It doesn’t get much easier than a healthy pot of Grandma’s slow cooker cabbage soup with hamburger, beans, and loads of veggies. Prep a big batch in advance and stash it in the fridge or freezer for busy days!
Table of Contents
If you enjoy cabbage as much as we do, be sure to try this fried cabbage with apples and onion, a cozy cabbage roll casserole, and this one-pot sausage and cabbage dinner, too!
5 STARS … I made this recipe for tonight’s dinner, and it was incredible. Thank you!! I will definitely repeat. I added some cayenne pepper for a little extra kick. SO GOOD!
– Liz
An Easy and Satisfying Hamburger and Cabbage Soup
Forget any negative thoughts that you might have about the boring, bland, cabbage soup diet! Even though it’s good for you, this crockpot cabbage soup recipe doesn’t taste like a weight loss soup, and it certainly won’t leave you hungry an hour later.
My Grandmother’s crockpot cabbage soup is easy, healthy, and incredibly flavorful and satisfying. Each bowl is packed with plenty of protein from the ground beef, fiber-rich beans, sweet, tender cabbage, plenty of spice, and many filling vegetables. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just looking for a delicious bowl of classic comfort food, my grandmother’s slow cooker cabbage soup recipe is sure to become a favorite!
A Few Notes Before You Get Started
- My grandmother always added hamburger to her cabbage soup for extra nutrients and filling protein. You can omit the ground beef and substitute with an extra can of beans, or use ground Italian sausage or ground turkey instead.
- Feel free to swap out the kidney beans and sub with just about any of your favorite beans. Other good options include navy beans (or Great Northern beans), cannellini beans, pinto beans, pink beans, black beans, and Garbanzo beans.
- Use a low-sodium beef broth so that you can adjust the salt to suit your taste. You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth if you prefer.
How to Make Crockpot Cabbage Soup
My grandmother was known for her stove top beef cabbage soup, which she prepared almost every week and often served to friends. I’ve taken her classic recipe and adapted it for the slow cooker, making it a convenient option for busy days. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Brown the meat in a skillet. Whether you’re using lean ground beef, ground turkey, or sausage, make sure to brown the meat in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker. This allows you to drain off the excess grease so that your soup isn’t too greasy at the end.
- Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Top with the beef, beans, and seasoning.
- Add crushed tomatoes, beef broth, and water over top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or until the vegetables are nice and tender.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.
Serving Suggestions
Pair a warm bowl of crockpot cabbage soup with one-bowl pumpkin bread or these easy pumpkin muffins. It’s also delicious alongside flaky biscuits, this Southern cornbread recipe, one-bowl orange cranberry muffins, or a loaf of crusty Dutch oven bread.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Leftover cabbage soup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: This soup freezes very well! Let it cool to room temperature, then transfer to the fridge. Once chilled, transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat: Place the cooked soup in a saucepan or Dutch oven on the stovetop. Cover and warm over low heat, just until the soup reaches the desired temperature. You can also reheat individual bowls in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes.
Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup Recipe
- Every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4-5 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly. You’ll know the soup is done as soon as the veggies are tender.
- Change the seasonings! My grandmother always added chili powder and curry powder to her cabbage soup with hamburger, giving the dish a really unique, delicious flavor. That said, you can feel free to substitute with other flavors, such as an Italian seasoning blend. Try adding fresh herbs to the pot as well! Good options include thyme, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary and chives.
- Adjust the amount of water to suit your preference. For a very thick soup (that’s more like a stew), omit the water altogether. For a thinner soup, add an extra 1-2 cups at the end.
- Fresh herbs or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice add a bright finishing touch to each bowl of soup.
This soup was a big hit with my family!! So much so none of it made it to the freezer for a quick meal for myself on a cold day!! Will definitely be making it again! Thanks for sharing!
– Cindy
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Crockpot Cabbage Soup with Hamburger
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cups cut green beans (frozen is fine)
- ½ head of green cabbage, cored and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1 lb. ground beef, cooked and excess fat drained (or substitute with an additional can of beans for a vegetarian option)
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can red kidney beans (about 1 ¾ cup), rinsed and drained (or substitute with a different type of beans)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons curry powder (optional)
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups water (thin with extra water at the end, as needed, or omit the water completely for a thicker soup)
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley, rosemary, or thyme
Instructions
- Place onions, carrots, celery, green beans, cabbage, and garlic at the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Top with cooked beef and drained, rinsed beans. Add brown sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder, bay leaf, and optional curry powder, if desired.
- Pour crushed tomatoes, beef broth, and water into the pot.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh herbs.
Notes
Nutrition
Crock Pot Cabbage Soup Recipe Variations
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half, and freeze any leftovers. As written, the recipe makes a very large pot of soup!
- Try ground Italian sausage in the soup rather than ground beef. If using Italian sausage, substitute Italian seasoning for the chili powder and curry.
- Just about any vegetables will work in this recipe, so feel free to clean out your fridge or freezer! Diced zucchini or squash, diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, frozen corn or peas, or peeled, diced potatoes would also be good additions.
- Give the soup a stronger, richer tomato flavor by adding tomato paste to the pot. You may need to thin the broth with a little bit more water at the end.
- Stir in cooked brown rice, white rice, barley, or pasta to bulk up the beef and vegetable soup.
- For a vegetarian cabbage soup recipe, substitute an extra can of beans for the ground beef, and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth.
- Make it spicy with a dash of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes.
More Crock Pot Soup Recipes to Try
Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
5 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup
4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
This post was originally published in January, 2017. It was updated in December, 2024.
We love this soup! We’ve made this over and over since last winter. I’m not fond of curry or kidney beans, so without them. Thanks for this.
Awesome! Thanks, Bonnie!
I came upon your website a last week and made your tilapia, which was AMAZING!!! I decided to try another recipe and was just as pleased. We made this soup for our Easter Dinner and it was perfect. Even my two youngest children enjoyed this soup. This recipe is a keeper, I will be making it again very soon!!!! Thank you for this website and I cannot wait try other meals. I truly love that you keep it so simple and yet everything remains delicious and flavorful.
That’s wonderful, Stacy! I’m so glad to hear that you’re enjoying the recipes. I hope you find a few more new favorites in the week ahead! Happy Easter! 🙂
Where I made this soup tonight and it is the best vegetable soup I have ever had by far! I admitted the green beans and added cauliflower because I don’t like green beans and my suit it is so good what’s going on, it’s the only one I will use from now on
That’s amazing, Renee! I’m so glad that it was a hit. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
This soup is so good! My entire family enjoyed it. It fed all five of us with lots of leftovers. Perfect meal for a cold snowy day! Thank you for this great recipe!
That’s so good to hear, Nadia. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
After putting all the ingrdients into the slow cooker, do you stir it up or wait until the soup is done?
Either way is fine, but I usually give it a good stir before I cover it with the lid.
Just reading the recipe aroused my curiosity and so I made a big pt of this wonderful soup. The house smelled good while it was cooking as well! Very enticing! This is a very unusual way to make cabbage soup and it turned out absolutely delicious! I shall make this again many more times! What a creative way to use up leftover cabbage!
Thanks, Elizabeth! I’m so glad to hear that you liked it! 🙂
Can you make this in a large pot on the stove instead of in a crock pot?
Yes, ma’am! I would saute the veggies in olive oil first to soften, then add the cooked ground beef, seasoning, and other ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender and the flavors come together. 🙂
Wonderful recipe, and it works really well with the elimination diet/cleanse that I have been on. My largest crockpot is very odd with how it heats, it tends to do little to nothing for a while, then all of a sudden is making haste with the recipe, lol. So, I had to double the cooking time on high for the cabbage/celery/carrots/onion. All that said, however, this turned out to be delicious, and the flavor profile with the curry powder and chili powder was great.
Thank you so much, Christine! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
I took your words ” clean out your refrigerator ” AND IT WAS DELICIOUS! I had threw everything in, no matter how it was cooked. Added the hamburger, pinto beans and your seasonings, turned on the crock pot and walked away! My only suggestion…
Call it CLEAN OUT YOUR REFRIGERATOR SOUP!! LOL!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Barbara!
Absolutely love this cabbage soup! So easy to make and full of flavour and goodness. My new favourite soup!
I’m so glad to hear that, Laurie. Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
I made this for the first time today!
It was delicious.
The only changes I made were that I used cannelloni beans, omitted the chili powder and added fresh spinach to the pot during the last 15 minutes.
Will definitely make this again…and again. 🙂
Thank you, Susan! We’re so glad you enjoyed it and were able to make it work for you.
Thanks for the recipe. A successful dish. I skipped the curry ingredient, but that’s just me.
Wonderful! Thanks, Larry!