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A simple vegan Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup recipe of Eastern European origins, using both sauerkraut and fresh shredded green cabbage. Slow cooked smoky flavors from fire roasted tomatoes, caraway and smoked paprika are coming through in every bite, no meat ever!
1-Pot, low calorie pure vegetarian sweet and sour cabbage soup that can easily become a stew by simply cutting back the liquid or adding in some whole grains like brown rice, lentils or quinoa. It’s a healthy, light and detoxing version of our unstuffed cabbage stew, ready in about 30 minutes and perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner.
Soup Origins – Polish, Greek, Italian, Romanian, German, Russian, Jewish, Hungarian, believe it or not, they all claim the rights to the best version of this easy soup. They are all right of course, so long as it is clean and plant based!
Recipe Tips
The Cabbage – By combining both sauerkraut and fresh cabbage you effortlessly achieve the perfect balance between sweet and sour. However, once it is all done you can balance the flavors with some apple cider vinegar or maple syrup to ultimately make your taste buds happy.
Herbs + Spices – Don’t forget the fresh dill + caraway! Cabbage calls for them both to make a pot of magic, they truly belong together in this European classic.
Add Ins – To make it a heartier meal you might like to add in some spicy vegan Italian sausage, smoky tempeh bacon, vegan “meatballs”, hot dogs or these vegan ribs. Traditionally we just served it with sour cream and freshly cracked pepper then wiped our bowls clean with crusty bread.
Storage – Refrigerate any leftovers up to 5 days in tight lidded containers or freeze up to 4 months. Thaw out overnight before reheating.
Heat up a large heavy bottom pot on medium flame. Add a drizzle of olive oil (or a splash of water for WFPB + Plantricious compliance) and sautee the onion with a pinch of sea salt for a couple of minutes.
1 onion, 2-3 tsp olive oil
Stir in the carrot, celery and bell pepper together with the caraway seeds and sautee another 3 minutes or so.
1 carrot, 2 ribs celery, 1 green bell pepper, 1.5 tbsp caraway seeds
Stir in the fresh cabbage and cook 5 to 10 minutes until wilted.
1 head small green cabbage
Add the smoked paprika, sauerkraut, tomatoes, bay leaves, 1/2 bunch of the dill and peppercorns. Cover with the water or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 25 minutes until the cabbage is cooked to your liking.
16 oz sauerkraut, 15 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes, 2 leaves bay, 2 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp peppercorns, 1 bunch fresh dill, 10 cups water or vegetable broth
Taste and adjust seasonings with sea salt. The soup should be sour enough from the kraut but If you prefer more sweetness add the maple syrup at this point.
1 pinch sea salt, 2 tbsp maple syrup
Serve hot garnished with the remaining fresh dill and parsley.
2 tbsp parsley
WFPB & Plantricious
Omit any oil and sautee in water to make this recipe compliant!
Notes
Herbs + Spices - Don’t forget the fresh dill + caraway! Cabbage calls for them both to make a pot of magic, they belong together!
Add Ins - To make it a heartier meal you might like to add in some spicy vegan Italian sausage, smoky tempeh bacon, vegan "meatballs" or vegan ribs. Traditionally we just served it with sour cream and wiped our bowls clean with crusty bread.
Storage - Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 4 months in tight lidded containers.
Hi, I'm Florentina! I'm the voice behind the easy Plant-Based recipes here at the Veggie Society. Peluci is our COO and taste tester in chief! Continue reading…
The Best cabbage soup I’ve ever made. Used a little more sour Kraut than the recipe calls for and it turned out amazing. Also used more water to because I love lots of broth. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for the recipe.
Mmmmm, delicious! My soy curls had gone bad/stale, so I used crumbled extra firm tofu (half a block). Was a very delicious soup. I made your zuppa the other day and that was good too! I usually just google recipes as per what I’m in the mood for (or if I see a picture posted somewhere) but hardly browse a blog itself for ideas, but I like yours so much that I intend to try more of YOUR recipes specifically! Whole food plant based AND excellent flavours /ideas! Thank you!!
This is a delicious soup! It’s the best cabbage soup I’ve made. I’ve made it once with kraut and once without(because I forgot) and both were delicious.
The Best cabbage soup I’ve ever made. Used a little more sour Kraut than the recipe calls for and it turned out amazing. Also used more water to because I love lots of broth. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for the recipe.
Do you drain the saurkraut or use the juice too.. i would think it would be good with the juice?? Thanks!
You don’t need to drain it unless you want to. Personally I prefer it with the juice. Enjoy!
Mmmmm, delicious! My soy curls had gone bad/stale, so I used crumbled extra firm tofu (half a block). Was a very delicious soup. I made your zuppa the other day and that was good too! I usually just google recipes as per what I’m in the mood for (or if I see a picture posted somewhere) but hardly browse a blog itself for ideas, but I like yours so much that I intend to try more of YOUR recipes specifically! Whole food plant based AND excellent flavours /ideas! Thank you!!
Awwww thank you so much Maria, this really made my day, so happy you loved the recipes ~ Florentina Xo’s
This is a delicious soup! It’s the best cabbage soup I’ve made. I’ve made it once with kraut and once without(because I forgot) and both were delicious.