This Cabbage Soup with Sausage recipe is a hearty soup with kielbasa sausage, tender potatoes, carrots and diced tomatoes in a savory broth. Perfect for a cold day!

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This hearty cabbage soup is one of my favorite soup recipes. It's loaded with goodness, from flavorful smoked sausage to fresh vegetables.
This recipe makes a big pot of soup that will definitely fill you up and keep you warm on chilly nights!
It's also one of my favorite cabbage recipes, next to cabbage and noodles (haluski) and cabbage rolls (halupky) or cabbage roll soup.
This is such an easy recipe that you can throw it together quickly on busy weeknights. All you need is crusty bread or garlic bread to complete this easy meal.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients for this cabbage soup recipe. They should be easy to find in your grocery store.
- Cabbage -- Small to medium head of green cabbage, cored and chopped
- Smoked sausage -- I used 2 ropes of kielbasa smoked sausage, cut into half moons
- Potatoes -- Yukon gold or baby yellow potatoes, cut into smaller pieces
- Carrots -- about 2 cups sliced carrots
- Onion -- yellow onion or white onion, chopped
- Garlic -- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Diced tomatoes -- can
- Chicken broth -- I use low sodium broth
- Seasonings -- sea salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, parsley or Italian seasoning
- Olive oil -- or vegetable oil to cook the onions and garlic
How to Make Cabbage and Sausage Soup
First, cook the diced onion in a little olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium heat until soft.
Then, add the smoked sausage and garlic. Cook the sausage until slightly browned on both sides.
You can remove the sausage if you want and add it in later. Or leave it in. I've done it both ways, and it's really a personal preference.
Add the remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven, seasoning as you go.
Giver the ingredients a good stir. I usually add the cabbage last, since there's so much of it.
Don't worry about the pot being too full. The fresh cabbage cooks down quickly.
Place the lid on the pot, and bring the soup to a full boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium heat or medium low heat, and let the soup simmer.
Cook Time
Cook the soup over medium heat until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Stir the soup occasionally during the cooking process.
A little fresh parsley enhances the flavor of the soup when serving!
How to Store
Absolutely. Refrigerate leftover cabbage soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can reheat the soup in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Yes. This soup freezes well for up to 3 months without losing flavor. Allow the soup to cool down before freezing, and place in freezer safe containers. A freezer bag is perfect for storing soups in the freezer.
Variations
You can substitute red potatoes for the yellow potatoes. Or, make cabbage sausage soup without potatoes for a low carb soup.
Substitute chicken sausage, turkey sausage or any kind of sausage for the kielbasa. You can use Italian sausage, fresh Polish sausage or even ground beef, but make sure to cook it completely first.
Use beef broth instead of chicken broth. Vegetable broth is a good choice for a vegetarian version of this soup.
If you have a pressure cooker, try my Instant Pot kielbasa cabbage soup. You can easily make this soup in your slow cooker or transfer to a crock pot to keep warm until you are ready to eat.
Recipe
Cabbage Soup with Sausage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 ropes smoked sausage about 2 pounds, sliced into half moons
- 2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 pound baby potatoes cut into smaller pieces
- 2 cups sliced carrots about 2 medium
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes undrained
- 32 oz low sodium chicken broth
- 1 medium cabbage cored and chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add onions and cook until soft
- Add sausage and brown on both sides, then add garlic and cook for another minute or until slightly soft. Don't let garlic brown
- Add the remaining ingredients, seasoning as you go. Add cabbage last
- Place lid on the pot, and bring to boil over medium high heat
- Reduce heat to low or medium so that soup is simmering. Cook until potatoes and carrots are fork tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this cabbage sausage soup recipe as much as we do. There's nothing better than a hot bowl of soup to celebrate soup season!
If you try this comforting soup, please leave a star rating and comment. Be sure to check out more soup recipes in the recipe archives.
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Beth says
I think my mom used to make one something like this! Great comfort food! Great for these very cold days!
Linda says
Great soup. I will make this again.
Juliane says
Awesome recipe! Finally made it this weekend!
Catalina says
I love cabbage so much! It's perfect for the cold weather dishes!
Beth says
This looks delicious. I love the sausage combined with all the vegetables. It's so simple and flavorful.
Louis says
Reminds me of when I was a kid! Grandma used to make something like this.
Yummy!
Dee says
That's wonderful. So glad you liked the soup!