This Cabbage Soup recipe is a bright, flavorful veggie medley in a fire roasted tomato broth. It’s healthy, hearty, and comforting, too!
An Easy Homemade Cabbage Soup Recipe
Cabbage Soup is a savory vegetable soup made with carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, diced tomatoes, and spices.
Creamy soups are great, but sometimes they can get a bit heavy. If I’m feeling like I want a hearty, comforting soup that’s light, too, I always go for my cabbage soup. I love the flavors, the fresh veggies, and the way I feel after eating it.
Cabbage soup is like a vegetable soup with super powers!
What is Cabbage Soup?
If you think that cabbage soup is basically just boiled cabbage, you are SO wrong. TBH, I hope you haven’t spent years avoiding cabbage soup based on this idea of what it is. This soup is crazy good! And easy to make, too. You know I love easy.
Traditionally, cabbage soup has – you guessed it, CABBAGE – in an herbed tomato broth with loads of veggies. It became popular in the ‘80’s during a cabbage soup diet craze that had Americans all over eating nothing but cabbage soup for a week straight.
No, I don’t eat it THAT often, but I do enjoy a hearty bowl here and there. During this quarantine-life, we’ve enjoyed it a lot more often because them social-distancing-bonus-lbs are about to be exposed. 😕😁
Is Cabbage Soup Good for Weight Loss?
Yes, this soup is thought to support weight loss. This soup is low in calories and full of vitamins and nutrients. Cabbage aids in digestion, lowers inflammation, and is heart healthy.
Additionally, my recipe is all veggie, no starch. There’s no rice, potato, or pasta, so it’s low in carbs, too. IF you do want some starch, hop on over to my Cabbage Soup with Rice recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
This soup recipe is full of colorful veggies and fresh herbs. It’s perfect for using up all those veggies in your fridge.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- extra virgin olive oil
- yellow onion
- green bell pepper
- orange bell pepper
- carrot
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- garlic
- fresh parsley
- cabbage
- tomato paste
- fire roasted tomatoes
- Italian seasoning
- low sodium vegetable broth
- bay leaves
- zucchini
- broccoli florets
How to Make Cabbage Soup
- Prep: Heat the oil in a dutch oven or a large soup pot.
- Saute: Add onions to the pot and cook them for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Stir in the prepared bell peppers, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and parsley. Cook for 20 seconds.
- Add: Stir in the cabbage and cook for 4 minutes, or until it starts to wilt.
- Add the tomato paste. Stir until combined.
- Add the roasted tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Mix to combine.
- Boil: Stir in the broth and add bay leaves. Increase heat to High and bring it to a boil.
- Simmer: Lower the heat to a steady simmer. Continue to cook for 7 minutes.
- Stir in the zucchini slices and broccoli florets. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve: Remove the pot from the heat. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly. I always add more salt and pepper.
- Remove bay leaves and discard them, then serve.
Variation Ideas
The veggies listed above are my favorites to use, but you can swap any of them out for any other veggie depending on what you have in your fridge.
This cabbage soup is absolutely perfect just as it is, but you can also add any of the following:
- Pasta or noodles, like orzo or ditalini
- Diced potatoes
- Grains, like long grain rice or barley
- Beans, like kidney beans, cannellini beans, or chickpeas
You can also add a bit of meat if you’d like. I really like diced ham or chopped bacon in my cabbage soup! Ground beef or Italian sausage are also great additions.
Tips for the Best Cabbage Soup
Follow these tips for the best cabbage soup around:
- Make sure you allow your soup to come to a simmer, you want your veggies to be slightly tender but not mush.
- For more intense flavor, use additional fresh herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme.
- If you like things hot, add red pepper flakes to the soup.
- You don’t have to use all fresh veggies, feel free to use frozen, instead.
- This is a great vegan dinner option as long as you use vegetable broth instead of chicken or beef.
Serving Suggestions
- I enjoy my cabbage soup with a big loaf of rustic bread that I can dip into that fire roasted tomato broth. To pull it together as a complete meal, I usually do a cup of soup along with my bread and a nice side salad.
How to Store Leftovers
- Let your cabbage soup come to room temperature. Then, store it in an airtight container. Make sure that your container is sealed tightly.
- It will stay in your refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
Can I Freeze Cabbage Soup?
- Yes you can! When I make cabbage soup, I always make extra to freeze. It comes in handy on those nights when I just don’t feel like doing any work.
- To freeze your leftover cabbage soup, let it cool completely, then put it into an airtight container and place it in your freezer. It will keep for just about 2-3 months.
More Cabbage Recipes
ENJOY!
Tools Used in this Recipe
Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, cut into cubes
- 1 small orange bell pepper, cut into cubes
- 1 large carrot, cut into thin coins
- ¾ teaspoon salt, add more or less (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 5 cups chopped cabbage, (about 1/2 head of a cabbage)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) chopped fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 6 to 8 cups low sodium vegetable broth, you can also use chicken broth or beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small zucchini, sliced and cut into half moons
- 2 cups broccoli florets
Instructions
- Heat oil in a dutch oven or a large soup pot.
- Add onions and cook for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
- Stir in prepared bell peppers, carrots, salt, and pepper; cook for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and parsley; cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir in cabbage and cook for 4 minutes, or until starting to wilt.
- Add tomato paste; stir until combined.
- Add roasted tomatoes and Italian seasoning; mix to combine.
- Stir in broth and add bay leaves; increase heat to High and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to a steady simmer; continue to cook for 7 minutes.
- Stir in zucchini slices and broccoli florets; cook for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Remove bay leaves and discard.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
