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
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!
I made this this afternoon as written and it is delicious! It came together really quickly and easily. Most of the ingredients were already in my pantry and fridge, except the fresh parsley, so I did without that, but it was still great. The lemon juice at the end really punches it up. I sent the recipe to my mom and she said she’ll be making it tomorrow.
This soup is so delicious!! I was a little skeptical about a cabbage soup. I just had this idea in my head that boiled cabbage is smelly and gross. However, I had a huge head of cabbage that I had to figure out how to use up. I remembered seeing this recipe on the blog so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m so glad I did!
I never leave reviews, but I had to for this recipe. I’m not a good cook nor am I comfortable in the kitchen, but this recipe was very easy to follow! I didn’t have beef stock and used chicken stock instead with the ground beef and it still turned out great! I like sour, so I added more lemon juice than stated in the recipe and it was amazing. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers and try making it again!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Could I use a can of crushed tomatoes and a bag of coleslaw? Trying to use what I have in the house so I don’t have to go to the grocery store amidst the panic/insanity that is going on in the world right now.
Yes you can certainly give it a try!
this was easy, delicious, and felt both hearty and healthy at the same time! loved and will be making again!
This was a wonderful winter night meal with a loaf of crusty bread. I cooked mine in the Instant Pot. After browning the beef and onions, I added all of the other ingredients (subbed diced and crushed tomatoes, vinegar for the lemon, some gourmet Italian blend for seasoning, 4 cups beef broth/2 cups water) and set the cook time for 5 minutes with a natural pressure release of 15 minutes. Absolutely perfect. Leftovers even better!
Stephanie – thanks for the Instant Pot instructions! This info was exactly what I was reading through the comments for. Much appreciated, as I’m off to make this in the Instant Pot now!
Going to try this next week! Usually for cabbage recipes like this I just use a bag of coleslaw to make it quicker. For the meat, do you think ground chicken would work well?
I think our stewed tomatoes were a little low in flavor so the soup came out missing some power. We added a tbsp of gochujang to add some spice and umami. Turned out amazing!
Sorry to hear that Brittany, but it sounds like you turned it right around. I love gochujang!
I made with pork. It came out really nice. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
This was so good! Thank you! I have not had Hamburger cabbage soup since our school lunch served it in grade school. Pretty much followed the recipe step by step, I love your comment on pepper, I always add way more ground pepper also. We did have green beans from the garden and we added a few of those, just another vegetable for taste. LOL I did not add lemon juice :) I’m not on the Food Network (smile)
OOH green beans would be a great addition!
Waoooo….. BEEF AND CABBAGE SOUP is super doper and delicious recipe. Its a winter recipe as per my opinion . we enjoy a lot in winter bcoz summer is very hot in our reign. MY whole like this soup. Yous step by step methods is awesome. please keep writing people wants to learn. thanks
Superb recipe! Have made it with ground chicken / chicken broth instead of beef too, and it turned out just as good! :-)
2nd time making it.
Great base (everyone has different tastes). Freezes well and perfect for adding leftovers to.
The Beef and Cabbage soup is absolutely delicious!!! My sister and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The soup is light and filling, and adding the fresh lemon juice at the last minute gave it a burst of freshness. I will be making this soup again. Thank you so much Beth for sharing this very amazing recipe. 😁😁
I used purple cabbage— what I needed to use up— and added carrots and celery to the onion and garlic. I also had 3 radishes i thinly sliced and threw in with the cabbage. I used Italian-spiced diced tomatoes and 2 extra cups of beef broth to accommodate the extra veg. Honestly I didn’t really know what I was doing, but it turned out delicious and nutritious! Thanks for a new recipe!