Red Cabbage Soup
Posted: 10/05/21
Updated: 11/08/21
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Vibrant and gorgeous red cabbage soup deserves a place on your dinner table! This bright purple soup adds a pop of color and a hearty helping of vegetables to your diet. Thickened with potatoes and onion, it’s naturally gluten free and vegetarian, but you can easily make it dairy free and vegan if needed.
What Makes This Soup So Good
- Red cabbage soup is a delicious, nutrient-rich soup that you’ll absolutely want to make a part of your autumn and winter soup rotation. It’s full of antioxidants, vitamins A and K, and it’s high in fiber.
- It’s beautiful! How often do you get to eat a delicious bowl of vibrantly purple soup? The soup’s signature color comes from the red cabbage, which contains anthocyanins that make the cabbage naturally purple.
- This is a great make-ahead or freezer meal option, so go ahead and start carving out freezer space! Once the soup is completely cooled, portion it into freezer-safe bags or airtight containers. It’ll keep up to 4 months in the freezer. You can also refrigerate any leftovers up to 5 days, so feel free to make some extra for lunch.
Key Ingredients
Cabbage – When you’re picking out your fresh red cabbage, there are a few things to keep in mind. Look for a head of cabbage that doesn’t have loose leaves or soft spots. The cabbage should be shiny and a deep, vibrant purple or maroon color. The leaves should be tightly closed, almost like a flower that hasn’t bloomed.
Potato – Potato thickens up the red cabbage soup, so you want to use the right kind of potato for the best texture. Starchier potatoes, like russets or Yukon gold potatoes, will give you a creamier soup. If you want to lower the carb count, you can use cauliflower florets instead of potatoes.
Chef’s Tips
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can purée your red cabbage soup in a standard blender instead. Just be very careful. Blending hot liquids can result in a really dangerous mess. See our notes on the recipe card below to safely purée the soup.
- Don’t worry about being too precise with your chopping. Since you’ll be cooking the vegetables and then blending them completely smooth, it really doesn’t matter how well you cut them up to start. Just make them small enough to be manageable. Not sure the best way to dice or chop your vegetables? Check out the tips in this post all about dicing onions easily!
- We kept the seasonings really simple here, just using salt and pepper to play up the natural flavor of the cabbage. You could add ginger, cinnamon, lime, or bay leaves to change up the flavors a little.
Try These Delicious Soups, Too!
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
- Chili’s Southwest Chicken Soup
- Chicken Florentine Soup
- Irish Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Tom Kha Soup
- Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Red Cabbage Soup
Vibrant and gorgeous red cabbage soup deserves a place on your dinner table! This bright purple soup adds a pop of color and a hearty helping of vegetables to your diet. Thickened with potatoes and onion, it's naturally gluten free and vegetarian, but you can easily make it dairy free and vegan if needed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium red onion roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cups red cabbage roughly chopped
- 1 large potato peeled, cubed
- 1 medium apple peeled, chopped
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ¼ cup heavy cream plus more for serving if desired
Equipment
- Large pot with lid
- Immersion blender (or standard blender)
Instructions
- In large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add onions and garlic. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until fragrant and translucent.
- Add cabbage, potato, and apple to pot. Stir and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until cabbage is softened.
- Pour in vegetable stock and red wine vinegar. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Bring liquid to boil, then reduce heat to low and cover pot with lid. Simmer 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove pot from heat. Insert immersion blender and purée until smooth. Alternately, transfer soup to standard blender – see Notes. Stir in heavy cream and portion soup into serving bowls. Serve warm.
Notes
- No immersion blender? No problem. See the notes below for tips to purée your soup in a standard blender.
- Make it Dairy Free: Use coconut cream or a dairy-free heavy cream substitute.
- Make it Vegan: Use coconut cream or a dairy-free heavy cream substitute.
- Fill the blender no more than halfway. You may have to blend your ingredients in a few batches.
- After pouring the liquid into the blender, let it sit a few minutes to cool slightly before blending.
- Before blending, remove the center cap from the blender lid and cover the hole with a dish towel instead. This will keep pressure from building up inside the blender. Keep your hand on the lid to hold it down while blending.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 217kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 1218mg, Potassium: 720mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 2088IU, Vitamin C: 84mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 27g
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Leave a Comment