When it comes to healthy, easy dinner recipes, this Mediterranean cabbage soup always makes the cut. It’s loaded with veggies, warming spices like turmeric and ginger, and only requires 10 minutes of hands-on time.
When I Need a Reset I Make This Cabbage Soup Recipe
- I love it because it only takes about 10 minutes of prep time. And I’m not alone! My cabbage soup recipe went viral on YouTube and has more than 2 million views!
- It’s vegan, nutrient-rich, and loaded with vegetables
- Cabbage is one of the most affordable vegetables you can buy, making it not only healthy but also budget-friendly.
- It has one of my favorite flavor combinations—turmeric and ginger, adding warmth and loads of flavor.
Key Ingredients
Aside from its super-ingredients, this soup is comforting, aromatic, and, most importantly, a delicious recipe you’ll want to make on repeat. I call it my detox cabbage soup because everything in it is so good for you!
- Olive oil: Use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor and antioxidant-boost.
- Vegetables: Onion and garlic, green cabbage, celery, carrots, canned diced tomato
- Spices turmeric, cumin, coriander, fresh ginger, lemon, parsley, and green onion add complex peppery, earthy, savory, and bright flavors.
- Aleppo pepper adds a mild and bright kick. You can substitute with Urfa biber or red pepper flakes.
- Vegetable broth: Make your own with leftover veggie scraps, use a high-quality store-bought variety, or substitute with chicken stock or broth.
How to Make this Cabbage Soup Recipe
With a vibrant blend of spices and punchy aromatics like garlic and ginger, you can develop a deep flavor in 40 minutes. Here’s how:
- Prep the vegetables. Chop 1 onion. Mince 3 garlic cloves (see my tips for how to mince garlic). Core and chop one head of green cabbage. Chop 2 celery sticks. Slice 2 carrots into thin rounds.
- Sauté the aromatics. In a large Dutch oven or cooking pot with a lid, set over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until fragrant (adjust the heat down to make sure the garlic does not burn).
- Soften the veggies. Add the cabbage, celery, carrots, and a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper (about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon each). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. It helps to cover the pot partway so that the cabbage will wilt easily.
- Season. Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon cumin, coriander, and Aleppo pepper. Toss to coat the vegetables with the spices.
- Simmer. Add a (28-ounce) can of diced tomatoes (with their juices) and 3 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot part way allowing just a small opening at the top. Simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Finish and Serve. While the soup simmers, slice 3 green onions (both white and green parts). Chop 1 cup parsley, peel and finely grate a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger. Zest a large lemon, then slice it in half and capture its juice. Turn the heat off and stir in the remaining ingredients.
Ways to Make this Recipe Your Own
- Swap green cabbage with Napa cabbage or savoy cabbage. I would avoid red cabbage as it has a pronounced peppery flavor, and the red color will leach into the soup.
- Add a can of chickpeas or white beans like cannellini or navy beans for a boost of fiber and plant-based protein.
- Substitute canned whole tomatoes for a more rustic vibe. Just crush them with the back of a spoon.
- Add shredded poached chicken for extra protein (rotisserie chicken would work well.)
What to Serve with Cabbage Soup
This vegan cabbage soup is hearty enough on its own; you don’t need any sides. But soup, salad, and bread are a classic combination.
- Bread: A quick-rising fresh bread, like simit or challah, is a special treat, but something rich like Rosemary Focaccia or crusty like French baguettes or even Olive Bread are good for dipping.
- Salads: I love a good salad, but the cabbage soup has loads of vegetables in it, so I like to keep my salads simple. Caesar Salad is always at the top of my list, but this butter lettuce salad is a new favorite. If I don’t add beans to the soup, sometimes I will pair the soup with this wilted spinach salad just to get in some extra fiber and dark leafy greens.
I Have a Thing for Cabbage Recipes
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you already know how much I love cabbage. It’s an underappreciated vegetable, so I do what I can to put it front and center. It’s endlessly versatile, totally affordable, and easy to stretch a meal made with cabbage to feed a crowd. If you love this simple cruciferous vegetable as much as I do, try these recipes (after you’ve made the cabbage soup, of course!):
- “Sexy” Roasted Cabbage with Dukkah and Tahini (That’s right! I think cabbage is sexy!)
- Cacio e Pepe Cabbage
- Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Greek Cabbage Rice
- Cabbage Steaks with Chermoula and Toasted Nuts
- Sauteed Cabbage with Garlic and Lime
Cabbage Soup
In this weeknight-friendly recipe, a whole head of cabbage stews with warming Mediterranean spices and aromatic veggies until it's silky-smooth and loaded with flavor. Vegan gluten free, this nourishing soup is where health food and comfort food join forces!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium head of green cabbage, cored and chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomato
- 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup chopped parsley leaves (from about 1 bunch parsley)
- 3 green onions, trimmed and sliced
- 1- inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics. In a large Dutch oven or cooking pot with a lid, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until fragrant (adjust the heat as necessary to make sure the garlic does not burn).
- Soften the veggies. Add the cabbage, celery, carrots, and a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper (about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon each). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened somewhat, about 5 to 7 minutes (it helps to cover the pot partway so that the cabbage will wilt easily).
- Season. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and Aleppo pepper and toss to coat the vegetables with the spices.
- Simmer. Add the diced tomatoes (with their juices) and the broth. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot part way allowing just a small opening at the top. Simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Finish and serve. Turn the heat off and stir in the parsley, chopped green onions, ginger, lemon zest and lemon juice. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Storage: Allow to cool, then store in your refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen soup in your refrigerator overnight. Reheat on the stove or in your microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 131.3kcalCarbohydrates: 20.7gProtein: 4.2gFat: 5.3gSaturated Fat: 0.8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.6gMonounsaturated Fat: 3.6gSodium: 151.9mgPotassium: 606.7mgFiber: 7.2gSugar: 9.5gVitamin A: 4591.7IUVitamin C: 89mgCalcium: 125.3mgIron: 2.7mg
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I’ve made this soup on several occasions. It is fabulous! All of Suzy’s recipes are amazing!
Aww! Thank you, Matt!
Thank you so much for your incredible recipes. I am surprised to see a “detox” recipe that requires CANNED tomatoes with their tinny taste in cans that have notorious leaky seams. If you would give a “from scratch” option I would be grateful. I am going to try to adapt this recipe using fresh tomatoes and give it to all of my ailing friends. (we are all very old, so ailments abound). Again, THANK YOU for your exquisite recipes.
This was a very delicious soup. I had one addition—I had an Italian sausage to use up and I cut it into small pieces and sautéed it with the aromatics. Don’t skip the fresh lemon rind and juice and ginger at the end. The add a bright flavor that really sets this soup apart. I will make again!
Love the idea to add a bit of Italian sausage here! YUM! Thanks for sharing!
Just made this for two of us.. I’m recuperating from pneumonia & hubby has just likely come down with it! Its delicious. Used cilantro as sun for parsley..
Oh, no! I hope you both get well soon!
What a great recipe but I’m wondering how it has 7g’s of fiber per serving?
Hi, Matthew. The bulk of the fiber in this recipe comes from the actual cabbage itself, followed by the onion, tomatoes and veggie broth. Just a note… like most recipe websites, the nutritional information you see on our site is calculated using an online program that’s based on entering the recipe’s ingredient list. Various factors can change the nutritional information in any given recipe, and sometimes, different online calculators will provide you different results based on their own algorithm.
Oh my goodness, this soup is absolutely delicious! The ginger and lemon at the end just add such incredible flavor to this dish. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe as it will become a staple in my house. 🥰
Great to hear! Thanks, Tammy!
THAT SOUNDS SOOOOO GOOD. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK.
Added a can of cannelini beans for protein and served with biscuits. Perfect for a meatless Friday in Lent. The ginger and lemon give this tsdty soup so much flavor. Thank you!
Incredible soup!!! Thank you.
Thanks, Beverly! So glad it was a hit for you!
Every vegetable and every spice played a role! So much more flavor than the cabbage soup served in restaurants. I’m so glad I tried it!
So thrilled to hear this, Margaret! Thanks for the amazing review!
LOVE all her culinary videos ❣️Have her cookbook but love to watch her cooking videos 👍🏼👍🏼
Thank you, Elsa!
This one has been in my queue for a while. I kept imagining all the other cabbage soups that I have had before. Even my wife gave a “sigh ok” when I said today was the day. Oh my. This is gold. I think it hits all the taste buds in every spoon. DEPTH and wow. Every bite as exciting as the last! It’s reeeally good. Thanks for this one.
I am thinking what Stephanie is thinking regarding a kimchi version. It’s soo close to kimchi stew with its sour component. May try, but this is awesome as is.
Absolutely delish!!
I was happy with the flavour at step 4 (simmer) but after strep 5 (finish & Serve) the addition of lemon zest, juice and ginger took it to a whole new level. Thank you for this as it was exactly what I wanted as a cabbage “Detox” soup.
Love your personal blog page and have made several of your recipes!!
Looking forward to many more.
A bowl of this delicious soup was so comforting while recuperating from a cold! I’m so happy I have a few leftovers today for lunch which allows me to rest!
Thank you, Suzy!! I’ve been enjoying a lot of your tasty soup recipes during this brief downtime! ❤️
That’s so great to hear, Amy! Thank you!
This is what my mother has always referred to as “go further” food; as the time passes you just add more stuff to it! I had a spaghetti squash that was one step away from compost – roasted that and poured the dregs of the cabbage soup over it – delicious! I also doubled the carrots and celery. So yummy – I feel like it would be really good with a kimchi version, as well!
“Go further” food! Love that concept. This is definitely one of those recipes!
I am Lebanese, born in Montreal, Canada. I absolutely love love your recipes and how you present them in your presentations. Thank you for your amazing zeal and inspiration. It helps me to stay in the Mediterranean loop!
What a sweet message! Thank you so much Aalia!