and let it come to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is very soft.
- Taste the soup and add salt if needed (I did not add salt, but you may need to depending on the type of broth you use). Use a spoon to break any larger pieces of tomato into smaller pieces. Squeeze about 1 Tbsp of lemon juice into the soup and add a handful of chopped fresh parsley. Stir to combine, taste once more and make adjustments if needed, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Beef and Cabbage Soup – Step by Step Photos
Finely dice a yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add them to a large soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil and then sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes).
Add one pound of ground beef and continue to sauté until it is fully browned. If you’re using a higher fat content beef (15% or higher), you may want to drain the fat off after browning. I used 90% lean, so there wasn’t really anything to drain off.
Add two 15oz. cans of stewed tomatoes (with their juices) and about 5 cups of shredded cabbage. This was half of a small cabbage that weighed about 2 lbs. total (so about one pound was used for the soup). Also add 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, and a healthy does of freshly cracked pepper.
Add 6 cups beef broth and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Stir everything to combine. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to high. Let the soup come to a boil, then once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is very soft.
Once it’s done simmering, use a spoon to break up the larger pieces of tomatoes into smaller bits (they should be quite soft and easy to break apart). Give the soup a taste and add salt if needed.
Squeeze about a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice into the soup and add a handful of chopped fresh parsley. Stir to combine, give it one last taste to check to needed adjustments, and then serve. :)
Eat up!
Made this at the weekend and totally loved it. Made exactly as stated. The cabbage adds so much flavour to this dish.
Wonderful soup, makes a lot, only change I did was to add a can of black beans (with liquid), and one chopped red bell pepper because I had them on hand. Definitely a keeper, thank you!
Made this for dinner tonight. Everyone enjoyed it. I used ground pork. Will make again. Thank you!
This was awesome – I added a bit of white rice to the soup as well and it basically became a lazy cabbage roll soup. Delicious!
It looks very appetizing soup. Thanks for the recipe. 💋
These days its so cold, I am always craving for soup but only know how to make the usual chicken and vegetable soup. This recipe of yours will make a great new addition to my kitchen table. I’m sure everybody will love it!
I made this last night, made a few tiny changes to suit my preferences/ supplies on hand.
Used petite diced tomatoes with garlic, and a bag of coleslaw “mix” I had to use or loose.
The recipe didn’t say when to add the extra veggies so I guessed and tossed it in when I tossed in everything else. Turned out pretty good, even if I should have simmered it longer.
Just made it with ground turkey (I got a bunch on sale recently)- yet another winner🙌👍🏼
I made a couple of (small, I promise) changes that turned out awesome! One, thin-cut chuck steak was on sale, so I chopped it coarsely and subbed for the ground beef. Two, I made it in the Instant Pot — manual setting, high pressure, nine minutes, perfect.
Chuck steak substitution sounds good! I generally don’t like ground meat so I was wondering if I could put some other kind of beef in there. Since it worked so well for you I might try it too!
Thanks for the instant pot times and settings. I was thinking this would be quick and tasty in the instant pot!!
Did you saute the meat with the Saute function first? or just put all the ingredients in at once?
Do you think you could add ground beef substitute in this to replace the meat? Husband accidentally picked up a head of cabbage instead of lettuce so I’m looking for ways to use it (but we’re vegetarian). Thanks!
Yes, I think that would work great. :)
Made this in the instant pot, 30 minutes with quick release. Subbed leeks for the onion, since that was what needed to use up. Super tasty!
It is snowing today in Atlantic Canada, so I made this soup for lunch today. I will definitely make this again.
Hasn’t it snowed pretty much EVERY day in Atlantic Canada recently?
Beth,
This soup sounds delicious. Is it one can of stewed tomatoes or two? Directions say two and recipe says one. I look forward to making this… it’s still soup weather in central Iowa too!!
Thanks for catching that! It’s two cans. :)
While this recipe is almost perfect as written, I just made a batch for lunch and added a can of drained chickpeas. I had a delicious beef soup/stew recipe that I used in the late 60s or early 70s that I lost years ago–it contained both corn and chickpeas, 2 items I have frequently added to beef soup recipes ever since. I left out the corn this time, but the chickpeas are perfect in this delicious soup. Of course I used your favorite bullion! Hamburger is so convenient for fast soups, and this is a terrific addition to my repertoire.
This looks great! Always looking for more cabbage recipes :) For folks who don’t eat beef, what other meats would you recommend subbing in? Thanks as always! Use your recipes for everything.
I think ground turkey would work pretty well for this. :)