Cabbage and Ground Beef Soup Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

December 8, 2022November 17, 2023

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Cabbage and Ground Beef Soup is an old fashioned staple in many households. This easy cabbage soup has hamburger, kidney beans and canned tomato basil soup for an extra yummy flavor. Serve this up on a cold day with crusty bread or simple crackers.

Cabbage and Ground Beef Soup

The weather has officially changed from a warm Indian summer straight to a frigid winter. In most homes in Indiana, this means a big pot of soup. Everyone will be warming up leftover soup for lunch when they’re back to work on Monday.

My soup of choice this week is a big pot of Hamburger Cabbage Soup.That’s because my last bag from the Purdue Student CSA had a lovely head of green cabbage. I’ve been looking at it all week planning this pot of soup.

Cabbage Soup With Hamburger and Kidney Beans

My mom shared this easy cabbage soup with me. The recipe belongs to her good friend, Terri, and what makes it special is that it has a shortcut ingredient that packs a punch of flavor. The old fashioned cabbage soup has hamburger, kidney beans, onion and two cans of tomato basil soup.

Now, regular tomato soup is a perfectly acceptable ingredient substitution; however, using tomato basil soup is rather genius because the flavor is amazing.My middle daughter reminded me that she doesn’t like cabbage as she is gobbling up the soup and asking for seconds and then thirds.

What do I need to make cabbage soup?

Cabbage Tomato Soup Ingredient List

• Ground Beef
• Onion, diced
• Green Cabbage, chopped
• Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
• Canned Tomato Basil Soup

How To Make Ground Beef Cabbage Soup

Step by Step Instructions

1. Brown ground beef and onions over medium-high heat; drain excess grease, if needed.
2. To a large saucepan, add chopped green cabbage, drained and rinsed kidney beans, browned hamburger and onions, and tomato basil soup.
3. Simmer, partially covered until the cabbage is cooked to your desired texture.

Storage Instructions

Let leftovers cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container or a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the fridge for up to a week. Rewarm in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove top.

For the full ingredient amounts and recipe steps for cabbage tomato soup with kidney beans, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• The original recipe calls for 1/2 a head of cabbage; if it’s a small cabbage, I use the whole thing.
• Dried, minced onion can be substituted for fresh, diced onion.
• I always rinse out my soup cans with a little water to make sure I don’t waste any of the soup. Add that water to the cabbage hamburger soup.
• If your soup is a little thick, add more water during cooking.
• Regular tomato soup works instead of tomato basil; however, the added flavor from the tomato basil soup is well worth it.
• Kidney beans could be omitted, or try swapping in another type of bean.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite kitchen and pantry items.

Recipe Variations

• Use ground chicken or ground turkey instead of ground beer.
• Add your favorite vegetables such as carrots and/or celery.
• For more flavor, add minced garlic or garlic powder.
• Garnish with fresh herbs such as fresh parsley.
• Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Cabbage Recipes

Amish Cabbage Chowder

German-Style Red Cabbage

Skillet Smoked Sausage and Cabbage

Creamed Cabbage

Fried Cabbage with Bacon

What can I do with a can of tomato basil soup?

Jazz up those cans of tomato basil soup by adding them as a base to your regular cabbage soup recipe.

To make a quick and easy ground beef and cabbage soup, all you have to do is a couple rather simple steps. Fry up hamburger and onions; add kidney beans, chopped cabbage and tomato basil soup, and you have an hearty dinner and leftovers for the week.