Vegetable Soup With Cabbage • Keeping It Simple Blog

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This vegetable and cabbage soup is one of my favorite dishes to make because it is easy, loaded with veggies, and tastes delicious. This vegetable soup 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.

If you have never put cabbage in vegetable soup, it is such a delicious way to make vegetable soup. This vegetable soup with cabbage 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.

What You Will Need

This vegetable soup 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.

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. I also love making my black bean and sweet potato soup this way.

How to Make Vegetable Soup With Cabbage

aromatics for soup — 1. Sauté Aromatics.

sautéing cabbage for soup — 2. Cook down cabbage.

vegetables all cooked down — 3. Cook cabbage until lightly brown.

assembling vegetable soup with cabbage — 4. Add chicken stock, potatoes and seasonings then let simmer.

Most of the work involved in making this vegetable soup with cabbage 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.

Recipe Faqs

Why add cabbage to vegetable soup?

Cabbage actually imparts a light sweetness to any dish. Cabbage also retains its structure very well so it will not get soggy making it the perfect addition to soup.

What type of cabbage is best for soup?

Any type of cabbage will work well for soup. Savoy cabbage, purple cabbage, and even Napa cabbage all work great.

How do you cut cabbage for soup?

Since soup is eaten with a spoon, it is best to slice the cabbage into thin ribbons to make it easier to eat.

Can you overcook cabbage for soup?

Cabbage holds its shape really well and there is no overcooking it because of that.

Variations and Optional Add-Ins

This soup is very customizable! Feel free to change things up to suit your taste or to use what you have on hand.

You can use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Add some beans for more protein (I like cannellini beans and garbanzo beans). Add more veggies like celery if you prefer. This is your meal.

Storing And Reheating Instructions

This soup stores really well. Just allow it to cool then place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 3 months.

To reheat the soup, gently thaw it in the fridge first then add it to a large pot or Dutch oven pot and gently simmer until it is heated through.

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:

Print Recipe

5 from 11 votes

Vegetable Soup with Cabbage Recipe

A delicious and easy veggie soup that even the pickiest eaters will love

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Servings: servings

Author: Melissa Oleary

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!

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