Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham

Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham is a perfect way to use leftover ham, and this soup is low-carb and gluten-free! And you can make also make this tasty cabbage soup on the stove or in the Instant Pot.

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Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham is perfect for the holiday season when you might end up with leftover ham. And this healthy soup is going to taste extra good when everyone is offering you rich holiday food. I first made this tasty Cabbage Soup when I’d spent weeks testing and eating Christmas cookies, and I needed soup with some vegetables!

This recipes produces a tasty soup with melt-in-your-mouth tender cabbage from slow cooking, with the perfect herbs and spices. And if you’ve had some diet splurges during the holidays, this slow cooker cabbage soup will be a nice change from too many indulgent foods. I hope you try the recipe, even if you end up having to buy some ham!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• cabbage
• onion
• red bell pepper
• carrots
• diced lean ham
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• Beau Monde Seasoning (affiliate link), or other all-purpose seasoning
• granulated garlic
• Dried Parsley (affiliate link)
• Bay Leaves (affiliate link)
• coarse ground black pepper to taste
• homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
• water
• Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) or other ham flavor base, optional, but recommended

What adds extra flavor to the Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup?

If you can possibly get your hands on it, I highly recommend adding just a little Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) or other ham flavor base to this soup! Or if you have some homemade Ham Stock in the freezer, this soup is the perfect use for that.

How low in carbs is this Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham?

This slow cooker soup has only about 4.5 net carbs per serving and 26 grams of protein!

Want Ham and Cabbage Soup in the Instant Pot or on the stove?

Check out the Instant version of this Soup if you prefer that method. Or if you’d like to make cabbage soup with ham on the stove, see instructions for that after the slow cooker instructions in the main recipe.

Want more ideas for Cabbage Soup?

You can check out Low-Carb and Keto Soups with Cabbage to find more tasty soup ideas!

How to Make Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham:

(This is ONLY a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Start by chopping up a whole head of cabbage. I had about 1 3/4 lbs. of cabbage after I trimmed it and removed the core.
2. Chop up an onion and a red bell pepper into same-size pieces. I made them fairly small.
3. I had some lovely thin carrots, so I just sliced them into round pieces. If you have thicker carrots, I’d chop them up a bit more. (Leave out the carrots for the most low-carb version of the soup.)
4. Cut up some enough ham to make about 2 cups of diced ham (1 1/4 lb.) I would use lean ham for this soup. (I save the ham rinds and use them to make ham stock.)
5. Put the cabbage, onion, red bell pepper, carrots, diced ham, spices, and dried herbs into the crockpot.
6. Add 6 cups chicken stock, and 2 cups water, and Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.
7. Serve hot, with Parmesan Cheese if desired.
8. (Scroll down in the complete recipe below for stovetop instructions.)
9. The Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup was really delicious, especially with a bit of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!

Make it a low-carb meal:

I’d eat love to have a bowl of this Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with one of these low-carb breads:

• Low-Carb High-Fiber Savory Muffins
• Savory Almond Flour Zucchini Muffins with Feta
• Olive Bread
• Savory Almond Flour Bread

Weekend Food Prep:

This Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 8 servings

Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 30 minutes

Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham will taste great when you’ve had enough rich holiday food! And you can make this soup in the Instant Pot or on the Stove if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 1 head cabbage, chopped (see notes)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 small carrots, cut in small rounds or chopped (see notes)
• 2 cup diced lean ham
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
• 1 tsp. Beau Monde Seasoning (or any all-purpose seasoning)
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1 T dried parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• coarse ground black pepper to taste (I used a generous amount of pepper)
• 6 cups chicken stock (see notes)
• 2 cup water
• 2 packets Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate or other ham flavor base (optional, but recommended)

Instructions

1. Chop cabbage, onion, red bell pepper, carrots and ham and add to slow cooker.
2. Add Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), garlic, parsley, Beau Monde Seasoning, bay leaves and black pepper.
3. Pour in  chicken stock and water and add Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate. (You may want to add a little salt if you don’t use the ham packets.)
4. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, until cabbage is meltingly soft and carrots are tender.
5. Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Stovetop Directions:

1. Heat about 1 T of olive oil in a heavy soup pot.
2. Add onions and saute 3-4 minutes.
3. Add carrots and bell peppers and cook 3-4 minutes more.
4. Add cabbage, ham, Spike Seasoning, garlic, parsley, Beau Monde Seasoning, bay leaves and black pepper.
5. Pour in chicken stock and water. (You may want to add a little salt if you don’t use ham packets.)
6. Simmer soup on low for about 30 minutes, then check to see if you need to add a little more water, adding if needed. Continue to simmer 15-30 minutes more, until cabbage is meltingly soft and carrots are tender.
7. Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

I used a 3.5-Quart Crock-Pot Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe. You can use any slow cooker that’s a 3-4 quart size.

You need about 5-6 cups cabbage after chopping. Use less carrots for lowest carbs. Use other all-purpose seasoning mix if you don’t have Spike.

If you don't have ham stock, you can also use chicken or vegetable stock. If you have Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link, add a couple of packets of that to the stock if you’re not using ham stock.

Recipe adapted from Cabbage Soup in Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 241Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 59mgSodium 1550mgCarbohydrates 8.5gFiber 4gSugar 11gProtein 26g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Ham is great for low-carb or Keto diets, with only 4.5 net carbs per serving. With all the healthful cabbage and using lean ham, it’s also a great choice for the original South Beach Diet, although it would be phase two with the carrots. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The Slow Cooker Soup with cabbage and ham was first posted in 2009! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.