Sausage, Potato and Cabbage Soup (Printable)

Hearty soup with smoked sausage, tender potatoes, and cabbage in a flavorful broth. Perfect comfort food.

# What You Need:

→ Meats

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 Broth

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

→ Spices and Seasonings

10 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
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 for serving
17 - Crusty bread for serving

# How To Make It:

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 softened.
03 - Stir in minced garlic, smoked paprika, and dried thyme. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Add diced potatoes, chopped cabbage, and browned sausage back to the pot. Pour in broth and add bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
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 and adjust seasoning to taste.
07 - Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve hot with sour cream or crusty bread.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It uses one pot and leaves you with almost no cleanup, which matters more than people admit.
  • The soup thickens naturally as the potatoes break down, creating a creamy broth without any cream.
  • Leftovers taste better the second day once all the flavors have had time to settle in together.
  • You can double the batch and freeze half without losing any of the texture or flavor.
02 -
  • Browning the sausage first is non-negotiable, those crispy edges and rendered fat create the flavor base for the entire pot.
  • Don't skip the step of cooking the garlic and spices briefly before adding liquids, or you'll miss out on the deep, toasted flavors they release.
  • If your soup tastes flat at the end, it probably needs more salt, not more spices, so adjust carefully and taste as you go.
03 -
  • Use a mix of yellow and red potatoes for varied texture, the yellow ones break down and thicken the broth while the red ones hold their shape.
  • If you like a thicker soup, mash a few of the cooked potatoes against the side of the pot with your spoon before serving.
  • Always taste and adjust seasoning at the very end, because the broth concentrates as it simmers and what tasted perfect halfway through might need a pinch more salt later.
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