Homemade Creamy Cabbage Soup {instant pot soup recipe}

Our homemade Creamy Cabbage Soup is filled with fresh ingredients, fine cheese, caramelized onions, and fresh cabbage and topped with thick-cut bacon.

Yes, this recipe is drool-worthy, hearty, and will leave you wanting more. It’s just that good.

Grab the recipe down below! 

Homemade Creamy Cabbage Soup with Caramelized Onions {instant pot soup recipe}

This cabbage soup recipe is different from other recipes. It all started with the fresh cabbage.

Every great recipe starts with high-quality ingredients; this one was no exception.

Soup is a lot like a family; each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its characteristics, and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor. -Marge Kennedy

This cabbage soup starts with a good head of cabbage

This past weekend, the big pale green globes of firm cabbage caught my attention.

Cabbage is always relatively inexpensive, so there isn’t a perfect excuse for not grabbing one from time to time. For some odd reason, this soup was on my mind, and my mind was on soup.

So, why not cabbage soup? Or better yet, a creamy cabbage soup. 

As a kid, cabbage was often served; I remember Mama preparing cabbage with salt pork and then serving it with big, warm, buttered squares of cornbread.

Although I typically forego the pork, I wanted the thick-cut bacon to be a part of the food experience this time.

Maybe it was one part nostalgia and one part delicious. 

The spectacular color aside, I think carrots and cabbage are a match made in culinary heaven, don’t you?

What goes into this instant pot soup recipe

When cooking with cabbage, I automatically have to add onions and carrots. Again, I want to keep this recipe simple and easy to replicate.

So, I wheeled my cart over to the onion section and started to think about caramelized onions and only sweet onions will fit the order.

At home, I have a bag of shredded carrots, garlic, and four cloves smashed, peeled, and minced, which will work perfectly.

When caramelizing onions, good butter is a must; sub-par ingredients rarely return favorable results, so go big or go home. 

The smell of sautéed cabbage and carrots with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and freshly cracked black peppercorns takes me back to Mama’s kitchen.

Cabbage, carrots, caramelized onions, and garlic are this creamy cabbage soup’s hale and hearty backbone, don’t believe me? Give it a try and tell me different. 

Caramelized sweet Vidalia onions and garlic are incredibly flavorful, and a good grade of butter is the key.

Cook them low and slow and let delicious happen.

Patience makes caramelized onions and garlic so incredible; the right amount of time and temperature can transform simple ingredients into greatness, which is always the objective. 

Let’s talk about this slow-ripened Grana Padana cheese for a minute.

It is one of the best kinds of cheese I’ve ever tried, and it shines in this creamy cabbage soup!

Those 12th-century Cistercian monks knew what they were doing! 

How to make this Homemade Creamy Cabbage Soup in the Instant Pot

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of cabbage
• 1 cup minced carrots
• 2 large sweet onions
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted sweet cream butter, divided
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 14 ounces container of chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced

Toppings:

• Sliced Green Onion, sliced
• Jalapeño Peppers, diced, seeds removed
• Crispy Thick-Cut Bacon, crumbled
• Grana Padano Cheese, grated

Equipment:

Instant Pot

Directions:

1. Prep the bacon,  grate the block cheese, slice the jalapeños, and slice the green onion. 
2. Add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to an Instant Pot and select the saute feature. When the oil is hot, add the chopped cabbage and minced carrots.
3. Stir occasionally, and add freshly black peppercorns and sea salt to taste. 
4. Continue to cook for 12-15 minutes or until the cabbage has softened and is semi-opaque. 
5. Next, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a medium-size skillet over medium/high heat. Add the onions and two tablespoons of quality butter when the oil is hot.
6. Allow the butter to melt and continue to cook until the onions begin to brown on the bottom.
7. Adjust the heat to its lowest setting and continue to cook, occasionally stirring for about 15 minutes. With 2 minutes remaining, add the garlic and cook for the remainder of the time. Transfer the onions and garlic to the cabbage and gently mix.
8. Add the remaining butter in a separate skillet over medium/high heat. When the butter melts, add the flour a little at a time and continue to stir until you have a blond roux, about 10-12 minutes.
9. Slowly begin pouring in the heavy cream and keep whisking until all of the heavy cream is fully incorporated.
10. Continue to stir as you pour in the whole milk.
11. Add sea salt, freshly cracked black peppercorns, and the Old Bay seasoning. Mix until the cream mixture is smooth and all lumps are dissolved.
12. Now, add the chicken stock to the cabbage mixture, then, little by little, pour the cream sauce into the cabbage mix.
13. When the cream sauce has been fully incorporated, taste and, if needed, make any necessary seasoning adjustments.
14. Allow the soup to sit for 15 minutes.
15. Spoon the soup into bowls, add desired toppings, and serve. 

Variations to Cabbage Soup Recipe 

• Swap the bacon with Canadian bacon or even diced ham. It will add great flavor. 
• For less heat, skip the jalapenos or de-seed them first, so you get the flavor and not the heat. 
• You can use milk to replace the heavy cream to lighten up the soup, but it will take away the soup’s creaminess. 
• Skip meat if you want a meatless soup option. 

How Long Does It Take To Carmelize Onions 

Caramelizing onions takes around 30-45 minutes. It is a low and slow process, but the resulting flavor is incredible and worth every minute.

The caramelized onions add depth to this creamy cabbage with a bacon soup recipe. 

How to Store Leftover Cabbage Soup

If you don’t eat all your soup right away, place the leftover soup in the fridge for a few days.

Then reheat as you would like.

Top with fresh bacon, jalapeno slices, etc. 

Can You Freeze Leftover Soup

Unfortunately, this soup does not freeze the best due to the ingredients.

The cabbage breaks down quite a bit, and the heavy cream will separate and curdle a bit when it thaws out. 

I recommend adjusting the recipe to fit what you think you will eat before it goes bad. 

What is Old Bay Seasoning 

Old Bay seasoning is a Cajun-filled spice blend that is literally phenomenal.

This is loaded with flavor; most mass retailers have it in the spice aisle.

If you can’t find it, you can reach for a Creole spice blend and get a similar flavor. 

The Creole can be spicy, so adjust to your preference. 

Soup is one of my favorite homemade comfort foods for eating, preparing, and making.

The kitchen is my happy place.  Where is your happy place?

And once there, what is it that you enjoy doing?

What brings you joy? Okay, then do it. 

Find more soup recipes below:

Loaded Taco Soup 

French Onion Soup

Savory Pork Soup

Orzo Vegetable 

Tomato + Chickpea Soup

Spinach Salmon Soup

Homemade Creamy Cabbage Soup {instant pot soup recipe}

4.67 from 6 votes

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Servings: 0

Author: This Worthey Life

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x4x5x

• 1 medium head of cabbage
• 1 cup minced carrots
• 2 large sweet onions
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted sweet cream butter divided
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 14 ounces container of chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 4 cloves garlic smashed, peeled, and minced

Instructions

• Prep the bacon,  grate the block cheese, slice the jalapeños, and slice the green onion.
• Add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to an Instant Pot and select the saute feature. When the oil is hot, add the chopped cabbage and minced carrots.
• Stir occasionally, and add freshly black peppercorns and sea salt to taste.
• Continue to cook for 12-15 minutes or until the cabbage has softened and is semi-opaque.
• Next, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a medium-size skillet over medium/high heat. Add the onions and two tablespoons of quality butter when the oil is hot.
• Allow the butter to melt and continue to cook until the onions begin to brown on the bottom.
• Adjust the heat to its lowest setting and continue to cook, occasionally stirring for about 15 minutes. With 2 minutes remaining, add the garlic and cook for the remainder of the time. Transfer the onions and garlic to the cabbage and gently mix.
• Add the remaining butter in a separate skillet over medium/high heat. When the butter melts, add the flour a little at a time and continue to stir until you have a blond roux, about 10-12 minutes.
• Slowly begin pouring in the heavy cream and keep whisking until all of the heavy cream is fully incorporated.
• Continue to stir as you pour in the whole milk.
• Add sea salt, freshly cracked black peppercorns, and the Old Bay seasoning. Mix until the cream mixture is smooth and all lumps are dissolved.
• Now, add the chicken stock to the cabbage mixture, then, little by little, pour the cream sauce into the cabbage mix.
• When the cream sauce has been fully incorporated, taste and, if needed, make any necessary seasoning adjustments.
• Allow the soup to sit for 15 minutes.
• Spoon the soup into bowls, add desired toppings, and serve.

Tried this recipe?Mention @thiswortheylife or tag #thiswortheylife!

Created 2018 | updated 2/2021