Cabbage Soup Recipe

If there was ever a dish that can change the way you think about an ingredient, it's this cabbage soup. "I never thought that cabbage would be tasty in soup," said chef and food writer Maren Epstein of Eating Works. "I always used it just to make sauerkraut or to put in my vegetable juices. Once I tried the soup, I realized how wrong I was! The cabbage is sweet and soft, and it goes perfectly with the tomatoes."

Sold on the soup itself? Great, now let's make a meal out of it. Epstein says: "French bread, roast chicken, and steak would go perfectly with cabbage soup. Since cabbage soup is so light, it goes well with a heavier main meal. And as some cabbage soups are traditionally made with sausage, I think that sausage would also pair nicely with this soup."

So it's tasty and it pairs well, two check marks so far. Want even more good news? This surprisingly good soup is surprisingly easy to make. "This recipe is pretty easy to follow, so I wouldn't worry about making a mistake. It's perfect for soup newbies," Epstein says. But hey, you soup-making pros are welcome to whip up a batch too!

With the exception of the cabbage itself, you likely have all of the ingredients needed to make this cabbage soup on hand already, as they are staples like broth, carrots, and onions. Epstein's recipe calls for two tablespoons of butter, one white or yellow onion, chopped, a half-teaspoon of sea salt, two chopped carrots, two cubed potatoes, two tablespoons of dried thyme, three cups of cabbage, shredded, two 15-ounce cans of fire-roasted tomatoes, and four cups of chicken stock.

You can by all means use a vegetable stock and vegan butter if you prefer, and note that you can use any canned diced tomatoes if need be, though the fire roasting does add a nice touch.

In a Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium low heat. As soon as it has melted, lower the heat and add the chopped onions and the sea salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent (and your kitchen is filled with an excellent aroma).

And for the record, if you don't have a Dutch oven to make this cabbage soup, a large pot is fine, but Dutch ovens are great for concentrating steady heat during a slow simmer on the stove, not to mention for all sorts of other cooking techniques.

Add the carrots, potatoes, and the dried thyme to the cooked onions and then raise the heat under the Dutch oven to medium to make your cabbage soup. Stir often and cook these veggies until they soften, which will take about ten minutes.

Next, add the shredded cabbage, making sure it all breaks apart and separates, and sauté until it softens, which should only take three minutes or so. Then, add the cans of fire-roasted tomatoes and cook for another few minutes, stirring well to make sure everything is combined well.

Add chicken stock to the cabbage soup mix and stir everything a few times. Now, bring the soup to a boil with the lid on, and then immediately lower the heat down to a simmer.

Now, allow the soup to simmer, partially covered with its lid, for about 20 minutes. Make sure not too much of the broth cooks off because you want a decent amount of liquid in the finished soup. Lower the heat even more and even consider adding more stock if need be. 

Finally, season with salt and pepper to taste, and then enjoy the surprising complexity of this cabbage soup.