Cabbage soup has a bad reputation.
My first experience of it was when I was living in England. My flat mate decided she was going on a diet and made a big pot of cabbage soup.
Needless to say the diet didn’t end well.
And I was a little hesitant to try cabbage soup again.
But I’m really loving everything cabbage right now. And it’s Winter here. So I thought it was worth a shot.
And was it ever worth it?! Adding the almond meal to the broth makes for a rich, creamy soup.
And the crunchy almonds on top add the extra texture and substance that all good soups need.
I promise, the word ‘diet’ won’t even cross your mind.
Creamy Cabbage & Almond Soup
Ingredients
- 500 g (1lb) cabbage about 1/4 large
- 3 cups chicken or veg stock
- 4 sprigs thyme optional, leaves picked
- 100 g (3.5oz) almond meal
- 1 tablespoon rice wine or other wine vinegar
- 100 g (3.5oz) roast almonds
Instructions
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Finely slice cabbage and place in a largeish saucepan with the stock, thyme and almond meal. Cover and bring to the boil.
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Reduce heat to medium and simmer rapidly covered for 10-15 minutes or until the cabbage is lovely and soft.
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Taste and season with salt and vinegar as needed. If the soup is dry add some water.
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Divide between 2 deep bowls and serve topped with roast almonds.
Recipe Video
NET CARBS: 21g/serve
WINE MATCH: A big buttery Chardonnay.
Cabbage Soup Variations & Substitutions
different vinegar – apple cider, sherry or any wine vinegar is good.
Keto / ultra low carb – Try this spinach soup.
nut-free – skip the almond meal and replace 1/2 cup of the stock with cream. Serve with lashings of grated parmesan instead of the roast almonds.
hot! – serve with chilli salt or chilli oil.
more substantial (carb lovers) – add in cooked pasta, cooked brown rice, quinoa or other grains. Or serve with crusty bread and butter.
more substantial (low carb) – more nuts! Stir in a few lightly whisked eggs at the end and simmer for an extra minute or until the egg is just set. Serve with grated parmesan and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Low FODMAP – use madacamias or walnuts instead of the almonds. And skip the almond meal. Use white cabbage not savoy.
different vegetables – soften an onion in oil before adding the cabbage and stock. Cauliflower is lovely with the creamy almond. Or broccoli would also work. Feel free to add carrot, celery or any root veg that need using up. And I can imagine kale, chard or spinach would make a delicious more vibrantly coloured soup.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the roast nuts separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, bring back to a simmer and top with the nuts. If the soup is too thick, add a little water.
More Simple Soup Recipes
- Tuscan Greens Soup
- Roast Cauli Soup with Bacon & Blue Cheese
- Mushroom Soup with Brown Butter Walnuts & Crispy Sage
- Chunky Cauli & Sausage Soup
- Spicy Roast Eggplant & Harissa Soup
- Turkish Cauliflower & Yoghurt Soup
- Yuuummy Spiced Tomato Soup
- No-Cry Roast Onion Soup
What about you?
Have you been scarred by a dieting cabbage soup experience? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below :)
Have fun in the kitchen!
With love,
Jules x
YUM!! This soup sounds wonderful, even though I’m not a big soup eater. I will, however. wait until winter here to make it. I love cabbage but our daytime temps are currently hovering around 100ºF (37º C). And they will continue to do so for at least the next couple of months…
Yes not really soup weather for you Susan :)
I’m looking forward to making this! I think onions would be the addition I’d choose.
Yes the onions are a great addition Joel :)
Hi, Jules. Looking forward to trying this cabbage soup – like you, we love to eat cabbage, and like you, we remember the Cabbage Soup Diet! Funnily enough, just found a copy of it in an old folder a few days ago, but we weren’t tempted to try it again! Also looking forward to trying the Fast Friday Cheeseburger Bowls. You may be aware of this already, but when one presses the print button to print any of your recipes, the Variations & Substitutions don’t print, just the actual recipe. Now, it may that they are not included for a particular reason, and for us it’s not a problem, as we just copy the recipe and paste onto a Word document, because some of the Variations & Substitutions aren’t relevant (and that may be the reason they aren’t included in the print option) but we do like to list some of them – it’s always good to have alternatives. Many of your recipes are the ones we keep going back to time after time. Had a friend staying and suggested that she go to your website and order your free book, as she enjoyed the meals we made using your recipes. You will no doubt know that whenever we go onto your website the box comes down as we go to log out and asks if we would like your free book? Hope you don’t feel too disappointed at the number of people who say “No”, as it happens each time we go onto your website to check out any recipes and no doubt others who already have your free book do the same. Thanks for your email newsletters which are always one of the first we check out when new emails come into our inbox.
Glad you like the sound of this Cabbage Soup Chris :)
And thanks for the feedback regardign the print friendly option and the variations. Unfortunately I know it’s happening but I haven’t figured out how to fix it yet.
And even more thanks for telling your friend about Stonesoup! I really appreciate it :)