It’s January once again, and although the shorter days and cold weather aren’t my favorite thing in the world, I love any opportunity to make a cozy and comforting soup that revolves around my favorite winter produce. This Herby Cabbage in Parmesan Broth is exactly that, offering both comfort and nutrition.
By now, you probably know that I love cabbage. Like, really love cabbage. I’ve roasted it, grilled it and made it into a slaw, but never have I ever made a cabbage soup, and that seemed like a crime to me. So here it is! This cabbage soup is rich and smooth with little hits of slight acidity from the herby dressing, which is exactly what I’m craving this time of year. This well-balanced and comforting meal will feel like a warm hug on a cold winter night.
This recipe requires just a bit of timing for the sake of ease, but it’s quite simple to make. Read on to learn how to make this cozy cabbage soup!
Table of contents
The ingredients for this cabbage soup, and when you’ll need to use them
This recipe is all about timing, and many ingredients are used for both the herby dressing and the broth. To streamline the process of making this recipe, the ingredients are listed in the order you’ll use them with some of them being used a couple of times throughout the recipe. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 cups fresh parsley
- 1 medium lemon, for zest and juice
- 1 head garlic
- 2 medium shallots
- 1 leek, optional
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 sprigs of fresh oregano
- 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 parmesan rinds (the more parmesan on the rind, the better)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 medium head of savoy cabbage
- 1 tablespoon non-pariel capers
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated parmesan, optional, for serving
To begin this recipe, we start making the herby dressing first, then setting it aside. After that, we start the parmesan broth, which uses some of the ingredients that go into the herby dressing. From there, we’ll bake the cabbage, and while that is cooking, we’ll finish the herby dressing and bring everything together. This may sound complicated, but it’s actually quite simple in practice! 🙂
Why should I blanch the parsley?
Blanching is a cooking method where a food (green vegetables and leafy greens are very common) is cooked in boiling water and then dunked in an ice bath directly after. There are many reasons to blanch food, like to keep veggies fresh in canned or frozen products or to make peeling nuts like almonds faster and easier.
For this recipe, I blanched the parsley to keep that beautiful, vibrant green color intact. If the parsley is simply chopped and mixed into the dressing, it will quickly lose its color after hitting the hot broth. I love the pop of brightness (both in flavor and aesthetics!) that the parsley brings, so blanching ensures that this soup looks gorgeous on a dreary January day.
This step is optional, however. If you’re short on time and energy, blanching the parsley can be skipped altogether. You won’t get the pop of color, but this cabbage soup and herby dressing will taste just as wonderful.
The key to the perfect parmesan rind broth
Parmesan broth should be every vegetarian’s best friend. I love veggie broth, but there’s just a certain richness and depth of flavor that parmesan broth has that is so unique and addicting. I use parmesan broth as a staple, especially for soups that are broth-forward.
To make the perfect parmesan broth, there are a couple of key steps that you can’t skip.
First, it’s important to have parmesan rinds that are bulky and have quite a bit of parmesan cheese left on them. Don’t toss a whole chunk of parmesan in the broth because it will fall apart and become gritty, but if there is some cheese attached to the rind, make good use of it! The natural saltiness and fattiness of the cheese will give that rich depth that you’re looking for, so don’t use a skimpy parmesan rind.
Second, and for this recipe specifically, it’s important to caramelize the leeks, shallots and lemon before adding the spices, water and parmesan rind. Think of time as flavor insurance; the longer these ingredients caramelize, the more flavor the broth will have. If the leeks, shallots and lemon aren’t golden brown on all sides, the parmesan broth will fall flat. Have patience and trust the process!
How to start the broth
Like I said before, if you give this broth plenty of time and patience, it will turn out incredible. The ingredients do all the heavy lifting for you which is what makes this broth so simple and delicious. Here’s how to make it:
- Remove the top and bottom of the shallots and halve them lengthwise. Remove the green parts from the leek and halve the white part lengthwise.
- Drain the pot you boiled the parsley in. Set it back over medium heat and coat the bottom with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Let this heat up for a few minutes.
- Place the center of the lemon, the bottom of the garlic, the shallots and the leek into the hot oil, searing them all cut-side-down for 3-4 minutes or until they are deeply golden brown. Flip and sear the other sides, making sure the lemon is caramelized on both sides.
- Add the oregano, thyme, bay leaves, red pepper flakes and parmesan rinds to the pot. Cover with 8 cups of water. Bring this to a simmer and season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- Let this simmer for 60-90 minutes to make the parmesan broth. The longer it goes, the more flavor it will build.
Baking the cabbage, and pulling this soup together
Once the broth is simmering, all that’s left to do is bake the cabbage and finish the dressing. I love roasting cabbage because it gets tender in the center and slightly crisp on the edges, adding great texture to whatever I use it in. If this is your first time roasting cabbage, get ready to have a new favorite go-to!
- When the broth has 45 minutes left, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Thinly slice the cabbage and add it to an unlined baking sheet. It’s ok if it’s a little crowded. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and mix to coat.
- Roast the cabbage for 20-30 minutes or until golden and crispy on the edges and softened in the center.
- While the cabbage is roasting, remove the parsley mixture from the fridge. Finely chop the capers and add them in, along with the juice from the two lemon wedges, the white wine vinegar, a large pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Drizzle in three tablespoons of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and vinegar as preferred.
- When the cabbage is out of the oven, pour the parsley dressing all over it. Mix to coat.
- At this time the parmesan broth should be done. Use a slotted spoon to skim all the ingredients out of the pot, leaving behind just the rich umami broth. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- To serve, pile the herby cabbage in a bowl. Pour the parmesan broth right over it and grate on some more fresh parmesan. Serve warm.
FAQ
Yes, this is a good option if you’re plant-based! However, the flavor of parmesan broth is unparalleled and veggie stock can tend to fall flat. If you do use veggie stock for this recipe, make sure that it is generously seasoned.
If you’re not the biggest fan of cabbage, I would opt for lima beans (to give that brothy bean energy), shaved brussels sprouts or fennel. Go for a sturdy vegetable or bean that will hold up in the broth.
To make sure that the cabbage doesn’t get soggy and mushy, store the cabbage, broth and dressing in separate air-tight containers in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, simply assemble and heat it up in the microwave. This cabbage soup will be good in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Looking for more cabbage recipes?
You’ve come to the right place!
And that’s everything for this Herby Cabbage in Parmesan Broth!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Herby Cabbage in Parmesan Broth
Equipment
- 1 large pot or dutch oven
- 1 set of tongs
- 1 half sheet pan
Ingredients
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 cups fresh parsley
- 1 medium lemon for zest and juice
- 1 head garlic
- 2 medium shallots
- 1 leek optional
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 sprigs of fresh oregano
- 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 parmesan rinds the more parmesan on the rind, the better
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 medium head of savoy cabbage
- 1 tablespoon non-pariel capers
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated parmesan optional, for serving
Instructions
- Begin by blanching the parsley. This is so that it will stay green and vibrant even while it dresses hot cabbage in a hot broth.
- To do this, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath to the side. Season the boiling water with a large pinch of kosher salt. Submerge the parsley (stems and all) in the boiling water for 30 seconds, then use tongs to transfer it to the ice bath.
- Squeeze out any excess water from the parsley and finely chop it. Transfer it to a bowl.
- Grate 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest into the parsley (about 1/4 of a lemon). Cut the top and bottom of the lemon off, making both slices big enough to still hold a little juice. Set all the pieces to the side.
- Halve the garlic crosswise. Set aside the bottom of the garlic, and pop out the cloves from the top to grate into the parsley mixture. Set the parsley mixture in the fridge.
- Remove the top and bottom of the shallots and halve them lengthwise. Remove the green parts from the leek and halve the white part lengthwise.
- Drain the pot you boiled the parsley in. Set it back over medium heat and coat the bottom with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Let this heat up for a few minutes.
- Place the center of the lemon, the bottom of the garlic, the shallots and the leek into the hot oil, searing them all cut-side-down for 3-4 minutes or until they are deeply golden brown. Flip and sear the other sides, making sure the lemon is caramelized on both sides.
- Add the oregano, thyme, bay leaves, red pepper flakes and parmesan rinds to the pot. Cover with 8 cups of water. Bring this to a simmer and season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- Let this simmer for 60-90 minutes to make the parmesan broth. The longer it goes, the more flavor it will build.
- When the broth has 45 minutes left, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Thinly slice the cabbage and add it to an unlined baking sheet. It's ok if it's a little crowded. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and mix to coat.
- Roast the cabbage for 20-30 minutes or until golden and crispy on the edges and softened in the center.
- While the cabbage is roasting, remove the parsley mixture from the fridge. Finely chop the capers and add them in, along with the juice from the two lemon wedges, the white wine vinegar, a large pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Drizzle in three tablespoons of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and vinegar as preferred.
- When the cabbage is out of the oven, pour the parsley dressing all over it. Mix to coat.
- At this time the parmesan broth should be done. Use a slotted spoon to skim all the ingredients out of the pot, leaving behind just the rich umami broth. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- To serve, pile the herby cabbage in a bowl. Pour the parmesan broth right over it and grate on some more fresh parmesan. Serve warm.
Easy, delicious, and amazing! Thank you for being so inventive with vegetables. 🫶
So SO happy you liked it!
Do you have a recommendation on what to do with the shallots, lemon, garlic, and Parmesan rind once the broth is done?
My usual recommendation is to use them for stock, but since you essentially already made a stock, these are best puréed and used in a salad dressing! The rind is pretty much used up though, so I’d recommend discarding that.
I made a paste with the cooked garlic/shallots and a bit of the broth and spread it on toast the next morning. 10/10 recommend!
This soup is RIGHTEOUS
I forgot to add the dressing to the roasted cabbage and ate a bowl with just roasted cabbage.
So, so good.
Then I remembered the dressing, added it to the cabbage, had a 2nd bowl and WOW! IT’S AMAZING! Comforting yet complex flavor. The 3rd bowl was the best of all! I’m hiding the leftovers from the rest of my family!
I am so SO thrilled you liked it! It’s one of my favorite comfort dishes this season, and I’m happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind rating and review <3
Any advise on what I can do if I don’t have parmesan rinds? Not sure I have seen them at the grocery store available for purchase without buying a large wheel of parmesan, thank you in advance,
You can usually buy them at Whole Foods, but also you can buy a small portion of parmesan and just slice of the edge rind part, or just use a small hunk of parmesan in its place. While the last option is not the most ideal, it still does the trick!
I thought about adding some miso, not sure if you should add it at the beginning or put it in in the end or if that matters at all. xD
Absolutely stunning recipe and perfect for winter! I had to sub Napa cabbage for savoy, but otherwise made it exactly as written. I’m thinking I need to make parmesan broth more often!
Aw yay! I’m such a parmesan broth girl so hearing this comment made me so happy!
This was a hit in our house! Comforting and delicious, this hit the spot on a cold night. The parsley mixture really brought the flavor to another level. Can’t wait to make again!
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment and review 🙂
Made this tonight! It was so delicious. I added field and roast vegan sausage apple and fennel as well for a more full meal.
So glad you liked it!!
Way too much raw garlic in dressing. It made me sick. But the broth was delicious.
Hi J! I worry you might have misunderstood the recipe, you slice off the top of the garlic and pull out any clove stragglers, so only a few teaspoons of grated garlic (at the most) goes into the dressing. The full head is for the broth!
I rarely leave reviews on recipes but i NEEDED to for this one.
Pretty sure this soup has healing powers, it was absolutely fantastic and my mom and I both had several servings that lasted us through the week.
This soup is absolutely worth the effort and would pair greatly with some toasted sourdough! very French-Oniony!
This was delicious!! The parsley dressing is something I imagine I will make for use with other things. I really did question boiling the Parmesan, but it really does create an interesting broth. I’m wondering, would manchego work just as well?
I personally haven’t tried it, but if you use one with a nice rind, I’m sure it will give you some of its beautiful, nutty manchego flavor!
I love your recipes but this one was only so-so. I think the lemon in the broth made it a little bitter. We’ll try again, because we loved the parsley/cabbage combo, but I think I’d make the broth without the lemon.
I’m so sorry to hear that! You know I take great pride in trying to make all my recipes delicious, so I assure you I meant for this one to deliver in the same way! I like to balance earthy parm with acid, so that’s why I included the lemon in this recipe. I hope if you try it again it will fit your needs better! And I hope you can continue to trust my work <3
So freaking delicious! And versatile, too. One time I had it for leftovers I added cooked chickpeas. Another time I added rice. Delicious every time. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed!
I made this in a stainless steel pot which caused the lemon to leech out a metallic taste. I put a potato in the broth to boil and mashed it in Ali g with the carmelized garlic which made it a lot better. The cabbage with the dressing alone is divine! I added canelinni beans for extra protein. Absolutely delicious!!!
This dish was delicious. The broth is so flavorful and everything meshes well.
I took a gamble and gave this a go for our family of four, which includes two smol children who recoil at “cabbage” and “soup,” one adult who claims to not like lemony things, vegetarian things, or cabbage, and one adult who rarely makes a dish that all four agree on. This was an unexpected crowd pleaser and everyone felt enthusiastic about the colors and tastes. Everyone (except me) was surprised they liked it.
My only substitutions were 4 cups of a mild bone broth and 4 cups of a more robust bone broth, a few splashes of white wine, chickpeas (dried, not canned), a few extra small rinds from two fancy goudas, and an emergency rotisserie chicken in case anyone had a meltdown and couldn’t even with the soup. We aren’t a vegetarian home but I’m trying to slowly introduce vegetarianish options now that the smol
ones freak out less by the sight of things with vegetables. I’ve watched your recipes for a while but had yet to try. Thank you! This dish is superb and reminds me of all of the foods I prepared for myself in my single years.
Omg I am shocked the smol ones liked it – but shocked and excited! I’m so glad this recipe worked for your family, and thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice review!
Justine wins again for such an inventive recipe. I was most surprised by how filling it is! And so very satisfying. To the broth, I added a couple tablespoons of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce to add even more layers of flavor. Great recipe!
This dish was so much greater than the sum of its parts. Truly remarkable. Added some seared tofu for protein on top of the served broth.
So so happy you liked it – thank you for taking the time to leave a rating and review!