Cabbage Soup is the PERFECT savory vegetable soup made with cabbage, tomato, carrots, celery, and spices, ready in under 45 minutes!

When it gets cold outside, our kitchen heats things up with Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup, and Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Stew!

Cabbage Soup is a savory vegetable soup made with carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, diced tomato and spices. I’ve been making cabbage soup for years because it’s the perfect thing to make when it’s cold outside, plus you can do it in the slow cooker on days when you’re busy.

A lot of people make cabbage soup for weight loss because it’s low calorie, but my favorite part is that it’s totally inexpensive and super easy to make. I like to serve it with freshly made bread or dinner rolls, and sometimes I’ll cut up leftover rotisserie chicken and throw that in there, too.

If I’m having this for lunch, I’ll serve it with some crackers or breadsticks and a simple salad. You can also sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth if you’re serving this to a vegetarian.

HOW LONG DOES CABBAGE SOUP LAST?

Cabbage soup will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, when sealed tightly. My family will have this for dinner and pack a few lunches, then I’ll freeze whatever is leftover for another day.
HOW DO YOU FREEZE CABBAGE SOUP?

I always make a double batch of this cabbage soup recipe so I can freeze half of it for a quick dinner another night. Let it cool completely before putting it into an airtight container and freezing. This will keep for about 2-3 months.

Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir together. Set the cooker on low for eight hours, or on high for four hours. The soup is done when the vegetables are soft and your kitchen smells amazing. Pro tip, use a crock pot liner for virtually no clean up!

HOW TO MAKE CABBAGE SOUP IN THE INSTANT POT

Add everything to the instant pot and stir. Lock the lid and set on high for a total time of 10 minutes, then let the pot naturally release, about another 15-20 minutes.

If you want some extra flavor, you can use the saute function for the onion, garlic, and spices before adding the other ingredients, but this is not mandatory.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH CABBAGE SOUP
Garlic Bread
Classic Wedge Salad
Buttermilk Biscuits
Black Pepper Bacon Biscuits

TIPS FOR MAKING CABBAGE SOUP
You can add more veggies to cabbage soup, like green beans, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, kale, spinach, or or cauliflower. If you add leafy greens, add them at the end just a few minutes before you serve, otherwise they’ll get mushy.
Add chicken or beef to this cabbage soup recipe if you want more protein, and rice or potatoes for more carbs. For a vegetarian protein option, use white beans or extra firm tofu cut into cubes.
If you’re making beef cabbage soup, use 1/4 cup of red wine to deglaze the onions and simmer until reduced by half. Then follow the recipe as normal. I like to use ground beef, which is a lot like deconstructed cabbage rolls!
Add a packet of onion soup mix or Italian seasoning if you want more onion and herb flavor.
Use a spoonful of hot sauce or a dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to add some spice to this cabbage soup recipe.
For easy prep, cut up all of the vegetables used for one pot of this soup, wrap in a sealable bag and freeze. Then you just need to pull the bag out of the freezer and cook (or slow cook) with broth and spices!
If you want the broth to be a little bit thicker, add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste and stir well.
For easier prep, use shredded cabbage and frozen vegetables.
If you want a sweet and savory soup, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
This recipe is naturally dairy-free and gluten free (with gluten free broth)!

5 from 15 votes
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American


Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
8 cups low sodium chicken brothvegetable broth fine too
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1/2 head cabbage chopped in 1 1/2" chunks
4 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery sliced thinly
14.5 ounces stewed tomatoes


Instructions

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

In a large pot add the olive oil over medium heat then add in the onions and garlic, onion and cook until the onions are see through, about 3-5 minutes.

Add in the broth, salt, pepper, cabbage, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.