Weight loss cabbage soup is a light, veggie-packed soup that’s both comforting and satisfying. Made with cabbage, vegetables, and a savory broth, this simple soup is low in calories while still delivering big flavor. It’s ideal for meal prep, clean eating resets, or anytime you want a nourishing, cozy meal that won’t feel heavy. Easy to customize and great for leftovers, this cabbage soup is a staple healthy recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
This soup is also called cabbage fat burning soup, wonder soup, weight loss soup, miracle soup, and weight watcher soup. There are so many names for this soup!
Table of Contents
Basically, this soup is just veggies and some of my homemade “better than botox” bone broth (which you can make in the slow cooker or in the instant pot). You can also use store-bought vegetable, beef or chicken stock, just be sure that it’s low-sodium.
As for veggies, I kind of just threw in all of my favorites. Zucchini, carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes and some green pepper (red pepper also works). To add a bit more substance to the soup, a good amount of cabbage is added in as well.
Why cabbage?
The cabbage helps to keep you full and has detoxing properties to it. However, if you’re not a fan of cabbage, you could always swap in some baby spinach or kale instead.
I was sure to give my Weight Loss Cabbage Soup a good amount of seasoning with oregano, basil and red pepper flakes. I like my soup spicy, and reports show that spicy food can aid in weight loss, but if you’re sensitive to heat, feel free to leave the red pepper flakes out.
Reader
Love
I am not a cook. Don’t even know what an Insta-Pot is. But I wanted to lose weight and was trying to find a good veggie- based recipe. I found/tried this one and oh my goodness! I ate it every day for lunch and a couple of times for dinner! My poor hubby only got one bowl, so now I’m making another pot (one week later) and hopefully I will be able to share this time. It is SO yummy and EASY to make!! Plus… I lost 3.6 lbs… so it works! Thanks for sharing this recipe. One of my faves now!
–
How much weight can you lose on the cabbage soup diet?
Most people lose between 5-10 pounds during the 7-day cabbage soup diet. However, everyone is different.
How do you do the 7-day cabbage soup diet plan?
The original cabbage soup diet allows you to eat all of the cabbage soup you like in addition to adding certain foods on specific days throughout the week (see below). Whats not allowed? Bread, alcohol and carbonated beverages, including diet sodas.
Be sure to drink lots of water while doing this plan, 8-10 glasses is recommended.
- Day 1: Any fruit (except bananas).
- Day 2: Any and all vegetables, baked potato with butter for dinner.
- Day 3: Combine Days 1 and 2 without potato.
- Day 4: Up to 6 bananas, skim milk.
- Day 5: 10 to 20 ounces of beef or skinless chicken, can of tomatoes.
- Day 6: All the beef or chicken and vegetables you want.
- Day 7: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, and vegetables.
How to use cabbage soup for weight loss
I like to enjoy a cup of this Weight Loss Soup for lunch, again for an afternoon snack, and again for dinner with a bit of lean protein on the side. See below for my favorite suggestions.
My preferred lean protein sources
Ingredient notes
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Bell Pepper – You can use red, green or yellow bell pepper.
- Zucchini
- Canned Tomatoes
- Bone broth (or low-sodium vegetable broth)
- Olive Oil
- Spices – bay leaf, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper
How to make it
Stovetop directions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
- Add onion, carrots and celery and cook, until softened, 5 -7 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Instant pot directions
- Heat Instant Pot to SAUTE and heat olive oil.
- Add onion, carrots and celery and cook, until softened, 5 -7 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Add remaining vegetables, broth, bay leaf, spices and salt and pepper.
- Cook on HIGH pressure for 4 minutes.
Note: This soup cooks in just 4-minutes in the Instant Pot. However, for timing purposes, you do need to take into consideration the amount of time it takes for the pressure to build, about 15 minutes.
Slow cooker directions
- Add all ingredients to a slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 hours.
Recipe tips
There’s quite a bit of chopping involved, so prep time is a bit time intense. If you’re short on time, you can use pre-chopped bagged veggies, frozen veggies, or, if your store has a salad bar, you can grab a combination of veggies from there too.
If you’re not looking for the weight loss properties of this soup, but still want to enjoy this amazing vegetable soup, you could bulk it up with a can of kidney beans or some ditalini pasta. If you’re using pasta, just add a cup of it to the instant pot before you seal it and cook it for 5 minutes instead of 4 minutes. Or, simmer it on the stove in your soup for about 10 minutes.
How to make ahead and store
- This Instant Pot Weight Loss Soup recipe makes about 14 cups of soup. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
- Or, freeze it for up to three months.
Weight Watchers points
- If you follow Weight Watchers, this soup has 0 points.
Variations
Want to switch this Instant Pot Weight Loss Soup recipe up a bit? Try adding in some of these:
- Broccoli
- Green Beans
- Chickpeas (will add calories)
- 1-2 Chipotle Peppers
- Shredded chicken or browned ground turkey (will add calories, but also protein)
More healthy recipes
More soup recipes
Did you try this cabbage soup recipe for weight loss?
If you loved this cabbage fat burning soup recipe, I would appreciate it so much if you would leave a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook.
Full Recipe
Weight Loss Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (extra-virgin )
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 4 medium carrots (chopped)
- 4 stalks celery (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 4 cups chopped cabbage (half head)
- 1 bell pepper (red, green, or yellow, chopped)
- 1 zucchini (chopped)
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 8 cups bone broth (or low-sodium vegetable broth)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Set Instant Pot to the saute setting. Add the 1 tablespoon olive oil and allow to heat for 1 minute. Add the 1 medium onion, 4 medium carrots and 4 stalks celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 -7 minutes. Stir in the 4 cloves garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Add the 4 cups chopped cabbage, 1 bell pepper, 1 zucchini, 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, 8 cups bone broth, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper . Stir to combine.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot, close the steam vent and set to HIGH pressure using the manual setting. Decrease the time to 4 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes for the pressure to build, then the timer will start.
- Once the time is expired, wait for 5 minutes, then carefully use the quick release valve to release the steam. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
Stovetop
- Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the 1 medium onion, 4 medium carrots and 4 stalks celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the 4 cloves garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Add the 4 cups chopped cabbage, 1 bell pepper, 1 zucchini, 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, 8 cups bone broth, 1 bay leaf, spices and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
Slow Cooker
- Add all ingredients to a slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2018. It was updated in 2019 to add a video, and again in 2023 to add new photos. The original cabbage soup diet recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply