This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure form more information.
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!
Table of Contents
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.
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
For more easy recipes, including kielbasa recipes, sign up for the newsletter or follow on social media.
I made the soup yesterday and shared with my neighbor and thought I’d drop a quick note to let you know that after eating the huge amount of soup I gave him he told me he ate the whole thing and NOW wants the recipe!! He said he was going to eat half of what I gave him and save the rest for the next day but once he started eating it he couldn’t quit!! Flavors were SPOT ON!! It was a ~winner~!!
I will share the soup – AND the RECIPE – with others!!
Thank you again Dee!!
I found your website recently, looked over your recipes and liked what I saw – both on recipes and reviews so I thought “why not give it a try”! Also, what caught my eye was the Cabbage & Noodles recipe! My mother-in-law was of Slovian/Polish background and when I first met her while dating her son (my husband later) she made the Cabbage and Noodles. Being from the South originally I’d never heard of “haluski” but it smelled good so I thought why not give it a try?!! Sooo glad I did… was delicious. And to think I turned my nose up when she told me what it was – w/o me tasting it! So I thought I’m going to give your Cabbage/Sausage Soup a try
I am making this soup today… have all the ingredients! I’ll let you know with a rating afterward. And, I can’t wait to try your other recipes! Thanks for cooking and sharing your recipes with us all.
~Tricia~
Thank you so much for the sweet compliment, Tricia. I hope you enjoy the soup!
Just wanted to drop a comment after I made the soup and I enjoyed it, shared with a neighbor who thought the flavors were good, too.
I plan on making other dishes from your site again soon. It’s just myself so I probably need to cut the recipes in half – unless I plan on sharing with friends, or it’s a recipe which can be put in the freezer. I only used 1 pkg of Smoked Sausage but will 2 next time I make this enjoyable soup… warms the soul. And with cooler weather coming soon… making more of you soup recipes for sure.
Again, thank you Dee for the trouble you go to in order to make sure people enjoy eating at home and not eat out as often… so much better for us!
I think I need to dig out my Slow Cooker…!
I am SO happy to hear this, Tricia. Thank you so much!
I think my mom used to make one something like this! Great comfort food! Great for these very cold days!
Great soup. I will make this again.
Awesome recipe! Finally made it this weekend!
I love cabbage so much! It’s perfect for the cold weather dishes!
This looks delicious. I love the sausage combined with all the vegetables. It’s so simple and flavorful.
Reminds me of when I was a kid! Grandma used to make something like this.
Yummy!
That’s wonderful. So glad you liked the soup!