Hearty and extremely delicious, this one pot hamburger cabbage soup recipe is easy to make and always a huge hit! Simple ingredients for a family favorite soup everyone loves!
I'm going to start out this recipe with an admission - I don't love cabbage soup - which is sort of a funny thing to say at the start of a recipe for cabbage soup.
I like sautéed cabbage, and I LOVE fresh shredded cabbage on tacos and in salads - but the cabbage soups I've had (excluding some I've had in Ireland and Poland which were amazing) didn't really leave me with warm and fuzzy feelings.
If I'm honest, most of the cabbage soups I've had are overly bitter and a bit thin - not something I crave on the regular - but this soup? So good.
It is so incredibly good - it's made me a believer!
Rich, full of flavor, and not the least bit bitter.
And while I don't usually put beans in non-chili soups, the addition of kidney beans make this soup's texture fantastic - not too thick, not too thin.
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I have a lot of readers on Sweet C's who have asked for more information with their recipes, and provide more in my posts to better serve those readers.
If you'd rather skip past this, please click the "skip to recipe" button in the top left corner.
A lot of people rely on additional cooking information to feel more comfortable in the kitchen - so we placed the button in the corner for those who'd prefer to just get to the cooking.
This cabbage soup has tons of meaty flavor, and the cabbage cooks down with the meat for a rich buttery taste, without the bitterness cabbage can sometimes have.
It is so easy and simple - seriously anybody can make this soup!
This soup can also be made in the slow cooker for an easy soup you can place in the crockpot and come home to after a long day - or can be made in big batches to be frozen as individual serving meals.
This is an incredibly versatile soup too - you can swap out the beans or vegetables if you don't love them and try out other flavors you love to make your own delicious hamburger soup recipe that you'll cherish for years and years.
I hope you love this hearty soup as much as I do!
Tips to Perfect Hamburger Cabbage Soup
Let vegetables brown
Cooking the meat, celery, and cabbage before adding stock helps give the cabbage a buttery, rich flavor and take away bitterness.
This is an extra step, sure, but the difference it makes on the flavor is what makes this soup so special and crave-able.
Take a few extra minutes to pre-brown your cabbage and don't rush it - it really is worth the payoff!
How To Freeze Hamburger Cabbage Soup
If you'd like to make a big batch of this soup and save some for later - or you can't finish all of this recipe, this soup can easily be frozen for later using some simple and easy tips and tricks:
-Place soup in ziploc bags that hold roughly the serving you'd like to reheat. If you can only eat about 1-2 cups of soup at a time, don't put all of your soup in a huge gallon bag, since you'll have to thaw and re-freeze some soup.
-Portioning out soup in smaller bags isn't just convenient for managing your portion, it also helps prevent freezer burn and helps to thaw evenly.
-Freeze soup by laying plastic bags flat in your refrigerator so it doesn't bunch up into a big "ball" shape - the soup will thaw more evenly if first frozen to lay flat, making it a longer and thinner shape.
-Let soup thaw naturally in the refrigerator overnight.
-Reheat soup by placing in a pot on the stove and bringing to a quick boil, remove and serve when piping hot.
Slow Cooker Hamburger Cabbage Soup
To make this deliciously easy cabbage soup in the slow cooker, I suggest browning all of the vegetables and the meat, and then tossing it in the slow cooker to cook. This will give your soup SO much more flavor and a better texture.
While it is an extra step to pre-brown vegetables and meat when tossing this soup in the slow cooker, it is totally worth the flavor that you get.
This can also be made in an Instant Pot, by browning everything then sealing and cooking about 5 minutes with a natural release.
Other One Pot Recipes You'll Love:
The following easy, delicious one pot recipes are comfort food classics your family is sure to love!
Click to follow the links to the printable recipes for each easy one pot dinner!
Spicy Sausage Vegetable Soup Recipe
Easy One Pot Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Recipe FAQ's
This recipe was designed to taste great with or without the beans - we often skip them when trying for lower carb meals, and it still tastes fantastic.
Of course! This recipe doesn't call for fresh garlic because it's an old family recipe and powder was often easier. For fresh, add 2-4 cloves garlic, minced, then cooked and softened to fragrant when cooking cabbage for soup.
Yes! This soup is super adaptable - you can add other vegetables or meat to this soup.
One Pot Hamburger and Cabbage Soup Recipe
If you love this One Pot Hamburger and Cabbage Soup Recipe as much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on facebook and Pinterest!
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One Pot Hamburger Cabbage Soup
Hearty and extremely delicious, this one pot hamburger cabbage soup is easy to make and always a huge hit! Simple ingredients for a family favorite soup everyone loves!
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef, ground
- 2 Celery, rinsed well and diced
- 1/2 cabbage, diced
- 1 8 oz tomatoes, Can and diced, do not drain
- 1 8 oz kidney beans
- 8 oz beef stock or beer
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp celtic sea salt
- 2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, brown ground beef and cook into crumbles (about 8 minutes).
- Add diced celery and cabbage, cook until soft (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Add diced tomatoes (with the liquid from the can- don't drain it off!) and kidney beans (go ahead and drain these off).
- Stir to incorporate.
- Add garlic and paprika, mix.
- Add beer or stock and water, stir.
- Let simmer on low until soup has thickened and turned a darker red, 1 hour (or 4 hours on low in a slow cooker).
- Serve immediately, soup tastes even better the next day!
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 219Saturated Fat 4gCholesterol 40mgSodium 122mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 4gSugar 3gProtein 14g
Sarah Sanders
I found your recipe for cabbage hamburger soup. It is simmering now. I have doubled everything. I took the extra time needed to brown all the veggies. Hoping to share with family and neighbors. It smells amazing! I did add just a teaspoon of ketchup to cut the acidic taste of the tomatoes. Wow, I can't wait to eat it. Thanks for sharing.
Kristen
I found your recipe and told my husband what I was going to cook. He said he didn't like the way it sounded. So I made it anyway, while he was napping. He woke up and said "Smells like Cooking and it smells amazing".... He ended up eating two bowls and loved it. Thank you!!!
Elaine
I made it. I left out the beans and added fresh garlic. It is very tasty!
Mari
Seriously THE BEST. My husband hated stuffed cabbage as a kid and was none too thrilled that I made this until he ate a bite. HE ARE TWO BOWLS! I added some carrots and used smoked paprika and Better than Beef Bouillon paste. Keeping this one in the files for making again and have shared to my friends and family!
Rita Matthews
I was excited about making this soup because I love cabbage and my husband doesn't. He's not home right now, and I can make what I like. I was terribly disappointed. It lacks something, not quite sure what it is, but I will end up throwing out the rest, and will not ever make it again.
Alisa
I thought the soup was very good. Hearty and delicious. I did prepare the cabbage as you suggested and yes I thought that made a difference in the flavor. I will probably add fresh garlic next time in addition to the garlic powder. I also used beef bone broth (to up the health of it) and did not add water as I think that would dilute the flavor too much. Everything taste better the next day and I can't wait to try it today... thank you for your recipe!
Loretta
Hi I would like to make this in the crock pot , looks very yummy !!,I love onion in soups ,How much onion do you think i would need to add to this ?Could i use minced garlic instead of the powder, if so how much fresh minced garlic would i need to replace the powder?
Thanks
Ottie
I have made this soup before. I used to eat this soup at Shoneys restaurant s here years ago before they left town. I asked a person in the kitchen for the recipe and all she said was we use beef buillion. The rest I figured out. Same as this one!!
Robin
I used to eat the Cabbage Soup at Shoney's also, I really liked it, I have not tried this recipe yet but I am looking forward to trying it since I miss the Cabbage Soup from Shoney's
RecipeFinder
I can't stand recipe websites these days. Recipes don't need a novel length preface. It's gotten so out of hand. Why not start with the recipe first and then write a book? If we're interested, we'll read. FFS, enough with this "story and a recipe" trend!
Courtney ODell
There is a button at the top where you can click "skip to recipe" and it will auto scroll for you. When I don't put lots of info in posts, I get tons of questions. If I do put it in, I get lovely people like you yelling at me. Happy holidays, indeed!
Don
Boy aren't we snooty....MERRY CHRISTMAS
Doreen McCaw
Dear Recipe Finder, I think that you're a I'm not going 2 go there as I don't know what u r but a Mean person!! U should apoligize 2 Courtney,she is helping people w/her experience + if u were intelligent u could've scrolled down like I did as I had 2 cook + print the recipe. I doubled the recipe Courtney + it's delish. also after I did read it all + next time will try your tips,Thank-U,better then a meat-loaf tonite LoL PS I didn't c a button 2 get down faster but now I know lol
Karen
Agree!!!
Tracey
Well, a lot of us like the story and recipe. if you don't....just scroll on down.
Kathy Leigh Gizzi
WHich is why, at the very beginning, it was said that if you don't wanna read a whole story, click on the link to go right to the recipe. So, there's that-instead of complaining about it, just use some basic reading comprehension.
Sherry
It was good but thought it lacked some depth. So I added onion and butter and real garlic. Then it was quite tasty!
Joyce Nelsen
I loved the soup. I thought it tasted even better the next day. I did add a little bit more beef broth and water as I liked more broth. Easy to make and tastes great.
Paul VanValin
I used ground bison and smoked paprika. Very tasty but the aroma was a little odd
Stephanie
YEP...HUGE HIT!! Made it to bring to work but had my mother try some (she loves cabbage), she loved it! That's saying something! She wanted to make sure I left her a bowl.
My coworkers all agree it was delicious, as well! Too bad we didn't have some cornbread today.
Really good, hearty soup! The only thing I would change is not simmering it for an hour. The cabbage was a bit mushy but that is it! We will definitely be making it again.
Lemmonee
Really great recipe, you can tweak accordingly to your pantry. I only added 1 tablespoon of garlic, used a little bacon grease to sautee the vegetables. I replaced can beans with a hefty 1/2 cup dry blackeyed peas (quick soak) method then added to simmer for couple hours with soup. My crock pot too small so I cooked stove top. Great with some corn bread. Thanks for sharing.
Cindy Harvill
I have been making this recipe for years! Sometimes I will use ground turkey instead of beef. I also blanch my cabbage before adding to soup and makes it much more tender and cuts cooking time. I usually throw in a few extra spices I may have in hand like Mrs Dash or Italian season. And for those who don’t like kidney beans you can try black beans!
Julie
I will definitely make this again, super good. I substituted diced sweet potatoes for the beans and Ground turkey instead of beef and added shallots and ghee To make it more whole 30!!
Dee
Delicious soup. I did change it up a bit. I cooked the celery, ( added one onion chopped), cabbage in a very small amount of olive oil. Also added a small amount of orzo and put in a bay leaf. It is a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
Melanie
I made this for my family tonight. I used ground turkey and chicken stock. Everyone loved it! I will definitely make this again.
Anita W.
Made a similar soup without meat and beans back in 2003 while on popular diet plan. Along came Hurricane Isabel and power was out for a week. All I had was the soup and I lost 30 pounds that week. This tastes even better with ground chicken and low sodium chicken stock (I'm not a beef eater). This tastes really good!
Sue Thompson
Love this soup! I made it last week and now I am making it for a luncheon tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe.
Chris
Thank you for such a great recipe! made this twice already. This one is a keeper.
Cris
Easy recipe, great tasting. Shared some with the people at my sisters place of work now everyone wants the recipe. Your site is my go to for wonderful recipes, thanks so much.
Glenna
Sounds great. I need to get the ingredients to make this. I'm alone, so will freeze it in servings. Adding some onions and green peppers sounds like a good idea too (reviews). I'm sure it will be fantastic.
Tara
Soup in crockpot right now!
Used onion, fresh garlic, added extra can of tomatoes & added some turkey sausage with the beef! Just tasted it! And can’t wait for dinner 🙂
Thank you for sharing!!
Hope Laura has a Happy New Year! Please try & be nicer, you will be happier!!!
Barbara G Gregg
Can you substitute meatless ground meat for the ground beef?
Courtney ODell
That should be just fine Barbara - but I would brown it in the pan and then remove from the pan and set to the side until a bit later, since it might get a bit soggy if you let it cook in the broth as long as the hamburger beef.
Carrie
I had 14 oz cans of kidney beans and diced tomatoes, so I just used the whole cans, it worked out well because my half head of cabbage was pretty big. I also added some onion. TIP: I also added about a TBSP of bacon grease to the beef, celery, onion and cabbage mixture as it cooked down. It immediately added wonderful aroma and HAS to enhance the flavor. It's all simmering now and smells delicious...can't wait to try it!
Ruth
What a wonderful soup. Great recipe. Had no trouble reading the recipe at all. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Josh
So I have this cooking in the Crock-Pot as I write this. Didn't have paprika so I used chili powder as a sub. I would like to thank you for sharing this healthy recipe. It smells amazing.
William
This was perfect for my rainy day blues, on the couch with a blanket, and my favorite show. Thanks for making my day awesome with this recipe!! So delicious!
Jill
Simmering right now. Added onion like some others, smoked Paprika and I didn't have diced tomatoes on hand so I used leftover spaghetti sauce. It smells amazing, hope it tastes even better! Thanks for a great fall soup on a cool day!
Katie
I usually don’t leave reviews, but this is absolutely delicious! I literally could not stop eating it. I did adjust the garlic, but I saw she stated to adjust to your taste. So yummy!! Running to the store to make a bigger batch to freeze and to eat! Go out and make today you won’t regret it!!!
Sam
This was so delicious I can't believe I had never thought of a hamburger soup before, hit my burger cravings perfectly! Thanks for sharing!
JEANETTE LALOR
WOW! laura must have had a bad day. However, YOU, YOU AND YOU were so gracious and KIND in your response. Perhaps Laura should proof read her message (misspelled words, etc.) Now she must carry through with her last line. It's women like HER that makes me appreciate YOU even more! The cabbage soup was so yummy, I am going to make it again for my sister, Marie, who just turned 100!! My love, Jeanette
Lora
Well, this recipe nailed it! This was my first soup recipe, mostly because we aren't big soup fans, especially if its healthy. I made homemade bone broth, used fresh garlic, added onion and a rehydrated, fancy mushroom blend to replace the beans. My family loved it! The mushrooms stole the show and made it feel more meaty. Will definitely make again!!
Thank you for the great recipe.
Lotus Food Gallery
Amazing recipe. Absolutely wonderful.Thank for sharing keep it up dear...
Christian
Ooooops... Just realized I posted in probably the wrong spot... I apologize for that!!! AMAZING recipe!!! Absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! Thank you again!!!
Ray
Your recipe calls for 8 oz can of beans and 8 oz can of diced tomatoes. I only see 14.5 oz cans and 28 oz cans of those items at the store. So I should reduce to 8 oz of each per recipe??
Courtney ODell
Ray, I'd just go ahead and add them in as-is - my recipe card widget got a little messed up and changed some of my amounts. Use a regular can size for now, as I am sure that one got messed up and I haven't had a chance to review it yet!
Lisa
Made this and left off the beans to reduce carbs. Don't have an instant pot so I did in my Dutch oven. Delicious and I will make again!
Courtney ODell
Lisa, that's awesome! We've started a low carb diet too, I need to try it without!
Theresa E Beard
Im eating the cabbage soup now.It is so good and hearty..I added black beans and hamburger and ground turkey.Yum
Randy Jorgensen
Could you please tell me what you mean by browning the cabage. Thanks!
Courtney ODell
Hi Randy - the cabbage will get browned when cooked, which means its sugars are caramelizing and it will have a lovely, rich, buttery and slightly sweet flavor. You'll see the cabbage get noticeably darker in color, as well as shrink a bit in size!
Rachel
Hi the recipe sounds amazing but I don't have kidney beans? Do you have a suggestion for a different kind of beans?
Courtney ODell
Rachel - I love the hearty, earthy flavor of kidney beans - it's not a perfect swap, but I'd try a navy bean or hearty white bean!
Donna
I need sub for beans can not have then maybe add carrots and sweet peppers
Courtney ODell
Donna, you can sub out carrots, peppers - anything that is lower in starch. One tip though, the beans to break down and give out their starches to thicken this dish, so you might want to add some cream to it if it is too thin. Remove it from heat and then stir in the cream, whisk it vigorously, and then return to heat and bring to a boil to get more thickness without starch.
Teri
Yum! Making this for the second time now. I added some carrots and onion. I am not a fan of beans of any kind so I have left these out. The aroma is amazing, I can't wait for dinner! Thanks for your recipe.
Betty
Do I drain the grease off the meat before adding the cabbage and celery?
Courtney ODell
Betty,
I only drain it off if there is a ton - a little is great to cook the veggies in without adding any other oil!
pakistani recipes
Winter is here and everyone is searching for soup recipes. I love soup please share corn soup recipe as well.
Barbara
Loved it !! Did add onions, my personal preference. Please don't let people like Laura upset you. Some people are just never happy. I thought the font was plain and easily readable. Thanks for taking the time to post this. I doubled the recipe so I could take it to work.
Loretta
Hi making this for dinner tonight and there is no celtic salt where i live . What do you recommend that i use in place of the celtic salt and how much .
Thanks
Courtney ODell
You can use regular salt or kosher salt - I do find celtic sea salt tastes saltier, without the extra sodium, but table salt works fine!
Linda
I didn't have any trouble reading your recipe. Can't wait to try!
Linda
I didn't find your recipe hard to read at all. Can't wait to try!
LAURA
TERRIBLE FONT- NOIT ONLY IT IS NOT BLACK, IT IS UNREADABLE!! SO SMALL AND LIGHT GREY. YOU HAVE NO CONSIDERATION FOR YOUR FOLLOWERS, BECAUSE IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU, YOU AND YOU, WHO CARE ABOUT THE READERS?
NOT WANTING TO FOLLOW YOU LIKE THIS.
Courtney ODell
Hi Laura,
So sorry to hear that - I am trying to fix some format issues on my site and definetely want to consider your feedback. Is it the regular post font, or the recipe card font that is worst - the recipe card does show up in a smaller font because its meant to be printed - but I can try to make it bigger. The post font is something I have my developer fixing.
Christian
Wow!!! I did some tweaking as anyone would but, I LOVED your SUPER EASY recipe!!! My Mom was German and made some out of this World cabbage dishes... Before she expired I didn't get the chance to get her recipe that resembled yours alot... I had been craving it and found yours... All I can say is WOW WOW WOW!!!! Brought me back and soooooooooo good!!! Thank you so much for putting this out here!!! Keep up the Fantastic work and recipes!!! Super Wonderful!!!! Thank you!!!
Dianne
WHAT?????
I had no problem what so ever!!!
Josh
She did not have to share this recipe with YOU. Maybe get YOUR eyes checked, and think learn how to be great full.
Charles
Laura: Having a bad day??????
Janis Webb
Hello...I want to make your recipe right away.....but in the ingredients, are the amounts for kidney beans and tomatoes for 18 oz.
Or for 1- 8 oz cans? Thank you so much for posting ?
Courtney ODell
Hey Janis!
I just looked at the recipe, and wow does the font look hard to tell. I need to figure that formatting out! It is one 8 oz can.
Cathy Carter
Getting ready to make this. Is the 2 Tbsp of garlic powder the right amount? Seems like alot.
Courtney ODell
I like things very garlic-y - you can always adjust if you like less!
Julie
This is amazing soup!!! I make when I have guests and they always want the recipe. My husband gets all excited when I say I'm making this soup. And it extremely simple. ??
I do add onions and green peppers, because I add onions to everything, and in my opinion it makes the soup just that much better.
Courtney ODell
I am so glad you love it Julie! It is one of my favorites. And the additions sound AMAZING!!!
Maha Khan / sooperchef.pk
Wow This Is great recipe.I love Your Way of making Recipe.I am going to make this recipe for my family now.
JessB
This is simmering on the stove right now. Thanks for the recipe.
2pots2cook
Love it ! Great spoon eating, warm, healthy dinner ! Thank you !