I was first introduced to this Cabbage Soup recipe through the notorious cabbage soup diet. While I’m not a fan of that type of diet, I am a huge fan of this homemade Cabbage Soup recipe itself. Why? For one simple reason—it’s absolutely DELICIOUS. Yeah, I was surprised too. The first time I had the famed diet cabbage soup I was pleasantly surprised by how extremely flavorful and comforting the soup was. I actually ended up eating it over and over again just because I wanted to, not because I was trying to stick to the diet. And ever since, this recipe for cabbage soup has been one of my winter comfort food staples. 😅
Cabbage Soup Ingredients
The classic “cabbage soup diet” recipe has taken many forms over the years, but they all have one thing in common—they’re stuffed full of non-starchy vegetables swimming in a flavorful herb-filled broth. Here’s what you’ll need to make the BEST cabbage soup recipe you’ve ever had:
- Onion, Garlic, Celery, and Carrot: These four ingredients create the base for most of my soup recipes. It’s a basic mirepoix plus garlic, which gives the soup a deep flavor base.
- Cabbage: The start of the show! Cabbage makes this soup extra hearty, gives it volume, body, fiber and other nutrients, and all for pennies.
- Green Vegetables: I also add green bell pepper, green beans, and parsley to the soup to round out the medley of flavors and colors. You’re definitely getting your daily dose of veggies with this soup!
- Tomatoes: A combination of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce gives the soup a beautiful red color and even more texture to tempt your eyes.
- Vegetable Broth: Using a pre-made broth to fill out the soup ensures that every last drop is packed with flavor.
- Herbs and Spices: There’s already a lot of flavor going on in this soup but the addition of smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, and pepper really keeps the flavor exciting.
- Lemon Juice: this is the secret ingredient! A little bit of lemon juice at the end gives the soup a shot of brightness and keeps the flavors from being too heavy. Don’t skip this one!
Flavorful Variations
Soup recipes in general are very flexible, so there are so many options when it comes to making this cabbage soup your own. Here are some other great cabbage soup variations:
- Add beans (cannellini, chickpeas, kidney beans)
- Add meat: Ground beef (or check out my Beef and Cabbage Soup), Italian sausage, or shredded chicken
- Add cubed tofu (extra firm)
- Add potatoes to help bulk it up without adding a lot of cost
- Make it spicy: Add hot sauce or crushed red pepper to give the soup a kick!
How to Store Leftover Cabbage Soup
This cabbage soup recipe does make a really large batch, so it’s a good idea to freeze about half of it, just in case you can’t eat all of it within about five days. To freeze this soup, divide it into single-serving portions, chill it completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer to the freezer for longer storage. Keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Shown with Homemade Garlic Bread.
Cabbage Soup
Servings 6 2 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 4 carrots ($0.57)
- 4 ribs celery ($0.50)
- 1 green bell pepper ($0.69)
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes ($1.00)
- 1 8oz. can tomato sauce ($0.34)
- 1/2 lb. frozen green beans ($0.67)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley ($0.23)
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.15)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 6 cups chopped cabbage (½ head) ($1.14)
- 6 cups vegetable broth ($0.78)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.04)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to a large soup pot and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft.
- While the onion and garlic are sautéing, peel and slice the carrots, chop the celery, and dice the bell pepper. Add the carrot, celery, and bell pepper to the pot. Continue to sauté as you measure the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), tomato sauce, frozen green beans, chopped parsley, smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, and pepper. Continue to stir and cook while you chop the cabbage.
- Chop the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Add the cabbage to the pot along with the vegetable broth and stir to combine.
- Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the soup to come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until the cabbage is to your desired tenderness.
- Once the cabbage is tender, season the soup with salt, starting with ½ tsp and adding more to your liking. Finish the soup by adding the lemon juice and stirring to combine. Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping.
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Nutrition
Video
How to Make Cabbage Soup – Step by Step Photos
Start by mincing four cloves of garlic and dicing one large onion. Add them both to a large soup pot with one tablespoon olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
While the onion and garlic are sautéing, peel and slice 4 carrots, slice 4 stalks of celery, and dice one green bell pepper. Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper to the pot. Continue to sauté over medium.
Add one 28oz. can diced tomatoes (I used petite diced), one 8oz. can tomato sauce, ½ lb. frozen green beans, ¼ cup chopped parsley, ½ Tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp oregano, ½ tsp thyme, and ¼ tsp pepper. Stir to combine.
Chop 1/2 head of cabbage into one-inch pieces (about 5-6 cups once chopped). Add the chopped cabbage to the pot along with 6 cups of vegetable broth.
Stir everything together, place a lid on the pot, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the soup simmer over medium-low, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes, or until the cabbage is to your desired tenderness.
Once the cabbage is tender, season the soup with salt, starting with 1/2 teaspoon, then adding more to taste (I used 1 tsp total). Next, add one tablespoon of lemon juice, which really helps brighten the flavors.
And then slurp down all that vegetable-y goodness! I garnished the cabbage soup with a little more fresh parsley, but it’s not needed for extra flavor.
This cabbage soup recipe goes great with some crusty bread (garlic or not) to soak up that delicious broth!
I made this tonight, except I added ground meat because the guys in my family can’t do without their meat! I bought cheap ground meat, browned it, then skimmed the fat. It made such a delightful, bowl of comfort food that I didn’t feel guilty eating! Being from Louisiana, we added dashes of Tabasco to the steaming bowls, which brought it to another level of flavorful. Thanks for reminding us of this classic!
This is so delicious! My very picky vegan kid devoured it and, like you, came back for seconds.
This does look tasty!
Do you think that prepping this soup in the morning and letting it cook all day on high in a slow cooker would work?
Yes, that would probably work! The vegetables might break down a bit, but that would just create a nice thick broth!
This looks so great and easy! I can’t wait to make it!
Does this cook well in a crockpot? How long would you cook it on low? It looks wonderful!
I haven’t tried it, but I bet it could work!
I love this idea!
I’m currently doing a 21 day fast and decided to make this and omg. I’m not a fan of vegetable soups but I love cabbage so I decided to try it. I subbed in half a tbsp of dried parsley because I didn’t have fresh. It’s delicious and I can fill up on it without worrying about being hungry later.
Can I toss the extra 1/2 head of cabbage in with the celery and carrots to freeze? Does it freeze well?
I honestly haven’t tried freezing cabbage, but it might be okay if you’re using it for soup because it will get tender when boiled anyway. :) I also have this round up of recipes for leftover cabbage that you can check out. :)
I think it freezes fine. I made a batch of a very similar cabbage soup several weeks (a couple of months?) ago and froze portions in ziploc jars. I ate the last jar just yesterday and it was delicious.
I was also planning on making more this week, so this recipe is very timely! Can’t wait to try this version!
do you blanch the celery and carrots before freezing?
No, I just freeze them as is and try to use them up within a few months.
Good idea on freezing the other half of the celery and carrots! I too often have to throw out some celery due to going bad between recipes!
Do you think this would work with red cabbage as well??
I think green cabbage is a better option here because the red cabbage will give the soup a very “off” color. :)
I had nearly forgotten this old standby–it was a budget classic at our house for years. One of the best things about this particular soup is that you can do a lot of substitution, and even personalize part of it. I like just the veggies in mine, but i can put a 12 oz serving of the finished soup in an extra pan for my husband who enjoys a bite of meat in his soup–diced leftover steak carried home from a restaurant, a bit of browned burger meat, sliced kielbasa, a little chicken, a lonely pork chop diced or sliced, or just about anything else left over in the fridge. I couldn’t resist making up a pot for supper and leftovers for the freezer.
Oh, what a great idea, Janet. I’m single and I’m always looking for dishes that I can have ready for what may come up or that I may have on hand. Often I like to have just a little meat and get tired of just having it on a plate or sandwich This soup would be a great vehicle.
Wonderful ideas! Thank you for sharing them!
I think I remember using V8 juice for some of the liquid. It tasted fine. Kind of cabbage soup cum gazpacho….. As long as it tastes good to you, throw it in to the pot.
Bingo! I had forgotten about this classic recipe, Beth. I’m glad to have one recipe for it which I know where to find. Now, I know what to make with the frozen vegetables which are taking up WAY too much room in my teeny, weeny freezer. The beauty of vegetable soups and chilis, like this and many others is that you can put in whatever you like in whatever quanties you like. So easy to forget the classics.
I have no fresh parsley, how much dried can I use instead?
The old rule of thumb is that you use one half to one third as much dried as fresh. In other words, you’d use one to one and a half teaspoon dried if the recipe calls for one tablespoon of fresh. I would season to taste, however, especially since they say dried parsley is not very flavorful.
I would do about a tablespoon.