This thick, hearty, and spicy cabbage soup gets an extra kick from cajun andouille sausage.
While it makes a wonderful first course, it's so substantial and filling, you can easily serve it as the main course.
There's nothing quite like a hot, comforting bowl of soup when it's cold outside. It's the quintessential winter experience (I suppose hot chocolate is another good example).
This hearty cabbage soup is an especially lovely way to keep warm on a cold winter night. It is rich, very flavorful, and the addition of spicy sausage turns it into a complete and very filling meal.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few ingredients to make this tasty soup. The exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
Olive oil: This is by far my favorite oil to cook with. But if you prefer an oil with a high smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead.
Onion: I use yellow onion. White onion works too.
Spicy andouille sausage: Or use your favorite sausage. You can also use small homemade meatballs instead of sausage.
Spices: I use garlic, coriander, cumin, and black pepper. Make sure the spices you use are fresh. A stale spice can easily ruin a dish.
Shredded cabbage: I sometimes make life easy by buying it already washed and shredded. But it's not difficult to shred it yourself with a sharp chef's knife.
Diced tomatoes: Leave them undrained. It's best to use petite-diced tomatoes if you can.
Beef stock: Not reduced-sodium. Store-bought is fine - just check the ingredients to make sure they look OK.
Instructions
Making this tasty cabbage soup is easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Your first step is to heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When it's heated, you add the oil and the onion. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring often.
Next, add the sausage and cook it until lightly browned.
Now add the garlic, coriander, and cumin. Cook, stirring, for just 30 seconds, until the spices are fragrant.
Next, you add the shredded cabbage. You might need to do so in batches. Cook until the cabbage is just tender.
The final step is to stir in the tomatoes, black pepper, and beef broth. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Expert tip
I prefer to use salted broth in this recipe rather than low-sodium broth. I find that low-sodium broth lacks flavor. But you can use it if you'd like, then taste the soup and decide if it needs more salt.
Frequently asked questions
Sure. Simply omit the sausage and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth.
It's not. If you'd like it to be truly spicy, you can experiment with adding a pinch of cayenne pepper together with the other spices.
Yes. I sometimes freeze individual servings in mugs, then quickly reheat them in the microwave. Cover the mugs with a couple layers of plastic wrap.
Serving suggestions
This tasty soup, containing meat and vegetables, is a complete meal. It's very filling! So there's really no need to serve anything with it. Although you can certainly serve it to six as a first course if you'd like.
Sometimes I serve it with thick slices of buttered almond flour bread or with these cheese biscuits on the side.
Variations and substitutions
I love this recipe as is and almost always make it as written. But in case you'd like to vary the basic recipe, here are a few ideas for you:
- As mentioned above, you can cook the onions in any fat you like, including avocado oil, ghee, or bacon fat.
- Smoked paprika is a nice addition to this soup - start with ½ teaspoon and taste.
- You can omit the sausage and add small meatballs to the soup instead. Beef meatballs are especially hearty, but chicken or turkey meatballs are also good. If using cooked meatballs, they should be added to the hot soup after it has finished cooking. If they're raw, add them to the soup right before you boil it.
- It's fine to replace the beef broth with chicken broth.
Storing leftovers
Leftovers keep well for 3-4 days in the fridge, in an airtight container. In fact, the soup gets even more flavorful the second day! I gently reheat bowls or mugs of it, covered, in the microwave on 50% power.
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Recipe card
Spicy Cabbage Soup with Sausage
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 (3 oz) spicy andouille sausage links thinly sliced (12 oz total)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ large cabbage shredded (8 cups, 20 oz)
- 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes unsalted, undrained
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 quart beef stock (not low-sodium)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped onion. Cook until tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sausage slices. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, coriander, and cumin. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the shredded cabbage, in batches if necessary. Stir-fry until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the black pepper, and the beef stock. Add a cup of water if the soup seems too thick.
- Bring to a boil over high heat (this will probably take about 10 minutes), then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
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NOTES
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NUTRITION PER SERVING
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 