Hearty Beef Cabbage Soup

Today’s recipe brings back so many childhood memories. My family’s top choice was Shoney’s. The “kids eat free” is a mighty enticement to weary parents, but what really brought us was Shoney’s ground beef and cabbage soup.

I remember how my Dad would completely bypass the hostess like she didn’t exist to check out the soup bar. If Beef Cabbage Soup was there, his eyes would light up, and he would tell us “Yah, we are eating here.” (As if there was any doubt!) I actually got this recipe originally from someone who worked in the restaurant that developed it.

What’s to Love About This Soup?

This is one of those comfort soups that I love to keep around for lunches in the winter like our Chicken Kale Soup, Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup, and Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup. It fills you up while being incredibly delicious and low in fat. I also love it for an easy dinner for weeknights!

While not Keto or Low-Carb like other recipes, I do share a quick tip for how to turn this hearty soup into a tasty Keto-Friendly soup!

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

This recipe is incredibly flexible for ingredient measurements. A little more cabbage is fine or a little more beef works great too. Here is an overview of the ingredients you will need to make this soup:

Fresh Cabbage: Use green cabbage or mix in some purple for a different color and great flavor the whole family will love. I have also used brussel sprouts in the winter time with good results. I cut them into quarters.

Ground Beef: 80 or 90% lean ground beef is what I use but ground turkey, chuck roast, or tender bite-sized chunks of beef stew meat work as well.

Kidney Beans: I find dark red kidney beans to be best and I throw the whole can in the soup, liquid and all. White beans are another tasty option if you don’t care for kidney beans.

Whole Tomatoes: You can use whole or diced tomatoes. I usually add them to the pot first and break up any large bits. The whole ones will also break up as you stir the soup during cooking.

Beef Base: For this recipe, I use Better than Bouillon Beef Base. You can substitute 1 bouillon cube for a teaspoon of beef base.

Low-Carb Recipe Substitutions

To make this hamburger cabbage soup low-carb, leave out the kidney beans and oyster crackers. You can also substitute the crushed tomatoes with a lower-carb tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes to reduce the carb content. This also makes it a Keto cabbage soup recipe perfect for busy weeknights!

Step By Step Recipe Guide

This recipe is so simple to get great results!

1. In a large soup pot over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Drain off liquid.
2. The photograph is a good gauge for how large to cut the veggies. Add all ingredients into the same pot. I use an enameled dutch oven to make soups. The vegetables will release their juices so don’t be tempted to add more water. If the soup is too thick, you can always add water at the end.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or until the onion and celery are tender. Serve with oyster crackers.

Additional Cooking Methods

While a pot over the stove is a great way to cook this easy beef cabbage soup recipe, there are two other potential methods:

• Slow Cooker: For a hands-off approach, you can prepare this soup in your crockpot. Simply brown the ground beef, then add all the ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-6 hours.
• Pressure Cooker: Need dinner fast? Use a pressure cooker to have this soup ready in under 30 minutes.