This cabbage soup recipe is deeply flavorful, thanks to aromatic veggies and fire-roasted tomatoes. Pair it with good bread for a simple, nourishing meal.
This cabbage soup recipe does the impossible: it uses an entire head of cabbage in one go! Nearly every time I buy a cabbage, I whittle away at it for weeks, adding some to a slaw, some to a bowl, more to a taco, and so on. So the first time I made this cabbage soup recipe, I was shocked. I started by adding half of my cabbage. As it wilted down, it melted into the soup with the aromatic veggies and herbs. I didn’t want it to disappear – I was making cabbage soup, after all – so I added more. Before I knew it, every last ounce of my cabbage was in the pot!
If you’re on the fence about cabbage, don’t despair. All that cabbage doesn’t overwhelm the soup at all. Instead, it adds a slight sweetness, which balances perfectly with a touch of tangy white wine vinegar. As a whole, the soup is deeply flavorful and comforting. It’s healthy, nourishing, and soup-er (sorry!) simple to make. I think you’re going to love it.
Cabbage Soup Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy cabbage soup:
- Cabbage, of course! You’ll need one small green cabbage for this recipe, about 1 pound.
- Onion, carrots, and celery – This classic trio fills the soup with aromatic flavor.
- Garlic and dried thyme – They add even more depth to the soup.
- Potatoes – They make the soup nice and hearty.
- White beans – For plant-based protein! I often use little navy beans in this recipe, but other white beans, such as cannellini beans, would work here too. Chickpeas would also be great.
- Diced fire-roasted tomatoes – Along with vegetable broth, they create the soup’s brothy, flavorful base.
- White wine vinegar – For tang.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds richness.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Cabbage Soup Serving Suggestions
When you’re ready to eat, ladle the cabbage soup into bowls, and garnish each one with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Enjoy the soup on its own, with good crusty bread for sopping up the flavorful broth, or pair it with a sandwich or salad for a larger meal. I love it with a classic grilled cheese or this sweet potato salad.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s easy to reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Can you freeze cabbage soup?
Yes! Cabbage soup also freezes well. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Then, transfer it to freezer-safe containers and store it in the freezer.
Frozen cabbage soup will keep for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this soup, try one of these delicious soup recipes next:
- Vegetable Soup
- Tortellini Soup
- Cauliflower Soup
- Best Lentil Soup
- Creamy Asparagus Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can cooked white beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 1 small green cabbage, about 1 pound (9 cups chopped)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion, celery, salt, and several grinds of fresh pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, stir, and then add the tomatoes, broth, beans, garlic, potatoes, cabbage and thyme. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and cabbage are tender.
- Season to taste, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve.
Fun to make a soup with cabbage! I didn’t have the right kind of vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar. Didn’t have celery so skipped it. Will be eating the rest of the week, thanks for the recipe!
made a double batch as I had a very large cabbage. It was too thick so I had to add extra broth and decided to add extra tomato as well – had passata on hand after the fire roasted cans were used and it turned out well. I wanted more “umami” flavour so added tamari, maggi, and a bit of soy sauce, and also a huge amount of dill, plus some paprika and hot sauce. The base recipe is good, you just need to tweak the seasoning, spice and thickness to your tastes. It’s more like a stew, so if you want it to be more of a soup you’ll need to thin it with more broth.
This is an easy hearty recipe. I made a lot of it. Can I can this soup in a pressure canner?
Hi Linda, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! We haven’t tried canning this recipe, but it freezes well.
Can I freeze this?
yep!
This soup is so delicious. I am not a fan of veggies but, I love this soup. I know I will be making it often.
Hi Nancy, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was exactly the flavor I was looking for and the whole family gobbled it up. My kids loved cooking this with me and helped me chop everything up. I omitted the beans because of an intolerance and took the potatoes out to maintain more of the delicious broth. We served baked potatoes on the side instead. The potatoes with sour cream, chives and fresh bacon bits were a perfect contrast with this soup. Rave reviews all-round! Thank you for this healthy recipe.
How can I find the nutritional information for this soup?
Hi Dee, I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition facts but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
This is really good! I can’t just follow a recipe exactly, however. I had a giant cabbage so the following changes were made:
9 cups of broth instead of 4
Used a large purple onion, because that’s what I had on hand
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
Increased salt, pepper & thyme due to increased broth
Red pepper flakes really added a kick.
I’m so glad you loved it!
What would happen if I used red cabbage that I have. I don’t know the difference in flavors.
Hi Deb, it would work fine, it’s just going to have a deeper color.
I change it a bit, but it IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I’ve made it at least four times. And I love eating it cold with a side of sourdough! Thank you!
I’m glad it’s been such a hit!
I really loved this soup. I used more carrots and celery than what the recipi called for, and only one can of fire roasted tomatoes instead of 2. It gave it just the right amount of spicy. I didn’t have any broth, so I just used water. I fixed garlic toast with it. It was just yummy! I will make again
Hi Ann, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This was SO good! Do you by any chance have the calorie count on this?
Hi Marilyn, we don’t calculate nutrition info for our recipes, so the best way to get it is by using an online calculator like MyFitnessPal. I’m so glad you loved the soup!
This was great! I rarely leave comments on recipes but this was so easy and delicious as a base – and accommodating of variation. I doubled the carrots/celery and sauté time (also sautéd the garlic with aromatics) and added some chopped and pan fried smoked sausage bc I didn’t have any beans, and let it simmer for about 2 hours on low. So good! Picky 6 yo ate it up (everything was chopped pretty small and similarly sized except the cabbage).
Whoops meant to leave 5 stars!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is so oddly delicious?! I didn’t have any fire roasted tomatoes so I used some blended tomatoes I had puréed in the freezer, a bunch more carrots and celery, didn’t have beans so subbed barley. I had it for lunch and dinner!
I’m so glad you loved the soup!
I have never had cabbage soup . I followed your recipe and cooked some bacon to add when it was finished. I love this , thank you for the recipe I will be making this often.
Hi Tim, so glad you loved the soup!
I laughed when i saw your email about using the whole head of cabbage because that is exactly what i noticed about this recipe when i made it for the first time a couple weeks ago. i made it again yesterday!
i wanted to share that i used garlic base (better than bouillon) because i was out of my regular veggie base, and WOW what a winning combination.
this soup is easily one of my new favorites. and its a makes enough to share with friends, which is really the best feeling.
Amazing! Totally agree that sharing soup with friends is the best 🙂
Used 1/4 of a purple onion, which is all I had. Used black beans and added pepper flakes. This recipe is so good!!! It would also be good with some sausage or a little chicken added at the end. Either way, Thank you!
Hi Molly, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Followed recipe but subbed reg tomatoes for fire roasted because that’s what I had. It was so flavorful and I will be making this often.
Hi Christy, I’m so glad you loved it!
Does this need the cans of diced tomatoes or can they be replaced with something else? I don’t enjoy tomatoes and cooked tomatoes tend to give me heartburn so would love to ommit or replace with something else.
Hi Mari, we developed and tested this recipe with the tomatoes, so I can’t say for sure what it would be like without them. Still, here are a few suggestions: You could replace the canned tomatoes with chopped fresh tomatoes. Or you could omit tomatoes entirely and add another 2-4 cups of broth, depending on your desired consistency. In that case, you might want to add a Parmesan rind or an extra splash of vinegar to deepen the soup’s flavor. Hope this helps!
I like to use Better Than Bullion Vegetable in soups. Adds some color and alot of flavor.
Delicious! Made some substitutes as I didn’t have some original ingredients one hand. Used red wine vinegar instead of white and used red kidney beans instead of white beans. Used regular canned tomatoes and omitted potatoes.
I also added 2 tsp of turmeric, 2 bay leafs and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper for some heat.
It was delicious!
I’m so glad you loved the soup! Those tweaks sound delicious.