Cabbage is one of my favorite vegetables to consume in winter, especially in soups and stews. It’s full of vitamins and nutrients that make it healthy, and it also has a great texture and flavor when well-cooked. Cabbage doesn’t always work in other dishes, but when you’re cooking a soup, it’s a delicious and healthy vegetable to include. In this detox soup recipe, cabbage takes the center stage as the most important ingredient.
This super easy cabbage soup is a fantastic way to get kids to eat cabbage, to introduce new flavors to their diet, and to make something truly delicious without doing a lot of work. This soup comes together in almost no time, and once it’s done, you’ll love how easy it was to prepare.
This is, in my opinion, truly the best cabbage recipe there is. I recommend this sometimes with weight loss recipes, and I recommend this vegetable soup to combine with other healthy dinner ingredients. Want a vegetable soup that stands out? This is it.
Oh, one more thing, this soup can be served with lots of different foods, depending on your needs. It even makes a great side dish to serve with casseroles and salad, if you’re feeding a big group.
Let’s dive in!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
What’s not to love about this recipe? Here’s what brings me back to this over and over:
- Simplicity: This recipe is truly easy. It comes together in 30 minutes, yet the flavors and textures are outstanding.
- Delicious: The deep, full flavor of this soup (which comes from the cabbage) is hard to beat. However, you can also add other types of vegetables as you see fit to make it truly your own.
- Filling and hearty: Want a delicious food to serve on a cold winter night? This hearty soup is it.
- Fast: If you’re busy (many of us are), this soup is easy to throw together quickly.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
There really aren’t that many ingredients that you can substitute in this recipe, but here are some suggestions:
- Make it vegetarian: Use vegetable bouillon instead of chicken bouillon.
- Broth: This recipe uses water as the basis of the soup, but you can also substitute broth to give it a little more depth of flavor.
- Onions and garlic: Some people have allergies to onions and garlic. If you remove these vegetables from the soup, I recommend adding another vegetable to provide more nutrients and flavor.
- Add protein: Adding ham gives this soup more substance and protein, so you can more easily make it a main course dish.
How to Make It
One of the great things about this recipe is how simple it is. There are only three steps. Best of all, you can cut up the cabbage the night before so you’ll have the cut cabbage on hand to throw into your soup when you’re ready to get cooking. One thing I’ve noticed: cabbages can be really big! If you have a large, full-sized cabbage, you may end up with a lot of leftovers. There are lots of different things you can do with extra cabbage including cooking cabbage in the instant pot, or you can make stuffed cabbage.
Whatever your preference, don’t throw the extra cabbage away – do something great with it! Remember that cabbage pairs really well with sausage, carrots, and it cooks up great with salt, pepper, and butter.
Tips for Success
There’s not a lot to this recipe, but here are some tips to help make it even easier and better.
- Do you find the flavor of cabbage to be a little too strong? Soak it ahead of time to mellow the flavor.
- Once you add the cabbage, it will take up the whole stock pot. You may be tempted to add more liquid just to make up for it. Wait! Give the cabbage about 10 minutes to wilt before adding any more water or broth.
- Add more seasonings as you see fit! You can make this your own with garlic salt, onion powder, thyme, whatever you like.
Storage & Reheating
This dish stores well in an air tight container. If you store cabbage soup in plastic, you may notice that the plastic takes on the scent of cabbage over time. I recommend storing this soup in glass. You can store it for up to three days in the refrigerator, but I wouldn’t wait for longer than that – in addition to the food safety reasons, cabbage smells the longer it sits cooked in the fridge.
Cabbage detox soup can be stored for up to three months in the freezer. Thaw it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours before serving.
To reheat this soup, put it on the stove and reheat it as you would if you were cooking it for the first time.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve this dish standalone on a cold night, or you can make cabbage soup with a casserole and salad and serve it to guests.
FAQs
Why do you soak cabbage before cooking?
You will likely notice that cabbage can have a bold flavor that is not that unlike the smell. Soaking the cabbage helps mellow the flavor and makes the cabbage easier to work with by helping it cook faster.
What are some good vegetables to add to this soup?
If you want some thoughtful vegetables to add to cabbage detox soup, try carrots or potatoes. Carrots add bright, sweet flavor I appreciate, while potatoes give the soup a filling quality that can make this soup a good standalone dish. If you do add either of these vegetables, add them to the soup before the cabbage, as they will take longer to cook.
Is cabbage soup healthy?
Yes, cabbage soup is full of nutrients that make it very healthy!
Notes
On a personal note, this soup reminds me of cold winter nights – nights when I am grateful to be home and warm. I love to make cabbage soup when the weather outside turns cold and bitter, because this soup warms my insides.
Cabbage Detox Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- 1 Sweet Onion diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves smashed and minced
- 2 quarts Vegetable Stock replaces water and bouillon for richer flavor
- 1/2 head Green Cabbage cored and shredded into ribbons
- 1 can 14.5 oz Fire-Roasted Tomatoes (replaces Italian-style for a char-grilled edge)
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes optional, for a tiny kick
- Sea Salt and Coarse Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat your oil in a large heavy-duty pot. Toss in the onions and garlic, sautéing over medium heat until they soften and turn a golden, translucent hue.
- Stir in the smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. Letting the spices hit the hot oil for about 30 seconds “blooms” the flavor, making the soup much more vibrant.
- Pour in your vegetable stock and bring the liquid to a rolling boil. Carefully fold in your cabbage ribbons. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover, letting the cabbage soften for about 10 minutes until it loses its rigidity.
- Gently stir in the fire-roasted tomatoes (with their juices). Continue to simmer the soup uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes. This allows the broth to reduce slightly and the sweetness of the cabbage to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Taste your broth. Adjust with salt and pepper as needed. For the best experience, let the soup sit for 5 minutes off the heat before ladling it into bowls.
