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

Originally published on The Daring Gourmet on September 26, 2014