Cabbage soup with cauliflower, chickpeas and coconut milk

Cabbage soup has appeared in American kitchens for decades, shaped by its reputation as a practical, everyday dish built around inexpensive, shelf-stable vegetables. In the mid-to-late 20th century, it frequently appeared in newspapers, magazines, and community cookbooks, where it was often promoted as an economical or health meal. “In the 1980s, thanks to the infamous ‘cabbage soup diet,’ cabbage-based soups were firmly intertwined with extremely restrictive weight-loss diets,” says Megan, associate editorial director of Serious Eats. “And by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, poor cabbage soup was synonymous with so-called detox diets in the United States, with hundreds if not thousands of examples of ‘detox cabbage soup’ and ‘weight loss cabbage soup’ online and in magazines.”

This lean, health-focused setting contrasts with many robust European cabbage soups, such as seupa vapellenentse, a layered Alpine dish enriched with bread, broth and melted cheese, and kapusniak, a Polish soup with pork sausage, potatoes and cabbage. Over time, these stripped-down American versions came to define the category, giving cabbage soup an undeserved reputation as a bland health food. This recipe bucks the austere reputation of cabbage soup in the United States, using thoughtful technique and layered seasoning to show how satisfying and flavorful a cabbage-based soup can be. But rather than taking the pork route to flavor, this soup relies on spices, citrus, and coconut milk for a meal-worthy soup that’s hearty without being too heavy. Plus, it’s a one-pot dinner that cooks in about 30 minutes, so it works exceptionally well for weeknight cooking.

This recipe comes from Julia Levy, our test kitchen colleague from Birmingham, Alabama, who created a simplified cabbage soup that delivers real depth in a short time. She starts by softening onions and carrots in olive oil to create a lightly sweet base, then adds garlic and fresh ginger. Ground cumin, black pepper, turmeric and smoked paprika are then mixed and briefly cooked in hot oil to bring out their flavors, giving the soup its warm, layered structure.

Instead of boiling cabbage into submission, Julia’s soup builds flavor in stages, treating each component as an opportunity to add depth. The cabbage is added just long enough to soften slightly and turn bright green, preserving its texture and vibrancy. The chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you want to keep the soup vegan) and tomatoes deglaze the pan, removing the browned bits and adding that flavorful focus back into the mixture. The chickpeas and cauliflower simmer until just tender, adding nourishment and keeping the soup firmly vegetal.

Towards the end of cooking, a full can of coconut milk is added, softening the spices and giving the broth a silky texture. The final soup remains bubbly rather than heavy, but has enough body and structure to make a complete meal. Warm spices, aromatics, and a short simmer transform familiar vegetables into something fragrant and cohesive, proving that cabbage soup doesn’t have to trade pleasure for practicality.