Creamy Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup
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This wonderful Creamy Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup is packed with healthy veggies, savory kielbasa sausage, and is loaded with flavor! It’s one of our family favorites and we’re confident it’s going to become a regular favorite in your home too! This is a terrific make-ahead soup because the flavor only gets better the next day.
Creamy Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup
Juicy kielbasa and tender vegetables are enveloped in a creamy broth that’s flavored with herbs and spices. It’s the ultimate comfort soup and is so perfect for those cool evenings when you just want to curl up and enjoy a hot bowl of deliciousness.
Cabbage and sausages go hand in hand and have done for centuries in several European countries. To add to that harmonious coupling is caraway seed, a uniquely earthy-flavored spice that pairs beautifully with cabbage and sausage. I’m adding just a touch so it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors, but adds a wonderful undercurrent of flavor throughout the soup.
*Updated Recipe*
I first published this recipe in in 2014 and the base of this soup called for making another recipe, my homemade Cream of Celery Soup. While the original recipe received rave reviews from my readers, I found it too impractical and unnecessary to have to make a separate soup in order to make this one. So I decided to update the recipe and streamline the process. For those of you who have made and loved the original version don’t worry, not an ounce of flavor has been lost (in fact, the flavor is improved with the addition of caraway). Our Creamy Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup is as delicious as ever!
For those of you who would still like to make it the original way:
Here is the original recipe (**for the NEW UPDATED VERSION proceed below)
- one batch homemade Cream of Celery Soup, can be made ahead of time
- 14 ounces kielbasa ,sliced in 1/8 inch rounds
- 1 medium head green cabbage ,about 3 pounds, chopped
- 1 large carrot ,diced
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1 cup chicken broth mixed with 2 tablespoons flour ,make sure it’s dissolved
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Add the cabbage, carrot and kielbasa to the homemade Cream of Celery Soup along with the milk, cream, chicken broth, and seasonings, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Note: Once the soup is adequately thickened you can cover the soup for the remaining cooking time.) Serve hot. This soup tastes even better the next day.
Can you Freeze Creamy Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup?
Soups that contain milk or cream usually become grainy once frozen and thawed. If you want to freeze this soup I recommend leaving out the heavy cream and and then adding it after the soup is thawed and you’re heating it up.
Can You Make This In the Instant Pot?
Yes! Use the Sauté setting to follow the steps of cooking your veggies. After all the ingredients have been added, set your IP to HIGH and cook for 8 minutes followed by a quick release. Stir in the heavy cream and set your IP to Sauté to allow the soup to heat through.
Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup Recipe
Let’s get started!
Melt the butter in a heavy stock pot or Dutch oven and cook the onions until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the cabbage and cook for until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the kielbasa, thyme, salt, pepper, and crushed caraway seeds.
Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in the cream and heat through (don’t boil). Add salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaf.
Serve hot, garnished with some chopped parsley if desired.
This soup tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had more time to meld.
Enjoy!
For more delicious soups be sure to try my:
- Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- French Lentil Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
- White Bean Chili with Roasted Corn and Peppers
- Zurek (Polish Sour Rye Soup)
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Mushroom, Ham and Wild Rice Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Soup
- Cream of Celery Soup
- Smoky Black Eyed Pea Soup
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Creamy Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- 2 large carrots , diced
- 2 large ribs celery , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 large head green cabbage , roughly chopped
- 14 ounces quality smoked kielbasa sausage , sliced in 1/8 thick rounds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups quality chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon base (e.g., Better Than Bouillon, or two bouillon cubes)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a heavy stock pot or Dutch oven and cook the onions until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the cabbage and cook for until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the kielbasa, thyme, salt, pepper, and crushed caraway seeds. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, chicken bouillon base, and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.Stir in the cream and heat through (don't boil). Add salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaf.Serve hot, garnished with some chopped parsley if desired. This soup tastes even better the next day.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet on September 26, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Finally commenting on it…found this recipe last year and we didn’t have Kielbasa so I cooked and chopped up some bratwursts..we always have those on hand, and then you can cook some of the grease out of them since I make it for my parents and mom has gallbladder issues. And this soup became a staple at my house, I’ve made it for my sister who’s used to eating at fancy restaraunts and said she and her husband who is very picky, would order this in a restaurant. We do use bratwursts every time, why mess with something we love. This is an excellent recipe and very receptive to tweaking. I often leave any milk out of it, and we add half and half or cream to it after, or to individual bowls, for my mom… I also often just saute celery and onion and add it to the soup rather than making the cream of celery base, and it is excellent. I do imagine that if someone were to freeze that, it would be easy to just add cream when you thaw it out and serve it. I have also added kale to it, for an extra veggie and it was excellent as well, also have added blanched asparagus stems from our garden. This is one of my favorite recipes, and I do love the original version so much, but for mom I do usually have to tweak it. So I thank you very much for it. I am actually eating a bowl of it as we speak.
Hi Katelynn, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this feedback and some of the alterations you have made for your family’s dietary needs. I’m so glad you enjoy this soup as much as we do – thank you!
I made this for my family earlier this week, and it was a huge hit! There is a lot of cut work, but it’s not difficult. I was ready to eat it when the cream of celery was done, LOL!! Wonderful recipe, thank you!
Wonderful! I’m so glad it was a hit, Dawna, thank you!
I made the kielbasa soup tonight and the spelt biscuits and followed everything exactly, no changes…it was incredibly delicious! One of the best soups I’ve ever tasted and a big hit with both of us and you are not kidding that it’s comfort food. I’ve never used spelt flour before and never had kielbasa either so thank you for introducing something new to me. I loved the texture of the biscuits.
Hoooray, I’m happy to hear it was such a hit, Shannon! We love this soup too and are happy you feel the same. Glad also that you enjoyed the spelt biscuits. Thanks so much!
Both celery soup and the resulting cabbage soup were excellent.
I’m so happy to hear you made and enjoyed both, thanks so much, Katherine!
carmelized the cabbage and kielbasa … sorry!! But it gives me a chance to rate the soup.
Thanks so much for coming back to give the rating, Maryann, I really appreciate it!
I made the soup as directed except I cartelized the cabbage and the kielbasa (separately) prior to adding all together. It was absolutely delicious and bought raves from the family. I’ve made cabbage, kielbasa and potato soup forever and usually serve pattie melts along with it … adding the cream of celery soup has made it a new family favorite.
Wonderful, Maryann, I’m so glad it was a hit, thank you! I agree, caramelized onions are one of the best things in the world! :)
Hi ! Couldn’t you cook all the veggies together and then do the roux, and then add the cream and kielbasa ? How does doing the cream of celery base change the overall soup ?
Hi Kelly, from a functionality standpoint you can certainly do that. I find that focusing on the cream of celery soup base first really pronounces the celery flavor which is a key component to the end result.
Okay, thank you !
Could you substitute with can cream of celery?
Absolutely!
How many cans of cream of celery would be equivalent
About 2 cans of prepared cream of celery soup, meaning 2 cans plus the milk.
I used 2 cans of cream of celery with 2 cans of milk. Do I still add additional milk per the recipe? Thank u Hope it’s as good as it looks
Hi Ann, if the consistency looks right to you (not too thick), then you’re good to go. If it’s a little too thick then add a little more milk.
Thank you. So excited about having this tonight