Simple Cabbage Soup (Instant Pot + Stovetop Instructions)

Growing up, we weren’t allowed to drink at the table. Not even a glass of water. We had to drink, like, 20 minutes before we ate or wait until afterward. Something about digestion? No clue. Anyhow, one day, I asked my parents, well, if we can’t drink while we eat, how come we have soup? I honestly still remember the look on their faces, and the stammering that followed. It was great. I feel like if my kids happen to be as cheeky as I was…well, I have a lot of character building that the Lord wants me to go through, haha! But on to the cabbage soup!

This post uses affiliate links

Whenever I think of cabbage soup, I think of Charlie’s mom from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory making cabbage soup. Or my grandma, or all of the wartime stories one hears. Cabbage soup is great on a budget and is packed with nutrients! Plus, it’s delicious - so I would say it’s a win-win to make this soup.

You can add whatever items you want from your fridge or pantry. I like adding a can of white beans sometimes, and other times, I feel like adding frozen corn. It’s very versatile!

I love making this pot in the Instant Pot (I have the 6qt Duo from Amazon). While it is not much quicker to cook up in the Instant Pot, it definitely cuts down on the amount of time I have to spend minding the stove. It’s just kind of nice to set the pot and be fully engaged with cleaning up or whatever else needs to be done and not checking on the soup or stirring. Plus, the cleanup is fantastically easy with Instant Pot.

Simple Cabbage Soup

what you need:

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 head green cabbage, chopped

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 2 tsp parsley

• 1 tsp basil

• 1 TBSP homemade chicken-style seasoning, or store-bought

• 6 cups vegetable broth (try this homemade version!)

• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes

• 1 15-oz can white beans - drained and rinsed (optional)

• pinch red pepper flakes

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instant Pot instructions:

1. Set Instant Pot to the saute function. Add olive oil and allow to heat a bit. Add onion and cook for about a minute. Add the minced garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook another minute.

2. Turn the pot off and add chilli powder, parsley, basil, diced tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth, and seasoning.

3. Manually set the pot to pressure cook high 5 minutes.

4. Once the pot is finished, manually release the steam.

5. Stir in cabbage, until slightly wilted. Add red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

Stovetop Instructions

1. Heat up olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and cook until soft. Add celery and carrots and cook another 3 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute.

2. Add the spices, herbs, and tomatoes and beans, and vegetable broth.

3. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring, about 20 minutes.

4. Add cabbage and mix in until slightly wilted. Add red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

---

What kinds of soups are your favourite?

---

Easy DIY Vegetable Broth

Over the last few years, I’ve been getting closer and closer to near-o waste. Not quite zero, but almost there. Vegetable broth was one of the easiest switch ever! Not only did it cut down on vegetable scrap waste, it cut down on the waste produced by buying tetra packs of vegetable broth.

It is so simple! It took me forever to get this onto the blog, but today is the day.

This post contains affiliate links

The key to this broth is your collection of vegetable scraps. I collect these over time and keep them in my freezer. It’s simple: onion ends, carrot peels, celery ends, you name it. I make sure to clean everything well before peeling or adding. Sometimes I’ll add vegetables that are starting to wilt to my collection if I won’t be able to use them in time. I stick these scraps in a jar or in a baggie and keep them in the freezer until I am ready for them.

I whip up this broth in my Instant Pot, but it’s just as easy to do it on the stovetop or in your slow cooker as well.

Once the broth is made, it will stay good in your fridge for a few days or in the freezer for 6 months. I prefer the latter, by the way. Just requires some planning when you’re ready to use it. If I want to use it, I’ll stick it into the fridge overnight and it’s ready for me the next day!

I really enjoy being able to make my own pantry staples and knowing exactly what goes into what we eat!

Some recipes that use vegetable broth:

• Easy Enchilada Sauce

• Vegan Corn Chowder

• Poor Man’s Lentil Soup

• Spinach & Artichoke Flatbread

Easy DIY Vegetable Broth

What you need:

• Large onion, in large chunks with papery skin still on

• 3 carrots, scrubbed, skins still on

• 3 stalks celery, scrubbed, leaves still on

• 8 cloves garlic, crushed

• 2-3 cups veggie scraps

• 1 TBSP parsley (dried or fresh)

• 1 TBSP thyme (dried or fresh)

• 6 springs fresh rosemary (optional)

• 3 bay leaves

• 2 tsp sea salt

• 10 cups water

Instant Pot Instructions

Add everything to the instant pot insert. Set on manual high pressure for 30 minutes and release steam manually. (Continued below in bold print)

Stovetop Instructions

Add everything to a large stockpot and allow to simmer at least 1 hour. (Continued below in bold print)

Slow Cooker Instructions

Add everything to the pot insert and cook on high for at least 5 hours. (Continued below in bold print)

Allow broth to cool. Once cooled, run through a fine sieve and store in large jars or containers.

PS: Another great way to use food scraps like citrus is making an all-purpose cleaner!

Shop This Post

---

What kinds of pantry staples do you make from scratch? How do you cut down on food waste?

---

Poor Man's Lentil Soup

It was one of those months where we needed to get creative with what was in our pantry. It happens a few times a year where what we have needs to stretch out as long as possible - not necessarily always because we're short on cash, but especially when we have a new goal (like a trip or a larger purchase) that we want to aim toward. There are also times where we feel it a good idea to "clean out" our pantry by making sure we eat what we have to avoid spoil.

Usually, we purpose to not spend a penny during these times, relying on canned and frozen vegetables to accompany our other staples, but this time around, we splurged and were able to score some inexpensive, and fresh produce at the farmer's market!

I love soup and have never associated it with not having money, so it's always a welcome dish to me. However, it is also one of those things my husband does not anticipate to fill him long enough, so I always purpose to make it hearty. I, however, enjoy more brothy soups, so this was a great in-between. The lentils fill us, but the broth is so yummy, and perfect for some bread to soak up. 

The fresh kale makes it even more enjoyable - I love the texture and colour that this soup has; the bright oranges and greens! 

This soup is not only extremely inexpensive to make - it is also flexible (use beans or potaoes or whatever you have in the pantry/fridge instead of lentils) and amazingly easy to make. 

Poor Man's Lentil Soup

What you need:

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 stalk celery roughly chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 3 TBSP homemade vegan chicken-style seasoning

• 2 tsp salt

• sea salt to taste

• 1/2 cup dried lentils

• 4 cups water

• 4 cups vegetable broth (try this homemade version!)

• 1/2 bunch of kale, roughly chopped

• Your favourite vegan sausage (optional)

What to do:

1. Cook carrot, celery and onion with 2 tsp salt in olive oil in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven

2. Add vegetable stock, water, garlic, seasoning and lentils

3. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until the lentils are cooked

4. Add kale and allow to turn a deep green and wilt a bit before stirring into the soup.

5. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve hot!

(good in the fridge for 4 days)

---

What are some of your go-to meals when cleaning out your pantry? 

---

Vegan Corn Chowder

The best thing about Autumn (besides fireplaces, candles, fuzzy blankets and cuddling, that is) is soup. I love soup. All sorts of soup. I could eat soup year-round to be completely honest. I have been holding on to this recipe, just waiting for the perfect moment to share it with you all, and I decided that instead of waiting until it was cold out, I would share it now so that you can brace yourselves for it!

Autumn is indeed coming.

So my mom and brother came to visit and just left after two weeks. I hadn't seen the two of them in two years, so I was so excited and was literally bouncing off things I couldn't wait! Two weeks went by way too quickly, and even though we did a ton of fun stuff, I felt bad because they came just as I was prepping my life and classroom for the school year to start. It was a total bummer, but we are hoping to visit them for a few days at Christmas. They allegedly had a good time despite helping me haul desks and label books, so that is good I suppose. 

Anyway, back to the soup: Growing up, corn chowder was seriously my favourite. I actually loved (and still love) soup in general, but I could down bowls of this if I was in the mood. Even today, I love enjoying a hot bowl of this on a chilly day. Since we just concluded a lovely visit with my family, I thought it would be appropriate to [finally] share this recipe. It's a bit different than the original but still tastes delicious.

By the way, this soup has cashews in it. If I get enough nut-free requests, I'll share that version too ;-)

Vegan Corn Chowder

What you need:

• 3 small potatoes

• 1 medium onion

• 1 red pepper

• 1 TBSP homemade vegan chicken-style seasoning

• 2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp basil

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 stalk celery

• 3/4 cup cashews

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup cooked brown rice

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 1 TBSP dried)

• 4 cups corn

• 2 cups water

• 4 cups vegetable broth (try this homemade version!)

What to do:

1. Dice onion, pepper and potatoes and put in a large pot with 4 cups of vegetable broth.

2. Bring to a boil, and then a simmer. Add salt, seasoning, and garlic powder.

3. Blend the cashews, celery, 2 cups water and rice until smooth. Add the parsley and blend for a few more seconds and add cashew mixture to the pot.

4. Put 2 cups of corn and 2 cups of water in blender. Blend and then add to the soup.

5. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn to the pot and bring to simmer.

6. Add salt to taste.
    

---

What's your favourite soup when the weather starts getting chilly?

---