Easy and Healthy Vegetable Cabbage Soup

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This Easy and Healthy Vegetable Cabbage Soup recipe is a hearty soup filled with delicious chunky, fresh vegetables and the perfect amount of satisfying spicy spice. Eating a bowl of this filling soup for a light lunch or a delicious side dish a couple of times a week is a great aid for a low-calorie meal plan. Use this light vegetable soup as the foundation for the famous cabbage soup diet or the Weight Watchers diet plan or if you’re trying to lose a few pounds. 

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS VEGAN CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE

This cabbage soup is a great basic soup recipe that can be flavored up by adding extra protein like turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving.  Leftover taco meat, shrimp, rotisserie chicken, canned white beans, or cannellini beans would be delicious and easy.

If following a diet like Weight Watchers, this veggie soup would be considered free food or zero points. Basically, on any low-calorie diet, you can eat as much of this soup as you want. 

Making vegetable soup is a great way to use up lots of veggies leftover from the holidays or a long week of eating at home.

The best part about this versatile cabbage soup is the next-day leftovers. Why? Because you’ll be getting a bowlful of healthy veggies for the second day in a row. Plus, the soup is better the longer it sits.

HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGETABLE CABBAGE SOUP

• STEP ONE: Chop all the veggies into desired-sized pieces.
• STEP TWO: Spray cooking spray (like Pam) on the bottom of the Dutch Oven or a large pot.
• STEP THREE: Add chopped veggies and stir while sauteing. Stir until just softened.
• STEP FOUR: Stir in bouillon, tomato paste. tomato sauce or ketchup, and Cajun seasoning. Make sure veggies are coated with the seasoning mixture. Pour chicken broth over seasoned vegetables.
• STEP FIVE: Bring soup to a low boil, add frozen peas, and reduce medium heat. Partially cover with a lid and let simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes to cool. Serve with saltines (5 = 2 Weight Watcher Points) or your favorite topper. 

ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHODS

• You can make this soup in the slow cooker like I have in this Crockpot Curry Vegetable Soup. Be careful not to overcook, the veggies can become mushy really fast.
• I have not tried cooking this in an instant pot or pressure cooker. These are really high-pressure cooking methods and I think the veggies might disappear if cooked too long.
• I prefer the stove-top method when cooking this cabbage soup. It takes approximately 45 minutes from start to finish cooking on top of the stove.

RECIPE VARIATIONS

Build your own Soup

Protein suggestions: 

• Using leftover protein in this soup is the best way to get a new yummy meal out of food that would otherwise go in the trash.
• Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.
• Taco meat, ground beef, or ground turkey. I’ve been known to make taco meat just to put in this soup. Follow this link to my homemade Mexican taco seasoning.
• Store-bought rotisserie chicken.
• Cut-up spicy Simple Chicken Tenders
• ​Add shelled raw shrimp for the last 5 minutes. Make sure the shrimp are pink and float. 

Potatoes and Starch:

• I love potatoes, and I’m not afraid to eat them when I’m trying to lose weight. My secret to adding potatoes is not to add a whole bunch. I usually stick with one medium-sized potato, cubed, and skin on, or two large Yukon gold potatoes, cubed, and skin on. Note: The skin has a lot of vitamins and nutrients…so leave the skin on.
• A sweet potato would be yummy too.
• Add frozen wontons, like in this Shrimp Wonton Soup. 

Easy Canned Beans:

White beans, cannellini beans, Pinto beans, kidney beans, green beans, black eyed peas

Toppers and soup companions

• My all-time favorite soup topper is canned French Fried Onions in a can! 
• Saltines are my second favorite.
• homemade croutons

• Skillet Corn Bread 
• slice of warm crusty bread.

​Extra Flavor Ideas

• ​A little bit of Italian seasoning sprinkled on top
• bacon bits
• a dollop of sour cream
• Snipped fresh parsley

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CABBAGE SOUP

This soup will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week in a glass or plastic airtight container.

You can also freeze this soup. I would suggest dividing the leftover soup into individual portions in freezer-safe containers.

Microwave on medium-high heat or reheat on top of the stove when ready to eat.

KITCHEN GADGETS AND STORE-BOUGHT STUFF

MORE SOUP AND CABBAGE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

Easy Crockpot Curry Vegetable Cabbage Soup

Light and Creamy New England Clam Chowder

Ground Turkey Green Chili Soup

Easy Vegetable Cabbage Soup

This Easy Vegetable Cabbage Soup recipe is about as good as healthy gets if you're trying to lose weight or just be better more often, lol. Actually, if following the Weight Watchers diet plan you could eat this quick soup every day and not add points to your customized plan…it's zero points! And it's super delicious, simple, and satisfying!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 29 minutes mins

Course Anytime Meal, lunch, meatless Monday, Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 75 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups thinly sliced fresh cabbage add more if desired
• 1.5 cups each of chopped-fresh carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower add more if desired
• 3-5 cloves cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tbsp Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken or Garlic Paste
• 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning or more to taste
• 3 tbsp tomato paste or Ketchup
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or more if needed

Instructions

 

• STEP ONE: Chop all the veggies into desired sized pieces.
• STEP TWO: Spray oil (like Pam) in the bottom of the Dutch Oven.
• STEP THREE: Add chopped veggies and stir while sauteing. Stir until just softened.
• STEP FOUR: Stir in bouillon, tomato paste or ketchup, and Cajun seasoning. Make sure veggies are coated. Pour Chicken Broth over seasoned vegetables.
• STEP FIVE: Bring soup to a low boil, add frozen peas, and reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover with a lid and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes to cool. Serve with saltines (5 = 2 Weight Watcher Points) or your favorite topper. Enjoy

Notes

Vegetable Swaps & Adds

Instead of cabbage, add fresh or frozen whole or cut green beans. You could also add the green beans along with yellow summer squash, parsnips, a few small cut-up potatoes, corn, butternut squash, bagged slaw mix, fresh spinach, and some minced up jalapenos. Feel free to use frozen or canned veggies…Tip: if using canned veggies, please take the salt content into account.

Protein Adds

If you want to add some protein for a little more yum then by all means go for it! I like to think of adding extras as kind of a “build your own” soup. Personally, I love taco meat in this soup…leftover or prepared fresh. Turkey taco meat is so good in this and a little less diet offensive. Black, Pinto, or any of your favorite beans. Leftover Ham and Beans from my recipe are the best when added to your bowl. Cut-up spicy Simple Chicken Tenders are also a favorite and would still be zero Weight Watcher points.

Toppers

My all-time favorite soup topper is those irresistible French Fried Onions in a can! Personally, I could eat the whole can but a few tablespoons satisfy my onion crunch craving. Saltines, cheese (any kind), and my delicious Skillet Corn Bread (my true favorite) can’t be beat for toppers.

P.S….I’ve also been known to put a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese in a hot bowl of this veggie soup. It melts fast, adds some richness, and is only 1 Weight Watcher point…it well worth the extra point!!

Nutrition

Calories: 75kcal

Keyword 0 point foods, cabbage soup, healthy, make ahead, one pot meal, vegetable soup, weight watchers

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