Creamy Cabbage & Potato Soup! Cabbage, hash brown potatoes and fresh dill are the stars of this creamy, satisfying cabbage soup recipe that comes together in 30 minutes! A perfect weeknight meal or a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Confession: I've never made corned beef and cabbage. Though my husband craves it on St. Patrick's Day every year, it's just not something I've ever given any effort to trying out! But, if you've been following me for a while, you know how much I love a themed menu, so I've found other ways to give a nod to the Emerald Isle every March 17th.
I've made boozy desserts like my Irish Coffee Chocolate Cakes; fun finger foods like my shamrock-shaped "Paddy Pockets"; hearty skillets with saucy Guinness gravy like this Savory Guiness & Veggie Cobbler; carby delights like my Irish Cheddar Bread. And, while I haven't pulled the trigger on the classic CB&C, I have experimented with cabbag-filled recipes!
This cabbage soup recipe is a soupy spin-off of another St. Patrick's Day-appropriate recipe that get's a good amount of traffic every year, my Irish Cheddar & Cabbage Hash Brown Skillet.
While many creamy soups contain flour as a thickener, I managed to create the same rich and luxurious texture without any wheat flour, which means that it's naturally gluten-free {and vegetarian, too!}! My secret? Frozen hash brown potatoes! The starch from the potatoes creates a thickening element that achieves the same thing as flour. Additionally, blending half of the mixture, then returning it to the pot with the "chunky" part of the soup gives a thicker texture to the soup. Of course, if you prefer a super-chunky {and slightly less creamy} soup, you can always skip the blending and enjoy it as-is!
Recipe Ingredients
This soup uses simple ingredients that are easy to find:
- Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Cabbage
- Garlic
- Sea Salt
- Frozen hash brown potatoes
- Low sodium vegetable broth
- Milk
- Half & half or cream
- Fresh dill {or dried if you're in a pinch}
Variations and Diet-Specific Substitutions
As I mentioned, despite its creamy, dreamy nature that is often created by adding flour to the mix, I was able to achieve a rich, silky texture while keeping things gluten-free. Here are a few more substitutions to suit your tastes and dietary needs!
- Make it vegan or dairy-free. This cabbage soup recipe is already vegetarian, but if you want to make it completely vegan or dairy-free, simply swap out the milk and heavy cream with your favorite vegan substitution such as plant-based milk and cream.
- Add extra protein/make it "meaty". Browned sausage, either sliced or ground, would make a great "meat-lovers" version of this soup! My recommendation would be to brown the sausage in the pot first, then once it's cooked, scoop it onto a plate and continue the recipe as directed using the same pot. Add the sausage back in during the last few minutes of cooking to warm it through!
- No hash browns? No problem! If you prefer to use regular potatoes instead of frozen hash browns, you can either use a grater to create your own hash browns and keep the cooking time the same, or cut the potatoes into a fine dice and add a few more minutes to the cooking time to ensure that the pieces soften and cook through all the way.
Other St. Patrick's Day Recipe Ideas from Around the Web
Looking for more St. Patrick's Day recipe ideas? {Or have a husband who insists on corned beef and cabbage?} Check out some of these mouthwatering finds from other blogs:
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
- Instant Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage
- Colcannon {Irish Mashed Potatoes}
- Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
- Irish Coffee
Creamy Cabbage & Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 4 cups cabbage finely sliced
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- ½ cup milk {I used 2% but you can use your favorite}
- ½ cup half & half or heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill {or 1 ½ tablespoons dried dill}
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, cabbage and sprinkle with sea salt. Sautee until the veggies have softened, but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in frozen hash browns. Add vegetable broth, cover, and bring to a boil -- about 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer.
- Scoop about half {or less if you prefer a chunkier soup} of the mixture out into the blender. Let cool slightly {blending very hot liquids can be dangerous!}. Add milk, half and half and fresh dill to the mixture in the blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Add the blended mixture back into the rest of the soup in the pot. Stir and allow to come to a simmer and heat through completely. Serve hot and garnish with extra dill if desired.
Notes
- If you prefer to use diced, sliced, or larger potato chunks, add them to the pot with the rest of the vegetables in step 1 to help soften them. Boil them in the broth mixture until fork-tender.
