I originally made this recipe because I had a head of cabbage I needed to cook, and I really wanted soup. It is easy, delicious, and filling – if you are wanting to lose weight, it is great to have as a meal or when you get hungry in between meals.
When I want a heartier version, I brown either ground beef or ground turkey and both are delicious! For a complete meal for the family – because they tend to want something with their soup – a crusty baguette and a salad round out the meal very well.
If you are not looking for a weight loss soup, you can add other vegetables such as potatoes or sweet potatoes diced. Garnishing with freshly chopped herbs also adds a lot of flavor and freshness. You can be creative with this soup with what you have on hand, or stick with the original recipe and either way, you will have a fantastic soup in little time!
I have made this on the stove top and in a slow cooker – I’ve included both cooking methods.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
8 cups vegetable broth
28 ounces diced tomatoes – do not drain
1 yellow onion – chopped
3 cloves garlic – minced
4 cups cabbage – cut into 1-inch chunks
3 carrots – sliced
3 stalks celery – sliced
1 cup green beans – chopped in 1-inch pieces
½ tsp. coarse ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried basil
2 cups fresh spinach – coarsely chopped
Directions
Stovetop:
In a large pot, add the vegetable broth, onion, garlic, cabbage, carrots, celery, green beans, pepper, bay leaves, oregano, basil, and diced tomatoes then stir well.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes until cabbage and carrots are tender.
Add spinach and cook 5 minutes more.
Add salt and additional pepper to taste.
Slow Cooker
Combine all vegetables (except spinach) in a large crock pot.
Add canned tomatoes, broth, bay leaves, oregano, basil, and pepper.
Stir to combine.
Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Once cooked, add the spinach and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add salt and additional pepper to taste.
Notes
• If you do not like chunks of tomato, use tomato sauce instead.
• For soup with protein, you can brown ground turkey or ground beef before adding the other ingredients.
• Adding fresh lemon juice gives the soup a nice flavor.
• For a little spiciness, add some crushed red pepper or hot sauce to taste.
• Instead of vegetable broth, you can substitute beef or chicken stock.
• To lower the sodium, choose low sodium broth and/or low sodium tomatoes.
• I like fresh herbs chopped and added as a garnish. The flavor or fresh herbs brightens the soup.
• Store: When soup is cooled, transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge up to 4 days.