This is a loaded and hearty chicken and cabbage soup full of healthy ingredients. A satisfying and delicious soup that makes a complete meal, perfect for this time of the year.
When the weather gets cold, I start craving soups. This nourishing chicken and cabbage soup is one of my favorite winter soups; it’s filling and comforting yet low in calories, easy, quick, cheap to make, and adaptable.
You can cook the chicken before starting with the soup or use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. You can make it with breasts, but also with chicken legs. Or, just after Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can make the cabbage soup using turkey leftovers.
And if you like soups as much as we do, check out the Panera Black Bean Soup (Copycat Recipe), this easy 4-Ingredient Potato Soup Recipe, or the Easy Carrot Pumpkin Soup.
Ingredients: 13 + oil, salt and pepper
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 35 minutes
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Recipe ingredients
Chicken: I made the soup with chicken breasts this time. But I often make this cabbage chicken soup with thighs or (even better and cheaper) with chicken quarters.
- You will need about 1 lb of meat. If you are using thighs, four of them should be enough. When using quarters, you will need 2 large ones.
- If you make the cabbage soup with leftover or rotisserie chicken, use more or less the same amount. It will be fine if you have a bit more or less leftover meat.
Cabbage: Either white, sweetheart, or green cabbage. 5 cups chopped cabbage (or about 400 g/ 14 oz) are about ½ a smallish cabbage. Use the rest of the cabbage to make Cabbage and Potato Bake if you still have a lot, Cabbage Fritters, or Cabbage Omelet if you just have a bit left.
Chicken stock or broth: If you start the soup from scratch and cook the meat, use the broth (about 2 cups) needed to cook the chicken and 5 additional cups of chicken broth. If you use leftover or rotisserie meat, you will need 7 cups of chicken broth (stock).
See the recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Possible additions
Add other vegetables like green beans, broccoli or cauliflower florets, kale, spinach, and so on. Take a look in your crisper and use what’s there.
Replace the potatoes with a can of white beans or some rice. If using leftover rice, add it at the end of the cooking time, together with the chicken.
Add some cayenne pepper, sriracha, or another hot sauce if you like the meal to be spicier.
How to make cabbage and chicken soup?
- Cook the chicken: Place the breasts in a single layer in a large saucepan. Cover with about 2 cups of the stock, enough liquid to cover them. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Shred or cut the cooked chicken into smaller pieces (1).
- Prepare vegetables: Chop all the vegetables and place them in a large bowl (1). Keep the minced garlic separated as you will add it later to the pot.
- Saute: Heat the oil in a large pot or a Dutch oven and saute all the vegetables except the garlic for about 10 minutes on medium heat, occasionally stirring (2).
- Add garlic, dried herbs, the stock you used for cooking the chicken breast, and the remaining stock required by the recipe - a total of 7 cups (3).
- Cook: Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done.
- Add peas and the chicken meat (4), and simmer for another 4-5 minutes (5).
- Thicken the soup: Mix the tomato paste and the flour in a small bowl. Scoop about ¾ cup of liquid from the simmering soup and slowly whisk it into the flour mixture until smooth (6).
- Slowly whisk the slurry into the simmering liquid. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened (7).
- Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Time management
Start cooking the chicken and prepare all the veggies while the chicken is cooking.
To save time, use rotisserie chicken or leftovers. They will only need to be shredded or chopped and reheated in the almost-finished soup.
Use pre-shredded cabbage and frozen vegetables for a speedy meal.
If you use chicken thighs or quarters, cook them for 20 to 30 minutes until cooked through. Check out How to Boil Chicken Legs for detailed instructions for cooking these cuts.
How to store and reheat?
Refrigerate in an airtight container; the chicken and cabbage soup will last 3-4 days.
Reheat on the microwave or the stovetop.
I don’t recommend freezing the soup because it contains potatoes, which are not nice once defrosted.
More soup recipes
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📖 Recipe
Chicken and Cabbage Soup
Equipment
- Large soup pot or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast 450 g Notes 1, 2
- 7 cups chicken stock 1.7 liters, divided
- ½ small cabbage about 5 cups, chopped/ 400 g, Note 3
- 1 medium onion
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 red pepper bell or pointed pepper
- 10.5 oz potatoes 300 g/ about 2 ¼ cups when chopped
- 2 garlic cloves large
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup frozen peas 150 g
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar more to taste
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- small bunch of parsley
Instructions
- Cook chicken: Place chicken breast in a pan and cover it with 2-3 cups of the chicken stock (as much as you need to cover it). Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through. Remove the chicken from the stock using tongs or a slotted spoon (keep the stock for the soup) and let cool slightly. Shred the chicken with two forks or cut it into cubes.In the meantime, prepare the vegetables.1 lb chicken breast / 450 g
- Prepare vegetables: Chop the cabbage, onion, garlic, celery stalks, pepper, and carrots. Peel and chop the potatoes. Place them all in a large bowl.Finely chop the garlic. Set it aside separately.½ small cabbage + 1 medium onion + 2 garlic cloves + 2 celery stalks + 2 medium carrots + 1 red pepper + 10.5 oz potatoes / 300 g
- Saute: Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Saute the cabbage, onion, celery, pepper, carrots, and potatoes for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Add garlic, marjoram, bay leaves, and all of the chicken stock (the stock you used for cooking the chicken breast and the remaining stock required by the recipe - a total of 7 cups).1 teaspoon marjoram + 2 bay leaves
- Simmer: Bring to a boil and turn down the heat. Cover the pot leaving a crack open. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost cooked.
- Add the frozen peas and the shredded chicken, and simmer for another 4-5 minutes.1 cup frozen peas / 150 g
- Mix: In the meantime, mix the tomato paste and the flour in a small bowl. Scoop about ¾ cup of liquid from the simmering soup and slowly whisk it into the flour mixture. The mixture should be smooth.1 tablespoon tomato paste + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- Thicken the soup: Slowly pour the mixture into the simmering soup while whisking. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the soup thickens slightly.
- Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar + fine sea salt and ground black pepper + small bunch of parsley
Notes
- Chicken: You can use rotisserie chicken or shredded leftover chicken (or turkey).
- If you use chicken thighs or quarters, cook them for 20 to 30 minutes until cooked through.
- Cabbage: White, green, or sweetheart cabbage.
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