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The balsamic vinegar makes this Sausage and Cabbage Soup extra delicious, and this tasty soup is going to be a hit on a cold winter night! And this recipe makes a big pot of soup, so it’s perfect for Weekend Food Prep.

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Sausage and Cabbage Soup shown in bowl with spoon, with Parmesan and salt-pepper shakers.

I recently talked about how I’m updating some of my older recipes to create lower-carb versions. And this Sausage and Cabbage Soup is a low-carb version of  a favorite soup that had lentils; I used cauliflower rice to replace them for the lower-carb soup! And Kara and I both thought the new soup recipe was so tasty! (If anyone was a fan of the original Lentil, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup, you can follow that link and see the printer-friendly version  back in the archives.)

This is a stovetop soup recipe that makes a big pot of soup, and it freezes especially well so I hope you’ll consider making the full amount. But if that’s too much soup for you, just cut the recipe in half. You can still use the full amount of sausage or freeze half the sausage for another time, whichever you prefer. We gobbled this up on a day when we had a few different recipes to test, and loved it with a little freshly-grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on at the table.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What sausage should you use for the Sausage and Cabbage Soup?

A lot of the flavor in this soup comes from the sausage, so use a flavorful sausage for this recipe. You can make the soup with turkey, chicken, pork, or beef pre-cooked sausage, but there are some variations to consider in the different types of sausage. In general turkey and chicken sausage will be lower in fat, but they’re often higher in carbs. And Pork and Beef sausage will be higher in fat but usually lower in carbs. Check the carb and fat amounts on the packages to decide which works for your way of eating. We used Kroger Private Selection Smoked Sausage with Pork and Beef, which had only 1 carb per serving and was gluten-free.

Is the Sausage and Cabbage Soup low-carb and gluten-free?

This soup has mostly sausage and vegetables and with the sausage we used it makes a soup with about 10 net carbs per serving. If you use gluten-free sausage and gluten-free broth or soup base, the recipe will be gluten-free, and it’s also dairy-free without the optional Parmesan.

How to make a lower-carb version of Sausage and Cabbage Soup:

The two highest-carb ingredients in the soup are carrots and balsamic vinegar, and if you omit those that takes it down to 8 net carbs per serving. But personally I would probably make it with those included and just watch my carbs more carefully for other meals that day!

Can you make Sausage and Cabbage Soup in the Slow Cooker or the Instant Pot?

I test the recipes on this site carefully, sometimes making them several times (with the fantastic Kara) to be sure they work for you. So even though I’m sure you *can* make this soup in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, I haven’t tested it that way and don’t feel comfortable just guessing at the cooking times. If you want to try it I think you could still cook everything except the cauliflower rice together at first, then add cauliflower rice and cook a bit longer. If anyone tries one of those methods and has a good result, please share your cooking time in the comments so others can see it.

Process shots collage for Sausage and Cabbage Soup showing recipe steps.

How to Make Sausage and Cabbage Soup:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Take cauliflower rice out of the freezer and let it start to thaw.
  2. The first photos shows the Kroger Private Selection Smoked Sausage with Pork and Beef we used. (Kroger has never paid me to mention their ingredients.)
  3. We cut the sausage lengthwise into fourths, and then sliced into smaller pieces.
  4. Add water, chicken stock or broth, beef flavor base, bay leaves, garlic, dried thyme, dried oregano, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), tomato paste, and diced sausage to a large soup pot and start to simmer.
  5. Then cut up the carrots, onion, celery, and cabbage and add to the soup. 
  6. Simmer the soup on very low heat for about one hour (or slightly longer.) 
  7. Then add cauliflower rice and simmer at least 30 minutes more, or until cauliflower rice starts to somewhat dissolve into the soup. You can add more liquid during this time if you need it.  
  8. When soup is done, remove bay leaves and stir in balsamic vinegar (if using) and cook a few minutes more.
  9. Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.
  10. This soup freezes very well and will also stay good in the fridge for at least a week.

More Low-Carb Soups with Cabbage:

Cabbage is one of my favorite low-carb ingredients, and I love using it in soup. You can check out Low-Carb and Keto Soups with Cabbage to see a round-up of all the soups on this site that have cabbage.

Weekend Food Prep:

This Sausage and Cabbage Soup recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Sausage and Cabbage Soup shown in bowl with spoon, with Parmesan and salt-pepper shakers.
Yield: 10 servings

Sausage and Cabbage Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

The touch of balsamic vinegar makes this Sausage and Cabbage Soup extra flavorful, and this makes a large pot of soup that freezes especially well. If that's too much soup for you, just cut all the ingredients in half and make a smaller batch of soup.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 8 cups chicken broth (see notes)
  • 1 T Better-than-Bouillon Beef flavor base (see notes)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 T minced garlic (or less)
  • 2 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 T Spike Seasoning (see notes)
  • 2 T tomato paste (I used the type from a tube)
  • 14 oz. precooked turkey, chicken, pork, or beef sausage (see notes)
  • 1 cup finely diced onion
  • 1 cup finely diced celery
  • 2 small carrots, diced
  • 4 cups coarsely chopped cabbage (or more)
  • 2 cups frozen califlower rice
  • 2 T balsamic vinegar to add at the end (optional but recommended)
  • freshly-grated Parmesan cheese to add at the table (optional)

Instructions

  1. Take cauliflower rice out of the freezer and let it thaw on the countertop when you start the soup.
  2. Cut sausage into fourths lengthwise, then into small pieces..
  3. Put water, homemade chicken stock or chicken broth, beef flavor base, bay leaves, minced garlic, thyme, oregano, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), tomato paste, and sausage in large soup pot and start to simmer.
  4. Then cut up the carrots, onion, celery, and cabbage one at a time and add each to the soup. (You can use coleslaw mix instead of chopping up cabbage if you prefer, although I like the more coarsely chopped cabbage for this.)
  5. Let soup simmer on low 1 hour or a bit longer.
  6. Then add the cauliflower rice and simmer at least 30 minutes longer, or until the cauliflower rice starts to somewhat dissolve into the soup. You can add more liquid during this time if it seems like the soup is getting too thick. 
  7. When the soup is done, discard bay leaves and stir in the balsamic vinegar (if using) and cook a few minutes longer.
  8. Serve hot, with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.
  9. This soup freezes very well and will also stay good in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Notes

Of course homemade chicken stock is best for soup like this, but if you don't have homemade chicken stock use canned chicken broth, or water with chicken soup base.

Better-than-Bouillon doesn't guarantee their flavor bases are gluten-free, so if you need that guarantee you might want to use a different brand.

If you don't have Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) use any all-purpose seasoning blend.

We used Kroger Private Selection Smoked Sausage with Pork and Beef, which had only 1 carb per serving and was gluten-free.

Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara as a lower-carb variation of an older favorite soup that had lentils.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 225Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5.2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3.8gCholesterol: 35.5mgSodium: 1074mgCarbohydrates: 13.7gFiber: 3gSugar: 5.8gProtein: 13.7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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© Danica Thomas
Category: Soups & Stews
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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Sausage and cabbage soup has about 10 net carbs per serving with the pork and beef sausage we used. If you want to make this recipe suitable for the original South Beach Diet, use turkey or chicken sausage that’s relatively low in fat. If you’re strictly following South Beach, the carrots wouldn’t be approved for Phase One, but I wouldn’t worry too much about the tiny bit of carrots we used.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Danica's Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2007 as a soup with lentils, sausage, and cabbage.  The original recipe was moved to the archives and this lower-carb Sausage and Cabbage Soup was posted in 2024.

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