This hearty and filling vegan cabbage soup is loaded with veggies and sausages. It is very satisfying and comforting to eat especially as we added some vegan sour cream to it. It is a perfect soup for fall to warm you up.
If you ask my husband what is his favorite dish, he will tell you it is SOUP. Sometimes a delicious pot of soup is all he needs for lunch. That is why we are sharing more and more soup recipes like our Simple Pumpkin Cream Soup or our Vegan Spinach Soup or our Creamy Cauliflower Soup.
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What kind of cabbage soup it is?
There are so many cabbage soup variations, but it is the best sausage potato cabbage soup with sweet paprika powder and sour cream, you’ve ever tasted.
You might say that it is close to the traditional Polish cabbage soup (Kapusniak) or the authentic Russian cabbage soup (Shchi), but that one uses sauerkraut (aka fermented cabbage) and not fresh green shredded one. It is rather close to the German cabbage soup (Kohlsuppe), but that one doesn’t have sour cream in it.
Well, we call it Frankfurter Cabbage Soup. But I don’t think anyone else calls it like that. It is kind of typical Hungarian cabbage soup. Traditionally, you make it with German Frankfurter sausages – hence the name. Sweet paprika powder and sour cream are other Hungarian cuisine staples, so the soup has to have them.
Ingredients of our cabbage vegetable soup
I call a soup comforting, hearty and filling if it has lots of veggies. To make this cabbage soup you will need only basic ingredients. Nothing fancy or hard to get. Whole foods all the way:
- onion,
- garlic,
- potato,
- carrot,
- parsnip,
- yellow or bell pepper,
- tomato, and
- green cabbage.
It is totally optional to add sour cream and/or sausages to the soup. This recipe is also perfect and tasty as a simple cabbage vegetable soup. You can keep it as a whole-foods plant-based soup if you don’t want to add any processed ingredients.
However, we highly recommend to try it with sour cream as you get a superb creamy, mild veggie broth base, which makes this soup so satisfying. Vegetarians, use dairy sour cream. Vegans, use vegan sour cream (here is our recipe for homemade dairy-free sour cream). You will not regret it.
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How to make vegan cabbage soup?
Well, I tell you upfront, this homemade cabbage soup is easy to make despite there is more than one step to do.
Preparing the veggies – step 1
Tear out the larger outer leaves of the cabbage and cut into shreds. If you are unsure how to shred cabbage, I added a quick step-by-step guide to our Easy Vegan Coleslaw recipe.
Wash all other veggies. Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic. Peel and dice the potatoes. Peel and slice the carrots and the parsnip. Chop tomatoes and yellow paprika (or bell pepper).
Making cabbage vegetable soup – step 2
Add olive oil and cook the diced onions and garlic (photo #1). Then add chopped tomato, yellow paprika, and stir (photo #2). Now, add the sliced carrots and parsnip (photo #3) and stir. Let it cook for 5 minutes before adding the seasoning (salt, pepper, and sweet paprika powder) and the veggie broth (photo #4). Cook until carrots and parsnip gets softer (not entirely cooked).
Next step is to add the diced potatoes, and the shredded cabbage (photo #5). Cook until potatoes are soft and the cabbage wilts down (photo #6). Finally, add the pre-cooked sausages to warm them up for 2-3 minutes. Your hearty veggie-loaded cabbage soup is ready now! But…
Adding vegan sour cream – step 3
…you would miss out on a mind-blowing creamy soup if you don’t try it with sour cream. One thing you need to remember though. You can’t just add the sour cream to the hot soup, as it will curdle.
You need to take a small bowl and add the sour cream there (photo #1). Then, take a large ladle of hot soup and pour it on the sour cream (photo #2). Stir well (photo #3). Now, you can add this mix to the hot soup (photo #4). Not curdling!!! Just cook for 2-3 minutes and the soup is ready to be served! Enjoy!
TOP TIP: This soup gets more and more delicious with every passing minute. Which means, it has the best taste on the next day.
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Is it a cabbage diet soup?
Without the sour cream and the sausages, this is a rather skinny cabbage soup packed with lots of veggies. So yes, it can be suitable for the cabbage diet. However, if you choose to include it in your diet plan, please consult with a registered dietician. If you’ve never heard of this weight loss diet before, you can read more about it on Healthline.
Let’s forget cabbage diet for a moment and appreciate the awesomeness of cabbage. It is an underrated vegetable, although it is a staple in the low-carb / keto cooking scene.
No surprise there as 1 cup of raw, chopped cabbage contains only 22 calories, 5 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber. It is packed with nutrient especially with Vitamin K (85% of recommended daily per cup) and Vitamin C. If you are interested, you can read more about its health benefits in this article.
FAQs and Substitutions
What other veggies I can add to this cabbage soup?
I would add maybe a bit of celery or mushroom, or other root vegetables like rutabaga or celeriac (celery root). Nothing sweet though.
Can I use red cabbage instead?
Maybe. The taste will be the same, but it will turn your soup purple. It just won’t look appetizing.
Can I use canned coconut cream instead of sour cream?
Not really. Coconut cream is just too sweet to use it in this recipe. For me, it would clash with the seasoning.
If I am a vegetarian, can I use dairy sour cream?
Sure you can. To avoid curdling, you need to take a small bowl and add the sour cream there. Then, take a large ladle of hot soup and pour it on the sour cream. Stir well. Now, you can add this mix to the hot soup.
How long does cabbage soup last in the fridge?
3-4 days tops. It has the best taste on the next day.
Can you reheat soup with sour cream in it?
Sure, but start it on low heat. If you bring it to boil too fast, the cream might curdle.
This Cabbage Vegetable Soup with Sausages recipe is vegan and gluten-free, so meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free.
This recipe is WFPB-friendly 1) if you cook the vegetables directly in veggie broth and 2) if you use oil-free dairy-free sour cream.
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More comfort food recipes
You can browse through our vegan and gluten-free lunch and dinner recipe gallery or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out
- Best Vegan Cabbage Lasagna
- Nut-free Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Meatless Shepherd’s Pie
- Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
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Vegan Cabbage Soup with Sausages
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion medium
- 3-4 cloves Garlic
- 2 Tomato medium
- ½ Yellow Paprika or Bell pepper medium
- 2 Carrot medium
- 1 Parsnip medium
- 3 Potato 350 g
- ½ head Cabbage 400 g
- Veggie broth 2 l
- 1 tsp Sweet Paprika powder
- ½ tsp Ground cumin seeds
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 5 oz Sour cream (homemade) 150 g - optional
- ½ pound Sausages (we used vegan) 200 g - optional
Instructions
Preparing the veggies
- Tear out the larger outer leaves of the cabbage and cut into shreds. If you are unsure how to shred cabbage, I added a quick step-by-step guide to our Easy Vegan Coleslaw recipe.
- Wash all other veggies. Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic. Peel and dice the potatoes. Peel and slice the carrots and the parsnip. Chop tomatoes and yellow paprika (or bell pepper).
Making cabbage vegetable soup
- Add olive oil and cook the diced onions and garlic.
- Then add chopped tomato, yellow paprika, and stir.
- Now, add the sliced carrots and parsnip and stir. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Finally, add the seasoning (salt, pepper, and sweet paprika powder) and the veggie broth. Cook it until carrots and parsnip are softer (but not cooked entirely). - (For WFPB-friendly recipe add all veggies and seasoning directly to the veggie broth.)
- Next step is to add the diced potatoes, and the shredded cabbage. Cook until potatoes are soft and the cabbage wilts down.
- Finally, add the pre-cooked sausages to warm them up for 2-3 minutes. Ready to serve!
Adding vegan sour cream
- You can't just add the sour cream to the hot soup, as it will curdle. You need to take a small bowl and add the sour cream there. (Our recipe for homemade dairy-free sour cream)
- Then, take a large ladle of hot soup and pour it on the sour cream. Stir well.
- Now, you can add this mix to the hot soup. Just cook for 2-3 minutes and the soup is ready to be served! Enjoy!
Andrea Strawbridge
Delicious! I noted somewhere else but wanted to rate it. Definitely making this again. It made me very happy lady! =)
My Pure Plants
Hi Andrea, it is so lovely to hear that you’ve tried and loved our recipe. Thank you so much.
Tami Cockrell
Would love the recipe you used for homemade sour cream. And what brand sausage did you use? I see it says .3g fat????
My Pure Plants
We added sour cream and sausages as optional, so they were not included in the nutritional info calculation. Where are you from? We are based in Europe, so we used soy-based sausages we have bought here. They may not be available in the US.
Andrea Strawbridge
I used Beyond hot Italian sausage. I didn’t put it in the soup until serving as I didn’t know how it would last. One piece was left behind so when I reheated it, it was fine actually. The sour cream recipe is above (https://mypureplants.com/dairy-free-sour-cream-vegan). I personally loved the recipe. When we make it again, i think we will do more of just the potatoes and carrots. So yummy. Looking forward to more cold weather so we can make it again.
Pam Greer
This is a favorite cabbage soup. It is so hearty and filling and is pure comfort food!
My Pure Plants
Yes it is. Thanks.
Jess
This soup looks and sounds amazing! I can imagine how it can instantly warm you up! YUM!
My Pure Plants
Yes, it is my husband’s favorite comfort soup 🙂
Mindy Fewless
This is a perfect soup for Fall!! Thank you!
Veena Azmanov
This soup looks so tasty. Love the combination and look of this meal. Love this Bowl of goodness for Dinner.
My Pure Plants
Thank you for your kind words.
Dahn
What a great soup and it is just in time for the cooler Fall weather. Bring on soup season 🙂
My Pure Plants
We love soup season too. 🙂