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.
This soup is soooooo good and healthy!
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
How easily does this freeze? I have so much cabbage but it’s too hot for soup. Sounds like a great recipe to save for fall if I can freeze it!
Hi Shawn, it freezes well!
Second time around making this news favorite! I actually cooked 3 cloves of garlic alone in some butter and then added it. This is the best cabbage soup recipe I’ve found so far, and I love cabbage soup! The fire roasted tomatoes do go a long way in this one.
Great flavor!
So glad you enjoyed the soup, Paula!
Owing to currently dealing with nerve palsy in my left arm, I had to improvise a lot…
Its in the slow cooker and smells great already. Not many changes but the veg is very chunky, rice wine vinegar, oregano and what ever peeled tomatoes I had in the pantry with a good dollop of smokey tomatoe paste.
Oh, and half a stick of butter.
Fantastic recipe! I’ve now made the soup twice in the last two weeks. I made a couple tweaks. I subbed apple cider vinegar for the white wine vinegar, used fresh thyme in place of dry, omitted the potatoes for lower carbs, used regular diced tomatoes in place of the fire roasted. I put the fore clothes through the garlic press and added along with the vinegar and sautéed for 30 seconds before adding the liquid ingredients. Thank you for such a great recipe! This one’s a keeper!
Darn auto correct should say four cloves, not fore clothes lol!
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Hi Kris, I’m so glad you loved it!
I left out potatoes, used balsamic vinegar instead of white vinegar,, and fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes. It came out great.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Excellent flavor! Quick and easy.
I make a very similar recipe and kick it up a notch by adding a forkful, or two, of sauerkraut into the individual bowls. Beautiful flavour and added nutrition! I also typically in a hearty soup grate fresh garlic into each bowl…. again delicious and nutritious 🙂
Thanks for your delish recipes!!
Great tips, Beth! So glad you love the recipes.
Hello and thank you for this beautiful and delicious recipe. I made it the other day and it was absolutely delicious. Was wondering if you can give me the calorie content breakdown it serves six people just wanted to know what each bowl would be in calories thank you.
Very nourishing. I fired up the tomatoes with garlic. I removed the potatoes and used lima beans. served the soup with chips and a dollop of sour cream.
We can’t often get those tomatoes in the U.K so I added some smoked paprika to regular canned tomatoes. It seems to be coming together well but I think may have chopped the cabbage too coarsely, think coarse slaw. Do you chop it finer or even dice it?
Very good – thank you!
Hi Terry, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I added a chopped up leek and a partial head of red cabbage that was leftover from something else – delicious!
Hi Lisa, so glad you loved the soup!
Excellent
Hi Jackie, so glad you loved it!
Can we do this in the crock pot?
Hi Angela, I think it would work, but we haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure what the time/temp would be.
Really liked this recipe and pretty much followed it to the letter. However, the recipe calls for far too much cabbage, which means it needs additional vegetable stock. I also needed to spice it up a bit, so I took another reader’s advise and added some sauerkraut which perked it up a bit. It’s really good and my family liked it a lot.
Hi Liz, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! Love the idea of adding sauerkraut.
Great recipe, super versatile! I added ground turkey (when sautéing the onions, etc.), I used pre-cooked white beans (not canned) and I added some ‘chili miso sesame oil condiment’ for heat (I like spicy!) but otherwise followed the recipe and I love it! ?
Hi Carrie, I’m so glad you love the soup!
I want to make this recipe, what do you mean by 1 can “cooked” white beans? can canned beans be used? What type of beans, i.e.,can cannelini or white kidney beans be used? Thank you
Hi Margaret, You can use any canned white beans here! Cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, and navy beans are all good options.
tysm!
just curious on a calorie count. Please and thank you. Best cabbage soup I have ever ate. Made my second batch just the other day
I also wish there was nutritional information and the calories per cup. The recipe isn’t really all the helpful without the other information.