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. 😅
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Measuring Cups Spoons
- Chef’s Knife
- Garlic Press
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!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!
Really good! I made a few tweaks based on what I did/didn’t have, but this recipe, as so many others on this site, lend themselves to some flexibility. Didn’t have bell pepper or green beans, but I added kidney beans and some diced potatoes that absoluely needed to be cooked. I increased the spices due to the added starch and it turned out great. This is my third recipe to try here and all have been terrific – I’m loving these vegetarian dishes!
Loved it! I subbed out the fresh parsley for the leafy carrot tops to cut down on waste, and it came out really good!
How would you make this in instant pot?
Without having tried it, I would guess you could just put everything in the pot and then use the “soup” function.
This was really good! I made it as written except with beef broth. Feels good to get all my veggies in.
This is an old standby here! I’ve always called it “Free Soup,” in reference to that diet program with the Points system — when one is on that plan, “free” foods are everything! I like the flavor that v8 gives, and I often add a dash of Tabasco in my bowl. I’ve added kidney beans and small pasta to make it a heartier minestrone soup that will satisfy the whole family, too. Thanks for the reminder — I’m adding Free Soup to the menu next week!
I made this tonight as part of a week’s worth of budget bytes meals (writers have to eat too, you know). I didn’t buy lemon or parsley to save money, but I should’ve. I’ll probably buy some tomorrow to add to the leftovers. I can tell the soup would be better and brighter with them. It’s still fantastic, though, and it came out to just around 100 calories for a 2-cup serving, according to My Fitness Pal! What more could I want (besides six or seven pounds of good cheese and some chocolate cake)?
This is amazing!!! I used a whole head of cabbage (mine was on the small side) and I’m on my second bowl! I also used canned green beans (all I had), rinsed them and tossed them in. Other than that, everything stayed the same. Thank you so much :)
Would the tomato sauce to V8 juice just be a one to one substitution? I have some leftover from making your chipotle chicken chili (delicious by the way!)
Yep, that’s exactly how I’d do it. :)
Thanks! Turned out great- such a satisfyingly filling meal.
What I love about this soup is that it is truly customizable. Sometimes I add frozen corn, sometimes no tomatoes, sometimes leftover meat, as suggested above. The easiest version I have ever made is a bag of coleslaw mix, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, big teaspoon of better than bouillon, and a couple packets of dried onion soup mix. It’s nothing like the homemade version above, but it fed me for days and kept me full.
I make a very similar soup except I add a tablespoon or so of sugar. It gives it that delicious sweet ‘n’ sour flavor liked stuffed cabbage often has. Try a tiny bit of sugar in a bowl of soup and see if you like it!
I’m not a big fan of tomatoes and I find tomato based stuff too acidic for me, so I add brown sugar to most everything I make with tomatoes or tomato sauce because I find it cuts some of the acid but usually doesn’t add too much sweetness, though there is some sweetness. So if you try this and regular sugar doesn’t do it for you, try brown sugar.
Oh I love that idea!
Any thoughts on using Better Than Bouillon beef stock vs vegetable stock…. or even chicken stock? I already have both in my fridge, but alas not the veggie version. Thanks!
I think the beef would be the most tasty for this soup! :)
I so want to make this. i am going to add some white beans and pasta and called minestrone
I always called this Weight Watcher Soup. You have more spices which I love. I used French Style Green Beans instead of regular green beans.
I used to love cabbage soup and had forgotten all about it! Made this tonight and it was amazing. I followed the recipe to the letter—scrumptious!
Forgot to rate!