Crystal Writes A Blog

Recipe for Cabbage Soup 🥬🍲

It all started with a diet. Many years ago while in my twenties, I read about the “miracle soup” diet. Back then, I followed it almost to the letter, but I can’t recall if it made a difference or not.

Fast forward to a married woman wanting to make something healthier for herself and her husband. But… He hates onions. Okay, onion soup mix it is, then. And… He doesn’t really like cabbage. Well, some extra tomato products might help, but ground beef is the real winning addition. And some butter and bacon grease also add some nice umame. Of course, it no longer resembles the heart-healthy soup from the original recipe. 🙃

Ingredients (Adjustable to Amount Desired)

• 1 head of fresh cabbage (sized to fit your soup pan)
• 1-2 pounds lean ground beef (lean has better texture)
• 1 yellow onion or 1 package powdered onion soup mix
• 2 cans Italian-flavored diced tomatoes
• 1 can Italian-flavored tomato paste
• (optional) 1 can light red kidney beans
• (optional) Butter (I use a full stick for a large cabbage)
• (optional) 1-2 tbsp bacon grease
• Seasonings to taste can include onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, other favorite smoke flavorings.

Instructions:

• Start by washing and chopping your cabbage into about 1-inch cubes. I slice one large piece then chop it both directions to get the size I want. The close-up spoonful above probably gives you the best idea of the final piece size.
• Transfer your chopped cabbage into your selected pan. It should come up between half and two-thirds depending on how large you went with the cabbage and how big of a pot you choose. Add your onion/soup mix, butter, bacon grease, beans, and seasonings, then add water to mix all of it together. I generally put the water almost level with the cabbage.
• Bring it all to a boil and then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes. That part depends on if you used beans and on how tender you want them, but the cabbage should be tender within half an hour.
• While that is simmering, brown your ground beef. Tip: I’ve noticed that, even with lean beef, if I add a little water to the raw meat, it drains better at the end or it cooks completely with no grease if it’s extra lean.
• Once your beef is cooked, add in your cans of diced tomatoes. (I used to use one can diced and one can stewed, but now I can no longer find the Italian stewed tomatoes.) Keep that on a low simmer until it starts to thicken up. Then add the tomato paste to fully thicken it.
• When that’s done, you can just let it sit in the pan as the flavors fully bloom, and you wait for the cabbage mix to be ready.
• Once the cabbage mix is ready, if you’re like me, you have to set one bowl aside with no meat or tomato just because you like cabbage. 😋 But whether you do that or not, now your cabbage is ready to receive the beef and tomato mix. Just dump it right into your soup pot and stir it around over low heat. Simmer to thicken or add a little water to make it more soupy if you like.

Cold Days and Hot Soups

I’m a big fan of soup throughout the year, but especially in the winter until I learn to make the gazpacho recipe that’s been sitting in my phone notes for months. Because of hubby’s liquid restrictions due to dialysis, he can’t really eat soups and stews as much now, so it’s been a while since I made this one. And because I cook to taste and adjust based on what’s available in both fresh and canned items, I give you approximate amounts I recall from before 2023 when the kidney journey began. Use your own taste buds and family needs to determine exact amounts and ratios for your soup. But doing anything even close to this should make it really enjoyable for your cold days. Enjoy!

November 7, 2026 - Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Collaged, Creative Image Editing, Food/Restaurants/Eating, Photo Studio Pro app, Recipes, Slice of Life | cabbage soup, cabbage stew, cold days, hot soup, miracle soup, recipe, soup, stew