Cabbage Soup with Vegetables

Make an easy weeknight meal of this Cabbage Soup with Vegetables, a classic recipe that’s every bit as quick as it is comforting. Shredded green cabbage is simmered in a flavorful broth with white beans, potatoes, and loads of other vegetables. The deceptively simple ingredients in this dish make for a cozy and healthy meal that will suit any season!

It wasn’t until last year that I truly fell in love with cabbage.

From Sautéed Cabbage, to Roasted Cabbage Steaks, to the more traditional Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (and even Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls!), we simply couldn’t get enough of this healthy cruciferous vegetable.

And when I discovered that you could use this highly underrated ingredient to bulk up an otherwise thin and brothy soup, I had to give it a try!

Going the more traditional route, I opted to load up this cabbage soup with plenty of vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes. Left to simmer away with a little bit of seasoning and a few herbs tossed in, the final result was out-of-this-world delicious.

What’s more, the process for making it couldn’t be easier!

Ingredients

The simple ingredients you need to make this Cabbage Soup recipe include:

• Cabbage. One small head of green cabbage, or half of a large one is recommended, to yield about 8-10 cups once it is all chopped up into 1-inch pieces. For more information on choosing and preparing a cabbage, see How to Cut and Shred Cabbage.
• Carrots. Any variety will work, but they should be peeled and cut into ½-inch slices to ensure cooking all the way through.
• Celery. For a softer texture the celery should be finely chopped; for bigger bites with a bit of crunch to them, cut them larger.
• Onion. Either a sweet variety (like Vidalia) or white onion is recommended, finely diced to avoid any raw pieces remaining. For more information on choosing and preparing an onion, see How to Cut an Onion. 
• Garlic. Fresh garlic cloves, finely minced, are ideal. However, ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder may be substituted for each clove. For more information on preparing garlic, see How to Mince Garlic.
• Potatoes. Yukon Gold or red potatoes are recommended for their firm texture, which holds up well to use in soups and stews. These should be cut into ½-inch chunks, about the same size as the carrots. 
• Tomatoes. Both the canned sauce and diced varieties are used. Plain, unseasoned tomato sauce should be used for full control over seasoning. Crushed tomatoes can be substituted for the sauce, but it will create a more chunky texture in the broth.
• Beans. A variety of white beans like Great Northern, navy, or cannellini is ideal. Make sure to fully rinse and drain the beans before adding them to the soup.
• Oil. An olive oil or other relatively neutral cooking oil is recommended.
• Worcestershire sauce. Adding this in is imperative for developing a lovely depth of flavor.
• Broth. Regular or reduced-sodium vegetable broth is recommended, but chicken broth may also be used for more flavor.
• Seasonings. Dried oregano, dried thyme, and paprika are used here, but other herbs may be used or substituted, to taste.

How to Make Cabbage Soup

The basic steps for making Cabbage Soup are simple to follow. Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.

Sauté Mirepoix

To a large pot or dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons of oil and warm it over medium heat. Chop the onion, carrots, and celery as directed, and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until slightly softened. 

Add the garlic and continue sautéeing the mix for an additional minute, or just until the garlic is fragrant. The finely minced garlic is added last and cooked the least because it will burn easier than the rest of the mirepoix.

Pour and Season

To the mirepoix, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth of choice to make the base of the soup. Stir well, to ensure that any browned bits at the bottom of the pot get scraped up into the mix.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper, and stir very well to combine. Taste the broth and adjust to taste – it’s alright if it’s slightly salty at this stage, because the addition of the beans and cabbage will even it back out.

Rinse and Add

Empty the can of beans into a small strainer, then rinse and thoroughly drain them. By doing this, the excess salt and starch in the canning liquid isn’t introduced to the soup, where it could weigh down the otherwise light and healthy broth. 

Set them aside to finish draining while preparing the rest of the vegetables.

Cut and Core

Give the potatoes and cabbage a thorough washing, to ensure any surface dirt is removed. Cut the potatoes into ½-inch cubes, and the cabbage into quarters.

Holding the knife at a slight angle, carefully cut the tough inner cores out of the bottom of each cabbage wedge, and then cut the remaining sections into 1-inch pieces. This should yield about 8 cups of cut cabbage.

For more information on how to cut and core cabbage, see How to Cut and Shred Cabbage.

Stir and Simmer

Add the beans, potatoes, and cabbage to the pot and stir until everything is well mixed and the cabbage is mostly submerged. Don’t worry if it looks like a lot of volume in the pot, as the cabbage will shrink significantly when it begins to soften and cook down.

Bring the soup up to a boil, stir well once more, and reduce the heat to medium. Cover the pot tightly with a lid, and simmer the soup for 20-25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Give the soup one last taste for seasoning, and to test the texture of the vegetables, and adjust if needed. Serve immediately, with a sprinkle of fresh parsley in each bowl. 

Meal Prep and Storage

• To Prep-Ahead: Except for the garlic and potatoes, the vegetables can all be washed and chopped in advance, up to 2-3 days ahead. Garlic should be minced or pressed fresh, and potatoes should be cut at most 1 day ahead, and stored submerged in a bowl of cold water in the fridge.
• To Store: This dish will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
• To Freeze: Cabbage soup can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. However, be aware that the texture of the potatoes may change slightly during the process of freezing and reheating.
• To Reheat: To avoid overcooking the vegetables during reheating, it is recommended to let the soup – if frozen – thaw in the fridge at least 1 day in advance. From the fridge, it can be reheated in the microwave, or in bulk over medium heat on the stovetop until warmed through.

Dietary Modifications

The recipe you’ll find below is already gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan as written. Here are some adjustments and substitutions you can make to help it fit your other dietary requirements:

• Low-Carb / Keto: Omit the beans and potatoes entirely.
• Whole30: Get a tomato sauce without any added sugars, and omit the beans. 
• Paleo: Omit the beans and potatoes entirely.
• Low-Sodium: Use a homemade or low-sodium vegetable broth, and use only one teaspoon of salt.
• Extra Nutrition: This recipe is already super healthy, but it can never contain too many vegetables, so long as they can still cook down in the broth.

FAQs

Expert Tips and Tricks

• Add more veggies. While the ingredients recommended are a great base for a simple cabbage soup, everything from bell peppers to green beans to corn can also be added as variations, to suit your preferences. 
• Spice it up. Adding some red pepper flakes, or a small dash of hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the soup can bring a delicious, spicy edge to this dish.
• Skip the cans. While canned tomatoes and beans are extremely convenient, soaking and pre-cooking your own beans and making your own diced tomatoes and tomato sauce can make this dish even healthier.
• Make it thick. For a thicker broth, add a little extra tomato sauce or tomato paste, and make a cornstarch slurry in a separate bowl to add to the soup in the last few minutes of cooking, to help it thicken up slightly.
• Add some protein. Cabbage soup makes for an amazing vegetarian or vegan meal as-is, but adding chicken meat or stock serves as the perfect way to add even more flavor and protein while still keeping it super healthy!

More Cabbage Recipes

Make the most of this nutritious, cruciferous powerhouse with even more cabbage recipes:

• Sautéed Cabbage
• Roasted Cabbage Steaks
• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
• Fish Taco Slaw
• Homemade Southern Coleslaw