• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Vikalinka logo

WHOLESOME RECIPES YOU CAN TRUST

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Starter
    • Bread
    • Side dishes
    • Asian recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Drinks
    • Videos
  • Breakfast
    • Eggs
    • Pancakes, Muffins and More
    • Grains
    • Hot breakfast
  • Lunch
    • Salad
    • Soup
    • Sandwiches and more
  • Dinner
    • Chicken
      • Chicken breasts
      • Chicken thighs and drumsticks
      • Whole chicken
    • Beef
    • Pasta
    • Casseroles
    • Slow Cooker and Instant Pot
    • Pork
    • Fish and Seafood
    • Quick and Easy
    • Stew
  • Dessert
    • Cake
    • Pies
    • Cookies
    • Pastry
  • Collections
    • Asian Recipe Collection
    • Russian Recipe Collection
    • Italian Recipe Collection
    • Christmas Recipe Collection
    • Thanksgiving Recipe Collection
    • Easter Recipe Collection
  • About
    • Travel
    • Privacy policy
    • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Collections
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • About
×

Home » Recipes » Lunch » Soup

April 13, 2023

Beef Cabbage Soup

Published April 13, 2023 | Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Jump to Recipe

Hold it right there! Don’t even think about clicking away! This ground beef and cabbage soup is heartwarming and supremely nourishing. Still not sold? It takes less than 40 minutes to prepare and only one pot to wash up. You need more?! It’s a super cheap recipe and a thrifty use of what’s already in your fridge. Gotcha!

What goes better with soup than freshly baked bread? Keep your costs down by making your own with this easy flatbread recipe. 

top down view of bowl of beef and vegetable soup

Cabbage Soup

So it has a bit of a bad rep thanks to Charlie Bucket’s family and 80s diet fame, but if you ask me, cabbage is a seriously underrated vegetable. 

I grew up eating cabbage regularly and some of my favourite childhood soups featured cabbage in them. Have you heard of Borsht? Yes, it’s red and has beets in it but cabbage is also a vital ingredient.

Another famous soup I grew up eating is called Shchi and is made of beef and cabbage. Just like this one but very different in flavour. 

Cabbage is one of the cheapest vegetables at the market, low in calories and full of vitamins and fibre. What’s not to like? Oh, so you don’t like the taste? That’s where this recipe for the most flavoursome ground beef and vegetable soup comes in. 

beef and cabbage soup in a pot

Soup flavour variations

The beauty of this beef vegetable soup is that it can be bent to every taste and budget. As well as choosing the ground meat that suits your family or diet best, and the cabbage of course, spices can be played with to build flavour and intensity.

Right now I’m a big fan of ras el hanout. Traditionally used in Moroccan tagines, it’s woody and warm. These notes come from nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, and they bring life and dimension to the cabbage and beef.

If you prefer something simpler but smoky; Spanish paprika. And feel free to add chilli flakes or powder if you want more of a heat blast. 

beef and cabbage soup recipe process images

Recipe tips and notes

  • A ten-minute sauté of the base vegetables will enhance your soup. It’s a few minutes extra cooking time, but an investment in flavour.
  • Let’s talk cabbage. There are a lot out there, but you can’t really go wrong. I love a sweetheart cabbage as it adds a sweet contrast to the sour tomato in this recipe. Savoy has a more delicate flavour and makes for a visual treat. The bold purple of a red cabbage also lends a wow-factor, and tends to hold its bite. 
  • A thick soup is an absolute comfort and so satisfying, so I’ve used arborio rice in my recipe. The rice starch will naturally thicken the broth and bring it to an almost stew-like level. Any rice will do the same, so just use what you have to hand to save a trip out.
  • There are so many ways to tweak this recipe to suit your own palate. Even down to the meat. I use lean ground beef for an intense meaty depth, but you could use ground turkey to lower the fat content, or pork for a slightly sweeter meat. Or even sausage meat!
  • I’m a firm believer in fresh herbs! They liven up any meaty soup with a little colour and zing. Choose a favourite, or just use up what’s wilting in the salad drawer.

close up of a bowl of cabbage soup with beef

Storage and leftovers

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for 2-3 days. Not only is it delicious the first time around, it will improve with an overnight stay in the fridge thanks to all those deep flavours developing.

This is a batch-cook’s dream! Double up and have this beef cabbage soup today and keep one in the freezer.

Be sure to cool your soup completely before freezing and keep in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month (due to the cooked rice). Thaw for 24 hours in the fridge before heating thoroughly. 

More Loaded with Vegetables Soup Recipes:

  • Stuffed Pepper Soup
  • Lentil and Bacon Soup
  • Beef Barley Soup
  • Thai Chicken and Rice Soup
close up of a bowl of cabbage soup with beef

Beef Cabbage Soup

Julia Frey of Vikalinka
This ground beef and cabbage soup is heartwarming and supremely nourishing. It takes less than 40 minutes and only one pot to wash up.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Course lunch
Cuisine American Fusion
Servings 8
Calories 279 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 carrots sliced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lbs lean ground beef
  • 2 tbsp ras el hanout (Moroccan spice mix) or any other mix of your choice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp hot smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 500ml/2 cups tomato passata or crushed tomatoes
  • 1.5 litre/6 cups beef or chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 150g/3/4 cup uncooked rice I used arborio for a thicker soup
  • 350g/4 cups sliced cabbage
  • 2-3 leaves fresh mint optional
  • 1 tsp sumac optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, then add the chopped onion, carrots and celery, sauté over low heat for 10 minutes, then add the minced garlic and cook for 20-30 seconds longer while stirring. 
  • Turn the heat to medium and add the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon or a spatula, season the mix with raw el hangout spice mix, smoked paprika, black pepper and salt, cook until no longer pink inside.
  • Pour in the tomato passata or crushed tomatoes and beef stock, stir to combine, then add the bay leaves, rice, sliced cabbage and bring to a simmer, simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is done.
  • Sprinkle with sliced mint and sumac for garnish.

Nutrition

Calories: 279kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 20gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 647mgPotassium: 898mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 3064IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 4mg
Keyword beef cabbage soup
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Soup

  • top down view of soup in a bowl with a spoon in in, a little bowl of chopped herbs next to it
    Stuffed Pepper Soup
  • potato and sausage chowder in a soup bow with a spoon in it
    Potato and Sausage Chowder
  • top down view of a bowl of soup with dumplings and vegetables
    Pelmeni Dumpling Soup
  • a soup pot, a soup bowl with a napkin next to it, fresh thyme and a loaf of bread on a table
    Lentil and Bacon Soup

About Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.
read more..

Related Posts

  • noodles topped with sliced green onions on a brown plate

    Quick Beef Yakisoba

  • Ground Beef Tacos topped with salsa, avocado slices and red cabbage slaw.

    Best Taco Meat Recipe (With Homemade Spice Mix)

  • top down view of soup in a bowl with a spoon in in, a little bowl of chopped herbs next to it

    Stuffed Pepper Soup

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Julia from Vikalinka

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.

More about me →


  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Popular

  • mushroom sauce in black pan
    Creamy Mushroom Marsala Sauce
  • Beef Stroganoff with mushrooms
    Best Beef Stroganoff (VIDEO)
  • Chicken breasts in mushroom sauce
    Chicken with Garlic Mushroom Sauce (VIDEO)
  • Close up if a plate of pasta cream sauce with sprinkled parsley
    Pasta Cream Sauce (VIDEO)

Footer

As Featured On…

as featured on

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Vikalinka