Beef and Cabbage Soup (Paleo, Keto, Whole 30 Friendly)
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I made a beef and cabbage soup way back in May and there it sat completely forgotten. It’s a classic combination of broth, cabbage and beef jumping with flavors and bringing winter’s comfort.
To be honest, it’s still hot here in Nashville, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to wait for this super food soup that is made with a tomato broth, grass fed beef cubes and fresh cabbage.
Beef and Cabbage Soup.
Cabbage and beef is a hearty soup. Even though it devoid of starches, it will fill you up and lure you into a second bowl.
Here’s a funny. As a child I hated cabbage, to the point of getting into a huge fight at the table when my mom put it in some soup. I learned then to never force a child to eat something, as children have different taste buds, which develop and evolve over time. I don’t believe in food fights or food forcing. I do believe in gentle persuasion. As a child I refused cabbage, liver, lamb, dark meat chicken, turkey legs, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, turnips, collard greens, figs and dates. I now love all of these foods, but it was slow development in adulthood.
Keto Cabbage and Beef Soup Process
Like all foods that are hot buttons, cabbage can be delicious or really terrible. I do not like cabbage that is cooked into nothing and for heaven’s sakes do not, I repeat, do not put cabbage in an instant pot. Your house will stink for days. I’m not a fan of the instant pot at all for the very reason of bad kitchen smells, particularly with meat and most definitely with cabbage.
This is not a hard soup, but you must take the time to brown the meat and sauté the carrots, onion and celery. There will be a 30 minute prep time. It seems today that folks want to be able to throw all the food into a crock pot and have it magically make a good soup. It doesn’t work that way. It is an easy soup in that you don’t have to be exact if you follow some basic cooking tips.
Tips for Beef and Cabbage Soup
- Brown the meat. You don’t have to dredge in flour. I avoid that, but you certainly can if you want to. Try tapioca flour if you want to dredge but we’re going for soup not stew.
- Use the best can of San Marzano Tomatoes. I like this brand best. Use your hands to squish into the broth.
- Don’t overcook the cabbage.
Make in Batches and Freeze Keto Beef Cabbage Soup
This is that soup that’s always better left over and is perfect for batch cooking and freezing.
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Homemade Beef Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef cubes
- 1 can whole tomatoes
- 1/2 large onion
- 2 celery stick divided
- 2 carrots divided
- 4 quarts beef broth or homemade beef stock (can use chicken broth)
- 1 head cabbage cut into two inch pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- few sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Instructions
- Put olive oil in large cast iron dutch oven or heavy bottom pot. Season beef cubes with salt and pepper and place in hot oil. Brown meat on all sides.
- Prepare vegetables for braising meat. 1/2 onion, 1 carrot, 1 piece celery all cut into large chunks (to removed later). Add these to meat along with the beef broth.
- Cook low heat for one hour. Remove stock vegetables, discard.
- Add in can of tomatoes, cutting up tomatoes first, but be sure to include the juice.
- Add in bay leaves, thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 30 minutes on low.
Prepare Vegetables for Final Process
- Cut cabbage into two inch pieces.
- Dice remaining onion.
- Slice remaining celery and carrots.
Final Part of Soup
- Add in carrots, celery, onion to beef soup after removing the first set of vegetables. Cook for twenty minutes.
- Add in cabbage and continue cooking for 20 to 30 minutes more, until cabbage is just softened. You don't want cabbage to get mushy.
Season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
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So same amount of onion, carrot and celery on the second go round. Your recipe does not add the second ingredients. Rather confusing.
I always tend to add more of the vegetable mix than less.
I edited to try to make it more clearly. You can always add more vegetables than the recipe.
Can you please explain why we are tossing out the carrot, celery and onion?
You start with large chunks celery carrots to make stock. They are then discarded and fresh vegetables added which are cut into bite sized pieces.