This cabbage sausage soup is hearty, easy to make and delicious. In this soup, kielbasa sausage, green cabbage, potatoes, carrots and celery are combined with herbs and spices to create a nourishing and satisfying soup.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 14 – 16 ounces Kielbasa Sausage, sliced into bite sized pieces (use a fully cooked variety)
- 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
- 2 Carrots, sliced into rounds or half rounds depending on their size
- 2 Celery Ribs, sliced or diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Thyme
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- Pinch Rosemary
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 pound Small Red Potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1½ pound Green Cabbage, chopped into bite sized pieces
- Salt, if need at the end
Prep Work
There’s a little bit of prep work involved with this cabbage sausage soup. It’s loaded with vegetables and we have to get them all ready. But other than some slicing and dicing it’s pretty straight forward.
We’ll start with the cabbage. We don’t need it until the end, but I like getting all the ingredients ready to go before I start cooking.
First, remove the outside leaves. They are usually damaged and wilted. Cut the cabbage in half. We only need one half of the cabbage, so we’ll put the other half away for another use like this pork stir fry.
Rinse the cabbage well with running cold water. Give it a few shakes and pat dry.
- Place the cabbage half on a cutting board and remove the tough white stem by making a V shape cut. It should pop right out. Discard the stem.
- Next, place the cabbage cut side down and cut horizontal strips about an inch wide.
- Now, cut the cabbage across the horizontal strips, also making them about an inch wide.
- You will end up with square bite sized pieces.
Now that the cabbage is ready we'll get to the rest of the prep work
- Dice the onions. I like to do a fine dice, so they all but dissolve in the soup.
- Slice the carrots into rounds or half rounds, depending on the size of the carrots. Make them bite sized.
- Slice or dice the celery.
- The onions, carrots and celery are going in the pot at the same time, so keep them in the same bowl.
- Mince the garlic.
- Slice the kielbasa sausage into bite sized rounds.
- Measure out the oregano, black pepper, thyme and rosemary. They are going in the pot at the same time so keep them in the same bowl.
- Dice the potatoes. We keep the peel on, and cut them into bite sized pieces. Keep the potatoes in water to slow down the browning process.
We use glass nesting bowls to store the ingredients during prep. They keep everything organized and really take the stress out of cooking. Alright, now we're ready to cook!
Start the cabbage sausage soup
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the sausage. Cook the sausage for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Cook’s note: The kielbasa sausage is fully cooked already. But we want to brown and caramelize it a little bit to enhance the flavor.
Once the sausage starts to become golden in spots, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook the vegetables for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Next, add the garlic, oregano, thyme, black pepper and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Add the chicken broth and stir, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil. It will take about 3-4 minutes for the liquid to start boiling.
Once the broth is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
Finish the soup
Add the potatoes and the chopped cabbage to the soup. Remember to drain the water from the potatoes before adding them in.
Raise the heat to high and bring the cabbage soup to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium-low and cook 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and the cabbage is wilted. Keep the soup at a simmer and give it a stir occasionally.
Taste the cabbage soup and add salt, if needed. As a reference we added ½ teaspoon to ours.
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📖 Recipe
Cabbage Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 14-16 ounces Kielbasa Sausage sliced into bite sized pieces (use a fully cooked variety)
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 2 Carrots sliced into rounds or half rounds depending on their size
- 2 Celery Ribs sliced or diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Thyme
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- Pinch Rosemary
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 pound Small Red Potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
- 1½ pound Green Cabbage chopped into bite sized pieces
- Salt if need at the end
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the sausage. Cook the sausage for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook the vegetables for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, oregano, thyme, black pepper and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the chicken broth and stir, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and the chopped cabbage to the soup.
- Raise the heat to high and bring the cabbage soup to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and the cabbage is wilted. Keep the soup at a simmer and stir occasionally.
- Taste the cabbage soup and add salt, if needed. As a reference we added ½ teaspoon to our finished soup.
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Brenda
Can u make this ahead and freeze?
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Hi Brenda, Yes it can. Allow the soup to cool completely. Once cooled, store it in airtight containers. Leave 1–2 inches of space in the containers to allow for expansion during freezing. Freeze for 2–3 months. Remember to label and date the containers.
Stacey
So good! I had to substitute Italian seasoning because I didn't have rosemary and oregano. Added a bay leaf too. Will be making this again
Stephanie
I added this to my rotation. It is very tasty!
Jennifer
I made this with ground hot sausage instead and it was wonderful!
Leslie Sanders
Deelicious!!!
Shannon
Came out delicious 😜
Maye
The cabbage soup was delicious! I added diced tomatoes, okra and some red pepper flakes.
Elizabeth
Hi Maye, That sounds delicious! Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Hope M.
I wanted to thank you for this recipe. My 9 year old kiddo is not a huge veggie person (go figure lol) and yet he always requests this meal! It has become his favorite and is now a staple in our home at least once every two weeks. THANK YOU!!!!!
Elizabeth
Hi Hope, That is wonderful to hear! When the kids like it, it's a win!
Hope
Still making this almost a year later 😁 Still his favorite 😍