Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup
Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup is the perfect comforting soup, made with simple ingredients like cabbage, onion, carrots, diced tomatoes, and white beans slow cooked in vegetable stock and seasoning until savory and hearty!
This hearty slow cooker soup is made with simple ingredients and has minimal prep time. It’s one of my favorite soup recipes when I want to have something healthy that’s really close to comfort food. Plus it’s really easy to make, because all you have to do is throw everything into the slow cooker and come back later when it’s done!
If you like this recipe, you might also like my Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Crockpot Cabbage, or Instant Pot Cabbage Soup!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
EASY to make! This is incredibly easy to make, and the hardest part is chopping the vegetables. It will become your new favorite slow cooker dinner recipe, perfect for busy weeknights!
Perfect for cold nights! This is made mostly with vegetables, but it is still hearty enough to warm you up on a colder night. Plus, you can use leftovers for a healthy meal prep!
Gluten Free. This is totally homemade, so you can be sure that it’s 100% gluten free!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Fresh Cabbage. Green cabbage works best for crockpot cabbage soup. It holds its texture well and has a nice flavor. Alternatively, you can use savoy cabbage.
This recipe calls for either a small to medium head cabbage, or half of a large one. You know that you have enough when the slow cooker is filled halfway with just cabbage.
Onion. This recipe works with a regular yellow onion, white onion, or a sweeter variety like Vidalia onion.
Celery Stalks. We’re adding this for flavor and for extra veggies in the soup.
Carrots. The sweetness in carrots helps balance out the savory notes, while also adding some nutrition and extra veggies in the soup.
Garlic. Fresh garlic will have the best flavor, but garlic powder will also work. Use 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder per 1 clove of garlic in the recipe.
Diced Tomatoes. I use one large can of diced tomatoes. You can also add diced fresh tomatoes.
Beans. I like to use canned cannellini beans for this soup. White beans are softer and can fall apart more easily, so add them just before the cooking time is up. We’re using canned beans, so they’re already fully cooked.
Stock. Chicken stock or vegetable stock both work for this recipe. You can also use beef broth, but it will change the flavor profile a bit.
Lemon Juice. This adds a little bit of bright fresh flavor to the soup and helps balance out the savory flavors.
Seasoning. I like to use Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper to taste.
If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can make some easily with my Homemade Italian Seasoning recipe!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This adds a small amount of fat and flavor to the soup.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a 6-7 quart slow cooker.
How to Make Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup
Time needed: 5 hours
- Add ingredients to the slow cooker.
Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, except for the beans. Stir everything together. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high, or 8-9 hours on low.
- Add the beans.
Add the beans 30 minutes before the time is done and stir into the soup. Place the lid back onto the slow cooker and finish the cooking time. The soup is done when the carrots and cabbage are fork-tender. Add additional salt and pepper as-needed and discard the bay leaves before serving.
Recipe Variations
- Shred a rotisserie chicken and stir into the soup just before serving. It adds a delicious flavor with extra protein.
- Make this even faster by using pre-cut shredded cabbage. Cut the other vegetables smaller so everything finishes cooking at the same time.
- Try adding more fresh vegetables to the soup, like kale, spinach, bell peppers, green onions, or more.
- If you’d like to add meat, this recipe works well with ground turkey, ground beef, ground pork, or Italian sausage (sweet Italian sausage and spicy Italian sausage both work). Brown the meat before adding it to the slow cooker for the best flavor. If you add beef, use lean ground beef and drain off any grease before adding it to the slow cooker to avoid greasy soup.
- Make this spicy by adding red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or hot sauce.
- If you’d like to add some carbohydrates, serve this over cooked rice or potatoes.
- You can also add white rice or brown rice to the slow cooker. Add the rice about half way through the cooking time, giving the brown rice a little bit longer to cook.
Recipe Tip! Cabbages come in all different sizes. After cutting the cabbage into pieces, you want to fill the slow cooker up halfway with just the cabbage.
Frequently Asked Questions
This soup works really well with ground beef or ground turkey. Use a medium skillet to saute the onions in the olive oil, then add the ground meat until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker and let it finish cooking in the slow cooker. Sautéing the meat first will add a lot more flavor than just adding everything to the slow cooker at once.
Recipe Tip! Try adding more healthy vegetables to this cabbage soup recipe like green beans, leeks, shredded Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, or potatoes.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
- Slow Cooker Potato Soup
- Crockpot Corn Chowder
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
- Crockpot Cabbage Rolls
Storage
Refrigerate leftover cabbage soup in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze leftover soup in freezer-safe containers for 2-3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat in a saucepan over medium heat.
Cooking Tips
- Purple cabbage will also work for this slow cooker soup recipe, but it will make everything purple.
- For a thicker tomato broth, add a can of tomato puree or stir in a few tablespoons of tomato paste. This is a great base for almost any vegetable soup!
- Make this recipe in a dutch oven instead of the crock pot by following the same instructions, but let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- I like the flavor of chicken broth for this recipe, but if you’re making this vegetarian you can also use vegetable broth.
- When you cut up your head of cabbage, remember to remove and discard the core. It’s typically tougher and more bitter than the rest of the cabbage.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small green cabbage, cored, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, (1 can)
- 8 cups vegetable stock, or chicken stock
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 15 ounces cooked cannellini beans, (1 can)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Equipment
- 1 6-7 quart slow cooker
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, except for the beans. Stir everything together. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high, or 8-9 hours on low.
- Add the beans 30 minutes before the time is done and stir into the soup. Place the lid back onto the slow cooker and finish the cooking time. The soup is done when the carrots and cabbage are fork-tender. Add additional salt and pepper as-needed and discard the bay leaves before serving.
Notes
- Purple cabbage will also work for this recipe, but it will make everything purple.
- For a thicker tomato broth, add a can of tomato puree or stir in a few tablespoons of tomato paste.
- When you cut up your head of cabbage, remember to remove and discard the core. It’s typically tougher and more bitter than the rest of the cabbage.
Nutrition
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