Low Calorie Spicy Cabbage Soup - A delicious way to enjoy cabbage, made with lots of vegetables that is filling, yet low in carbs and calories.
Why I love this recipe
It helps when you've overeaten! Given the low carb nature of this soup, it makes a great meal after indulging in fat or sugar.
It's delicious! It's true, cabbage can be mighty tasty. The trick with this soup is to let it cook down so that it's nice and soft.
It's packed full of vegetables. There are seven, count'em, SEVEN vegetables in this soup! If you're having trouble getting your daily dose, this is a great way to fit them in.
This recipe is versatile. While I created this to be a 'cleansing' soup, adding in some chicken or beef would work well, as would beans or a scoop of cooked grain.
It's filling! Despite it not having meat or beans, this soup is very satisfying, in terms of satiation.
Ingredients needed
To make this cabbage soup, you'll need:
Olive oil - This is for sauteing the veggies and bringing out their flavor. A little bit goes a long way!
Flavoring vegetables (onion, garlic, bell pepper, carrot, and celery) - These veggies all add to both nutrition and flavor.
Various spices - (red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, and bay leaf) - The oregano and basil complement the tomato nicely, while the bay leaf is great for overall flavor when you're not using broth. I like my soup spicy, so I add about 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, but just use less or even black pepper if you'd prefer it more mild.
Cabbage - The main star! Cabbage is great for so many things, and it is filling without being heavy in your stomach.
Tomato puree and water - This is the base of the recipe, no need for broth!
Parsley and fresh lemon wedges - Both are great ways accoutrements to this soup, helping to flavor and de-bloat.
I ate a whole pot of this soup over the weekend and felt great.
After I cooked it the first day, I left the pot on the stove so that I could snack on it here and there when I got hungry.
It kept my tummy full without being uncomfortable, and I had good energy.
Also, with low calorie soups like this one, I feel better about eating a big, fat cheese crisp alongside it (tortilla recipe here!) which is exactly what I did.
Carbs in moderation. 🙂
Recipe notes
Add red pepper flakes as desired for spicy-ness. I use 1/2 teaspoon, but my husband finds that a bit too much for him. Use your best judgment.
I use this tomato puree in this recipe, but I imagine tomato sauce would work well too.
Low Calorie Spicy Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- ¼ of a green bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup carrot chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ head green cabbage (~3-4 cups), shredded
- ½ cup tomato puree (see Notes)
- 3 ½ cup water (or broth of choice)
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley chopped
- lemon wedges for serving, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pot.
- Add in onion and bell pepper, and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in carrot, celery, garlic, spices, and a sprinkle of salt.
- Cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Add in bay leaf, cabbage, tomato puree, and water or broth.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in parsley.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and squeeze in some fresh lemon juice to taste (optional).
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
Sue
Hello, could you please tell me what the sodium value is per serving?
Thank you.
Swapna
I have seen this recipe after I prepared the soup though but good to read your story and health benefits. Good post
Tabatha
What kind of beans do you think would be good in this soup?
leah
Hi just wondering what T stands for ? Tablespoon or teaspoon? thanks
Lauren
Tablespoon 🙂
Trudy
I made this for dinner tonight. It was so yummy. Thanks for sharing.
Victoria
A capital T is for Tablespoon. A small t is for teaspoon
Kinsey Dagsgard
can you make this and freeze it for like a week then thaw it back out and eat it? or will it not be good? Thank you!!
Lauren
Hi Kinsey,
I've not tried myself, but I found this online: https://www.successful-diet-cabbage-soup.com/freezing-cabbage.html
Deborah
Can you please tell me the fiber grams per serving? And is a serving 1 cup or something different for this recipe?
Thank you.
Viki
Hey I tried this recipe today and the soup was delicious! But i ended up adding just 1.5 cups of cabbage.
Lauren
Thanks for your review Viki, I'm so happy you liked the soup!
Katia
I have a large head of red cabbage on hand. How would substituting that for the green affect the outcome? I'm assuming it would turn the soup a bright reddish purple, but other than that...???
Lauren
Hi Katia,
That should work, but red cabbage (to me) has a bit of a different taste, so it will vary from the original recipe. Depending on your taste, you may enjoy it more or less.
Karen
I am counting my calories so I want to find out what the serving size is for the 67 calories that you have listed. Thanks for your help!
Btw...great soup recipe!!
Lauren
Hi Karen,
Sorry for the delay! The calorie count is for 1/6 of the entire pot. 🙂
Aspen
But how much is that?
Marisa
How many oz/cups is 1/6 of the soup?
Sab
I like how you have the amount of cabbage needed for the recipe in cups because where I work, a head of cabbaae is easily bigger then a human head!! We do our cabbage salads on Mondays and often there is cabbage put on the side in totes and we'll use it into a finer grind salad on wed. We're allowed to take some home if we want and I often make lazy man cabbage rolls with the long cut. I look forward to trying the recipe out
Wayne fraser
In recipe it says the ingredient followed with a c. Can you tell me what the c stands for. I'm not very good at this just trying out your recipe for cabbage soup. Thanks
Lauren
Hi Wayne,
c stands for cup. 🙂
Mary Jo
You mentioned the serving size was 6 bowls. Can you tell the serving amount for one bowl (i.e. 1 cup?)
Lauren
I can't say for sure the exact proportion, probably around 1-2 cups.
Mary Jo
Hello. You mentioned the serving size was 6 bowls. Can you tell be the serving size for a bowl please?
Roberto
This is the only cabbage soup recipe i will eat. I tip my hat to you and your great blog!
Skye
Can I use a can of crushed tomatoes instead?
Lauren
Hi Skye,
I haven't tried, but you probably could if you enjoy the texture of them. I personally don't like chunks of tomato.
Cat
Pop ups keep blocking the recipe.
ED & DIANA PORTER
I make one much like this my mom made and i use Sour Salt instead of the lemon.....its wonderful to add a bit of tartness and it is good for you!
Jean Hemingway Luberto
I was wondering if you could add Kielbasa or Lean Ground Beef to this for a more substantial Dinner Soup;? Jean
Lauren
I think you could Jean! 🙂
Angie
I LOVE this soup!!! I'm vegetarian so I add vegan meatless crumbles to this and it is so delicious that even my carnivore hubby loves it too. :). It is so hearty and thick that it is a wonderful one dish meal. You could definitely add ground beef if you wanted.
Lauren
Thank you Angie, I'm so glad you like it! 🙂
Pete McG
Delicous!!
Jean
I like it that you answer your follower’s questions. I like all your recipes and I am going to make the cabbage soup tomorrow! Thanks
Lauren
Thanks, Jean. Let me know how you like the soup. 🙂
junie (@goodytooshoe)
Looks and sounds good. I am going to try it today, I will add it to my recipe collection
CEL
i follow hclf (but the raw version!) and the reason why you feel tired after sugar (as per you mentioned in previous posts) is because you have too much fat in your diet/body! fat prevents natural sugars from getting in and out of your cells therefore causing insulin spikes/crashes etc. you felt bloated because you still have fats/animals products in your system. it took me a few weeks/months to get over that and 'detox' my body. now I've been on it (vegan) 7 years (raw/high carb for 2 of them) and I'm healthier and leaner than ever! don't give up if you want to give it a go again 🙂 our bodies and brains live and thrive off of carbs and natural sugars! just keep the fat super low (10%) and at the last meal of the day to ease digestion. look up tannyraw and high carb hannah on youtube!
@celinaeliz on IG xx
Lauren
Hi Cel,
Thanks for your comment, but I'm actually really lean and feel much better eating fat and protein, especially with how hard I work out. I become bloated easily by certain starches in general, that's just how my body operates. It's cool to hear it works for you though! 🙂
rockmyvegansocks
Great sounding soup! I love the lemon, it would really add a nice flavour.
I can't say I've noticed anything different around a full moon. I have noticed I get moody for no good reason though, so maybe I should pay attention to the lunar cycle!
The meme cracked me up - I think we all feel like that sometimes ;p
Jean Hemingway Luberto
I am affected by the full moon. Drives me crazy because the week leading up to it, I cannot sleep. Last night I got 2 hours sleep and as soon as the full moon gets here, I am fine. I have been like this for years, as was my Mother and now my daughter!
Alex from Sew, Simmer, and Share
This soup looks excellent! Tomato and cabbage go so well together... I'm biased though, I love anything with cabbage.
Claudia
You would like kimichi its similar and fermented so you would be adding loads of freindly bacteria at the same time, just take some out of a jar and add water. Going to give your recipe a go as I lve kimichi !
CTLady
Yes, recently I've noticed I don't sleep well during the full moon.