This Cabbage Stew with Sweet Italian Sausage brings together tender cabbage, white beans, carrots, and fire-roasted tomatoes in a savory broth. Smoked paprika adds a little smokiness, and Parmesan gives each bowl a salty, savory finish. It's a hearty stew made with everyday ingredients and a few shortcuts that keep things simple.
In This Post
- 💬 Why This Recipe Works In My Kitchen
- Ingredients You Need
- Substitutions and Variations
- How To Make This Cabbage Stew
- What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- Celeste Beginner Cook Checkpoints
- Ways To Serve & Make A Complete Meal
- Get Recipe Updates & Helpful Meal Prep Tips!
- Storage, Reheat, and Leftover Remix
- FAQ
- Cabbage Stew with Sweet Italian Sausage
- https://thewholeserving.com/comments/
💬 Why This Recipe Works In My Kitchen
My daughter isn't a big fan of brothy soups. She prefers something a little heartier, more like a stew, with plenty of ingredients in every spoonful. And that's exactly what I love about this cabbage stew with sweet Italian sausage. It's loaded with tender cabbage, carrots, white beans, and sausage, so it's filling enough to make a meal out of it.
What makes it even better is how quick and easy it is to put together. I use a few of my favorite shortcuts, like pre-sliced carrots, tubed garlic, canned beans, and Better Than Bouillon vegetable concentrate, to cut down on prep time without sacrificing flavor. Everything comes together in one pot, and there's no need to spend hours in the kitchen.
Serve it with a little freshly grated Parmesan and a slice of crusty bread for soaking up that flavorful broth, and you've got a simple, satisfying dinner.
Simply Made, Fully Flavored!
Ingredients You Need
🛒 Whole Serving Shortcut Ingredients
- tube of minced garlic
- bouillon broth base or canned or boxed broth
- bag of pre-sliced carrots from produce department
🌿 Fresh Whole Foods
- half a head of medium sized cabbage
- medium onion
- lemon
Proteins:
- sweet Italian sausage
🥫Pantry & Refrigerator Staples
- 15 oz. can white beans ( I used great northern beans)
- 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
- dried Italian seasoning
- smoked paprika
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- tomato paste
- aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
- parmesan cheese
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- White beans: Cannellini beans are larger and creamier, great northern beans are a little smaller. Either works here.
- Tomatoes: Regular canned diced tomatoes can replace fire-roasted tomatoes. The soup will have a less roasted flavor, but the smoked paprika still adds smokiness.
- Stock: Use prepared vegetable or chicken stock in place of the concentrate and water. Taste before adding salt because brands vary.
- Sausage: Mild Italian chicken or turkey sausage is an option, though it may release less fat and need a little oil for browning. Cook poultry sausage to 165°F.
- Less heat: Use less Aleppo pepper or leave it out. If using red pepper flakes, start with less than the listed teaspoon and add more to taste; they can be noticeably hotter.
For a meatless soup with white beans and plenty of vegetables, try my Butternut White Bean Soup with Swiss Chard or Easy One-Pot Vegetable Soup with White Beans.
How To Make This Cabbage Stew
Brown the sausage
Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage to the pot and break it into small pieces with the back of a spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Spoon off any excess grease, leaving a little in the pot. If the pot looks dry, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and carrots to the pot and stir until they start to soften. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, aleppo pepper, and stir until fragrant.
Add remaining veggies and stock
Add the tomatoes, stock, drained beans, cabbage, tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste, stir to combine. Place lid on pot and reduce heat to medium low.
Simmer stew
Cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender. While the soup is simmering, juice the lemon. Roll the lemon on the counter, pressing gently with your palm to help release the juice. Cut in half crosswise, then squeeze each half over a bowl or use a citrus reamer, twisting the reamer while gently squeezing the lemon to release the juice. Remove any seeds with a spoon.
Garnish and serve
Turn off the heat and stir in about 1 and ½ tablespoons of the lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan.
What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- Cutting the cabbage into small, bite-sized pieces worked better than slicing it into long strips. The smaller pieces fit on a spoon more easily. It's a small prep detail, but it makes this soup much easier to eat.
- Adding the seasonings to the browned sausage before pouring in the stock gives them a chance to warm up and release their flavor.
- When testing this recipe I tested this recipe with both aleppo pepper flakes and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes gave it a spicer kick, while the aleppo pepper flakes added a much milder heat. If you prefer a milder heat use aleppo pepper flakes. For more heat use red pepper flakes, starting with a smaller amount and adjusting to taste.
Celeste Beginner Cook Checkpoints
- Cut the cabbage for your spoon: Bite-size pieces are easier to stir, cook, and eat than long strips. Remove the hard core before chopping.
- Check the carrots: Cabbage may soften before thick carrot slices do. Taste a carrot or test it with a fork before moving on.
- Keep the simmer gentle: Look for small, steady bubbles. A vigorous boil can break up the beans and reduce the broth too quickly.
- Adjust the consistency: This is a vegetable-filled stew with three cups of stock. If you prefer more broth, add a little extra prepared stock or water. Taste again after adjusting.
Ways To Serve & Make A Complete Meal
Pair with a salad and crusty bread: Serve this hearty stew with a simple green salad or my Tomato and Olive Salad with Lemon Olive Oil Dressing, along side a slice of crusty bread.
Add some crunch: Spoon a few herbed croutons over individual bowls just before eating so they keep some texture.
Get Recipe Updates & Helpful Meal Prep Tips!
Storage, Reheat, and Leftover Remix
- Refrigerate: Divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours, or within one hour if the temperature is above 90°F. Keep refrigerated at 40°F or below and use within three to four days.
- Freeze: Freeze in meal-size portions, leaving room for expansion. For best quality, plan to use within two to three months. The cabbage and beans may be softer after thawing. Add Parmesan when serving.
- Reheat: Thaw frozen portions in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove, stirring regularly, until the soup reaches 165°F throughout and the broth comes to a rolling boil. Add a splash of water or stock if needed.
- Leftover Remix: Stir a little cooked small pasta into an individual reheated portion for a different lunch. Keep pasta separate from stored soup so it does not soak up the broth.
FAQ
Thicker carrot slices can take longer to cook than the cabbage. If your carrots are too firm, add ½ cup of the broth and cook a bit longer until they soften.
You can leave the lemon juice out, but it does add a fresh, bright finish. If you are unsure, stir a few drops into a small amount of stew and taste it before adding to the whole pot. Or you can let everyone add their own lemon juice to their own taste.
Cabbage Stew with Sweet Italian Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, if needed
- 1 medium onion chopped (about 1 and ¼ cups)
- 1 cup pre-sliced bagged carrots
- 2 tsps tubed minced garlic or 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 and ½ tsps Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tsp aleppo pepper flakes or red pepper flakes
- 3 cups vegetable broth I used Better Then Bouillon Broth Base
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 15 oz. can of great northern white beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 15 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes
- 3 tbsps tomato paste
- ½ head cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 medium sized lemon
- fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Prep the ingredients: Chop the cabbage and onions, be sure to cut the cabbage into bite-size pieces. Measure the pre-sliced carrots and two teaspoons of tubed garlic. Drain the beans and mix 3 cups of vegetable stock using the directions on your concentrate's label. And open the can of tomatoes and measure out your tomato paste and seasonings.
- Brown the sausage: Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage to the pot and break it into small pieces with the back of a spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Spoon off any excess grease, leaving a little in the pot. If the pot looks dry, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and carrots to the pot and stir until they start to soften. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, aleppo pepper, and stir until fragrant.
- Add remaining veggies and stock: Add the tomatoes, stock, drained beans, cabbage, tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste, stir to combine. Place the lid on the pot and reduce heat to medium low.
- Simmer soup: Cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender. While the soup is simmering, juice the lemon. Roll the lemon on the counter, pressing gently with your palm to help release the juice. Cut in half crosswise, then squeeze each half over a bowl or use a citrus reamer, twisting the reamer while gently squeezing the lemon to release the juice. Remove any seeds with a spoon.
- Finish and serve: Turn off heat and stir in the lemon juice, about 1 and ½ tablespoons. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan.
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