Beef and Cabbage Soup

Made with ground beef and cabbage in a spicy tomato broth, this beef and cabbage soup is a hearty one-pot dinner ready in the slow cooker or on the stovetop. It tastes like it simmered all day with just 10-minutes of hands-on prep!

My Favorite Hearty Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef

This beef and cabbage soup is one of those recipes that turned into a weeknight staple the MINUTE I started making it! Cabbage is truly one of the most underrated vegetables, and when you let it simmer down into a spicy tomato broth with ground beef, bell pepper, celery, and carrots, it turns silky and luscious without any fuss. It tastes like something that took you hours, but the prep is so minimal and the slow cooker (or the stovetop, your choice) does the rest!

Just don’t skip browning the ground beef and onion before they go in! I tested it as a fully dump-and-go and the soup came out flat; five minutes in the skillet creates significantly better flavor. After that, it really is hands-off, just stir everything together, cover, and walk away!

As written this soup is pretty spicy, which is exactly how my family likes it, but it is easy to tune to your heat preference. For mild, leave out the red pepper flakes and use regular diced tomatoes instead of the fire-roasted ones with green chilis. For medium, keep the tomatoes with chilis but skip or halve the red pepper flakes. And if you love the simplicity of this one, my slow cooker hamburger soup is another reader favorite in the same hearty, ground-beef family, and my unstuffed cabbage casserole has the same beef and cabbage combination into a one-pan oven dinner!

Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Beef Cabbage Soup

Robyn’s Testing Tips for Spicy Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef

• I prefer 90/10 lean ground beef, but if I only have 80/20 I drain it well after browning; both work.
• Don’t be scared off when you see how much cabbage fills the slow cooker before cooking, since when I tested I kept thinking I had too much, but it cooks down by more than half into the broth and ends up perfectly balanced with the other vegetables!
• I like to chop the cabbage into rough one-inch pieces rather than fine shreds, since I find the bigger pieces hold their texture better through the long cook instead of disappearing into the broth.
• When I want to bulk it up into more of a meal, I stir in a can of drained white beans or a cup of cooked rice in the last 30 minutes; both work well without throwing off the spicy tomato balance.
• This soup freezes beautifully for up to 2 to 3 months; I portion leftovers into mason jars or freezer bags so I can pull a single serving for lunch without thawing the whole batch.

5 stars (9 ratings)

Beef and Cabbage Soup (Stove or Slow Cooker)

Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs

Servings: 4

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 4 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Total: 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

This easy beef and cabbage soup simmers ground beef, cabbage, and vegetables in a spicy tomato broth, ready in the slow cooker or on the stove.

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Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 small green cabbage, cored and roughly chopped
• 2 (15 -ounce )cans diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis, (such as Rotel), see notes
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, see notes)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 quart chicken stock

Equipment

• Slow Cooker

Instructions 

Slow Cooker Instructions

• Heat a medium pot over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the olive oil, ground beef, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and break apart with a wooden spoon.
• Cook for 5 minutes, then add the onion. Cook until the meat is browned and the onion begins to soften, about 3-5 minutes.
• To a 6-quart slow cooker, add the bell pepper, celery, carrots, cabbage, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, stock, and cooked ground beef + onion mixture. Give everything a good stir.
• Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or 7-8 on low, or until the vegetables are very tender.
• Uncover, stir, and taste, adding additional salt or red pepper flakes if desired.

Stovetop Instructions

• Heat a large pot such as a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil, ground beef, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and break apart with a wooden spoon.
• Cook for 5 minutes, then add the onion. Cook until the meat is browned and the onion begins to soften, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the bell pepper, celery, carrots, cabbage, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and stock, stirring to combine.
• Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer on low, covered, for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
• Uncover, stir, and taste, adding additional salt or red pepper flakes if desired

Notes

• Spice Level: As written, this is a spicy cabbage soup. If you are sensitive to heat, leave out the red pepper flakes and use regular diced tomatoes (instead of tomatoes with green chilis). 
• Cabbage: Don’t be concerned if the cabbage fills most of the slow cooker. It will cook down significantly during the cooking process.

Course: dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 (of 4), Calories: 258kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 746mg, Potassium: 1000mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 5758IU, Vitamin C: 88mg, Calcium: 130mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition disclaimer

Did you make this recipe?If you do, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me at @realfoodwholelife so I can see!

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