My husband and I are what some people call “Gastro Travelers,” basically when you travel to experience food. When we are home we are health-conscious eaters; however, when we go out of town we are determined to eat all of the things. We love food and the culture behind it, I get tons of inspiration in my own kitchen from my travels, and we look at traveling as a once and a lifetime opportunity to explore the food of wherever we may be… which means HOLD THE SELF CONTROL. We’ve got all the time in the world to eat clean when we get home.. until then, YOLO. But this Detoxing Cabbage Soup is perfect for our time at home.
With that being said, we come home full as ticks and sometimes, quite miserable to be honest. That is why I make this “Detoxing Cabbage Soup” when we get back from vacation. It’s really low carb and really tasty to give our guts a little bit of a break from over indulging. Plus, I just love the way it tastes 🙂


- 3/4 head of green cabbage
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrot
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1 lemon, juiced
- dash of cayenne pepper (optional, or more to taste)
- Kosher salt and Coarse Black Pepper, to taste
- Cut the core off of the cabbage and discard. Now, cut your cabbage into four large wedges (save one of the wedges for another time). From there, thinly slice the cabbage so you have long shreds. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil over med-high heat in a large soup pot or dutch oven. add carrots, onion, and celery and season to taste with salt and pepper. Saute until tender, about 7 minutes.
- Add in garlic, saute 2 more minutes being careful not to burn.
- Now add in your chicken broth, diced tomatoes, cayenne, cumin, and a little more salt and pepper to flavor the soup a bit more. Turn heat down to medium, and add your cabbage. When the soup reaches a heavy simmer, turn down the heat to low and let it continue to cook at a slight simmer for 30-45 minutes.
- Add in the juice of the lemon. Taste the soup and add additional salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Also, if you think it needs a dash more of cayenne, add that as well!
- Serve and enjoy!
- Add in some chopped rotisserie chicken if you want to add some extra protein.
25 Comments
Gloria
February 27, 2022 at 10:40 pmI make this soup almost every time my husband goes off on a days/week long trip. I’ll eat it for days to detox AND to free me from cooking. I sometimes add little meatballs or cut up Italian sausage, or any meat I have available. I also like to add black, pinto, or garbanzo beans for a full meal during the winter. My husband loves soup!
Niki
June 20, 2021 at 10:14 pmLooks so good! I will make this soup this week! Thanks for the recipe!
Brindley
February 21, 2021 at 11:48 pmCan this be made in a slow cooker?
Alex
February 22, 2021 at 3:49 pmcertainly!
Samantha
February 1, 2022 at 10:08 pmI’ve followed this recipe a few times and love it. I always add more spices and instead of a tomato I used seasoned diced tomatoes that are canned. So much flavor and definitely hits the spot when you’re under the weather
AnneMarie Musselwhite
May 4, 2022 at 1:20 amThankyou I’m making this tomorrow after work just to clean my body out.
Rose M
January 20, 2021 at 1:25 amI might add Ro-Tel tomatoes. Love them in soups.
Laura
January 5, 2021 at 12:28 pmI love the recipe, Alex (who am I kidding? I love all your recipes!) I also like puréeing half of the veggies when softened, including the tomatoes, into the stock before adding the cabbage. Delicious!
Abby
January 5, 2021 at 2:34 amThis was excellent! I made it as a side to go with your crispy taco recipe, and even my soup hating husband loved it!
Anna
July 28, 2021 at 5:14 pmI’m wondering if there is a substitute from the chicken broth I’m allergic to all meats.
Alex
July 30, 2021 at 8:01 pmveggie broth is great here.
Susan
November 8, 2021 at 10:59 pmMaybe try vegetable broth, bless your heart!
Lindsey
January 3, 2021 at 8:37 pmI made this soup and it is delicious as is, but I ended up puréeing it and it turned out amazing!
Jill Jones
January 2, 2021 at 7:26 pmDo you have the calorie and carb count on this?
Alex
January 3, 2021 at 2:22 pmI don’t I’m Sorry!
Laura Wilensky
December 29, 2020 at 3:38 pmDoes this soup freeze well?
Alex
December 29, 2020 at 4:22 pmyes!
Delo
December 3, 2020 at 1:16 pmI did it. It works! Great way to jump start your new eating habits!
Mary Wiltshire
November 20, 2020 at 8:26 pmCan you eat the soup everyday for several weeks for all meals to loose weight?
Alex
November 21, 2020 at 3:19 pmI am not a nutritionist nor a doctor; but I personally wouldn’t eat just one thing for weight loss. I think a well rounded, diversified diet with lots of nutrients is a better approach than a cabbage soup diet for 2 weeks.
Autumn Lamer
November 9, 2020 at 5:48 pmJust made this for the week. So good! Thank you for sharing!
Emily
November 5, 2020 at 12:42 amDo you think this would work with purple cabbage? Thanks!
Alex
November 5, 2020 at 1:14 pmI defintitely prefer it with green, but yes!! you can definitely use red here!
Michelle
October 27, 2020 at 2:54 amOne of my first and favorite recipes I tried of yours. Soo good! Thank you for teaching me its ok to add cumin to my soups.
Alex
October 27, 2020 at 3:08 pmah, cumin is just the best!! so warm and cozy.