This red cabbage soup is made with simple vegetables for added flavour and texture and herbs for freshness. It's sweet and tangy, hearty and nutritious, easy to make and ready in just over 40 minutes.

Chunky red cabbage vegetable soup in white bowl with spoon, dill, parsley, green cloth and red cabbage in background.

This red cabbage soup is full of colour, simple to make, satisfying yet low in calories. It's a delicious, easy way of enjoying this seasonal vegetable, which is nutritious, versatile, also fantastic in salads, homemeade juice as well as braised. Cooked red (purple) cabbage has a mildly sweetish flavour, ideal paired with a wide range of ingredients and flavour combinations. Perfect in a soup!

I made my chunky red cabbage soup using fall and winter vegetables, which turn it into a hearty, nutritious meal. As red cabbage is so versatile the soup is quite adaptable and you can add different vegetables depending on personal preference and seasonal offering (see suggestions below).

Red cabbage soup ingredients and substitutions

Red/purple cabbage: make sure your cabbage is firm, without dry and dark patches.
Other vegetables: these include onion, leek, carrot, celery root (use celery instead, if preferred) and spinach. You don't have to use all of these vegetables and can use different ones, as well (including sweet potato, parsnip or turnip). Just make sure to keep to the recommended amounts.
Potatoes: you can use white beans, instead.
Balsamic vinegar: This will add a subtle tang and more flavour. Be careful not to add too much as the flavour may become too overpowering. You can use red wine vinegar, instead.
Spices: bay leaf and allspice (use either 2 allspice berries or about ¼ teaspoon ground).
Herbs: For me the herbs are an integral part of this recipe adding flavour and freshness to this winter soup. If you don’t want to add all the recommended herbs simply omit the ones you aren’t keen on and add more of the ones you do like.
Oil and butter: I use oil to sautee the vegetables and add butter towards the end of cooking to enhance the flavour. You can use either dairy or plant butter.
Stock: use either vegetable or chicken stock.

How to prepare red cabbage for soup

Red cabbage is an easy ingredient to work with - all you have to do is chop it then simply add into the pot. I do recommend that you cut out the cabbage core as it's quite tough and will not cook as quickly as the cabbage leaves.

I like to chop my red cabbage into about 5 mm thick strips, but you could shred the cabbage quite thinly, instead, if you prefer.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1. Sautee vegetables: To the pot add the oil, bay leaf, allspice, onion, leek and red cabbage. Stir and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring often.

Chopped red cabbage and leek in large pot with spoon on rack.

2. Cook soup: Add the carrot, celery root, potato and stock, then stir, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes (or until the vegetables are fully cooked) stirring occasionally.

Cubed vegetables with water in large pot with spoon on top of rack.

3. Finish off: Add the spinach, herbs, garlic, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, butter, and season to taste. Add a little more stock if needed. Cook for 2 more minutes.

Red vegetable soup with fresh herbs and butter in large pot on top of rack.

4. Serve: Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning, add more vinegar, if required, then serve.

Red vegetable soup with herbs in large pot with ladle on top of rack.

Serving suggestions

This colourful soup with red cabbage is delicious served with fresh crusty bread, garlic bread or simply on its own. For a more substantial meal serve it with rotisserie chicken or sausage (cabbage dishes in general are delicious with sausage and meat and red cabbage is no exception).

If you make this soup in the holiday season you can serve it with leftover turkey salad sandwich or crispy turkey potato patties.

How to thicken purple cabbage soup

You can easily thicken this soup by pureeing some of the mixture using a hand blender. An alternative method is to use a vegetable masher to mash some of the vegetables (especially potatoes) before serving.

Pureeing red cabbage soup until smooth might lessen its visual appeal so I don't recommend it.

Variations

If you prefer to omit the potatoes add more of the other vegetables, instead.
Add a handful of frozen peas/petits pois towards the end of cooking for more sweetness and colour (Step 3).
For added flavour use about ½ teaspoon of dried thyme along with the vegetables.

Top tips

Make sure your red cabbage is firm and doesn't have dry or dark patches.
It's important not to overcook this soup. 25-30 minutes should be sufficient.
Add the balsamic vinegar gradually.
Refrigerate leftover red cabbage vegetable soup for up to 3 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
Red cabbage might stain your hands so I recommend wearing rubber gloves when handling it.

Chunky vegetable red cabbage soup in white bowl with spoon, green cloth, fresh herbs, red cabbage and pot in background.

More cabbage soup recipes to try next

See also these other easy, delicious soup recipes!

Recipe

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If you make this healthy red cabbage soup recipe I’d love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Comments

5 from 32 votes (23 ratings without comment)