Who knew that cabbage soup could be this good?! This bright and light recipe is a lovely spin on classic vegetable soup. If you’re trying to get back to healthy eating after the holidays, this warming cabbage soup is an inexpensive wintertime alternative to leafy green salads.
Cabbage soup may have originated in Eastern Europe, but this recipe offers simple Italian flavors. It starts with carrots, onion and celery cooked in a generous drizzle of olive oil. Once those are tender, we’ll add fresh garlic and dried oregano, followed by chopped green cabbage.
You can use an entire small head of cabbage in this soup; it shrinks as it sweats excess moisture and becomes silky soft as it simmers. Crushed tomatoes and lemon juice add welcome acidity, bringing this simple soup to life!
Watch How to Make Cabbage Soup
Cabbage Benefits
Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable like broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts. Cruciferous veggies are true superfoods, and cabbage is an all-star member of the family.
Cabbage offers beneficial vitamins (notably vitamin K), minerals and fiber (soluble and insoluble). It’s known to reduce inflammation and improve digestion.
Cabbage has a lot to offer from a cooking standpoint as well. Cabbage is cheap, keeps for weeks in the crisper drawer, and is easy to prepare. From peeling to slicing, cabbage is a breeze to work with and yields a ton.
I love to use crisp raw cabbage in slaws like this one. It’s amazing when it’s roasted until caramelized. And this recipe is proof that it’s lovely in soups.
Serving Suggestions
This cabbage soup recipe is light and healthy. It’s surprisingly filling in the moment, thanks to all the veggies and liquid, but it’s not a balanced meal on its own since it’s low in protein and calories. Treat it like a veggie side dish instead—it will lighten up a heavy meal or round out a protein-based main dish.
For a satisfying soup-and-salad combination, serve it with a hearty salad like my Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese.
This soup is fantastic with my Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Or, try it with your favorite cheesy pizza, like my Ultimate Veggie Pizza or Butternut Squash Pizza with Arugula-Pepita Pesto.
For a wintery vegetarian brunch or lunch, serve cabbage soup with Butternut Squash Frittata with Fried Sage.
This soup is vegan as written. Make a complete vegan meal by serving it with Hummus Quesadillas or my Best Vegan Lasagna. You can also make this soup more hearty by adding a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas with the water.
More Vegetable Soups to Enjoy
It’s soup season, so here are a few more veggie-based soup recipes to try:
Please let me know how your soup turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
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Cabbage Vegetable Soup
This flavorful cabbage soup recipe is full of vegetables. Serve it as a healthy side dish on cold days. Recipe yields 6 bowls of soup.
- Warm the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook until the veggies are tender, stirring often, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, oregano, and another ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add the cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes, while stirring frequently.
- Pour in the water and tomatoes (add 1 more cup of water if you want a more brothy soup). Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the veggies are nicely tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the fresh herbs, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar, and about 10 twists of freshly ground pepper. Taste, and adjust as necessary—add up to 1 more tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar for more zing, another ¼ teaspoon salt for more overall flavor, or more black pepper. Serve in bowls. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
