Vegetable soup with cabbage is one of my favorite dishes to make because it is healthy, economical, easy, and tastes delicious. This soup with cabbage is also very easy to double, making it great for leftovers. If you love cabbage as much as I do then you need to add this to your meal list.
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About this easy cabbage soup
If you have never put cabbage in vegetable soup, it is such a healthy and delicious way to make vegetable soup. It is by far my favorite veggie soup recipe.
Cabbage adds a slightly sweet flavor to the soup once you have cooked it down. So if you people in your house who are skeptical, they will love this.
It is not too sweet, just the right amount of background flavor. If you are looking for an all-vegetable meal or if you are looking to cut calories without sacrificing flavor, this soup is perfect for you.
Soup Ingredients
This healthy vegetable soup recipe with cabbage requires very few simple ingredients and many items you will probably already have in your pantry. It is loaded with lots of veggies but that is what makes it so good.
Here is what you will need.
Pantry items:
- Unsalted chicken stock (or vegetable stock) or 5-6 cups of homemade stock
- diced tomatoes
- dried Thyme
- dried oregano
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
- olive oil
- tomato paste
Vegetables:
- 6 large carrots diced
- 2 ribs of celery diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 6 medium red or yellow potatoes quartered
- ½ head of thinly sliced green cabbage
I almost always have the pantry items on hand. When I want to make this soup, I just head over to my local grocery store to pick up the veggies or I make this soup after a trip to the farmers market.
How much does this vegetable cabbage soup recipe make
For this veggie soup with cabbage, it makes a lot! The recipe will make enough for 2 nights' worth of dinner for my family of 4 and a couple lunches after that!
I just want to warn you in case you are a family of one or two 🙂
I actually try to plan 2-3 meals like this a week so I do not have too much cooking during busy weeknights. Also, the soup tastes better after the first day so plan for that.
If you do not need the entire amount that this soup recipe makes, you can easily half the recipe if this is too much for you. It will not change a thing.
If you are like me and love all veggie meals, you should check out my Indian vegetable curry!
How to Make Vegetable Soup With Cabbage
Most of the work involved in making this vegetable and cabbage soup is in the prepping of the ingredients. There are lots of great veggies in this soup and the time it takes to cut them up is well worth it.
Once the prep work is done, it is smooth sailing. You are just cooking down the veggies and cabbage and letting it simmer for a bit.
Why add cabbage to the soup
If you are not familiar with cabbage in your vegetable soup recipes (or just cabbage as a side cooked up on its own) it actually imparts a light sweetness to any dish that it is added to. Cabbage also retains it's structure very well so it will not get soggy.
I like this fact because I do not like soggy vegetables in my food. I'm not sure anyone really does.
For the flavor of the cabbage in this soup, it will not be bitter but a little sweet. Most of us don't eat enough cabbage so this soup is a great way to sneak another vegetable into your diet!
Great Additions to this Soup
If you would like to add even more flavor to this homemade vegetable and cabbage soup, here are some of my favorites that we like to use. This soup is great on its own or with these additions.
- Diced pancetta or bacon. Adding a little bacon really adds to the richness of this vegetable and cabbage soup and you don't need a lot. A slice or two is perfect so don't worry too much about the calories.
- Fresh herbs like thyme or oregano add a beautiful fresh note to the soup.
- More garlic! I love making a very garlicky broth with many of my soup recipes. Just double the amount of garlic in the recipe and you will really get that delicious garlic flavor.
- Fresh lemon. This may sound odd but squeezing just half a lemon into this soup after it is done cooking will really enhance the flavors of the ingredients that are already in the soup. You won't taste the lemon.
I hope you give this healthy and delicious vegetable and cabbage soup recipe a try. I know it will become a favorite on your meal rotation like it is here in our house.
Pairing Ideas
If you are looking for ideas of what to serve with this vegetable soup with cabbage, here are our favorites:
More soup recipes
If you love this cabbage and vegetable soup, you may also like these:
Vegetable Soup with Cabbage
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
- 2 boxes of unsalted chicken stock or 5-6 cups of homemade stock
- 6 large carrots diced
- 2 ribs of celery diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 6 medium red or yellow potatoes cut into small quarters
- 2 large tomatoes coarse chopped
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus extra for bread if making
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ head of thinly sliced green cabbage
- ½ teaspoon dried Thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf optional but recommended
- salt and pepper to taste
- Crusty bread cut up into slices and shredded parmesan cheese for serving!
- the rind of fresh parmesan (optional) Never throw out the rind of your Parmesan when it is all used up. Save it in a container in fridge and throw it into soups like this to add delicious background flavor.
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large pot over medium heat.
- Once pot is heated add onions, garlic, celery, carrots and red pepper flakes and sauté for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Now, add your sliced cabbage and saute for about 10 minutes to soften it up.
- Next, add your chicken stock to the pot along with the tomatoes, potatoes, tomato paste and spices and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add your Parmesan rind if using.
- Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
- While it is simmering, cut up a baguette into even slices and drizzle olive oil over top. Place under a broiler and broil until it just starts to brown.
- Then flip the bread over and repeat on the other side. When bread is done remove from the oven and rub a clove of garlic on the tops of the bread.
- After about 15 minutes or so, check that the potatoes are cooked and if any seasoning needs to be added.
- Serve Bread with the soup when ready and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Judy says
My whole family loves this delicious soup. It's wonderful the second day too.
Melissa says
I am so glad to hear that Judy 🙂
Kira says
This was my first time adding cabbage to vegetable soup and it is delicious. I’ll be making this often
Lilly says
This cabbage soup was amazing! Thank you
Jemma says
Really enjoyed this soup!
Liz says
Delish! I made this last night and it was very good. The cabbage really does add a sweet note and is wonderful in the soup.
Linda says
The soup was quite good. I found it somewhat bland. The next day (leftover soup always is better) I added cooked spiced sausage and parmesan cheese and it tasted much better in my opinion. It's a soup that I will make again.
Joyce says
This was so good and the leftovers were even better