Name: Chicken Cabbage Soup with Apples
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon caraway seeds; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 fennel bulb, fronds and core removed, then thinly sliced; 1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion; 1 cup diced carrot; 1/2 cup diced celery; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 5 cups chicken broth; 3 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage; 2 cups shredded chicken breast (about 8 ounces); 2 cups thinly sliced granny smith apples (about 2 apples); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Easy, cozy, and comforting make a soup recipe a mainstay, and this Chicken Cabbage Soup with Apples checks all the boxes!

With a simple ingredient list that incorporates lots of veggies, it's a healthy soup to whip up and ward off winter's chill.

This recipe is gluten free, low carb, keto, paleo, and Whole30 friendly!

Bowls of chicken cabbage soup with apples

Ingredients needed for chicken cabbage soup

Usually when creating a soup recipe, I like to add in a variety of veggies where it makes sense. This chicken cabbage soup recipe certainly has a good variety!

Here's the primary ingredients you'll need for this German-inspired recipe:

caraway seeds
fennel
yellow onion
carrot
celery
garlic
chicken broth
green cabbage
shredded chicken breast
Granny Smith (green) apples

Caraway seeds might be the most "out there" ingredient on this list. You might recognize the flavor of caraway from rye bread or sauerkraut.

It's worth having in this recipe - that somewhat nutty, anise flavor adds a unique spin to what could otherwise be a bland soup!

Finally, I like using Granny Smith apples (the green ones!) because they're firm and tart. A super sweet apple would be a little overpowering in this recipe.

How to make a flavorful soup

First step for this recipe: toast the caraway seeds and grind them in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

This may seem a bit "extra" - you're welcome to use ground caraway if you'd like. But I wouldn't recommend skipping the caraway entirely!

The base of this soup, like many, is made with mirepoix, a blend of onions, carrots, and celery.

However, another aromatic that gets throw into the mix is fennel! Fennel is a root vegetable that doesn't often take center stage, but it pairs so well with the caraway seeds to add flavor to this soup.

Beyond that, you'll add the cabbage, chicken, and broth, the bring the whole mixture to a boil before reducing to a simmer. You don't want to keep the soup boiling or the veggies will get mushy and the chicken tough and rubbery.

I like to add the apples towards the end, or they'll suffer from getting mushy too quickly.

And with that, you've got soup!

Swaps and variations of this chicken cabbage soup

Can't find fresh fennel? Swap it for 1 teaspoon fennel seeds. Toast 'em just like the caraway seeds and grind them to a powder before adding them.

If you don't have any leftover chicken on hand, make some using my Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken instructions! Or, swap it for some good old-fashioned pork sausage.