I love this cabbage soup recipe, made with ground beef, vegetables and tomatoes. It’s the perfect cold weather soup and makes enough for leftovers.
Ground beef, cabbage, vegetables and tomatoes, this is the perfect soup to clean out your fridge! And it’s super easy to make.
I grew up on homemade soups, in fact most dinners in my house growing up either started with soup, or soup was the main dish. My Mom usually threw whatever she had in the refrigerator and would whip up a new soup. I was a pretty picky eater, but I always loved when she made cabbage soup. This recipe reminds me of one of those soups she would whip up. Feel free to add any veggies you might need to use up. Crushed or diced tomatoes both work fine.
How To Make Beef Cabbage Soup:
You can see more Soup Recipes here!
More Cabbage Recipes You May Also Enjoy:
- Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
- Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
- Kalyns Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
- Leftover Ham Bone Soup with Potatoes and Cabbage
Chunky Beef, Cabbage and Tomato Soup (Instant Pot or Stove Top)
Ingredients
- 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
- 1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced carrot
- 28 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
- 5 cups chopped green cabbage
- 4 cups beef stock, canned* or homemade
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Assuming your electric pressure cooker has a saute option, or if using the Instant Pot, press the saute button and let the pressure cooker get very hot, when hot spray with oil, add the ground beef and salt and cook until browned breaking the meat up into small pieces as it cooks, 3 to 4 minutes.
- When browned, add the onion, celery and carrots and saute 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, cabbage, beef stock and bay leaves, lock the lid cook high pressure 20 minutes.
- Let the steam release naturally. Remove bay leaves and serve. Makes 11 cups.
Stove top:
- Follow the same directions as above in a large pot or Dutch oven, cook covered low 40 minutes.
Delicious and so easy to make. I used diced stew meat in place of ground beef, but made it exactly as directed.
I’m going to add a little brown sugar and vinegar so it’s more like a sweet & sour cabbage roll.
Easy, delicious and healthy. Added garlic and oregano, fire roasted tomatoes; half the cabbage but added sliced zucchini. Will make again.
I love this soup! It’s a go to, simple easy.
Very good, but could use some additional seasoning. I made as directed via stovetop but did add some cayenne and a small amount of smoked paprika, about a 1/4 teaspoon of each. I liked the addition of the cayenne. If I make again I’ll play around with seasonings – Italian could be a good addition.
This recipe is a fan favorite in our house. It’s easy, fast, and everyone enjoys it. I love skinny taste. It has utterly demystified cooking for me.
Thanks Paige!
I’ve made this soup many times and we love it! Always use ground turkey since we don’t eat beef. Also add worchestershire sauce, lots of minced garlic, more onion, and various fresh herbs. Have added lentils or orzo to it. This recipe is a clean your fridge soup for us 😋
This is my most-made soup recipe! I love it.
Hi Gina , I’m wanting to make this but in my crock pot. I wasn’t sure what size to cut my carrots & celery. Love your recipes , have several of your cookbooks especially since you always give the nutritional info. Thank you, will wait to hear from you
Delicious, easy to make, and low calorie too. I’ve made it three times in the last 3 months.
I adore this soup! It comes together quickly so that makes it a winner for me. One of my favorites!
This is very similar to a soup I had during childhood named after a neighbor of my grandmother’s friend. Only difference was to add rice. Delicious!!
How much and what kind of rice? Did you add it to the recipe and cook for 40 mins on the stove top or cook the rice 1st and add it to the finished product?
Hi, Roxie – I add whatever grain I’m using, usually barley or farro, to my soup pot and simmer it with the soup on the stove. With an instant pot I’d add cooked grain to the finished soup as even in my instant pot brown rice needs 30 minutes under pressure.
I’ve used this recipe for years, but I’m wondering if it is a good candidate to pressure can in jars. Has anybody tested this?
I was hoping so too, but the cabbage makes it impossible. Unless things have changed since last summer, you can’t can anything with cabbage or cabbage itself. Something about the varied thickness. 😕
This is delicious. It’s the 3rd time making it. Perfect soup for the Insta pot. My husband has celiac disease so this is great for him.
Delicious and so satisfying with few calories. I’ve made this several times without reading the comments; following the suggestions of others, I tried adding a splash of Worcestershire this time. Also used a combo of tomato pulp and petite diced tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand. Went to manual release after 12 minutes because I was so hungry and didn’t want to wait. No adverse results detected. Yum!
I have made this recipe more times than I can count. Always add worcestershire sauce and recently tried with ground turkey, just as good! Easy, healthy, cheap, and delicious! Perfect amount for two nights of dinner for my husband and I. He loves it just as much as I do!
East and tasty! My kind of meal. Hubby loves it too. This one stays in my rotation.
Loved this soup! It was so easy to make with just a few key ingredients, plus it’s only 2 WW pts for 1 cup!! Winning!
Love this recipe.. I’ve made it a couple of times now, and the flavor is great. I like carrots, so I slice them instead of dicing and use more than called for. I also use Watkin’s beef stock base.
I forgot to rate it.
This was SO GOOD. I chopped the cabbage up (think coleslaw size) before adding. One taste and my husband said,”This is GOOD.” I took another reviewers idea and added garlic and Italian seasoning. Perfect! Thank you for sharing this~
Made it exact to the recipe – delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing. It’s a keeper.
I double the veggies and add a small can of tomato sauce and some red pepper flakes. I’ve made a bunch of times since I found your recipe. My whole family loves it. Thank you!
My husband LOVED this, I added garlic and Italian seasoning….Yum!
Has anyone ever tried this with frozen cabbage?
This recipe was one of the first that I made in my Instant Pot. It is easy and delicious!
My daughter sent me this recipe after I RAVED about it. Now I’m throwing it together for my neighbor who just had surgery. Took an hour TOTAL and it was on his front porch!!
How long does it take to cook in a crockpot?
This was really good. I made it according to the recipe. Next time I’ll add some minced garlic and pepper
Excellent soup and so easy to make. Our little grandbaby loves it too.
Looking for soup recipes. These look great
This is absolutely delicious and simple. Love when new and fresh tasting recipes remind
me of recipes my Mother made 50 years ago!!
I really appreciate all the time you put into creating these tasty recipes, this site is my go to for all occasions now.
Thank you!!
Thanks Mary!
This was beautiful makeing beef cabbage and vegetables to day looking for For spicy cauliflower soup
What a tasty and hearty soup! The only change I made was omitting the bay leaves and I added fresh crushed garlic and a splash of Worcestershire ! Sooo good!! I will definitely be making this again :))
So glad I found your webpage. This is the second recipe of yours made in two weeks. I’m sold, gonna try everything! My grands and big kids loved your Pizzelle recipe, going to make those again for Christmas brunch and try another flavor this time! Always looking for ways to make meals healthier. Thank you so much!
Delicious. My kids loved helping make it and ate it up. It makes a ton. Followed the recipe exactly.
Perfect!
This was amazing!!! I changed the cook order: I started with the onions, celery, and carrots to soften them up. Then I added a ton of garlic (we are big garlic people), and some chili flakes. Then I added the meat, and once it had browned, some Worchestershire sauce. Then the rest as instructed. We were not prepared for how wonderful it was! Thank you so much!!!!
Don’t release your adult children out into the world without teaching them this recipe.
Lol, glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely love this recipe! I cook it all the times! Easy and tasty and even taste better the next day 🙂
This soup was delicious. The only change I made was to make the rice separately and added some to each bowl before serving so the leftovers wouldn’t have soggy rice. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will definitely make it again.
Love the recipe, but gave away my instant pot, can you send recipe for old fashion Dutch pot ? Thanks Mary
Very good soup doubled it to feed our branding crew. Only thing I did different was add 2 garlic cloves and sprinkled cayenne pepper to give it a little heat.. served with crusty bread. The cowboys all loved it went back for seconds.
Delicious and hits the spot on a cold winter night. I made it in my Instant Pot. I know this soup will be even more delicious as leftovers. Your recipes never disappoint!
Thanks Melissa!
I LOVE this soup. It’s very filling and wonderful to have in the freezer ready to thaw out when I know I’m going to be busy (I need to make another batch, now that I think of it). The only problem is that while I eat to be full, my boyfriend gets upset when there aren’t enough calories in a meal!
Amazing recipe! What is a serving size?
1 and 1/2 cups
I added a chopped clove of garlic. It was great.
I made this for New Year’s Day. We’re vegan, so I subbed Beyond Beef for the ground beef and veggie broth for the beef broth. I also wanted to cover my black-eyed peas with one dish, so I threw in a cup of dry black-eyed peas and 2 extra cups of broth and then cooked as directed in my Instant Pot (the cook time for unsoaked black-eyed peas is conveniently the same as the cook time in the original recipe). It was delicious!!
Delicious 😋
This is one of my favorite soups ❤️
Can I freeze leftovers?
Sure!
Delicious soup for fall or winter. I added 3 cloves of garlic, but the original recipe is just fine
Delicious and easy to throw together. Perfect for a cool Fall day!
This soup is great. I’m trying to “rush” fall and am craving soups. Great recipe as always.
Hello, how long do you recommend cooking in a crock pot?
Loved it, made with home canned tomotoes
This is an excellent recipe and I’ve made it several times with success. However the last few attempts have not been very good. I occasionally get a burn error, and then when it finally preheats the cabbage is quite crunchy. I’m following the directions the same as I always do. I have been mixing everything before starting the cooking process. Maybe just let it cook in layers instead? Would the cabbage steam better? Thanks!
I subbed ground turkey, which only saved a point, but the recipe was delicious! Everything else I followed exactly, and it has a great flavor. My 16yr old son peeked in the pot while I was making it and said it reminded him of “kitchen sick soup” that he had at a friends house once and raved about. Will make again for sure!
I used ground turkey instead of beef. It was delicious and so full of flavor!
Is it 1 & 1/2 t of salt or 1/2 t? Sorry for the dumb question 🙈
One and a half. 🙂
Can you use ground turkey instead?
Sure, if you wish.
Hello. The soup is delicious and a family favorite!
I see this was labeled 3 points on WW. When I put it in there is says 5. Can you tell m where you found that information? Thank you!
Hi Jen. The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, now you know why.
This soup was amazing. I added some worchire sauce. Extra yummy. Highly recommend for those fall and winter days.
This came out amazing. The only thing I did different was 1 1/2 pounds of beef and added a parmesan rind in the stock. So good.
Wow this was delicious! I didn’t have ground beef, so I used ground Turkey. I also only had purple cabbage, but both substitutions worked just fine. Such a great tasty soup. I started to make for dinner, but my Instant Pot took so long to come to pressure then to use natural release made it super late, but I am sure we will enjoy this all week for lunch. Another healthy and easy Skinnytaste recipe keeper!
Love this soup, this time I put stew beef instead of hamburger.
I doubled the recipe and made it in my All-Clad PC8 pressure cooker. I am glad I did because everyone had a few bowls of it. I made it with grass fed 93 lean ground beef. I sprinkled it with Zatar, parsley and about a tablespoon of grated cheese. Also, I served it on about 3 tablespoons of brown rice. It’s a healthy weight Watchers type of meal. I am a lifetime WW member so this was perfect. I also added about one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to tomatoes for depth. I do have a couple of skinny taste cookbooks we all enjoyed. The recipe needed some flavor besides salt and of course I added pepper.
Finally found a veggie soup my husband actually liked!! Really good and cannot wait to make it again!!
My daughter and granddaughter raved over this soup.
I find it lack flavor.
Just made this. So amazingly good. Just used 1 14oz. can of diced and 1 15 oz. can of crushed tomatoes. So easy but full of flavor.
Our family of five Absolutely loves this soup! Easy to make so I always make two batches. Light and healthy.
I’ve made it many many times! Couldn’t highly recommend this soup enough. So good !
I made your soup last week and we loved it. My Mom’s recipe had to simmer 2-3 hrs; tasted good, but a long wait. Yours was delish after 60 min. I’ll probably double it next time and maybe in the IP. We’ve started eating sauteed cabbage and I had a half a large cabbage to use up and this soup was perfect. I had to use whole canned tomatoes, (bought a case in error), but I chopped them up and it worked. I now have crushed tomatoes on hand for next time. Thanks for a quick lunch soup recipe!
Make this soup A lot, it’s really good!
I just made this soup for the first time and we really enjoyed it. It’s a simple but flavorful recipe that I’ll be making often. I’m thinking of adding a small can of tomato sauce next time to intensify the tomato flavor.
What would the WW points be using 93% ground turkey instead of ground beef?
I make this all the time now. Thank you so much for sharing. It is delicious!
This soup is delicious! I made a batch of it to have for lunch throughout the week. It’s easy, delicious and healthy. I switched out the ground beef and used 99% fat free ground turkey breast instead, making this soup 0 WW points for the Blue and Purple plans and only 1 point for the Green plan!
Hi there! If I double the recipe in the instant pot do I have to change the time?
I have made dozens of SkinnyTaste recipes over the years and this is one of our favorites! It’s perfect as is, especially for fall, flexible if people want to season it a certain way. Highly recommend!
I made this yesterday and we just ate it for lunch. Just delicious! I did mine on the stovetop and it was really easy. My husband likes to take soup for work and this just made it to the head of the line. Thanks!
Excellent and hearty!! I did 1.5 pounds of 96% lean ground beef to add some bulk to the soup And an additional cup of broth since my 2 kids’ appetites have increased. Since my slow cooker has a sauté function, I cooked the soup in that. I don’t really use my Instant Pot that much. I did 4 hours on high and added the cabbage the last two hours of cooking. I also added some Italian seasoning and minced garlic. This was a perfect soup after a hectic Mother’s Day weekend of eating out too much. It was a great low carb way to detox and get back on track.
Add 1/2 – 1 tsp each dried marjoram and thyme for flavor. Really nice.
Delicious! One of my go to recipes that I can cook on Sunday and eat all week. It is also WW point friendly.
Has anyone tried purple cabbage instead of the green?
I’ve found purple cabbage (and onions) can sometimes turn into an unattractive grey color when cooked…
Easy and delicious!!!
Even better than expected, and I’ve already made it twice in a month. Made a half recipe in the IP (half all, 15. In pressure) and this was perfect. I’ve also made it with smoked sausage, still good. I’ve also thrown in leftover daikon (Japanese radish), still good. Last time I threw in some small pasta in to the leftovers, still good. It seems like this is a very versatile soup and is absolutely on rotation here. This is a keeper.
Just making sure I’m reading this right, you set the timer on the pressure cooker to 20 minutes, on the “Pressure Cook” setting, not the “Soup/Broth” setting?
SO delicious, Thanks
Can you freeze leftovers?
It freezes great!
My mom always taught me that recipes are suggestions, so I made this my own! I don’t care for celery enough to buy it, but I had 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, a package of frozen spinach and a bag of frozen corn. Substituted ground turkey and chicken stock. Added some rosemary and thyme. So good even my 6 year old loved it!
Used a little bit more veggies than it called for and added some hot paprika and that gave it such great flavor! Love this easy recipe, I will definitely make it again!
Is this keto friendly?
yes
Perfect! Followed recipe as is. Just added a dash more of sea salt and black pepper for personal preference upon serving.
I’ve been making this recipe since it was first posted. It is the closest recipe I’ve ever found to my grandma’s vegetable soup. It is a favorite among my family. We freeze it in batches to make an easy dinner on busy weeks.
I double all the vegetables and let it cook on the stovetop all day. Also gives us quite a few more servings. Delicious!
This soup is SO delicious and easy to make in the IP. I added mushrooms, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, pepper, and garlic but kept everything else spot on to the recipe. It’s so filling and flavorful. This recipe is totally a keeper!
Thanks Jen!
I have made this soup several times. Always delicious. Per Gina’s (and other comments) suggestions, this recipe is VERY flexible. Switch up the veggies and amounts based on what you have on hand. Play with spices, seasoning if you wish ( I use better than bouillon and a splash of Worcestershire…however if you are a new or nervous cook, do exactly as the recipe is written). The recipe is easy and reliable and tasty! Hint: Makes a great lunch at home or “ to go”. Low point packs nicely in a thermos…great winter lunch at work!
I’ve made this numerous times and we just love it. I do add a splash of soy sauce, worcestshire and siracha to bump up the flavor but it’s that kind of recipe – season to taste. It’s a winner recipe. So healthy and tasty.
Very tasty and a nice, hearty change! Easy, too. I added a good amount of black pepper. I also added beef bouillon (Better Than Bouillion) and water to move it the more toward the beef side as the tomato flavor was a little strong for me. When I went shopping, there was 95% beef/5% fat ground beef so I used that. I will make the soup again and add more carrots because I love them!
I’m on WW , on the Blue plan. When I enter this into recipe builder and estimate 8 servings, it comes up with 2 SP.
This soup is delicious but I just added the nutritional information in to the weight watcher app and it came up as 5 freestyle point. You list it as 3 pts.
Hi Jenn. The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, now you know why.
Delicious! Easy weekday meal, just buy frozen mirapoux and dinner in a hour.
This was great. I added a can of rotel tomatoes. Added just a little zip to it. Thanks for the recipe.
This was great. I added a can of rotel tomatoes. Added just a little zip toot. Thanks for the recipe.
This soup is great! Make with crushed tomatoes and also use bag of slaw mix (already cut up!) So quick & easy with instant pot. Smells so good my husband came to see what I’d cooked! Keep the great recipes coming!
When you see the Instant Pot on Hi for 20 minutes cooking time do you leave the warm button on or turn it off or does it matter.
Could you use sauerkraut instead of cabbage?
I don’t see why not. It would add a tartness not in the original, but if you like sauerkraut I bet is would be good!
Not everyone has an Instant Pot. I had to read through the Instant Pot directions, writing it down as what I needed to do on the stove top. I have old eyes! But this looks good enough to try! I will probably try it with ground bison instead of the ground beef.
I have made this soup several times, and given to my friends also love, love it!
I make this once a month. It’s even better with ground venison. It’s perfect with the crushed tomatoes. Thank you!
Delicious! I was worried since there wasn’t much in the way of spices, but the homemade beef broth I used had a lot of flavor so that helped. I served it with a bit of rice and sriracha and it was so yummy!
Great tasting soup. Even better the next day. Used ground turkey instead of beef. Did in IP.
So far so good! Simmering right now 🙂
I made modifications based on what we had on hand, preferences, and recommendations from comments.
-we don’t eat red meat, so i used ground chicken instead of beef and used chicken stock instead of beef stock.
-added kale
-added sautéd garlic, basil, cumin, paprika,
Smells great and tastes great so far!
So so yummy! This is our favorite recipe pf yours! I make it multiple times a month in double batches each time! Thank you so much for sharing!! Oh and my 2 year old and husband love it as much as I do!!
I found the soup a tiny bit bland. Added black pepper, more salt, and a tablespoon of vinegar.
We like to add lemon juice to give it a sweet and sour flavor!
My kids believe it or not are huge fans of Sweet and Sour Cabbage soup so I added brown sugar and squeezed the juice of one lemon and it was amazing. They asked when I can make it again for them. I love being able to cook low point meals for myself that my chidlren will actually eat. Once again, Skinnytaste did not disappoint!
I was wondering what is giving this recipe such a high carbohydrate count? If I use sugar free broth, would that change the carb #?
I made this soup tonight, using ground turkey. I also added garlic and Italian seasoning. I served it with some grated romano cheese. It was excellent and I will make it often.
Made this soup during a Polar vortex and it was fabulous. I can’t believe how easy, low fat, and delicious it was. Really hit the spot!
This soup is very good, Gina.. I added a couple potatoes for texture. Thanks.
I’m kind of a new instant pot user. What does it mean when it says let steam release naturally?. It doesnt say how long or anything so I’m confused.
Made mine with 95% lean beef and counted the soup as 2 points for 1 1/2 cups. Delicious and even lower in points!
I didn’t have bay leaves so I added 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin. Added lots of flavor.
I only have purple cabbage in my fridge right now…. do you think that will work?
Absolutely! It will look a bit different, but taste the same. I sub out the 2 cabbages frequently based on what I have on hand.
This reminds me of my mother’s old fashioned cabbage soup. A little bit of brown sugar and vinegar makes it sweet and sour. My mother served hers with rice. Yum!
Pretty good…basic, needs apple cider vinegar, worchestershire and a little bit of sweetener (brown sugar or something low/no carb for dieters.) Also this took at least 60-75 minutes; 20 minutes to cook and 20 more to natural release plus prep and sauteing. I also think turkey might be better than beef, I’ll try that next time.
I made this soup for dinner tonight. It tastes so good !!! Great meal especially during the cold winter weather. Bonus, low calorie ????
Can I use frozen ground beef, and would it change the cooking time? So excited to try!
3 WW points per cup?
Question – says 592 mg of carbs? That can’t possibly be right can it? Sounds good but???
No I will fix!
Do you drain the grease after you brown the meat or leave it in the soup?
I did not drain the grease.
I drain it, but I think it can be done either way depending on your taste and calorie preference.
I made this in the slow cooker and it came out great. I browned the ground beef then put all the ingredients in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high. I will definitely put this in my winter soup rotation.
So good, but I ked it just a little better with a splash of vinegar before serving!
This was so good. Since I only had 1 can of diced tomatoes, I add a can of tomatoe soup. It still tasted really good. Thank you for this recipe!
We really enjoyed this soup it was rich and very flavorful. Simple to make use a crock pot because we had to go out for awhile worked wonderfully.
Curious about the point calculation. Is it 3 simply based on the beef? Because when I input the nutritional information it calculates 5 points. Thank you!!
The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, now you know why.
Going to make this for dinner tonight. When would you suggest adding a cubed sweet potato? With the onions/other veggies?
We just made this for dinner… excellent. We served it over a small amount of shell macs…. even the Grandson ate it.
I made this for dinner on a cold winter evening with a slice of cornbread. I invited an elderly gentleman down the street to join us, and we ate from tv trays next to the fireplace. He has new friends, and I have a wonderful new way to love cabbage. Thanks Mac
Aww that’s awesome!
This is so dear!! Made me so happy.
Has anyone thrown in spinach?
I loved the idea of this soup but I found it to be very bland. To me it was missing something. I ended up adding some tomato paste and a little bit of vinegar which helped some. I was a little disappointed.
Maybe you could fresh sauteed garlic to give it more flavor.