Tomato Cabbage Kielbasa Soup
My Wintertime Love Language
A warm bowl of soup on a cold winter day is a special kind of love language. The bowl warms your hands, the soup warms your insides, and a bit of crusty bread on the side brings an extra level of comfort. This particular bowl of soup is a marriage of two of my favorite options in the entire world: tomato cabbage soup and a kielbasa cabbage soup from the cookbook Cook This Book by Molly Baz (affiliate link). Tomato cabbage soup has been a top comfort soup in my adult life. There was a restaurant near the office I used to work in that I would walk to on especially cold days. It was savory, sweet, and left me the perfect level of “full” at lunchtime to keep going for the rest of the work day. The kielbasa soup by Molly Baz has also tickled that scratch for me. It has beans and lots of dill, making an extra special meal that I’ve loved to make for myself and family.
This year, I couldn’t decide between the two types so I combined them into one epic soup of polish sausage tomato and cabbage soup dish. This soup has an aromatic base of onion, celery, and loads of garlic, a tomatoey broth, and then is jam packed with browned kielbasa and lots of cabbage. It’s finished with some fresh dill and lemon zest to make it feel bright on a cold winter day. Top it with some sour cream, extra dill, and fresh cracked pepper and you’ll have yourself a hug in a bowl.
Tips For Making This Tomato Cabbage Kielbasa Soup Recipe
If you plan on making this tomato cabbage soup with kielbasa, here are a few tips to make it extra delicious:
- After the kielbasa has browned, there may be some residue left on the bottom of the pan. Use a flat bottom spoon to pick up any pieces as you sweat the onions, so you don’t end up with any burnt bits in your soup. The juices from the onion should help lift it up, but if not, when you add the vegetable stock, do an extra scrape to pick up any dark bits.
- Tomatoes love salt, and this soup is no exception. Depending on the brand you purchase, there may be a bit of salt in the canned tomatoes you use. Because of this, I recommend tasting the soup often and adjusting the salt level as needed throughout. If you salt the soup throughout the cooking process, it will taste seasoned. If you only salt at the end it can taste salty!
- Store leftovers in glass or ceramic if you have it available. The tomato and little bit of lemon zest in this soup have enough acid that it can eat away at a plastic container. Storing it in glass will reduce any headache from a ruined plastic container.
Recipe Details
This soup is all about layering flavors on top of eachother. To begin, you’ll brown some slices of kielbasa in a soup pot. Once browned, you’ll set it aside and add it in later once the rest of the soup is assembled.
The base of a soup will be a trio of aromatics: yellow onion, celery and garlic. You’ll first sweat down the onion, as it takes the longest to cook down. Then you’ll add the celery, let it cook down, and finally add the garlic for the aroma.
To the vegetables, you’ll add in a bit of tomato paste and let it darken in color for a few minutes. Doing this will intensify the tomato flavor. To build out the broth you’ll add in canned chopped tomatoes, a bit of ketchup (hey extra tomato flavor), and lots of vegetable stock. Add in the cabbage in batches, as it will start out large and cook down to a much smaller size. Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes or so and then add the kielbasa back in. The kielbasa needs to warm back up in the soup for a few minutes, and then you’re ready to finish up the dish!
Take the soup pot off the heat and stir in some fresh dill and lemon zest. Both of these flavors will brighten the dish up amazingly! Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Then serve with a dollop of sour cream, extra fresh dill, and freshly ground black pepper.
To make this ahead, or for any leftovers, transfer to an air-tight glass container and store in the refrigerator. Consume within 4 days of making and reheat in the microwave or on low heat over the stovetop.
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A delicious soup packed with browned kielbasa, loads of cabbage, and a tomatoey broth, this dish is a hug in a bowl. It’s fresh, yet comforting, and makes for a full meal on its own. A great weeknight meal, or make it ahead for your weekday lunches.
- 2 links of kielbasa
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 stalks celery
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 14.5 oz canned diced tomato
- 2 tsp ketchup
- 6 cup vegetable stock
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 head green cabbage
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, plus more for garnish
- Zest of ½ a lemon
- Sour cream and freshly cracked black pepper for serving
Slice the links of kielbasa in half lengthwise and then slice into ½ inch pieces.
Dice the onion and celery into a small dice and thinly slice the garlic cloves.
Remove the dark green outer leaves from the head of cabbage, cut the head of cabbage into quarters, and cut out the tough core from the pieces of cabbage. Thinly slice each piece of cabbage.
Chop the fresh dill and zest the lemon.
Preheat a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the kielbasa and brown, stirring the pieces occasionally so that it browns on all sides, about 4-5 minutes
Remove the kielbasa from the pot and set aside on a tray or plate.
Lower the heat under the soup pot to low, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and add the onion. Sweat for 6-8 minutes, stirring every other minute to ensure the onions don’t get too dark. Add celery and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until the veggies have softened. Add the garlic, cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute.
Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir to incorporate into the aromatics. Let cook until it slightly darkens in color, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the diced tomato, ketchup, and vegetable stock to the soup pan and turn the heat up to medium to bring it to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
Add half the sliced cabbage, and let it cook down for a few minutes until the size of the cabbage cooks down slightly. Add the remaining sliced cabbage and stir into the soup. It will look really thick to start.
Simmer the soup for 20-25 minutes, until the cabbage is cooked down and soft. Stir in the kielbasa and let it warm through for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the chopped dill and lemon zest.
Spoon a serving into a bowl and top with a dollop of sour cream, additional fresh dill, and freshly cracked pepper. Enjoy!
