My son Josh showed up to our family reunion last summer with a giant pot of soup. That’s it. That’s what he brought. I’m standing there looking at this 22-year-old in a t-shirt, hauling a stock pot out of that obnoxious silver sports car I can hear from two streets away, and I’m thinking, okay. Soup. That’s sweet.
It was the first thing gone. Before my casserole, before grandma’s dish, before anything else on the table.
I want you to understand something. This is the same kid who fell out of a backyard tree trying to catch a baseball and lost a tooth on the way down. He cried for twenty minutes and then climbed right back up. Now he meal preps on Sundays and apparently knows what a zero point soup recipe is. I had to ask him to teach me and I am still not fully over it.
He was genuinely thrilled to show me, which did not help. Josh has always been super fit, always outside growing up, always moving. I used to joke that he came out of the womb running. I’m proud of him in a way that’s hard to say out loud without getting a little embarrassing about it.
This diet vegetable soup is deeply savory, stupidly simple, and one of the better easy vegetable soup recipes I’ve put together. Healthy cabbage soup that actually tastes like you wanted to eat it. Your people are going to ask for it again, I promise you that.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I’ll tell ya what, this low calorie vegetable soup earns its spot in the weekly rotation fast.
- Low calorie without tasting like it: A big, filling bowl of healthy cabbage soup that doesn’t taste like punishment. The cabbage and vegetables do a lot of heavy lifting here, and you won’t feel like you’re missing anything.
- Done in under 30 minutes: Heat the oil, cook the vegetables, add the broth and cabbage, simmer. That’s basically it. Great for a Tuesday when you’re tired and don’t want to think about it.
- Cheap to make: Cabbage, peppers, celery, onion, beef broth. Nothing in this ingredient list is going to hurt you at checkout. IMO that matters as much as anything else.
- Meal prep friendly: Make a big batch Sunday and you’ve got lunches for most of the week. This zero point soup recipe holds up well in the fridge, maybe even gets a little better by day two.
- Freezes well: Portion it into zipper bags or small containers and stick them in the freezer. Future you on a Wednesday night with nothing thawed out will be very glad you did this.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Short list, pretty simple, but a couple things worth knowing before you start chopping.
- Cabbage: One medium head, chopped. Green cabbage is what you want. It softens during the simmer without completely falling apart, which is the whole point. Don’t be alarmed when it looks like too much going in the pot, it cooks way down.
- Bell peppers: Orange, red, and yellow together. All three. I know that sounds like a lot but the mix gives the soup this brightness you just don’t get with one color. Any combination works in a pinch, but the three together is better.
- Beef broth: Three cups, and this is where the flavor depth comes from. Vegetable broth works if you’re keeping it plant-based, just know the soup tastes noticeably lighter. Worth using beef if you can.
- Tomato paste: One tablespoon. Sounds like nothing. It’s not nothing. It adds this low background richness that ties the whole weight loss soup recipe together and you’d notice immediately if it was gone.
- Fresh thyme: Dried works fine, just use about a third of what the recipe calls for. Dried herbs are more concentrated, and the flavor difference here is pretty minor either way.
- Olive oil: Two tablespoons. Avocado oil is a fine swap if that’s what you’ve got sitting around.
Tips for Success
A few things worth paying attention to with this easy vegetable soup recipe.
- Prep before you cook: This soup doesn’t wait around. Have every vegetable chopped and ready before the oil goes on.
- Cook the tomato paste: That one minute in the pot changes how it tastes completely. Don’t skip it and don’t rush it.
- Keep it at a simmer: Once the cabbage is in, low and slow. A hard boil makes the cabbage go limp and sad looking, and the texture suffers for it.
- Taste at the end: I can’t stress this enough. Salt levels in broth vary so much by brand that the same recipe can taste completely different depending on what you grabbed at the store. Taste it, adjust it, then serve it.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. This healthy cabbage soup actually gets better sitting overnight, the flavors kind of settle into each other in a way that doesn’t happen fresh off the stove.
To reheat, warm it on the stove over medium heat or microwave individual portions, stirring halfway through. Either way works fine.
For freezing, cool it completely first, then portion into zipper freezer bags or small containers. It keeps up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove. This is a great meal prep move if you like having a low calorie vegetable soup ready to grab on short notice.
Serving Suggestions
This diet vegetable soup is filling enough on its own. If you want something on the side, a slice of crusty whole grain bread for dipping is a good call.
A squeeze of lemon juice or some fresh parsley right before serving brightens the whole bowl up. Simple side salad works too if you want to make it a bigger meal without adding many calories.
FAQs
Can I use vegetable broth instead of beef broth?
Yes. The soup will taste lighter since beef broth adds more depth, but it’s still a solid bowl of cabbage soup either way. Worth trying with beef first if you haven’t, just to see the difference.
How many calories are in this diet vegetable soup?
Roughly 80 to 100 calories per serving depending on your broth. It’s pretty low, which is a big part of why this weight loss soup recipe shows up in so many healthy eating plans. I don’t actually count, but Josh does, and he approves.
Can I add protein?
Shredded rotisserie chicken is the easiest add-in. White beans work too. Throw either one in during the last few minutes of simmering, just long enough to heat through.
How long does it keep in the fridge?
Four days. Airtight container. Day two is genuinely better than day one, which is a little annoying but also convenient.
Notes
Josh tracked down a version of this zero point soup recipe through a fitness group he’s in online, then tweaked it over a few batches until he got it where he wanted it. The three-pepper mix was his idea. The kid has better kitchen instincts than I’ve given him credit for, and I will say that exactly once.
I’ve made this cabbage soup recipe probably fifteen times since that reunion. It’s a regular now. Still a little surreal that my son and his loud car are responsible for one of my favorite healthy meals.
Diet Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Large yellow onion diced
- 4 Cloves garlic minced
- 3 Stalks celery sliced
- 2 Large carrots peeled and sliced into thin rounds
- 1 Green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 head Green cabbage cored and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 can 28 oz. Crushed or diced tomatoes (with juices)
- 6 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 tsp. Dried oregano
- 1 tsp. Dried basil
- ½ tsp. Smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp. Cayenne pepper optional, for a metabolic kick
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. Fresh lemon juice added at the very end to brighten the broth
Instructions
- Heat the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat until it shimmers.
- Drop the diced yellow onion, sliced celery, carrots, and green bell pepper into the hot oil. Sauté the vegetables for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the onions turn soft and translucent.
- Stir in the minced garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cook the spice matrix for exactly 60 seconds until highly aromatic, taking care not to let the garlic scorch.
- Add the chopped green cabbage pieces directly into the pot. It will look like a massive volume of greens, but it will rapidly wilt down as it heats through. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat the cabbage in the spices and warm oil.
- Pour in the full can of crushed tomatoes with their juices, followed by the 6 cups of vegetable broth. Stir the entire mixture thoroughly to integrate the base.
- Turn the stovetop heat up to medium-high and bring the soup to a rolling boil.
- Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low, slide a lid onto the pot slightly ajar to allow excess steam to escape, and let it simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes. The soup is finished when the cabbage matrix is completely fork-tender and translucent.
- Turn off the heat completely. Pour in the tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and season the broth lightly with salt and black pepper to preference.
- Ladle the hot soup into deep bowls and serve immediately. Store any leftovers in an airtight container inside the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze in portioned containers for easy meal prep.
