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
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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!
To get the tomatoes to the desired consistency squeeze juice and tomatoes together with your hands. into a separate bowl. Let the juisce and tomatoes squeeze through your fingers (clean fingers of course). This hands on apprpoach works well for me.
To get the tomatoes to the right consistency I squeeze them through my fingers into a separate bowl and tlhen squeeze juice and tomaoes together until I get the consistency I want. This is my hands on approach. It wo.rks well.
Hahaha ~ oops! I got carried away and added a whole head of cabbage and probably a full pound of carrots. It’s still amazing! I threw in a handful of egg noodles. I really like it and will be making it again when this pot is gone.
This is a good recipe! I like it b/c it is nice and thick with lots of good veggies! For seasoning, you could also include about 1/2 teaspoon of caraway seed to help bring out the flavor.
This is delicious! I didn’t have all the desired veggies so I added a bag of chopped broccoli stems that I had in the freezer. This is really marvelous!
Sounds yummy! I’m making that tonight with just a few substitutions. A local thrifts store often has free food for the taking and I picked up some loose carrots, a very large, bright green pablano pepper, one bag of snow peas, a small bag of chopped kale, and an onion. I’ll substitute the snow peas for green beans, the poblano for the green pepper, and a few cubes of tomato paste I froze from a can I didn’t finish from another recipe. Some warm water in the jar and a shake makes the tomato sauce that I don’t have on hand. I had a cabbage in the fridge that was lingering a bit too long to become slaw, so, soup it is. The kale will be a nice addition if I chop it finely.
My recipe may cost closer to $3.00 since I scored some freebies. The mild heat from the poblano will be welcome for my family because we often just add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes for heat anyway. I always look out for good deals on large cans of diced tomatoes, puree, and paste to keep my basic kitchen stocked, but I quit buying tomato sauce because it is just as easy to make it from tomato paste.
I’m soup lover from way back, have many recipes for many kinds of soups. This one is outstanding! Thank you very much for it.
I used matchstick carrots and 20 minutes was enough time for all of my veggies to soften. The recipe can be tweaked to your liking, there really is no right or wrong way to make it. I add broccoli and mushrooms to mine and it’s delicious!
Recipes sounds amazing would love to eat better and healthier
Delicious!! I used fresh organic 6 roma tomatoes diced along with a 14.5 can of organic fire roasted diced tomatoes . Added a shake or two of cayenne pepper (speeds up metabolism). I only simmered for about 10 minutes to keep the cabbage from getting soggy and giving the vegetables a bit of crunch. I find that the sensation of chewing helps me fell full which is why I didn’t cook the veggies too long.
I have a bunch of leftover turkey meatballs and will add one or two for dinner. Definitely a keeper. Thanks a bunch for a great recipe.
Good looking recipe! I wouldn’t call it a “fad diet” though, it actually works. I did it a while back, and lost 5 pounds in a week. It works well if you stick to it, supplement with other fruits and veggies, and lay off the sugars and minimal carbs. ;o)
Hi when you ate cabbage soup and lost 5 lbs
Did you just eat cabbage soup
I did the same as I am on weight watchers
I did eat fruit during the day also had hard boiled egg which is 0 points
What was I doing wrong
How right you are ~ sugar is the devil! I love this soup and I add some chicken to it for more protein and substance.
Did not like the soup. The acid from the tomatoes is overwhelming You cannot taste the vegetables due to the tomatoes.
I love it! How
Many calories per serving?
If you’re making it in on the stove as suggested, how do the carrots and celery get soft enough in time with just the 20min cook time? I started on the stove and threw everything in the crockpot in fear the carrots and celery would still be too hard….
The vegetables sauté in the pot for a little while before the rest of the ingredients are added, then they simmer in the soup for 20 minutes as well. That’s plenty of time for them to soften up. :)
I was thinking the same thing, and not only for the carrots (which I’d like to leave a little bit on the chunky side) but those canned tomatoes which don’t look like the petite size.. I know from making some chunky tomato sauces with baked fish that those canned tomatoes cooked in a pot with lots of olive oil and spices take way more than 20 minutes to get them soft to my satisfaction. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t like can’t tomatoes on the slightly hard side, So I think I’m going to skip chunky tomatoes and just dollop in some tomato sauce I already have prepared and see what happens. I don’t think carrots in anything but liquid would ever really get them going to be soft No matter how long I toss them around in a pan with any kind of fat, and I think I might just speed things up a bit and nuke them to give them a head start, and maybe pan fry up the celery a bit because I don’t like that too hard either. I guess that’s what I have to do because I know if I over cook the cabbage it’s going to turn into but we all know will be stinky/smelly cabbage Instead of it having just a bit of a bite to it, which i like. That being said, the soup looks beautiful and colorful.
This recipe tastes amazing! I love your choice of spices.