Easy Cabbage Soup Recipe
This Easy Cabbage Soup is healthy, comforting and full of flavor! It’s packed with nutritious veggies, it’s so easy to make, and it’s vegetarian and gluten-free!
Soup is one of my go-to ways to get my daily intake of veggies, especially in the cold winter months. My Instant Pot vegetable soup incorporates an abundance of winter vegetables, and it’s so comforting too.
This easy Cabbage Soup recipe is my latest obsession. It incorporates an abundance of green cabbage, which I often have on hand for recipes like vinegar coleslaw, sautéed cabbage and more.
This soup is another delicious way for me to utilize one of my favorite vegetables. The cabbage becomes so tender and sweet as it cooks, and it has a multitude of health benefits as well.
If you’ve never eaten cabbage in soup before, you will be pleasantly surprised!
If you love soup as much as I do, be sure to check out my collection of 35 Soup Recipes! There’s something for everyone!
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Comforting and delicious. This cabbage vegetable soup is as comforting as it gets. It’s packed with green cabbage, chunky vegetables and the flavors of lemon and thyme.
- Health benefits. The health benefits of cabbage soup is lengthy! It’s packed with vitamins and minerals, it’s low in calories and carbohydrates, and it’s completely plant-based.
- It’s a great meal prep option. You can prep all of your ingredients in advance, or cook the entire pot of soup to enjoy for meal prep lunch or dinner throughout the week.
- It’s great for special diets. This recipe is gluten-free, vegan, paleo-friendly and low in carbohydrates.
Recipe ingredients
This old fashioned cabbage soup recipe includes a few basic ingredients. It can be easily customized as outlined in the ingredient notes and recipe variations sections below.
- Cabbage. You’ll need a half a head of green cabbage for this recipe, which yields about 4 cups of shredded cabbage. Other varieties such as Napa, savoy, bok choy and red cabbage will work in this recipe as well, but note that red cabbage will make your soup red. See my collection of cabbage recipes for delicious ways to use cabbage, and to learn handy info such as how to cut cabbage, its health benefits and more.
- Mirepoix vegetables. This vegetarian cabbage soup includes classic French mirepoix of onion, carrots, celery and garlic for foundation of flavor. I’ve used leeks for the onions as they have a mild flavor that I love, but you can substitute them with your favorite type of onion.
- Diced tomatoes. Diced tomatoes add color and acidic flavor to the soup. For maximum flavor, use fire roasted diced tomatoes.
- Vegetable stock. My homemade vegetable stock makes this soup next level! You can certainly use your favorite store bought brand, or even chicken stock. You’ll need 6-8 cups of stock depending on how broth-y you like your soup.
- Thyme. Fresh thyme adds great herbal flavor to the soup. It can be substituted with dill or rosemary as well. If you only have dried herbs on hand, use 1 teaspoons of your favorite dried herbs.
- Lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice makes all of the flavors in this cabbage soup come alive.
- Fresh parsley (optional). Garnish your soup with freshly chopped Italian flat leaf parsley for a pop of green color, or extra fresh thyme leaves work as well.
How to make cabbage vegetable soup
You won’t believe how easy this cabbage vegetable soup recipe is! It takes just a few ingredients, which can be prepped entirely in advance, and it cooks up in about 20 minutes.
Pro tip: Prep the vegetables up to 1-2 days in advance to make this recipe go even more quickly.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Sauté the leeks, carrots and celery for 5-6 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the cabbage, tomatoes, vegetable stock and thyme to the pot, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove from heat and discard the thyme sprig. Stir in the fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This vegetable cabbage soup contains 4 cups of shredded cabbage, which is a great source of Vitamins C and K as well as fiber, antioxidants and prebiotics. It also includes other nutritious veggies such as leeks, carrots, celery, garlic and diced tomatoes.
It’s also low in calories, fat and carbohydrates, and it suits a multitude of special diets. It’s vegetarian, vegan, dairy and gluten-free, and paleo-friendly.
Old fashioned cabbage soup typically includes cabbage, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, stock, tomatoes and sometimes white beans and potatoes.
Other versions include meats such as ground beef, sausage or bacon, some are spicy with chili peppers or cayenne pepper, and some include leafy greens, fresh ginger and lemon to help with detox.
The best type of cabbage for this soup is a personal preference as each variety has different flavors and textures. You can even combine different types of cabbage for variety and interest as well.
Green Cabbage: Is most commonly used in cabbage soup due to its mild flavor and affordability. It has a very tender texture when cooked and has a slightly sweet flavor.
Napa Cabbage: Also known as Chinese cabbage, Napa cabbage is even milder and sweeter than green cabbage. Its texture is more delicate and it cooks even faster.
Savoy Cabbage: This variety has a crinkled texture and mild peppery flavor.
Red Cabbage: This variety has a vibrant color and slightly sweeter flavor compared to green cabbage. It will retain its color once cooked, so expect your soup to be red.
Bok Choy: This is a baby cabbage that has a mild but slightly bitter taste. It cooks very quickly and adds a subtle green flavor and vibrant color to the soup.
Freezing cabbage soup is a great option as it will keep for up to 3 months in an air tight container. Once the soup is cooked, cool it completely and pop it into a container or Souper Cubes.
To thaw, place the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in a pot by bringing it to a boil over medium heat or microwave it until hot.
Recipe variations
There are several variations of cabbage soup — it’s so versatile!
- Add some carbs such as potatoes or brown rice to make this soup even heartier.
- Cabbage soup with meat is very common. Ground beef, sausage, bacon and leftover corned beef are all great options.
- Add plant based protein such as white beans, lentils or quinoa.
- Add leafy greens, fresh ginger and extra lemon for detox purposes.
- Make it spicy! Add your favorite chili peppers, cayenne pepper or finish it with your favorite hot sauce.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Prep the vegetables up to 1-2 days in advance to make this recipe go even more quickly.
- See my post on cabbage recipes for complete instructions on how to cut cabbage.
- Store cabbage soup for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.
More cabbage recipes you’ll love
- Corned beef and cabbage
- Egg roll in a bowl
- Fennel and apple slaw
- Red cabbage salad by The Mediterranean Dish
- Vegan curry coleslaw
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Cabbage Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large leeks halved and cut into half moons
- 2 medium carrots chopped
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chopped cabbage about 1/2 small head
- 15 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable stock add 1-2 more cups as desired
- 1 large sprig thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme; sub with your favorite herbs
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- freshly chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, carrots and celery and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 large leeks, 2 medium carrots, 2 stalks celery, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the cabbage, tomatoes, vegetable stock and thyme to the pot and stir well. Bring to a boil, then the reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.4 cups chopped cabbage, 15 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes, 6 cups vegetable stock, 1 large sprig thyme
- Remove from heat and remove the thyme sprig. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or additional thyme leaves as desired. Enjoy!1/2 lemon, salt and pepper, to taste
Notes
- Pro tip: Prep the vegetables up to 1-2 days in advance to make this recipe go even more quickly.
- See my post on cabbage recipes for instructions on how to cut cabbage.
- Store cabbage soup for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
