Sausage Potato Cabbage Soup (Printable)

Savory sausage, creamy potatoes, and tender cabbage simmered in flavorful broth. Comforting and hearty in every bite.

# What You Need:

→ Proteins

01 - 14 oz smoked sausage or kielbasa, sliced into rounds

→ Vegetables

02 - 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
03 - 1 small head green cabbage, cored and chopped
04 - 1 large onion, chopped
05 - 2 carrots, sliced
06 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
07 - 3 garlic cloves, minced

→ Liquids and Base

08 - 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
09 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

→ Seasonings

10 - 1 teaspoon salt
11 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
13 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
14 - 1 bay leaf

→ Garnish

15 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
16 - Sour cream or crusty bread for serving

# Directions:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add sausage slices and cook until lightly browned, approximately 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
02 - In the same pot, add chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
03 - Stir in minced garlic, smoked paprika, and dried thyme. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Add potatoes, cabbage, and browned sausage back to the pot. Pour in broth and add bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
05 - Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes until potatoes and cabbage are tender.
06 - Remove bay leaf. Adjust seasoning to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed.
07 - Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with chopped fresh parsley, and serve hot with sour cream or crusty bread on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in under an hour, which means dinner can be on the table before you've finished thinking about what's for dinner.
  • The sausage does most of the flavor work for you, so even if you're not confident in the kitchen, this soup will taste like you know what you're doing.
  • Leftovers actually taste better the next day, turning this into a weeknight lifesaver when you need something ready to reheat.
02 -
  • Don't skip browning the sausage first—that step adds texture and depth that simmering alone never creates.
  • The soup will taste thin on day one but absolutely perfect on day two when the flavors have settled and gotten to know each other.
03 -
  • If your sausage is very fatty, brown it first and drain off some of the fat before adding vegetables—you want flavor, not grease.
  • Cut vegetables to roughly the same size so they finish cooking at the same time, which keeps the texture even throughout the soup.
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