Weight Loss Cabbage Soup Recipe: The 7-Day Plan, Protein Variations, and When You Need More

What is the weight loss cabbage soup recipe? Yes, cabbage soup helps you lose weight because it is very low in calories (about 75 per bowl) while being physically filling, creating a natural calorie deficit of 800 to 1,000 calories per day. Most people lose 5 to 10 pounds in a week on the cabbage soup diet, though 60 to 70% is water weight, 20 to 30% is fat, and 10 to 15% can be muscle loss.

The good news? Cabbage soup for weight loss is a genuinely solid, low-calorie, high-fiber option and the recipe we are sharing below is one of the most practical versions out there. We have also added variations with meat, a crock pot version, and a bariatric-friendly adaptation for patients at BodEvolve.

The weight loss cabbage soup recipe is a low-calorie, high-fiber soup made with cabbage, tomatoes, onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic, and broth. One bowl contains approximately 75 calories and 4g of fiber. Most people follow a 7-day cabbage soup diet plan to jumpstart weight loss, and adding lean protein like ground beef or chicken makes the soup filling enough to sustain for longer periods.

The Classic Weight Loss Cabbage Soup Recipe (Under 80 Calories a Bowl)

This is the original cabbage soup recipe for weight loss simple, satisfying, and genuinely effective as a low-calorie meal. No gimmicks, no secret ingredients.

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Servings: 8 Calories per serving: ~70-80 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cabbage, chopped into chunks
• 3 medium onions, diced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste
• Optional: red pepper flakes for heat

Instructions

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add a light drizzle of olive oil.
2. Add onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they soften slightly.
3. Stir in garlic and cook for one more minute until fragrant.
4. Pour in the broth and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine.
5. Add the cabbage, oregano, basil, pepper, and any optional spices.
6. Bring the pot to a full boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the cabbage is tender.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

That is your healthy cabbage soup recipe for weight loss done in under 40 minutes and genuinely filling. Each bowl is mostly water, fiber, and micronutrients. It is the kind of meal that takes up physical space in your stomach without loading up on calories.

Cabbage Soup Recipe for Weight Loss With Protein

A lot of people search for the weight loss cabbage soup recipe with meat or specifically the weight loss cabbage soup recipe with ground beef version because plain vegetable soup does not keep them full for long. That is completely understandable protein plays a major role in satiety.

Here is a simple adaptation:

Add to the base recipe:

• ½ lb lean ground beef or ground turkey (cooked separately, drained of fat before adding)
• Or 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

Brown the meat first, drain it, then add it to the soup after the broth goes in. This turns your simple cabbage soup recipe for weight loss into something more substantial and adds the protein your body needs to preserve muscle mass during a calorie deficit.

This version also works great for anyone tracking macros or following a weight loss cabbage soup recipe Weight Watchers style plan, since you can easily calculate points based on the lean protein added.

Crock Pot Cabbage Recipes for Weight Loss (Set-and-Forget Version)

Prefer hands-off cooking? The weight loss cabbage soup recipe crock pot version is practically effortless.

Instructions:

• Add all ingredients (raw) directly into your slow cooker
• Set to LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours
• Done

The slow cooker actually deepens the flavor the tomatoes break down, the cabbage gets silky, and the broth absorbs everything beautifully. Make a big batch on Sunday and you have a healthy cabbage soup recipe for weight loss ready for the whole week.

The 7-Day Weight Loss Cabbage Soup Recipe Plan (Day-by-Day Breakdown)

The 7-day cabbage soup diet plan is a structured short-term eating program where you eat cabbage soup as the base of every meal, combined with specific food groups each day. Here is exactly what the plan looks like:

• Day 1: Cabbage soup and any fruit except bananas
• Day 2: Cabbage soup and vegetables, including one baked potato with butter at dinner
• Day 3: Cabbage soup, fruit, and vegetables (no potato today)
• Day 4: Cabbage soup, up to 8 bananas, and skim milk
• Day 5: Cabbage soup, 10 to 20 ounces of lean beef or chicken, and tomatoes
• Day 6: Cabbage soup, lean protein, and as many vegetables as you like
• Day 7: Cabbage soup, brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, and vegetables

Most people report losing 5 to 10 pounds during the full 7-day plan. The majority is water weight. To understand why the weight often comes back after day 7, read the section below on what the cabbage soup diet plan actually does to your body.

Detox and Keto Variations of the Cabbage Soup Diet Plan

If you are doing a clean-eating reset rather than a full seven-day plan, a detox cabbage soup recipe for weight loss or cabbage detox soup recipe for weight loss is worth adding to your rotation.

For the detox variation, swap the chicken broth for water or plain vegetable broth, skip the salt, and add:

• A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
• The juice of one lemon
• A handful of fresh parsley or cilantro (added after cooking, not before)
• A pinch of turmeric

This gives you the cabbage soup detox recipe for weight loss profile that a lot of people are looking for anti-inflammatory, gentle on the gut, and genuinely cleansing without being a crash diet.

For anyone following a low-carb or ketogenic approach, the weight loss cabbage soup recipe keto version just means watching your carb sources carefully.

The base recipe is already very low in net carbs. Keep these swaps in mind:

• Use bone broth instead of vegetable broth (higher protein, zero carbs)
• Skip the carrots (they are higher in natural sugars)
• Add heavy cream in the last few minutes for a richer, more satiating base
• Include ground beef or Italian sausage as the protein
• Use extra garlic and smoked paprika for flavor

Cabbage itself is keto-friendly it is low in carbs, high in fiber, and easy on digestion. This makes it one of the better fat burning cabbage soup recipe weight loss options for people on a ketogenic protocol.

Does Cabbage Soup Make You Lose Weight?

Yes, cabbage soup can help you lose weight in the short term, but
mostly through calorie restriction rather than any fat-burning
property in the cabbage itself. A large bowl contains around 75
calories, so eating cabbage soup as your main meal for 5 to 7 days
creates a deep calorie deficit of 800 to 1,000 calories per day.
That deficit is what drives the 5 to 10 pound drop most people
report on the cabbage soup diet.

Here’s the honest breakdown of what you’re actually losing:

• Water weight from lower sodium and glycogen depletion (60 to 70%)
• Fat loss (20 to 30%)
• Some muscle mass if protein intake stays too low (10 to 15%)

The soup itself isn’t magic. What works is the calorie deficit, the
fiber that slows digestion, and the volume that keeps hunger
manageable. That’s why pairing your cabbage soup with lean protein matters if you want to hold onto muscle and keep weight off past week one.

Low Carb Soup Recipes: The Keto Cabbage Soup Version

Among low carb soup recipes, cabbage soup ranks near the top for a simple reason: cabbage delivers 3 grams of net carbs per cup with 2 grams of fiber, making it one of the lowest-carb vegetables you can build a meal around. That means you get a full, satisfying bowl without touching your daily carb ceiling.

To convert the classic recipe into a proper low carb version:

• Swap vegetable broth for bone broth (adds 10g protein per cup, zero carbs)
• Remove the carrots (they add 6g sugar per cup)
• Add 1 lb Italian sausage or ground beef for fat and protein
• Stir in 2 tablespoons of heavy cream at the end for richness
• Use smoked paprika and cumin for a deeper flavor

This version comes in at around 4 to 5g net carbs per bowl with
18 to 20g of protein. Compared to other low carb soup recipes
like broccoli cheddar or French onion, cabbage soup gives you
the highest food volume per calorie, which is exactly what you
want when appetite management is the goal.

Best low carb soup recipes for weight loss:

1. Keto cabbage soup (4g net carbs per bowl)
2. Chicken bone broth soup (2g net carbs)
3. Broccoli cheddar soup, cream-based (6g net carbs)
4. Egg drop soup (3g net carbs)
5. Zuppa toscana with kale (5g net carbs)

Cabbage Soup Calories Per Bowl (Full Nutrition Breakdown)

One generous 1.5-cup bowl of the classic weight loss cabbage soup recipe comes in at approximately 75 calories. For context, that is fewer calories than a medium apple, but it fills your stomach far more completely because of the water and fiber content.

Here is what a single serving delivers:

• Calories: 75 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 14g (most from cabbage and tomatoes, not added sugars)
• Fiber: 4g (about 14% of your daily target)
• Protein: 3g (this is why we recommend the protein version for anything
  beyond a two-day reset)
• Fat: 1g
• Sodium: 350mg with low-sodium broth
• Vitamin C: 60% of your daily value
• Vitamin K: 85% of your daily value

Compare that to a fast-food combo meal at 1,100 to 1,400 calories, and you can see why a bowl of this soup as a lunch or dinner replacement creates such a steep calorie deficit. Three bowls a day still lands you under 250 calories from the soup itself.

What the Diet Cabbage Soup Recipe Actually Does to Your Body

Here is what most cabbage soup weight loss recipes blogs do not tell you.

Cabbage soup for weight loss works because it is extremely low in calories while being physically filling. A large bowl might contain 70-80 calories. When you eat mostly cabbage soup for a week, you create a steep calorie deficit probably 800-1,000 calories below your daily maintenance level. That is why people lose weight.

But there are real limitations:

What it does well:

• Creates rapid caloric restriction
• Provides fiber that feeds healthy gut bacteria
• Keeps you hydrated (high water content)
• Acts as a mental reset from overeating habits

What it does not do:

• Provide adequate protein (muscle loss is a real risk on extended weight loss soup recipes)
• Address hunger hormones like ghrelin, which drive overeating
• Create lasting metabolic change
• Work as a long-term strategy

For the majority of people who struggle with obesity, the problem is not willpower or motivation. The science is increasingly clear that chronic obesity involves hormonal dysfunction, insulin resistance, altered gut-brain signaling, and genetic factors that a bowl of soup however well-intentioned simply cannot override.

This is exactly what the team at BodEvolve Bariatric Surgery Center talks about with patients every single week.

When Cabbage Soup Is Not Enough: A Conversation Worth Having

If you have tried the best weight loss cabbage soup recipe, the 7-day plan, the keto version, the meal prep version and you are still here reading about another approach this section is for you.

We have worked with hundreds of patients in the DFW area who came to us after years of cycling through exactly this pattern. Diet after diet. Some progress, then the weight coming back, often more than before. It is not a personal failure. It is a medical pattern called weight cycling, and it has physiological causes.

At BodEvolve, our nutrition and surgical team led by Dr. Frenzel, the only triple board-certified, dual fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon in DFW helps patients understand when the body needs a different kind of intervention.

If your BMI is above 35, or above 30 with related conditions like type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, or high blood pressure, surgical options may be worth a serious conversation.

Bariatric Procedures That Create Lasting Weight Loss in Texas

Unlike a diet plan that asks your willpower to fight your own hormones, bariatric surgery changes the underlying physiology the hunger signals, the metabolic rate, and the gut-brain communication that makes weight loss so difficult to sustain.

Two of the most effective options at BodEvolve:

Gastric Sleeve Surgery removes approximately 75% of the stomach, creating a smaller pouch that limits food intake and significantly reduces ghrelin the hunger hormone. It is the most commonly performed bariatric procedure in the U.S. for a reason.

Gastric Bypass Surgery creates a small stomach pouch and reroutes a portion of the small intestine, combining restriction with metabolic changes that can resolve type 2 diabetes in many patients often before significant weight is even lost.

Both procedures have been performed thousands of times by the BodEvolve team, with outcomes that far exceed what is achievable through diet alone for the right candidates.

After Surgery: Cabbage Soup Actually Has a Role

Here is an interesting full-circle moment cabbage soup is genuinely useful for bariatric patients, just in a different way than you might expect.

After procedures like Gastric Sleeve or Gastric Bypass, patients progress through clear liquids, full liquids, pureed foods, and soft foods over several weeks. A thin, well-blended version of this soup low in sodium, free from tough fibrous chunks, and made with bone broth for added protein fits perfectly into the soft food phase.

If you want to understand the full dietary progression after bariatric surgery, our post bariatric surgery diet guide covers every stage with real recipes and timelines.

We also recently covered the viral bariatric oatzempic recipe trend and what Dr. Frenzel’s team actually thinks patients should know before trying it. Worth a read if you are navigating post-op nutrition.

Cabbage Soup Nutrition Facts (Per Serving, Classic Recipe)

This is an excellent micronutrient profile for the calorie count. The problem is the protein 3 grams per bowl is not enough to preserve muscle during extended dieting. That is why the weight loss cabbage soup recipe with meat variation is almost always the smarter choice for anyone eating this more than two or three days in a row.

Macro Counting Cabbage Recipe: How to Track This Soup

If you’re tracking macros or following a structured nutrition plan, cabbage soup is one of the easiest meals to count and one of the most forgiving when you’re in a calorie deficit.

Here’s the macro breakdown for a standard bowl of this macro counting cabbage recipe (classic version, no meat):

Macro tips for this recipe:

• Add lean protein – 4 oz of shredded chicken breast adds ~26g of protein per serving and brings the total to roughly 28g of protein per bowl. This is the version most bariatric dietitians recommend.
• Track the broth – Store-bought broths vary wildly in sodium. Opt for unsalted or make your own to stay in control.
• Weigh your cabbage – A “large head” can range from 800g to 1.5kg. Weigh it raw for accurate logging in apps like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer.
• Batch log it – Build the recipe as a custom meal in your macro app, then portion it by weight. This takes 5 minutes once and saves time all week.

This is one of the most flexible recipes for anyone who macro counts you can scale protein up or down depending on your daily targets, and the vegetable base stays virtually calorie-free.

BodEvolve: Serving the DFW Area

Whether you are here for the recipe, or this article has you thinking about a more lasting solution, the BodEvolve team is ready to talk through your options with no pressure and no judgment.

We have four convenient locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

• Arlington — serving Arlington and the Mid-Cities
• Richardson — serving Richardson, Plano, and North Dallas
• Dallas — serving central Dallas and surrounding neighborhoods
• Texarkana — serving the Texarkana area and East Texas

A consultation with Dr. Frenzel and the BodEvolve team is the first step and it is just a conversation. You can ask every question you have, understand your options clearly, and make the decision that is right for your body and your life.

This weight loss cabbage soup recipe is a genuinely solid starting point. But if you have cycled through diets for years and keep ending up back at the beginning, that is not a willpower problem. It is a physiology problem, and the BodEvolve team in Texas is here to help you understand what a lasting solution actually looks like. Reach out whenever you are ready.