Hearty cabbage and white bean soup
55 min · 13 g protein · 250 cals / serving
A big, steaming pot of tender cabbage, creamy white beans, carrots and tomato in a garlicky, thyme-scented broth with a little chili warmth. A squeeze of lemon and a snowfall of parmesan wake it up at the table; it gets better every day it sits in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 large head (1 1/2 lb) cabbage, green or savoy, cored and sliced
- 1 can (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 1/4 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
To serve
- a handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan, finely grated
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of the salt for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and lightly golden.
- Add the garlic, thyme and pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute more until it darkens.
- Add the cabbage, crushed tomatoes, beans, broth, bay leaf, the rest of the salt and the pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 25 minutes, until the cabbage is silky and tender. Mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the broth.
- Take out the bay leaf, stir in the lemon juice and taste for salt.
- Ladle into bowls and top with parsley and parmesan.
Good to know
Have a parmesan rind?
Drop it into the pot with the broth and fish it out at the end. It gives the soup a deep, savory backbone for free.
Can I make it vegetarian?
Use vegetable broth (it's about the same score) and a vegetarian hard cheese (traditional parmesan is made with animal rennet), or leave the cheese out and finish with a drizzle of good olive oil.
Does it freeze?
Yes, for up to three months. The cabbage softens a little more on reheating, which most people like.
Can't fill you up alone — pair it with protein.
Per
- Calories
- 42
- Protein
- (22%)
- 2 g
- Fat
- (23%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (56%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 290 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1498 kcal goes into the pot and 3781 g of ingredients comes out as about 3600 g of food: 42 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.