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Whenever I ask my family what they feel like having for dinner on a given week, they always say soup. Which is pretty awesome because soups are easy, can use up whatever I have on hand, and it’s easy to fit in lots of protein and veggies. This beef cabbage soup is one of our faves. It’s super comforting, and somehow both hearty and light at the same time. Let me show you how to make cabbage soup with ground beef, soft veggies, and just 15 minutes of prep time. Make it with me!
Why You Need My Beef Cabbage Soup Recipe
- Beefy, veggie packed meal – This isn’t your average soup! It’s loaded with bold, beefy flavor and tender vegetables, striking a balance of hearty and cozy without feeling too heavy. If you like my hamburger soup and classic cabbage soup, you’ll love this combo of both.
- Easy to make, with hands-off cooking – There’s almost no chopping involved! And you can choose from three (hands-off) cooking options: Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop.
- Perfect for meal prep – My hamburger cabbage soup stores beautifully, making it perfect for weekend batch cooking. I love it for light lunches all week or as a cozy dinner with a healthy salad and cauliflower breadsticks.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for beef cabbage soup with hamburger, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Cabbage – That shortcut I talked about? It’s coleslaw mix, so you don’t have to chop the cabbage! But you can easily chop a head of cabbage yourself and throw in some shredded carrots. Use the extras to make my kielbasa and sauerkraut or cabbage salad.
- Ground Beef – I like 85/15 grass-fed beef, which is flavorful without being too greasy, but use whatever you prefer. And while my recipe is for cabbage soup with ground beef, you can easily make it with ground turkey, pork, chicken, or even Italian sausage.
- Onion – White or yellow onions are my go-to, but red onion will work. You can also saute other sturdy veggies with it, like bell peppers or celery.
- Beef Broth – I love using homemade bone broth, but store-bought beef broth works great too. You can even swap in chicken or veggie broth if needed.
- Diced Tomatoes – I use this kind. You can also use fire-roasted for a smoky flavor.
- Herbs & Spices – Italian seasoning, garlic powder, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Want heat? Add a pinch of cayenne.
- Avocado Oil – For sauteing. Olive oil works, too.
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How To Make Cabbage Soup With Ground Beef
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Saute the onions. Cook them in olive oil until they’re nice and soft. You can do this right in the Instant Pot if you’re using that method, in a pan for the Crock Pot method, or a Dutch oven or large pot if you’re cooking the entire soup on the stove.
- Brown the beef. Turn up the heat, add the ground beef, and cook it until it’s browned and crumbly.
- Add everything else. Transfer the beef and onions to the slow cooker if that’s how you’re cooking, or leave in the pot otherwise. Add the cabbage, tomatoes (with juice), broth, seasonings, and bay leaves.
- Cook it up. Let the beef cabbage soup cook until everything’s tender. A sprinkle of fresh parsley on top is a nice touch, but totally optional!
My Recipe Tips & Variations
- Do you really have to brown the beef and onions? Yes, I highly recommend it, even if you’re using the slow cooker or pressure cooker. It improves the flavor so much, and doesn’t take very long.
- Prefer a softer texture in your beef? A reader told me she cooked it with a little water and it came out softer. Give it a try if you like!
- Want a thicker beef cabbage soup? Add more cabbage or reduce the amount of broth a bit. It’ll feel more like a stew and super cozy for colder days.
- Want it more hearty? Toss in some drained cannellini or kidney beans, or diced potatoes.
- Flavor doesn’t seem quite right? Oftentimes, if something is missing, I find that something is salt! Add a little more and see if this helps. But if it’s too salty, a tablespoon of lemon juice can fix it. I have more tips on adjusting flavor in my vegetable soup recipe — the same applies here.
More Ground Beef Soup Recipes
If you like this hamburger cabbage soup, try one of my other healthy soup recipes with ground beef next:
Beef Cabbage Soup
By
This beef cabbage soup is loaded with hamburger and veggies in a cozy broth. Make it on the stove, in the Crock Pot, or in the Instant Pot!
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
Stovetop Instructions:
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Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown.
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Add the ground beef. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking apart with a spatula, for 8-10 minutes, until the beef is cooked through.
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Add the cabbage or coleslaw mix, diced tomatoes, bone broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Season with more salt and/or pepper to taste.
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Increase the heat and bring the beef cabbage soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes, until the flavors develop to your liking.
Crock Pot Instructions:
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Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown.
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Add the ground beef. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking apart with a spatula, for 8-10 minutes, until the beef is cooked through.
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Transfer the beef and onion mixture to a Crock Pot. Add the cabbage or coleslaw mix, diced tomatoes, bone broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Season with more salt and/or pepper to taste.
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Cook for 5-6 hours on Low or 2-3 hours on High. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Instant Pot Instructions:
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Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot. Add the oil and chopped onions. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown.
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Add the ground beef. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Increase the saute temperature to "High". Cook, breaking apart with a spatula, for 8-10 minutes, until the beef is cooked through.
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Turn off heat. Add the cabbage or coleslaw mix, diced tomatoes, bone broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Season with more salt and/or pepper to taste.
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Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Press the Manual button and adjust the time to 20 minutes. When cooking is complete, let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then use quick release. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cup
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you adjust the flavor and thickness of your soup, or even make it more hearty.
- Store: Cool first, then pour into airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Meal prep: Shred the cabbage (or grab a pre-shredded mix) and cook the onions and beef ahead. Or make the whole soup—it stores great, so I often make a double batch!
- Freeze: Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat: Heat on the stovetop, in the slow cooker, or in the microwave.
- Note on serving size: 1 cup is a nice amount for a starter before your meal. My family sometimes has this as a light meal by itself and we just triple the serving size!
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I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Beef Cabbage Soup
362 Comments
Bob Parzick
0It was a little tame for my taste. A good hearty soup for our Alaskan winter if kicked up a notch. I added:
1 tsp chicken base dissolved in 1 cup of water
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 additional grated carrots to the coleslaw mix.
The chicken base makes for a more complex broth flavor, the pepper of course adds a little heat, finally the extra carrot seems to add a touch of sweetness to the heat.
Overall a good base soup to tinker with.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thanks for sharing your variation, Bob!
Brittany Wilson Wilson
0How many serving or what is the serving size?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Brittany, I always have this info on the recipe card. 🙂 This makes a large batch. The serving size is 1 cup as a starter and the recipe makes 14 servings, but you can easily triple the serving size as a meal.
Sandy
0I love this recipe. I usually tinker with any new recipe because I like to customize it, but this one is perfect as is. I make this all the time because it is just so good. I’ve got the Instant Pot going right now. I love it that I can make it so quickly because I don’t like to wait when I’m making this soup. One thing I tried recently that I think really improved the texture for me was that I added some water to the ground beef instead of browning it dry. The result was a nicer texture to the meat and consistency (no large chunks of meat because I didn’t see it to break it down.) Of course this is not necessary but try it and see if it doesn’t produce a softer texture to the ground beef. Just make sure to drain it well once the meat is done. I just leave it in the colander while I slice up half a head of cabbage (I don’t like the bagged stuff because I’m always picking out large pieces of core that I don’t want in my soup).
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Awww, thank you, Sandy! That means a lot coming from someone who usually tinkers with recipes (and to me who does the same, lol). Thanks for sharing the beef tip!
Karen Talty
0This soup was tasteless! Sooo disappointed.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Sorry to hear that, Karen! That hasn’t been my experience or the feedback I’ve gotten from guests, but everyone’s palate is different. You might find the tips in my vegetable soup post helpful — they include ways to tweak flavor in a soup that might add just what you are missing. Hope this helps!
Michelle
0It was easy to make and my whole family enjoyed it. I plan on making it again.
Hana
0This soup was delicious and very easy! I added potatoes, but it really didn’t need them.
Patty
0I just made it in a big pot on the stove. Added 3/4 bag of brocolli slaw and then cut up some cabbage. Everything else the same. Simmered for an hour or so until the cabbage was cooked the way I like it. I knew it would be easy but this is crazy easy. It tastes so good. Boyfriend even ate it and liked it. He doesn’t usually like vegetables. I will definately make it again.
M Raymond
0Very tasty soup. Would this soup freeze ok? I’ve just picked three cabbages from the garden and this would be a great way to enjoy them.
Thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Yes, absolutely! I have freezing instructions above.
Sandy
0I love this recipe. I almost always change a recipe to suit my taste but the only change I’ve made to this recipe is to add grated raw garlic instead of the powdered. I actually made it with the powdered garlic but I have a freezer full of grated fresh garlic frozen into 2tbs size cubes. This has become a comfort food for me particularly this past week when I came down with a head cold. My appetite disappeared (not a bad thing…) so I just kept making this soup. It’s delicious and low calorie, but it is nutritious. A week later and I’m still congested and have no appetite but my instant pot is working on a fresh batch of this wonderful soup. Being sick makes me tired but this soup requires very little labor so in under an hour, I have a pot full of soup that is better thank chicken soup! Thanks for sharing.
House Husband
0Dang, how big is your crock pot? Mine was full to the brim with these ingredients. Nonetheless, it was delicious! Super easy to prepare, and worth the wait.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad you liked it! I use this slow cooker and it does get pretty full.
Marcy
0Would 4 cups of cabbage suffice for the amount of beef broth in the cabbage soup recipe?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Marcy, The amount in this recipe is around 6 cups, so 4 cups isn’t quite enough but you can still use 4 if that’s what you have – it’ll just be a little thinner, or you can reduce the amount of broth a bit.
Annie
0I made this tonight only instead of browning the ground beef, I made keto meatballs. Roasted the meatballs in the oven while the soup cooked in the instapot. Delish!
Penny Lennon
0I made this earlier in the week. I froze some of it but saved some to eat during this cold rainy weather. It is so good! I made mine in the InstantPot pressure cooker. Tastes even better the next day.
Diane Klingemier
0I made the cabbage soup with ground beef using slaw mix and a few extra carrots. The crock pot option was a great convenience got me making it more likely that I will keep it in my rotation for quick soups. I am thinking maybe I would like it even better bok choy in place of the cabbage since cabbage isn’t my favorite.
Barbara
0I made this tonight and it was delicious, a real keeper. I used leftover Italian beef juice from a party we had, so I know it won’t taste the same the next time I make it, but I hope I can get close. I used ground chuck and Hunt’s Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, but I may try using Rotel tomatoes next time. I made the crockpot version in my All Clad slow cooker with the aluminum insert, so I could sautée the onions and ground beef in one pot and then just dump in the rest of the ingredients. I’m debating adding more beef next time, maybe 1.5 lbs for a meatier version.
Krissie Thomson
0I decided to make this Cabbage Soup with Hamburger today on a cold wintery day with temps below freezing all day. I used the crockpot and love the simplicity of the recipe. I only had petite diced tomatoes with green chilis but decided to use them anyway. I love cabbage.
I had a head of cabbage so I chopped my cabbage up rather than using coleslaw. Good flavor and I will definitely make this again!
Patricia Muhl
0Cooked mine on stove then transferred to crockpot to simmer. Also used a head of cabbage (chopped a little over half and stored rest for egg roll bowls). Soup was delicious! My husband loved it. Perfect for our keto life style. I also tried chicken with some adjustments (chicken broth, Goya seasoning). Was also a great soup.
Mara
0Great soup for the winter months, I did a mix of minced beef and pork, seasoning was perfect.
Rosa
0Made this soup last night. It is for my lunches for the week. It is so good! I will def make this again
Linda Blackmon
0I made the cabbage soup on the stove since I don’t have a crockpot. I used fire roasted tomatoes and about half a teaspoon more of Italian spice. It was really good. The weather has been so cold and wet, it was a perfect soup! My whole family enjoyed it and I will be making it again. Thanks!