This loaded cabbage and meatball soup is hearty and satisfying, packed with veggies and beans, and cooked in just one pot. It’s the perfect autumn or winter soup - the kind you can serve as a main meal.
This delicious cabbage and meatball soup also contains vegetables, bacon, and beans. It might seem like a lot of ingredients, but the soup is budget-friendly, easy, and rather quick to make. And everybody will love it!
I think I have mentioned before, once or twice (or probably 50 times), that we are soup fanatics in this house. We all love soup, any soup; soup is the kind of dish I cook most often.
Try more soups with meatballs, like the Vegetable Meatball Soup or the Romanian Ciorba de Perisoare.
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Ingredients
Meat: I used lean ground beef, but ground turkey, pork, or a pork-beef mix works well, too. You can use this Homemade Ground Beef Seasoning to season the meat.
- You can also use sausages to make the meatballs, which speeds up the process and eliminates the need for extra seasonings. Remove the casings from 1 lb/ 450 g of sausages and form small meatballs with wet hands.
Vegetables: I first made this soup because I had leftover cabbage, which was not enough to make stewed cabbage or German coleslaw but enough to make a soup.
- Other vegetables you will need to cook this meatball soup recipe are the typical “soup vegetables”: onion, carrot, celery, leek, and red bell pepper.
Stock: I use homemade chicken stock (the one used in the Semolina dumpling soup) or beef broth, but use your favorite brand if you don't wish to make your own stock.
Pantry ingredients: A can of tomatoes and a can of beans, which you probably already have in the house. You can use any beans you have or like. I almost always use vinegar to sour this kind of hearty soup, almost any soup containing meat and beans.
How to make cabbage and meatball soup?
- Step #1: Do the chopping! Chop the bacon and all the vegetables, keeping them in separate bowls: bacon and onion together, carrot, celery, leek, and pepper in another, and cabbage in a third.
- Step #2: Make the meatballs, as you will need a little time to form the balls. Set them aside.
- Step #3: Saute the onion and bacon. Add the vegetables from the second bowl and saute for about 5 minutes more. Stir in the sweet paprika for about 1 minute.
- Step #4: Now add the tomatoes, the rest of the spices, and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Step #5: Add the cabbage to the soup as well, and cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are almost done; add the meatballs and the drained beans and simmer for about 15 minutes more until the vegetables are soft and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Step #6: Adjust the taste with the red wine vinegar, add more salt and pepper, and serve.
Store and reheat
The cabbage soup with meatballs can be served immediately, but it reheats well, so you can make it in advance and enjoy it over several days. Serve it as is or with a slice of crusty bread.
Refrigerate the cabbage and meatball soup in the covered pot or an airtight container for 4-5 days. Reheat it on the stovetop or microwave.
You can also freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months. Defrost them in the fridge and reheat the food thoroughly before serving.
Cabbage and Meatball Soup
Equipment
- Large soup pot or Dutch oven
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3.5 oz bacon 100 g
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large carrot
- 2-3 celery stalks depending on size (or about 50 g/ 1.7 oz celeriac)
- 1 small leek
- 1 small red bell pepper
- ½ tablespoon sweet paprika powder
- 6 ½ cups chicken stock or beef stock, 1 ½ liter
- 1 can diced tomatoes 400 g/ 14 oz
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 9 oz white cabbage 250 g, Note 1
- 1 can beans any kind you like, 400 g/ 14 oz
- 1-2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Meatballs:
- 1 lb lean ground beef 450 g, Note 2
- 1 small onion
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped, or frozen parsley
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt less if using table salt
- generously freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Chop: Cut the bacon into small cubes. Chop the onion finely. Set both aside in a small bowl.3.5 oz bacon/ 100 g
- Chop the carrot, celery stalks or celeriac, leek, and pepper into small cubes. Set aside in another bowl.1 medium onion + 1 large carrot + 2-3 celery stalks + 1 small leek + 1 small red bell pepper
- Slice the cabbage very finely or chop it into small pieces. Set aside in another bowl.9 oz white cabbage/ 250 g
Meatballs:
- Combine: Chop the onion very finely. Combine the ground beef with the onion, grated garlic clove, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix very well with your hands.1 small onion + 1 lb lean ground beef/ 450 g + 1 large garlic clove + 1 egg + 4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs + 2 tablespoons parsley + 1 teaspoon fine sea salt + generously freshly ground black pepper
- Shape meatballs, about 30-35 walnut-sized meatballs. Set aside.
Soup:
- Saute: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the bacon and the onion and saute for about 3 minutes.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the carrot, celery, leek, and pepper, stir well and saute, stirring often, for about 5 more minutes. Add sweet paprika to the vegetables, and stir well for one minute.½ tablespoon sweet paprika powder
- Add the stock, tomatoes, sugar, thyme, one teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.6 ½ cups chicken stock/ 1½ liter + 1 can diced tomatoes + 1 teaspoon sugar + 1 tablespoon thyme + ½ teaspoon pepper
- Simmer soup: Stir well and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.
- Add cabbage and bring to a boil again. Simmer for 5 minutes, add the meatballs and drained black beans, and simmer for another 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the meatballs are cooked through.1 can beans
- Adjust taste: Add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar and more salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining red wine vinegar according to your taste.1-2 teaspoons red wine vinegar + fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Notes
- Substitute white cabbage with green or sweetheart/ pointed cabbage.
- Meatballs: You can make the meatballs using sausage meat. Remove the casings and form small meatballs.
Christy Myers says
NM- Ha! sorry! Found it at the top of the ingredients! (My eyes)
I’m chopping away right now.
Christy Myers says
I’m just starting to
Make this soup! It looks wonderful.
However, I can’t find how much bacon is used anywhere in the notes, or ingredients. Please let me know- thankyou!
angiesrecipes says
A very warming and hearty soup! My husband loves meatballs..this might trick him to eat some cooked veggies 🙂