I was first introduced to this recipe through the notorious cabbage soup diet. While I’m not a fan of that type of diet, I am a huge fan of this homemade Cabbage Soup recipe itself. Why? For one simple reason—it’s absolutely DELICIOUS. Yeah, I was surprised, too. The first time I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised by how extremely flavorful and comforting it was. I actually ended up eating it over and over again just because I wanted to, not because I was trying to stick to the diet. And ever since, this recipe has been one of my comfort food staples. 😅
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“Absolutely love this soup! I’ve made it twice in the last month (mainly because my dad gave me a cabbage bigger than a bowling ball 😂 ) but it’s so good! I add ground beef & barley to it to beef it up a little but it’s just packed with flavor in general. Thank you so much for this recipe.”
Chantel
Easy Recipe for Cabbage Soup
The classic “cabbage soup diet” recipe has taken many forms over the years, but they all have one thing in common—they’re stuffed full of non-starchy vegetables swimming in a flavorful herb-filled broth. Cabbage is the star here, giving the soup plenty of volume, fiber, and nutrients, all for just pennies. I also throw in green bell pepper, green beans, and fresh parsley to round out the medley of flavors (and sneak in even more greens!). This recipe is serious proof that budget-friendly meals can still be wholesome, satisfying, AND downright delicious!
Cabbage Soup Recipe
Servings 6 2 cups eachIngredients
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.20)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.78)
- 4 carrots ($0.36)
- 4 ribs celery ($0.60)
- 1 green bell pepper ($0.86)
- 6 cups chopped cabbage (½ head) ($1.51)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.19)
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes* ($1.48)
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce** ($0.48)
- 1/2 lb. frozen green beans ($0.64)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley ($0.23)
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika ($0.15)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 6 cups vegetable broth ($0.54)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice*** ($0.05)
Instructions
- Mince your garlic cloves, dice the onion, peel and slice the carrots, slice the celery, dice the bell pepper, and chop the cabbage into 1-inch pieces.
- Add the prepared garlic, onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and olive oil to a pot with over medium heat. Sauté until the onions soften.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), tomato sauce, frozen green beans, chopped parsley, smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, and pepper. Continue to stir and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Add the cabbage to the pot along with the vegetable broth and stir to combine.
- Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the soup to come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until the cabbage is to your desired tenderness.
- Once the cabbage is tender, season the soup with salt, starting with ½ tsp and adding more to your liking. Finish the soup by adding the lemon juice and stirring to combine. Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping.
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Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Measuring Cups Spoons
- Chef’s Knife
- Garlic Press
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Cabbage Soup Step-by-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Prep the veggies: Mince four cloves of garlic, dice one yellow onion, peel and slice 4 carrots, slice 4 stalks of celery, dice one green bell pepper, and chop 1/2 head of cabbage into one-inch pieces (about 5-6 cups once chopped).
Sauté the veggies: Add the prepared veggies and garlic to a large soup pot with one tablespoon olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until softened.
Make the soup: Add one 28oz. can diced tomatoes (I used petite diced), one 8oz. can tomato sauce, ½ lb. frozen green beans, ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, ½ Tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, and ¼ tsp pepper. Stir to combine and cook for another minute or two.
Add the chopped cabbage to the pot along with 6 cups of vegetable broth.
Simmer: Stir everything together, place a lid on the pot, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the soup simmer over medium-low, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes, or until the cabbage is to your desired tenderness.
Season: Once the cabbage is tender, season the soup with salt, starting with 1/2 teaspoon, then adding more to taste (I used 1 tsp total). Next, add one tablespoon of lemon juice, which really helps brighten the flavors.
Serve: And then slurp down all that vegetable-y goodness! I garnished my cabbage soup with a little more freshly cracked black pepper, but that’s totally optional. Serve, and enjoy!
Flavorful Variations
Soup recipes in general are very flexible, so there are many options when it comes to making this soup your own. Here are some great variations to try:
- Make it spicy: Add hot sauce or crushed red pepper to give the soup a kick!
- Add beans (cannellini, chickpeas, kidney beans)
- Add meat: Ground beef (or check out my Beef and Cabbage Soup), Italian sausage, or shredded chicken
- Add cubed tofu (extra firm)
- Use any colored bell pepper (green are typically the cheapest, but use what you have)
- Add potatoes to help bulk it up without adding a lot of cost
- Any veggies you have on hand! This is truly a flexible recipe
Serving Suggestions
This cabbage soup recipe goes great with some crusty bread (garlic or not) to soak up that delicious broth! A warm and buttery dinner roll is also absolutely delightful. But if I’m craving something heartier, I’ll pair it with a sandwich, and a Reuben sandwich sounds like the perfect choice to me!
How to Store Leftover Cabbage Soup
This recipe makes a really large batch, so it’s a good idea to freeze about half of it, just in case you can’t eat all of it within about 3-4 days. To freeze this soup, divide it into single-serving portions, chill it completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer it to the freezer for longer storage. Keep in the freezer for up to three months.
More Delicious Cabbage recipes
Our Cabbage Soup recipe was originally published 1/15/18. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 3/29/25.
this is incredibly delicious but that prep time is not no 10 mins, it took me an hour to chop all that up lmao but it was worth it
I don’t have a stove. How would I make this in an instant pot?
You can make it exactly the same just using the saute function!
Thanks so much!
So good! I used fresh green beans instead of frozen ones. I will make this again.
Nice
I was wondering about using this soup as a way to get more daily vegetables, so thank you. Question: would red bell peppers mess up the flavor much? My housemate doesn’t like green pepper.
I think red bell peppers would be great in this. :)
The “Cabbage Soup Diet” [which also includes eating fruits and veggies as well as an occasional “heavy carb” (i.e., a potato) plus a few proteins tossed in — towards the end of the week – for good measure] is ALIVE and WELL! And this Soup made our7-day adventure to the tip of the abyss not only bearable, but actually quite pleasant (IOWs, it’s as DELICIOUS as a Cabbage Soup can be!) My adult-Daughter and I have a Wedding we’ll be attending mid-next month and, for whatever reason (???) Keto just wasn’t “dong it” for us :( . But THIS SOUP — in coordination with other of “The Cabbage Soup Diet” directives caused ME to lose 9 lbs. in a week and my Daughter to lose 12. We’ll be going back onto our Keto regimen starting 2morrow and then (after 2weeks) doing the “Cabbage Soup Diet” once again for another week. While the immediate objective is that the Dresses will fit, I can see myself using this recipe to make THIS Cabbage Soup many times during the current Autumn and upcoming Winter seasons. It really IS that GOOD! Thank you, Bth, for this delightful recipe.
This is great stuff!
Can you recommend what I can substitute for the tomatoes and tomato sauce? I am allergic to them unfortunately.
Unfortunately, the tomato ingredients are a big part of this recipe, and replacing them would change it quite a bit. So I’d need to reformulate and test options before offering a suggestion.
The first cabbage soup recipe I learned didn’t have tomatoes, and it was good, just add extra broth. If you want more flavor you could add miso paste and green onions, or more lemon juice and fresh dill. These veggies are versatile and will go with a lot of different flavors.
I made this soup tonight and it was very delicious!! It’s very comforting and hearty, the only think that I did differently was to add some cooked tofu to the soup to add some protein to it.
Love this healthy soup. I make a double batch in a huge pot and then freeze it in individual containers for future meal portions. This soup plus the Budget Bytes freezer garlic bread is a real treat on a chilly day. This soup has saved my wallet and waistline from fast food on many occasions – why do drive through when this takes less than 10 minutes to heat in the microwave and is full of delicious veggies. Modifications I make:
1. I add chicken for protein. While I’m cooking the soup, in a separate pan with a lid, I poach chicken breast to shred and then add to the soup. ( I put a portion of shredded chicken into each of the containers for the freezer portions, and then fill them up with soup.
2. Instead of the tomato sauce, I just replace the liquid with more broth instead, for my personal taste.
3. I add sliced mushrooms and whatever else I have such as zucchini. Bring on the veggies.
4. It adds a pan to wash, but I use Better than Bouillion and I just find it easiest to boil up a separate pot of water and make the broth and then pour the hot boiling broth into the pot of veggies. It adds a pot to wash, but no scrubbing so this is not a big deal.
5. I add a few pinches of shredded Romano cheese (or Parmesan or even a little shredded mozzarella).
Not related to this recipe, but want to tout the freezer garlic bread again, it just makes meals scrounged from leftovers, bagged salad kits, or whatever you defrosted that was lurking in the back of the freezer between zoom calls on a work from home day suddenly seem like an intentional meal.
I like okra in this soup, it thickens it a little and it tastes great! But y’know what would REALLY give it a wonderful kick? — half of a small or 1/4 of a large preserved lemon, flesh and all, minced and mixed in near the end. Oh yeah, that’s what I’m gonna do.
Can this be frozen in batches?
Yes, absolutely. :)
I used the recipe as a base and did my own thing. Added roasted garlic (lots), mushrooms (cuz I had some), hot paprika (cuz I like heat), canned diced tomatoes (again had it on hand) and doubled (maybe tripled) the (meyer) lemon – it was awesome! I think you can add anything you want. Loved the lemon and the fresh parsley. The cabbage is a great filler and tastes great in the soup. I didn’t use any onion in this batch…so I didn’t have to do the first step w oil. So basically zero fat!
Have made it a ton of times and always a hit. I have served with a little protein on the side (sausage, chicken) and with fresh french bread for a bigger meal.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the soup and makes you feel like you’re loving your body and soul!
Hi I’m thinking of making this soup,can I add zucchini? I have a lot that needs to be used 😐
Thank you!
Absolutely. :) That’s what I love about this soup–you can add just about any vegetable! Flexible recipes are the best.
Recipe looks easy and great to follow. Family loves different types of soup especially during the harvest season. Hope to make this soup this week and offset it with a delicious grain bread. Yum…….