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This easy beef cabbage soup recipe (sometimes called hamburger cabbage soup) tastes so rich and hearty, you’d never guess it was healthy. It’s a lot like my hamburger soup, but with the added comfort factor of cabbage instead of some of the other veggies. Let me show you how to make cabbage soup with ground beef, tender veggies, and only 15 minutes of hands-on prep — including Crock Pot or Instant Pot options.
If you like this cabbage soup recipe, you’ll probably also enjoy my detox soup.
Why You’ll Love This Cabbage Soup Recipe
- Rich, beefy flavor
- Tender meat with soft vegetables
- Simple ingredients with minimal chopping
- 15 minutes of prep time
- Make this easy cabbage soup recipe in the slow cooker, pressure cooker, or on the stove top
- Naturally paleo, whole30, keto, and low carb
- The perfect light meal that keeps you full and satisfied!

Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for cabbage and ground beef soup, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options (see more in the Variations section below). For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Avocado Oil – You can also use olive oil, or whatever neutral cooking oil you prefer.
- Onion – A white or yellow onion is best, but red onion can work as well.
- Ground Beef – I typically use 85/15 grass-fed beef, which is flavorful without being too greasy, but use any variety you like. While this is a recipe for cabbage soup with hamburger, you can also make it using other ground meats (see ideas in the Variations section below).
- Shredded Coleslaw Mix – Makes for minimal chopping in this simple cabbage soup recipe! If you want to avoid the added carrot, you can also use plain shredded cabbage.
- Beef Broth – I use homemade bone broth, but a store-bought variety beef broth works too. Chicken broth and vegetable broth also make fine substitutions.
- Diced Tomatoes – These are the kind that come in a can. Include them with the liquid for extra flavor and for the right amount of liquid in the soup.
- Herbs & Spices – Including Italian seasoning (make homemade Italian seasoning for best flavor!), garlic powder, bay leaves, sea salt, and black pepper. If you like a little kick, add some cayenne pepper to taste.

How To Make Cabbage Soup With Hamburger
This section shows how to make cabbage soup with ground beef, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Saute onions. Heat oil in the Instant Pot (or saute pan, if using a slow cooker). Cook onions until softened.
- Cook beef. Increase temperature to medium-high heat and add ground beef, cooking until browned.


- Add remaining ingredients. Transfer the beef and onions to a slow cooker (or leave in the Instant Pot if using that method.) Stir in the coleslaw mix, diced tomatoes (with liquid), broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and whole bay leaves.
- Cook. Cook hamburger cabbage soup in the Crock Pot or Instant Pot, until ingredients are softened and cooked through. (Times will vary depending on cooking vessel of choice — see recipe card below.) I like to garnish with fresh parsley, but this is optional.



VARIATION: Cook ground beef cabbage soup on the stove top instead.
Follow the same steps, but use a large pot and cook on the stove. After adding ingredients to the pot in step 3, bring to a boil and simmer for 30-60 minutes, or until the flavors develop to your liking.
Variations Of Beef Cabbage Soup
- Skip the meat – Make it vegetarian by omitting the beef and use vegetable broth instead of beef bone broth.
- Use different ground meats – Instead of hamburger soup with cabbage, trade beef for ground turkey, ground pork, ground chicken, or Italian sausage with casings removed.
- Add beans – If your lifestyle allows beans, they would make a perfect addition to this soup. Simply rinse and drain beans before adding to the pot. Try it with cannellini beans or kidney beans!
- Try other added veggies – This soup would taste delicious with cauliflower, bell peppers, or celery added!
- Include potatoes – If you wish to have potatoes in your soup, saute them to brown after the onions, then cook as usual. They’ll soften while the soup cooks.
- Use whole cabbage – I typically use coleslaw mix as a time-saving shortcut whenever I make cabbage soup recipes, but you can simply chop it yourself instead of using a mix.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice – It brightens up the flavor and adds a boost of vitamin C! Add it at the end of cooking, to taste.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Cool cabbage beef soup leftovers to room temperature, then cover and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Meal prep: Shred cabbage (if not using a pre-shredded mix), and cook onions and beef ahead of time and store until ready to complete the recipe. You can also make the entire soup ahead of time, since it stores very well. It’s easy to make a double batch!
- Freeze: Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm up the soup on the stovetop, in the slow cooker, or in the microwave.

More Healthy Soup Recipes
If you like this hearty Crock Pot cabbage soup with hamburger, you’ll love these other cozy soups too!
Tools To Make Cabbage Soup Recipes
- Saute Pan – Only needed if using the stovetop or slow cooker version of this recipe.
- Instant Pot – Makes the best cabbage soup recipe in the least time!
- Crock Pot – My favorite for low and slow cooking.
Beef Cabbage Soup Recipe
Cabbage Soup With Hamburger (Crock Pot or Instant Pot)
Make this easy beef cabbage soup recipe in the Crock Pot or Instant Pot! Cabbage soup with hamburger is cozy, healthy, and easy.
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Crock Pot Instructions:
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Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions start to brown.
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Add ground beef to the pan. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking apart with a spatula, for about 7-10 minutes, until the beef is browned.
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Meanwhile, place the remaining ingredients into the Crock Pot.
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When the beef is browned, add the beef and onion mixture to the Crock Pot. 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 about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions start to brown.
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Add ground beef to the Instant Pot. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Increase saute temperature to "High". Cook, breaking apart with a spatula, for about 7-10 minutes, until the beef is cooked through.
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When the beef is done, turn off heat and add the remaining ingredients into the Instant Pot. 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.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cup
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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304 Comments
Marcy McCleery
0WOW, this is a keeper! My husband has MS and needs to include more cabbage into his diet, and this is a perfect recipe for this. There is plenty of leftovers for easy lunches too! Thanks Maya!
Jennifer
0This was absolutely delicious – and so easy to make too! I didn’t want to run to the store – so used what I had here. I had a head of cabbage, so used that instead of a mix. I used chicken broth, but then I also added beef bullion paste. I had some frozen chopped peppers so threw that in when I was cooking the onions. I doubled the recipe. Looking forward to eating on this for the next few days. I cooked mine on the stovetop – I have an induction stove and love cooking on it – it adjusts as easily as a gas stove, works so much better than an electric stove and is much safer to use as there are no electric coils or gas flames to cause problems. If I would have had some radishes, I would have added some for fake potatoes. Radishes make a wonderful low carb substitute for potatoes in dishes like soups, stews and scalloped “potatoes” without the cauliflower taste. The radishes take on the flavor of whatever you cook them in. This is a nice easy and quick recipe for times when you don’t want to do a lot of work getting a meal together.
Darlene Staples
0Made this soup last night!!! Everyone loved it and such a time saver using coleslaw mix!!!
Jaine Vaughn
0I love Cabbage Soup! So easy to make and it freezes well. I use Rotel rather than plain diced tomatoes and can add other low carb veggies.
Jennie
0I love that there are so few ingredients in this recipe! Made 2 batches, one in the crockpot and the other on the stovetop and will be freezing single serving sizes for lunches. Cabbage is not a go to for me but I love this soup!
Lynn Tracy
0This is amazing! I love soup with cabbage and the mixture of the cabbage and tomatoes was delicious! Thank you for sharing. I will try with sausage meat next time!
Anna
0Just finished this for our breakfast early lunch and it’s delicious, easy to prep.
Anna
0My husband said it was delicious I just added red pepper flakes for a bit spicy since is cold out here in Florida.
Veronica Gaymon
0I love cabbage and this recipe does not disappoint. Thanks for sharing!
Don
0Made in crock pot. Very good flavor. Will definitely make again.
Chris Wunsch
0I made this with a cut up chuck roast, seared on skillet in lard first, then to the slow cooker! FANTASTIC!
Wayne G Grabowski
0Tasted great, will definitely make this again
lisa belen
0I love this recipe, very easy and delicious! I made mine vegetarian and glad it worked in my 2.5 quart crockpot! Will definitely make it again soon!
Linda
0It is a really nice recipe, I used olive oil instead of avacado (we hVe large birds that love to eat with us), and I switched the ground beef to ground pork. Everyone loved it.
Ev
0Amazing soup!!! Do easy to make and delicious. It’s one of my favourites!
Annette Erdtsieck
0Grab half a parsnip and piece several times with sharp knife.
Add to soup and cook with everything else. Remove before serving
Heaps of parsely!
Annette Erdtsieck
0wow, I actually make this exact same soup on the regular. Nice to see a recipe of it for others to have. Nice use of bay leaf as a lot of people don’t think it makes any difference to the flavour.
It does. Hard time writing this recipe due to all the pop ups… hmm
Prescilla Molitor
0One of the easiest recipes to make. Thank you for another tasty recipe.
Susan
0Love this soup on a cold winter day! I add coriander and paprika for extra flavoring.
Karen
0Super simple! Making it tonight as I have all the ingredients in my pantry!
Kelly
0LOVE IT!!!! Had a bag of coleslaw sitting in the fridge & did not have time to make it so it came in very handy making the soup in my crockpot. It is Delicious.
Sharron
0I made this a week ago and it was very simple, nice and hearty. It made a lot. We got 4 meals out of it. My suggestion is to add a spice element. I was adding hot sauce to it when I re heated it but if I make it again I would probably add red pepper flakes, chili powder, cayenne and maybe a little cumin. A few cans of green chilies and instead of regular tomatoes, a can of fire roasted would be a good addition as well.
Gail A Holcomb
0I used fire roasted tomatoes but kept the rest of the ingredients the same, and I simmered on top of the stove for about an hour because I don’t have the other appliances. We all loved the soup and reminded me a bit of the eggroll in a bowl but in a soup version! Thank you for the great recipe!!
Jolee
0This recipe was amazing. The preparation was super easy and I loved the cabbage mix. Much easier than chopping from scratch. The bay leaves and bone broth gave it the touch of flavour goodness. 5 star for sure.
Tammy Duncan
0I made this soup for my daughter and me. We loved it! It is so rich and tasty. It has all of the best combinations to blend smoothly on your tastebuds. These kind of recipes really help make keto easier.
Sherry Kammler
0I have made this before, I had to add extra garlic and couple of other spices. It was delicious and actually froze leftovers, getting out for lunch today and sure they will be more tastier today. This is a very challenging part of my life learning how to cook healthier and eating low carb. I have tried several recipes and have found a few that was not good, but cannot please everyones taste. Keep creating, I am enjoying!
Carol Oh
0I made this soup last night, using hot Italian sausage instead of hamburger. It was delish! We all had second helpings.
Tonya Lawson
0Loved this recipe/idea! I made mine with Cabbage and smoke sausage. I used green, red, orange peppers and sweet white onion.
Seasonings I used Italian, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and pepper.
Doris
0I have been making cabbage soup for years, followed this recipie and it was a hit. The entire family loved it and have asked me to make more 😋
Brenda Mooney
0Wow, made this last night in my instant pot. Made what I thought was enough to have several days of leftovers.
Wrong…hubby devoured ALL but 2 bowls for today. lol
Guess I’ll be fixing this pretty regularly. 😍
Julie bertram
0I make this soup a couple of times a year. My last batch i added celery and green peppers. I often add extra veggies depending on what i have, and what needs to be used. I have also added spinach and zuchinne. This soup is a family favorite.
Angela Dobson
0This cabbage soup is one of my go-to lunch soups. It will fill you up and keeps you full until supper you can pack 2 ir 3 good servings of veggies for your day in one bowl! My variation instead of hamburger I sometimes saute med. Hot Italian sausage and remove the fat before adding the rest of the ingredients . I have also made it without meat and added leftover cooked chicken. Thanks – I do not have a photo though, I’m too busy eating it to take pictures!!
Tonda Malone
0I love making this, so I made your recipe but I added 2 tbsp of lite Brown sugar, and diced green peppers. Instead of hamburger, I tried diced chicken breasts and it was sooooo good! I also used fire roasted diced tomatoes which was perfect. I will make this agsin soon! Great soup for low carb diet. 😁❤️
Shelly Becker
0Delicious, changed the seasoning a bit, using fresh garlic and Hawaij (a Yemenite seasoning mix) instead of Italian seasoning.
Jennifer
0This was the most delicious soup I have ever tasted! I must say I do not really like cabbage but this was so delicious. I made it with kangaroo mince instead.
CHARLENE
0This soup was fabulous! Much better then usual dieter’s cabbage soup. Clean tasting w only cabbage and a few slices of carrot from the coleslaw mix, which was a better idea then my usual shredding the cabbage myself.
Deanie
0I absolutely love this recipe! I’ve always loved cabbage and hamburger together and this soup really hits the spot! Thanks so much!
JoAnn
0Delicious. Allergic to tomatoes so substituted salt-free canned cut green beans with liquid. Substituted hot sauce for the sea salt. Used directions for slow-cooker. Tastes great the same day and even better after sitting in the frig overnight as the seasonings deepen the flavor. Definitely a keeper!
Jody
0This came together quickly in my (new at Christmas) instant pot. Subbed in spicy Italian sausage for the meat and it was quite tasty. Good thing it will freeze as this made quite a large pot of soup for just two of us!
Robert Warren
0At this time of year, when the skies are gray and the temperatures are cold, there is nothing better like some soul-comforting warm soup. This recipe will satisfy this need! Like all WholesomeYum recipes, you will be able to make this recipe in a short amount of time with just a few ingredients, all of which are easy to obtain. For example, she suggests that you use a pre-made coleslaw mix for the cabbage to make things easier, which is a genius idea (though I really don’t mind chopping up a head of cabbage, her suggestion will save time). The recipe is for a crockpot or InstaPot, but honestly I preferred just making it in a dutch oven on the stove, it’s easy to do and I love to keep a pot of soup simmering on the stove for easy access throughout the day. One of the best things about this soup is that it is super-healthy for you (cabbage is loaded with Vitamin C!) and won’t wreck your diet, while the meat in the soup will satisfy your hunger. For a little variety and spice, add some chili powder to turn this into a hearty chili soup (bonus idea: taco seasoning!), and while you’re at it, add some turmeric, a spice that is also a superfood. Check out all of Maya’s soup recipes, they are all easy to make, use simple ingredients, and are good for you. I recently made the Florentine Chicken soup recently and was amazed at not only how easy it was to make, but how much it tasted like something you would get at a fancy Italian restaurant. Given how much soup costs at a restaurant, and how many bad ingredients are in canned soup, you can’t go wrong with these recipes.
maxine
0great soup! Loved it – tasty and comforting.
Kris
0Pretty good and very easy to make. I’m not a fan of ground beef in soup so I use stew meat instead. Added some pepper flakes to add a little kick. Great suggestion to speed up the prep work by buying shredded cabbage.
Kayla
0Really yummy and comforting recipe! Instead of using the coleslaw mix I just chopped my own cabbage, but may try the coleslaw mix next time. I also sprinkled a bit of cheese on top at the end! Even my kids liked this soup! Easy weekday meal!!
Debbie
0I loved this quick and easy cabbage soup recipe. I made mine on the stove top and added cauliflower and green peppers. I doubled the recipe so I that I had extra to freeze for those cold winter nights when soup sounds so good.
Jennifer Bailey
0This was a hit! The only change I made was that I added a 1/2 lb. Pork sausage with the beef at hubby’s request. Since I do all the cooking, my whole family gets keto meals. Some things have been hit-or-miss with the kids especially. But after making egg roll in a bowl, I realized that all of them like cabbage!! This was a perfect quick winter meal for the whole family and I will definitely make it again!
Dorina
0I made this recipe, is very good and easy to make.
Lynne Kinsey
0This is very similar to a recipe I have made before called Unstuffed Cabbage. It had all the ingredients and flavor of Stuffed Cabbage, but with considerably less work. It smells so good while cooking and while being served, and is eagerly anticipated by everyone waiting to eat it. We will certain make this over and over again and I will share the recipe with family and friends that live both near and far away. Thank you for printing it here!
Texas GG
0I made it with a few variations. It was my first food in my new Instant Pot I kept the vegetables in larger pieces, subbed green bell peppers for carrots, and omitted the meat. Because I didn’t have any and had to have a quick meal. It was a roaring success with my hungry gang. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I had forgotten how good cabbage soup really is!!
Mary
0Love this soup made it with spicy Italian sausage and added some Italian spices.
Keven Sterner
0This soup is delicious and fills you up !! I highly recommend it ! And it’s so easy to make !
Felecia
0Love the soup! Easy to make, just left out the ground beef as I don’t like it, but still awesome. Will be making this again.
One of my favorites!
0This is a great soup recipe! It can have many variations. Sometimes I use ground Italian pork sausage and vegetable broth. Plus I add some of my colagen powder to give protein/colagen component missing in the vegetable broth. Also, I like using Savoy cabbage the best.