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
Equipment
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven (I like using my Staub for making soup)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 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
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion, celery, salt, and several grinds of 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.
The soup is delicious. I ended up making a couple changes. I didn’t have diced fire-roasted tomatoes but had a 25oz can of whole tomatoes. I chppped 1/2 can of tomatoes and liquified everything else from the can. I used 1/2 the amount of vegetble broth since I had all the liquid from the large can of tomatoes. I had some tomato paste and added about a tablespoon. I love the tanginess of this soup.
This soup recipe lacks balance in the flavours and proportions. First, the liquid from the broth and tomatoes is not adequate to cook the vegetables in the time given. Secondly, the soup lacks flavour. One teaspoon of thyme is not nearly enough aromatics to create robust flavours. Onion salt and the addition of garlic powder would help. I also boosted it with Italian Seasoning. Finally, the beans should be added in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking the soup to avoid over-softening. I had to do a lot to make this soup taste better. I always taste my cooking at several stages. Once I added extra broth, I portioned the soups in freezer containers. I puréed the extra vegetables and added several heaping spoons of the purée and mixed it into the broth. You have a wonderful site with a great variety of really good recipes but this one, in my opinion only, did not meet your standards.
I made this for a Sunday dinner and it was delicious. I did a couple things different. I didn’t have the yellow beans so I used baby Lima beans and I didn’t have the canned tomatoes so I used fresh and added ground red pepper seasoning. It was delicious and my Husband loved it.
Where can I find nutritional information about this recipe?
I made a huge pot of this on Sunday and I have been eating all week. It’s delicious!! I was out of celery so I used some celery salt and also added some leeks. To change it up around Wednesday I added some leftover roasted cauliflower and chickpeas out of the fridge and poured over rice. Really really good! I think it’s e fire roasted tomatoes that gives it such an interesting flavor. I’ll DEFINITELY be making this again!
Hi Sara, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
this recipe is the bomb. may be helpful to blanche the potatoes first. But it is so so good
Love, love, love this soup.
It is tasty and filling and so great to just heat up after a 2 hour commute home from work. I added smoked paprika instead of Thyme and added 6 cups of broth instead of 4. It’s definitely in my rotation of soup recipes now…Thanks for this!
I used savoy cabbage, so maybe that reduced the flavor potential. Lots of prep and ingredients that just didn’t seem to come together in the time indicated for cooking. It was more like a stew, and the beans were lost in the cabbage and tomatoes. I won’t repeat it.
I love this recipe! I didn’t have fire-roasted tomatoes so I added a tsp of smoked paprika. As well I added small can of tomato paste to the mixture while simmering. I omitted the potatoes – just my preference. Freezes great!
So glad you love the recipe, Cheryl!
Great soup …. lots of flavor. I did add lots of mushrooms since I am always low on vitamin D .
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I followed recipe but I need to add more liquid. How much extra veggies broth can I add? It looks delicious and I can’t wait to chow down!
Hi Kathy, you can add as much as you want to reach the level of brothiness you prefer.
Very yummy soup, great for these dreary spring days!
Made this with half of a large, leftover cabbage on a cold and rainy day in NY. My family enjoyed it thoroughly and I’m saving this recipe for certain.
This is the second time I have made it and love it! I do use chickpeas instead of white beans – they are my favorite! What about nutrition information?
Any idea how sweet potato would work in this recipe? I look forward to making this, this week. Thank you!
I think they would be fine! You could use them in place of the carrots.
This came together so easily and it was so good. I had to make some alterations to avoid going to the store. Instead of white wine vinegar I used fresh lemon juice. Instead of fire-roasted tomatoes I used a can of tomatoes with green peppers and added a dash of paprika to give it that smoky roasted flavor. I had a bag of coleslaw mix so I used that instead of dicing up a whole cabbage, added it towards the end so it still had a nice bite to it. Adding this to my “favorites” cookbook. Delicious and highly adaptable!
I’m so glad you loved it, Alicia!
Delicious. Uber easy, and is now added to my soup making schedule. I doubled the recipe so I would have lots of extra to freeze. Glad I did, as this soup is tres-yummy!! (Another excuse to use my Le Creuset ;)) Oh, added some grated parm for flair.
Hi Jeannie, I’m so glad you loved it! A perfect use for a Le Creuset. 🙂
I made this soup and it is amazing!!! I added crushed red pepper to give it a little more spice. It is very hearty and filling. My family loved it, too. Thanks for the recipe!
Does anyone have the nutrition information/calories for this?
Hi Andrea, I’m so glad you loved the recipe! We don’t calculate nutrition facts unfortunately, but you could use an online nutrition calculator to get the nutrition facts for this.
I made this Cabbage Soup per the recipe yesterday. OMG, I’d give it 10 stars if I could. So much flavor and wonderful textures. My neighbor was walking by my place and knocked on my door to ask what I was cooking! He ended up with a jar of it. This is definitely going into the rotation.
Hi Kay, aww I love that! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup.
Made this recipe for St. Pat’s Day. The fire-roasted tomatoes made a little bit too spicy for me. Any suggestions on how to de-spice this large pot of leftover, otherwise delicious soup?
Hi Louise, you could add a few more splashes of vinegar to balance it out.
I made this soup today for me My husband and my son’s family And it was delicious. Can’t wait till tomorrow. To eat more
Hi Sandra, I’m so glad you loved it!