Description
If you’re craving a hearty, comforting soup, this cabbage and ground beef soup is the one to make. It’s packed with simple ingredients, tastes delicious and it’s super easy to make too. I’ve included step-by-step instructions for both the stovetop and the Instant Pot so you can make it whatever way works best for you.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 pound (500 grams) lean ground beef
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks of celery, sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 28 oz (796 ml) can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups chopped green cabbage (about ½ medium cabbage)
- 4 cups beef broth or stock
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt or bouillon and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I like to use this homemade bouillon powder)
Instructions
Stovetop Method
- Brown the ground beef: Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Sauté the veggies: Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
- Add the rest and simmer: Stir in the diced tomatoes, chopped cabbage, beef broth, soy sauce or tamari and bay leaves. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Let it simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until the cabbage is softened to your liking.
- Season and serve: Remove the bay leaves and season to taste with sea salt (or bouillon powder) and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve. I love mine with some chopped fresh parsley and a dollop of sour cream on top.
Instant Pot Method
- Sauté: Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté” mode and heat up the oil. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes until onion is softened.
- Add the rest: Press the “Cancel” button to turn off the Sauté mode. Add the diced tomatoes, chopped cabbage, beef broth, soy sauce and bay leaves. Give everything a good stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
- Pressure Cook: Secure the lid with the pressure valve in the “Sealing” position. Set to pressure cook for 5 minutes (high pressure) followed by a 10 minute natural release before opening the lid.
- Season and serve: Remove the bay leaves and season to taste with sea salt (or bouillon powder) and freshly ground black pepper. Time to serve!
Notes
- Meal prep and storage: This beef cabbage soup stores incredibly well which makes it perfect for leftovers and easy meal prep. Honestly, I think it tastes even better the next day once all the flavors have had a chance to mingle together. Let the soup cool, then transfer to an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
- A few storage tips: A wide mouth funnel makes pouring the soup into jars so much easier (and way less messy!). If you’re planning to freeze them, here are my tips for freezing mason jars so they don’t crack. Another option I love is using Souper Cubes – they come in different portion sizes and the frozen soup pops out really easily.
- Instant Pot: For the Instant Pot method, I use the 6-Quart Instant Pot Duo. If you’re new to the Instant Pot or still figuring out the terminology, you might find these 10 Instant Pot Tips For Beginners helpful.
