Polish Kielbasa and Cabbage Soup

Chilly evenings still happen here in our area, and on those evenings I prefer to make a pot of soup that everyone loves that is going to warm them up and fill them up. This quick Polish kielbasa and cabbage soup recipe is hearty, filling, and comforting. In other words, it is the perfect meal, especially when served with Easy Cheesy Breadsticks or a crusty loaf of bread.

The soup starts off in a frying pan, where you cook the kielbasa and give it a nice color and crust. The sausage, cabbage, and potatoes all cook in healthy vegetable broth and become the best Polish kielbasa and cabbage soup recipe! You’ll be amazed at the fragrance coming out of your kitchen when you make this soup.

It’s extremely economical, too, as kielbasa and cabbage (as well as potatoes, of course) are among the more affordable items at most markets. If you’re trying to stick to a food budget, add this recipe to the rotation. You can make it ahead of time, too, and freeze it in silicone freezer molds so that you can pull out a few portions now and then for a fast dinner. You’ll really like this soup!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This is not a difficult soup. This is an easy Polish kielbasa and cabbage soup for beginners, if that’s what your cooking skill level is. Even if you’re advanced at soup-making, though, you’ll still want to make this. It’s really easy.
• The blend of flavors is terrific. This isn’t bland meat in broth. Instead, it’s savory and hearty, just what you need after a long day.
• There really aren’t that many ingredients, so making the soup doesn’t take a lot of time. You do need to let it cook, but the active time for you isn’t that much.
• This is a surprisingly good way to get more vegetables into your family’s daily diet.

Ingredients:

• Polish Kielbasa
• Medium Onion
• Cabbage
• Garlic Cloves
• Vegetable Stock
• Potatoes
• Salt
• Pepper

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Polish kielbasa: Kielbasa in the U.S. is a basic type of sausage, usually pork but sometimes turkey, often sold in a U-shape. It must be refrigerated. “Kielbasa” in Polish is more akin to meaning sausage in general, so for people outside the U.S., look for garlic-flavored, smoked sausage.

Vegetable stock: You can easily substitute chicken broth for this if you don’t like vegetable stock.

Cabbage: Use green cabbage here as purple cabbage will give the soup a weird color. If you don’t like that much cabbage, you can cut the amount in half and use kale instead. For a healthy polish kielbasa and cabbage soup version, add other vegetables if you want to; this is a great soup for using up carrots and celery.

Potatoes: You can use just about any potato in this soup. Potatoes like russetts will become softer and help thicken the soup a little, while red potatoes or Yukon golds will retain their shape a little better.

How to Make It

Step 1. Fry the kielbasa on the stove over medium heat for five minutes or until cooked. Remember to turn the slices over to let them cook more quickly.

Step 2. Place a Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat and cook the onion and cabbage for 10 minutes or until tender. Keep stirring occasionally so that the vegetables don’t stick to the pan.

Step 3. Add in garlic and cook for two minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn.

Step 4. Add the vegetable stock and potatoes, and add the kielbasa back in. Stir everything.

Step 5. Bring the soup to a boil.

Step 6. Season with salt and pepper and reduce to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remember that a simmer is actually a gentle boil, so you want to see some movement in that water. Completely still soup isn’t being heated up enough.

Now ready to serve, enjoy!

Tips for Success

Have all the ingredients measured, cut, and ready to use before you start cooking. You’d be surprised at how fast things can boil and burn when you’re trying to prepare other ingredients!

Storage & Reheating

If you have leftover soup, you can store it in the refrigerator or freeze it. The soup must be cooled to room temperature or colder first. Otherwise, you’re just making it harder for your refrigerator to keep everything cold.

Once the soup is cool (and before two hours have gone by), transfer it to an airtight container. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to four or five days.

As for freezing, as long as the soup has cooled to room temperature, it can be transferred to a freezer-safe dish within two hours of cooking being finished. You can store the soup in the freezer for up to four months. Unless you know you’re going to thaw and use all the soup at once, you’ll want to divide it into portions before freezing it.

To reheat, transfer the soup to a soup pot and put it on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Reheat until the soup is warmed through and the kielbasa is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer.

Serving Suggestions

This soup has protein and some vegetables in it, so serving it with a carbohydrate dish and some more vegetables would be a good idea. A green salad is always a good starter, and vegetable dishes that are cooked are also good. Try these Zucchini Parmesan Cheese Fritters or this Dill Pickle Bread. For homemade polish kielbasa and cabbage soup ideas about what to serve with it are easy to come up with.

Notes

Surprisingly, my kids have always loved this family friendly Polish kielbasa and cabbage soup. I can’t get them to eat any other soup with cabbage or any dish made with cabbage, including cole slaw. However, I make a pot of this soup, and they’re the first ones on the table for dinner. This soup is seasoned perfectly, allowing the natural taste of the foods to blend together and shine through.

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How do I store the Polish Kielbasa Soup?

The soup must be cooled to room temperature or colder first. Then transfer to an airtight container. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days.

Can I freeze the Polish Kielbasa Soup?

As long as the soup is cooled to room temperature it can be transferred to a freezer-safe dish. You can store the soup in the freezer for up to 4 months.

What is the best method of reheating this soup?

Transfer the soup to a soup pot and put it on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Reheat until the soup is warmed through.

You Might Enjoy These Too:

Kielbasa Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner – Sausage is a great protein that everyone seems to love.

Super Easy Cabbage Soup – The best part, it comes together in no time.