Cabbage Soup is the PERFECT savory vegetable soup made with cabbage, tomato, carrots, celery, and spices, ready in under 45 minutes!
When it gets cold outside, our kitchen heats things up with Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup, and Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Stew!
CABBAGE SOUP
Cabbage Soup is a savory vegetable soup made with carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, diced tomato and spices. I’ve been making cabbage soup for years because it’s the perfect thing to make when it’s cold outside, plus you can do it in the slow cooker on days when you’re busy.
A lot of people make cabbage soup for weight loss because it’s low calorie, but my favorite part is that it’s totally inexpensive and super easy to make. I like to serve it with freshly made bread or dinner rolls, and sometimes I’ll cut up leftover rotisserie chicken and throw that in there, too.
If I’m having this for lunch, I’ll serve it with some crackers or breadsticks and a simple salad. You can also sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth if you’re serving this to a vegetarian.
HOW LONG DOES CABBAGE SOUP LAST?
Cabbage soup will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, when sealed tightly. My family will have this for dinner and pack a few lunches, then I’ll freeze whatever is leftover for another day.
HOW DO YOU FREEZE CABBAGE SOUP?
I always make a double batch of this cabbage soup recipe so I can freeze half of it for a quick dinner another night. Let it cool completely before putting it into an airtight container and freezing. This will keep for about 2-3 months.
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HOW TO MAKE CABBAGE SOUP IN THE SLOW COOKER
Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir together. Set the cooker on low for eight hours, or on high for four hours. The soup is done when the vegetables are soft and your kitchen smells amazing. Pro tip, use a crock pot liner for virtually no clean up!
HOW TO MAKE CABBAGE SOUP IN THE INSTANT POT
Add everything to the instant pot and stir. Lock the lid and set on high for a total time of 10 minutes, then let the pot naturally release, about another 15-20 minutes.
If you want some extra flavor, you can use the saute function for the onion, garlic, and spices before adding the other ingredients, but this is not mandatory.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CABBAGE SOUP
TIPS FOR MAKING CABBAGE SOUP
- You can add more veggies to cabbage soup, like green beans, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, kale, spinach, or or cauliflower. If you add leafy greens, add them at the end just a few minutes before you serve, otherwise they’ll get mushy.
- Add chicken or beef to this cabbage soup recipe if you want more protein, and rice or potatoes for more carbs. For a vegetarian protein option, use white beans or extra firm tofu cut into cubes.
- If you’re making beef cabbage soup, use 1/4 cup of red wine to deglaze the onions and simmer until reduced by half. Then follow the recipe as normal. I like to use ground beef, which is a lot like deconstructed cabbage rolls!
- Add a packet of onion soup mix or Italian seasoning if you want more onion and herb flavor.
- Use a spoonful of hot sauce or a dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to add some spice to this cabbage soup recipe.
- For easy prep, cut up all of the vegetables used for one pot of this soup, wrap in a sealable bag and freeze. Then you just need to pull the bag out of the freezer and cook (or slow cook) with broth and spices!
- If you want the broth to be a little bit thicker, add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste and stir well.
- For easier prep, use shredded cabbage and frozen vegetables.
- If you want a sweet and savory soup, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- This recipe is naturally dairy-free and gluten free (with gluten free broth)!
Cabbage Soup
Cabbage Soup is the PERFECT savory vegetable soup made with cabbage, tomato, carrots, celery, and spices, ready in under 45 minutes!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth vegetable broth fine too
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 1/2 head cabbage chopped in 1 1/2" chunks
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery sliced thinly
- 14.5 ounces stewed tomatoes
Instructions
In a large pot add the olive oil over medium heat then add in the onions and garlic, onion and cook until the onions are see through, about 3-5 minutes.
Add in the broth, salt, pepper, thyme, cabbage, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
I have made a variation before but yours is much more comfort and rich. I did boil some onions,celery,and cabbage and used that water in my broth. It was and is delish!!!
I added a packet of onion soup powder and it took it to a whole new level! Yummy, thank you!
Thanks for the suggestion, Katie.
We had this last night at midnight for new years. I threw everything into a crockpot around 5pm and I halved the recipe since there was only two of us. We have about two servings left over. It was perfectly cooked and convenient in the crockpot since we had to eat it at exactly midnight.
I made it exactly as written but my boyfriend snuck a couple slices of raw bacon into the crockpot to cook with it when there was about 6 hours left, so I’m sure that changed the flavor but it ended up amazing.
This recipe was simple to make and tasted great. We served with crumbled bacon on top.
Nothing wrong with a bit of bacon, haha! So glad you both enjoyed it.
Thanks so much for sharing this simple and wonderful recipe!!! I was looking for this perfect way to enjoy my cabbage!!! YUM.
I really enjoyed this soup and it was a great detox. I used cole slaw mix to speed up prep. I also don’t like celery so I blended that to hide it. I’m making this again as it’s great for quick lunches.
Thanks for the 5 star rating, Heather.
Today, I made your soup and added other veggies like red and white beans, potatoes and green and red cabbage. It is absolutely delicious. My husband who is a meat and potato person asked for a second serving!
Thank you Sabrina. I will continue to look you up for more recipes.
Kind regards,
Marietta Chilton
I’m so glad to know it won him over! Thanks for the 5 stars, Marietta.
This soup was absolutely amazing!!! I cooked it in the instant pot, which caused it to be over cooked, so I will use my crock pot next time. I added ground turkey and did use the extra tomato paste, brown sugar and did add a few drops of Tabasco. I am making it again tonight. Tonight I think I will add rutabaga and maybe some kale. Thank you for sharing !!!
This is a family favorite. I always need to double the recipe. It is very adaptive. too. I add whatever other veggies that I have. Cubed butternut squash, etc. I have added cannellini beans and baby potatoes halved. A good quality vegetable stock also makes it richer.
Great ? recepies thanks
No comment yet I will make cabbage, veggies, chicken soup tomorrow. Then I will comment. Thanks. Theresa.
Definitely a great starter cabbage soup. I followed the directions and at the end I added leftover rotisserie chicken breast and it was delicious. Thanks!
I’ve made this recipe several times. It’s delicious! It’s a big hit with my family. They are hooked. I also add a half teaspoon of turmeric for additional good health. It also gives the soup a richer flavor.
Best ever. Simple and uncomplicated. Great taste!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Paul.
This stuff is amazing!!!!!!!!
Would I be able to add parsnips and rutabaga as well?
Sure 🙂
I have made this recipe several times. This time I used turkey stock I made from the Thanksgiving turkey, leftover turkey (about 2 cups, diced), and I substituted a few items I had on in the fridge to be used- for the celery substituted fennel bulb (about 1 C chopped), I added a few green onions in addition to 1/2 yellow onion, and red and green cabbage. This base recipe is a winner and this batch of soup was delicious!
Wow, that sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks for the review and for the Thanksgiving leftover spin. Happy Holidays!
Good base recipe. Added some paprika, oregano, and cumin, as well as tomato paste to make the broth a little thicker. Also didn’t have any celery on hand and was just fine without it, tho probably recommend if you have it!
Thanks for the review and the new ingredient additions, I love tweaking this soup recipe too!
I got You’re recipe for cabbage soup online,. Followed the directions that were in the recipe, For the soup. The best cabbage soup I’ve Ever made. Thanks for the recipe keep up the good work.
You are very kind, thank you so much for the good review!
I made this for my family last night and it was a HUGE delicious hit! Thanks so much for this recipe. Rarely can I find something that all 5 of us love.
I take that as a huge compliment! Thanks for coming back to let me know.
This turned out exactly like the photo and is a great base for add-ins. I added some leftover brown rice and parmesan and topped it with crushed blue corn tortilla chips. Thanks!