The cabbage soup with sausage and potatoes is both hearty and easy to make. It's full of fresh cabbage leaves, bursting with flavors from the sausage, then rounded out with a rich tomato and beef stock.
This cabbage soup recipe is one to try!
Cabbage, in soup on its own can be a bit boring. But when paired with some smokey sausage, potatoes, tomato sauce, and spices, it makes this version anything but boring.
It's a hearty soup while also full of healthy ingredients. It has great flavor from the sausage and the combination of spices.
This soup would also be a great dish to serve on Saint Patrick's Day.
Do you love soup season? Check out all my other soup recipes to get some other dinner ideas.
There is just nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a cold day.
Ingredients
Andouille Smoked Sausage: This is the preferred sausage to use but can be substituted for ground sausage or even a kielbasa sausage.
Beef Stock: I found the beef broth to give this soup the most flavor, but feel free to also try vegetable stock or chicken broth.
Red Potatoes: The best potatoes to use for this soup are mini red potatoes. Just wash and dice into quarters.
If you don't want to use potatoes, red kidney beans or white beans can also be used.
Head of Cabbage: This recipe calls for a head of cabbage, around 1 lb chopped up. This is roughly a small to medium size cabbage.
Full ingredients and measurements in the recipe card.
How to Make
Make sure all the veggies and sausage are diced before starting.
Also make sure to roughly chop up the head of cabbage into bite sized pieces. They will shrink a little when cooked.
Warm up a Dutch Oven, or large pot, over medium heat.
Pour in olive oil and sauté the diced onion until soft and translucent.
Add in the carrots and celery and continue sautéing until soft.
Add in minced garlic cloves, stir, and cook for 30 seconds.
Dump in the sausage, chopped cabbage, black pepper, salt, bay leaf, and other seasonings.
Stir to coat, and fully incorporate the seasonings.
Add in the beef stock and tomato sauce. Stir well.
Bring the pot up to medium-high heat until it is at a gentle simmer.
Reduce to medium-low heat and add in potatoes.
The pot should simmer slightly but not boil. Cook potatoes until they are soft. About 15 minutes.
The soup is done when the potatoes are soft and tender.
Serve warm with a loaf of Irish soda bread or sourdough.
Note: Since potatoes can taste really bland, especially in soups, it's important to slowly cook them. If the stock is boiling too much they will cook too fast.
Cooking them slower just gives more time for all that flavor from the stock and spices to soak into them. You don't want the potatoes to cook at a full boil.
Storage
This soup will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Can this soup be made ahead of time? Yes it can! It holds up really well and is great served the next day. The cabbage doesn't get soggy and will hold it's shape.
Can cabbage and sausage soup be frozen? Yes, this soup will freeze well and will keep up to a few months when stored in a freezer safe container. Just keep enough space for expansion as it freezes.
How to Thaw: Take the soup out of the freezer the day before you want to eat it and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Then, warm up in a small pot on the stove or in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl.
Variations
Spicy Cabbage Soup: Add in some red pepper flakes or select a spicer sausage to turn up the heat on this soup. Do both to really give it a kick.
Crockpot: I personally wouldn't cook this soup in a crock pot, but it is doable. Hold off on adding the potatoes, cabbage and sausage until the last few hours.
Substitutions
Replace the Potatoes: If you don't want use potatoes there are lots of options that can be used. Green beans, zucchini, kidney beans, or even rice. Just keep in mind how long each will take and add them accordingly.
Different Sausages: The andouille sausage can easily be replaced. Some ideas are:
- Polish Sausage
- Kielbasa Sausage
- Mild Italian Sausage
- Other Smoky Sausage
- Ground Sausage: turkey, chicken, or pork. If using ground, brown first in the pot and then remove and place on a paper towel on a plate. Add back in with the cabbage.
Italian Seasoning: just a premade Italian seasoning can be used in place of the oregano, thyme, and parsley.
Things to serve with cabbage soup:
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Recipe
Cabbage Soup with Sausage and Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1 Cup Chopped Carrots About 2-3 medium carrots
- 1 Cup Chopped Celery About 3-4 stalks
- 2-3 Fresh Garlic Cloves Minced
- 1 pound Green Cabbage Chopped. About a small - medium sized head of green cabbage
- 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1.5 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 pound Andouille Smoke Sausage sliced into ¼" pieces
- 6 Cups Beef Stock Or vegetable
- 1 14oz Can Tomato Sauce
- 1 pound Baby Red Potatoes Washed and quartered
Instructions
- Make sure all the veggies and sausage are diced before starting.
- Chop up the head of cabbage into bite sized pices.
- Warm up a Dutch Oven on the stove over medium heat.
- Pour in olive oil and sauté the diced onion until soft and translucent.
- Add in the carrots and celery and continue sautéing until soft.
- Add in minced garlic cloves, stir, and cook for 30 seconds. It should start to smell fragrant.
- Dump in the sausage, chopped cabbage, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and other seasonings.
- Stir to coat everything in the spices.
- Add in the beef stock and tomato sauce. Stir well.
- Bring the pot up to medium-high heat until it is at a gentle simmer.
- Reduce to medium-low heat and add in potatoes.
- The pot should simmer slightly but not boil. Cook potatoes until they are soft. About 15 minutes. See notes on potatoes.
- Taste and add more salt if needed.
- The soup is done when the potatoes are soft and tender.
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