Name: Red Cabbage Soup (Vegetarian)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 red cabbage (or 1/2 of a large red cabbage); 2 potatoes (depends on size); 1 carrot; 3 cups vegetable stock (or water with 1 cube of dry vegetable stock or just water (add more if needed)); 1 red onion (or use regular onion or shallots); 2 garlic cloves; 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for frying); 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or lime juice); salt (adjust amount to your taste); ground pepper (adjust amount to your taste); 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sweet paprika powder; 1/2 cup plant based or regular cream (optional - if you want your soup more creamy); 3 tablespoons plant based or regular butter (optional - if you want your soup more creamy)

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This red cabbage soup recipe is easy to make and perfect for a mid week lunch served with crusty homemade bread.

I like the slight sweetness of the red cabbage combined with red onion and rounded with a bit of lemon juice. The soup is thickened with potatoes, which makes it into a filling meal. You have an option to puree the soup at the end or leave a few red cabbage shreds in.

Why make this recipe?

Easy to make
Nutritious & Healthy
Vegetarian & can be made vegan

What makes this recipe work

The sweetness of the red cabbage and red onion is balanced with a bit of lemon juice and gives this soup a great taste. It’s great with extra cream or cheese cream (choose dairy free if you wish) swirled in as you are just about to serve it. A slice of homemade crusty bread with butter turns this red cabbage soup recipe into a full meal.

My top tips on making this recipe successfully the first time round

Make sure the red cabbage is fully cooked through as sometimes it can take a while.

Allergies & dietary requirements

Vegetarian

Choose dairy free and plant based cream and butter to make this soup suitable for vegan diet.

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Ingredients & Possible Substitutions

1 red cabbage or 1/2 of a large red cabbage

2 potatoes depends on size

1 carrot

3 cups vegetable stock or water with 1 cube of dry vegetable stock or just water (add more if needed)

1 red onion or use regular onion or shallots

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying

1 tablespoon lemon juice or lime juice

salt adjust the amount to your taste

ground pepper adjust the amount to your taste

1 1/2 teaspoons ground sweet paprika powder optional (or use other ground spice of your choice – cumin, ginger, sweet chilli (only a pinch), ground caraway seeds etc)

1/2 cup plant based or regular cream optional – if you want your soup more creamy

3 tablespoons plant based or regular butter optional – if you want your soup more creamy

How to make red cabbage soup recipe

Chop the red cabbage into fine strips or small chunks.

Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes (small cubes if you want the potatoes to disintegrate into the soup or large cubes if you want your potatoes to stay chunky).

Peel and cut the carrot into small thin slices or tiny cubes.

Peel and chop the onion and garlic into small pieces.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the onion, garlic and carrots and saute for about 2-3 minutes until the onion is slightly pale and see through.

Add the butter (if using) and stir in the sweet paprika powder (if using) and some of the salt and pepper and coat the onion/garlic/onion mixture with it.

Add the red cabbage and potatoes and coat everything together on a low heat for a few minutes.

Pour in the vegetable stock (or water with vegetable stock cube or just water)

Bring the soup to boil, then reduce the heat to medium to let the pot simmer.

Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the red cabbage is soft and the potatoes are cooked through.

Taste and adjust the flavour to your liking by adding more spices, salt and pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice

Add plant based or regular cream if you want your soup to be more creamy.

Serve with a crusty bread straightaway or blend in the food processor to achieve a smooth finish (heat up again) and then serve.

Quick tip

This recipe is very versatile and you can use frozen potatoes or homemade potato flour to replace potatoes in the soup. There is no need to defrost the potatoes, just add them in at the same time as the cabbage.

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How else you can make this recipe?

As with any soups, there are a lot of ingredients that you can add to change the flavour slightly depending on what you have in your kitchen cupboard and a fridge. Here are a few ideas that you can use with this recipe

Add more carrots or use leeks
Add extra garnish with herbs – parsley (ciliantro), chives or dill
Use more onion and garlic for extra flavoured soup
Use dairy-free cream to make this soup suitable for vegan and dairy free diets
Add 1-2 lightly whisked eggs for extra protein or serve the soup with boiled eggs as garnish added to the soup just before you eat it

How to serve this recipe

Serve piping hot with a garnish of fresh herbs or lightly toasted bread cubes. Eat either on its own or with crusty bread and homemade herb butter.

Red cabbage soup is great with these breads

Serving size

This red cabbage soup recipe has 4 portions and it’s a perfect recipe for a family.

Can I scale up or down this recipe?

Yes, you can easily make 1/2 of this recipe, just divide all the ingredients by half. It won’t matter too much, though if you don’t get it right exactly, just use the ingredients you have at hand in the quantity you want to use.

Doubling up the recipe is a great idea if you want to make more and freeze some for later. It’s ideal if you want to portion your soup into 1-2 portion sizes and then take them out later.

Can this recipe be made in advance?

Yes, you can make this soup for up to 1- 2 days in advance, but if you want to make the soup even more in advance, I’d recommend freezing it.

How to store your soup

Leave to cool down completely, cover the saucepan with a lid (or move to a suitable container) and store in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze on the same day and eat within 3 months.

Can I freeze red cabbage soup?

Yes, you can freeze red cabbage soup easily similarly to freezing potato soup. Leave the soup to cool down completely, then divide into smaller containers to make up approximately 1 or 2 portions (or whatever portion size you need for your family), close with a suitable lid and freeze.

The cabbage soup should be fine for about 3-4 months in the freezer. When you are ready to eat your soup, take it out the night before and defrost in the fridge or use a de-frost program in your microwave.

You could also defrost it and heat it up at the same time on the hob. Pour boiling water into a saucepan, dip the frozen soup container in and leave for a few minutes. Once the outer layer of your soup warms up, you should be able to tip the whole content into an empty saucepan. Place on a very low heat initially and when defrosted completely add more heat to warm the soup through.

How to re-heat this recipe

Reheat in the microwave or on the hob. When reheating in the microwave I prefer to portion the soup first and then heat individual bowls, but if you have a large suitable container you can do this in a large batch.