Caramelized Cabbage and Onion Soup With Cheesy Croutons
Updated January 26, 2026
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Ready In
- 1 hr 10 min
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 small head green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cored and thinly sliced into ½-inch strips
1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces), halved and sliced ¼-inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup dry white wine
2 (14-ounce) cans white cannellini beans
1 Parmesan rind (about 4 inches)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, divided
3 thin slices sourdough or country bread, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
¼ cup grated Parmesan
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)
35 grams carbs; 36 milligrams cholesterol; 321 calories; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 9 grams fiber; 720 milligrams sodium; 13 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven (or other heavy pot) over medium-high heat. Once the butter is foamy, add half of the cabbage and onions, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted and reduced in volume, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the remaining cabbage and onions and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage mixture is very soft and browned, about 25 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it turns dark and rust-colored, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook for another 1 minute.
- Step 3
Add the beans and their liquid, plus the Parmesan rind and 6 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors deepen, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 4
Turn off the heat, stir in the soy sauce and grate in 1 clove of garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Step 5
While the soup is simmering, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and toast, tossing frequently until the bread cubes are golden brown and crunchy, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Step 6
Transfer the toasted bread to a medium bowl, add the parsley and cheese, grate in the remaining clove of garlic, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- Step 7
Serve the soup with the croutons on top.
Private Notes
Comments
Don't let the relatively humble ingredients fool you. This soup is delicious! Do not be tempted to rush the caramelization process. It's where most of the flavor comes from -- much like onion soup -- so turn the heat down and let the cabbage and onions brown slowly. The only change I made was to substitute vegetable stock for the water. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly, and the result was great.
Absolutely delicious. Definitely a winner. Excellent depth of flavor especially for the time/difficulty level. One word of caution: the soy sauce and bean juice both bring a fair bit of salt, so be careful when salting the cabbage/onion mixture in the first step
The serving and nutritional information here, as in many NYT recipes, could be more useful: how large is a serving if it serves six, and how large if it’s eight? And do the nutritional numbers apply to six or eight.
Excellent soup, especially considering there simole ingredients. Surprisingly, no herbs needed. I followed exactly, except added chicken bouillon paste to the broth and used dry beans I cooked separately in advance (rather than canned) and then reserved the liquid for the broth. The caramelization of the onions/cabbage took double the time with lots of stirring, but was worth it. Will definitely make again.
Gordon Ramsey scrambled eggs are the best every time…similar to this, but better: Just sub any cream in (sour cream, ricotta, Greek yogurt, creme fraiche, etc.). Start with too much Kerrygold butter and eggs in a pot (not pan). Don’t beat eggs in advanced, don’t add salt until the end, stir constantly while scraping edges with stiff silicon spatula over low heat (removing from heat frequently like risotto), fold in cream and fresh herbs just BEFORE it sets and is still a bit too runny; then turn off heat so it’ll finish cooking slowly—but serve while still tender (and not “dry”crumbles). Salt/pepper to taste.
We loved it. We decided that this soup could be a base for sausage, meatballs, or a few more vegetables. We look forward to making it again!