This hearty Chicken and Cabbage Soup with fresh hearty vegetables like green beans, carrots, and tomatoes makes the coziest healthy comfort food! Enjoy big heaping bowls throughout the chilly months of the year.
After loving my Ground Beef and Cabbage Soup, I just knew I needed to revisit the concept with various changes.
Gathering inspiration from that delicious soup recipe, here we are with a chicken version and a few changes to the vegetable selection.
I love that this hearty soup features a variety of fresh vegetables, lean protein, and a decent amount of plant-based carbohydrates for a balanced, filling meal.
It is a great way of getting you closer to your daily values of protein and dietary fiber.
For those of you who enjoy customizing everything you make, this simple chicken and cabbage soup is the ideal canvas for all sorts of soup experiments, incorporating various vegetables and meats.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for this easy soup recipe. The great thing is the full list of ingredients can be found at any grocery store.
Chicken and Cabbage Soup Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: One of the main ingredients in this healthy soup recipe. Pick up boneless breasts and chop them into bite sized pieces.
If you prefer boneless chicken thighs, feel free to make the swap! Any kind of chicken meat works here.
Avocado Oil: Used to sauté the onion and brown the meat, we need a high temperature cooking oil.
I like using avocado oil because it has a neutral flavor and is ideal for cooking at high temperatures. Olive oil works too but just be sure to cook over medium heat so as not to burn the oil.
Vegetables: Yellow onion, garlic, carrots, green beans, celery, vine-ripened tomatoes, and green cabbage: The vegetables of choice here! This combination of fresh vegetables makes for a hearty soup.
You can swap out any of the veggies with your favorite vegetables. Just be sure to add softer vegetables like zucchini or broccoli toward the end of cooking so that they don’t get too mushy. Regular green cabbage or savoy cabbage both work.
Chicken Broth: We need some form of liquid to make soup, and I love chicken broth or chicken stock here.
You can also use chicken bone broth for added health benefits. Other kinds of broth like vegetable broth or beef broth work as well.
Italian Seasoning, Sea Salt, Black Pepper: The seasonings in this easy soup recipe. Italian seasoning brings fresh herby flavor, sea salt enhances all of the flavors of the soup, and black pepper gives it a nice little kick.
If you feel the soup tastes bland, continue adding sea salt to your personal taste.
Recipe Adaptations:
- For richer flavor, cook 4 to 6 slices of thick-cut bacon and use the fat for sauteing the onions and browning the meat. Once cooked, remove the bacon from the pot, allow it to cool, then chop it and add it back into the soup.
- Serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream on top, and/or a shower of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Mix in any fresh herbs like fresh parsley or rosemary.
- Use any of your favorite vegetables in this soup. Green peas, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, and cauliflower are all great options.
- Replace the chicken with ground Italian sausage or ground chicken.
- Save time by using rotisserie chicken instead of raw chicken breast.
- If you follow a low carb diet, replace the cabbage with one head of cauliflower.
- Add extra veggies for even more nutrients.
- Replace the fresh garlic cloves with 2 teaspoons of garlic powder.
- Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste or 1 15-oz can of tomato sauce to this cabbage chicken soup for more tomato flavor.
- If you have a bay leaf on hand, feel free to toss it in.
- Add 1/2 cup of white rice or brown rice to the soup before bringing it to a boil and also add another 1-2 cups of broth.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients for chicken and cabbage soup, let’s make it!
How to Make Chicken and Cabbage Soup:
Heat the avocado oil in a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the chopped onion to the large pot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Transfer the chopped chicken breasts to the pot and brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the Italian seasoning and cook for another minute.
Add 4 cups of broth, the chopped carrots, celery, tomatoes, and green beans to the pot and stir well.
Add in the chopped cabbage and cover the pot and bring soup to a full boil. The cabbage will fill the pot, but don’t worry – it will cook down.
After 5 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and give everything a big stir. Replace the cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and carrots have softened to your desired texture, about 40 to 60 minutes.
The longer the cooking time, the more flavorful the soup will be.
Add in the chopped spinach and replace the cover. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted.
Taste the soup for flavor and add sea salt and black pepper to your personal taste. If you prefer more broth in your soups, you can add an extra 2 to 4 cups of broth at any point during the cooking process.
I prefer my hearty soup recipes that are nice and chunky, so I use just 4 cups of broth.
Serve soup with a dollop of sour cream and/or grated parmesan cheese on top. If you like a little tang, you can drizzle in a little lime juice or lemon juice.
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
The next time you’re craving a big bowl of healthy comfort food, this chicken and cabbage soup recipe is gold!
Nutrient Information:
When divided into 6 servings, each serving of this chicken cabbage soup recipe contains 390 calories, 43 grams of protein, 10 grams of fat, 31 grams of carbohydrates, and 11 grams of fiber.
For anyone following a low calorie diet, soup recipes that are high in fiber and protein like this one are incredibly useful because they are so satiating.
While I don’t typically make recipes specifically for weight loss, I do find the combination of high protein and high fiber to be a great option for those maintaining a specific diet.
The complete nutritional information is in the recipe card below. For the most accurate nutrition information, plug the specific ingredients you use (including any brands or weights) into a calorie calculator.
Perfect for using up vegetables that have been lurking in your refrigerator, and easy to adapt to your personal taste, this is a great base recipe for all sorts of soup adventures.
Make a large stock pot of this soup for the whole family to enjoy during the cold months of the year. I love soup recipes like this for meal prep to enjoy throughout the busy workweek, as they make a great deal of food.
If you love healthy soup recipes like this, also try out some of these reader favorites.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
- Immunity-Boosting Turmeric Chicken Soup
- Hearty Ground Turkey Soup with Vegetables
- Crock Pot Beef Stew
- Cabbage Roll Soup
- Albondigas Soup
- Slow Cooker Lentil Soup
Big bowls of soup on repeat!
Chicken and Cabbage Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil *
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 4 to 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped, optional
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes diced
- 6 ounces green beans chopped
- 1 medium-sized head cabbage cut into slices
- 4 cups baby spinach optional
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onion to the large pot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the chopped chicken breasts to the pot and brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the Italian seasoning and cook for another minute.
- Add 4 cups of broth, the chopped carrots, celery, tomatoes, and green beans to the pot and stir well. Add in the chopped cabbage and cover the pot and bring soup to a full boil. The cabbage will fill the pot, but don’t worry – it will cook down. After 5 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and give everything a big stir. Replace the cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and carrots have softened to your desired texture, about 40 to 60 minutes. The longer the cooking time, the more flavorful the soup will be.
- Add in the chopped spinach and replace the cover. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted.
- Taste the soup for flavor and add sea salt and black pepper to your personal taste. If you prefer more broth in your soups, you can add an extra 2 to 4 cups of broth at any point during the cooking process. I prefer my hearty soup recipes that are nice and chunky, so I use just 4 cups of broth.
- Serve soup with a dollop of sour cream and/or grated parmesan cheese on top. If you like a little tang, you can drizzle in a little lime juice or lemon juice.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you make this in a crockpot and cook on low. How long g would I cook it on low