With all this bitter cold we have been experiencing here in the North East, I have been making a lot of soups. And this is one of the most amazing soups I have had. The cabbage cooks up with a sweetness to it and is not bitter at all. That subtle sweetness paired with the salty kielbasa, wow! The flavor is amazing and combined with the fact this soup is so easy and quick to prepare, it makes it a keeper for sure. Even if you are not a huge cabbage fan, don’t be afraid to give this a try.
I first tried this soup when my really good friend Rebecca made it for a ladies tea at our church. I honestly was kind of skeptical about trying it, but, I know she is a great cook- so I figured I would give it whirl. And I am so glad I did. It was so good I didn’t want to eat anything else! I got the recipe from her and I wanted to make it so bad, but my husband is not a cabbage fan unless it is smothered in coleslaw dressing. So after another soup potluck (where I devoured this soup), Rebecca let me take the little bit that was left in the pot home to test out on him. And guess what- he liked it!!!! So now I can make it for the whole family for dinner and not just when he is away. My kids, even the littlest one, all love this too.
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It is amazingly simple to make and takes only 30-35 minutes. One change I made was to add garlic cloves- in my opinion garlic adds great flavor to soups, but feel free to leave them out if you want. I also added that you can use a bit of brown sugar to add subtle sweetness if you don’t have apples (no extra store trips- or buying apples when they are out of season!). In fact, the only thing it was missing today was a nice thick slice of rye bread slathered in butter. The hint of caraway in the soup just lends so well to go with rye bread. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any, and it is an all day affair to make a fresh loaf. Next time, I will plan better but for now some homemade white bread worked. (doesn’t most bread work with a thick coating of butter!)
Kielbasa Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups of coleslaw mix or 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 medium sized carrots chopped
- 1 onion chopped about 1/2 cup
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 2 Tbsp of butter
- 32 oz carton of chicken broth or use homemade
- 3/4 to 1 pound of good kielbasa sausage or polish sausage cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 medium golden delicious apples chopped- I use whatever apples I have or if you don't have apples add a Tablespoon or so of brown sugar for the added sweetness.
- 1/4 tsp of pepper
- 1/8 tsp of salt
- Additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, melt butter and saute coleslaw mix (or cabbage), carrots, onion, garlic and caraway seeds for 5-8 min or until vegetables are crisp-tender.Stir in the rest of the ingredients including the 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer, uncovered for 20-30 min, stirring occasionally. Check seasoning level more toward the end and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
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That’s why cooking is so fun! A little bit of this – a lot more of that – no real science to it once you get you taste buds fine tuned! Unlike baking which I have found I absolutely love as much as cooking these days. Much more precision involved but that helps one stay focused so we don’t have flat cakes and tough pie crusts. Ciao š
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It is a bit chilly here this morning and I want soup! Glad I still have some of this amazing one of yours and a couple of slices of rye toast to go along with it. Hope your week is a wonderful one Amy š
Leftover soup- even better! Hope you have a great week too š
This soup sounds amazing! I am having my kids up this weekend and I have been racking my brain what to have for lunch when they are here! They both (fortunately) love cabbage and so you have solved my dilemma. What kind of bread do you think would compliment this? I am thinking maybe some simple rye toast, being that the caraway seeds are in your soup. Anyway I will let you know what the verdict is š but I am pretty sure your soup will be a GIANT hit!!
I love this soup- I usually use the apples and a touch of brown sugar if I think it needs a bit more sweetness. And yes, this soup is a perfect match with rye bread! I have even gotten away with using sausage when I haven’t had kielbasa and it’s still really good, although, kielbasa is my favorite.
I am going to make it tomorrow – Friday. Kids are coming up on Saturday and I can only imagine, like with most soups, making it a day ahead will allow the marrying of all the wonderful flavors. I will report back with the rave reviews!! Have a great weekend Amy! š
Yes it does taste better the next day. Hope you and your family enjoy š
Well I finally am getting back to you. HOORAY AMY! What a delicious and hearty soup! My youngest daughter fell in love and her comment was that it tasted like the holidays and my oldest daughter said it was scrumptious – mirroring my thoughts completely!! I must say that I did sprinkle in about 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon that I thought would go with the apples and the cabbage. It gave it that much more of a holiday feel. We all were cozy and full when we were done. And I feel a little silly about asking you about the rye bread. I re-read your post and saw that you had suggested that. I guess I got so excited about the soup I forgot to read everything. :)) It WAS perfect – especially toasted with REAL butter!! Thanks again for the recipe. Onto more soups from you girl – PLEASE!!
I was hoping your family enjoyed it! The cinnamon sounds like an interesting add in- maybe I’ll try it out sometime. Hopefully I will get more soups posted this winter. I make soup a lot- great way to use what you have! I just usually throw stuff in and make it to taste so that doesn’t always translate well to a written recipe! I’m trying to measure more š