Instant Pot Low-Carb Ham and Cabbage Soup (also Slow Cooker or Stovetop)

I love the way cabbage gets meltingly tender in soup and this Instant Pot Low-Carb Ham and Cabbage soup is such a winner! And if you prefer to use the slow cooker or make it on the stove, there’s a link for that version too! Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

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Tell the truth, are you just a tiny bit skeptical about the idea of cabbage in soup? I hope not, because when cabbage is cooked all day in the slow cooker or cooked under pressure in the Instant Pot it gets sweet and tender and almost seems to melt into the soup. This new recipe for delicious Instant Pot Low-Carb Ham and Cabbage Soup is an updated pressure cooker version of the CrockPot (or Stovetop) Low-Carb Ham and Cabbage Soup that has been popular on the blog.

And I hope no one thinks about The Cabbage Soup Diet when they’re eating this soup, but it’s definitely a healthy diet-friendly soup to make in your Instant Pot! I couldn’t resist using a few carrots for color, but this is still a very low-carb soup and you can certainly use less carrots if you prefer. The soup has lots of tender cabbage, juicy pieces of ham, onion, carrots, and red bell pepper, and there’s also a secret ingredient! (Don’t you love secret ingredients?)

Okay, it’s not really a secret,  but if you can get your hands on some Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate, I highly recommend adding a couple of packets of that to the chicken stock you’re going to use as the base of the soup. That bumps up the flavor into the wow category! But even without that, this is a tasty and easy-to-make low-carb soup that will warm your tummy on a cold winter night. And this year I served it at my annual January soup party, and it was a hit; enjoy!

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First chop up 5-6 cups cabbage along with some onion, red bell pepper, chopped ham, and a few carrots if you’re using them. Put cabbage, onion, and red pepper in the Instant Pot, add the ham, carrots, bay leaves, and sprinkle the Spike Seasoning, granulated garlic,Beau Monde Seasoning, dried parsley and black pepper over the top. (Use any good all-purpose seasoning blend if you don’t have Spike or Beau Monde Seasoning.)

If you have Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate or another type of ham bouillon base, I recommend mixing it with the 6 cups vegetable stock. Pour that over the ingredients in the Instant Pot, lock the lid, set it to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 10-15 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure manually.

Serve hot, with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top if desired! I’d also love this soup with a dollop of sour cream, but admittedly I like sour cream on almost everything.

More Tasty Soups with Veggies:
Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup with Tomatoes, Sausage, and Parmesan ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Cabbage Roll Soup ~ Spend with Pennies
Low-Carb Goulash Soup with Red Peppers and Cabbage ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Italian White Bean, Cabbage, and Sausage Soup ~ Barefeet in the Kitchen
Lentil, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup with Balsamic Vinegar ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Kapusta Polish Cabbage Soup ~ A Family Feast

Print Recipe

Instant Pot Low-Carb Ham and Cabbage Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings

Total Time: 30 minutes, plus time to come to pressure and release pressure

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes, plus time to come to pressure and release pressure

Ingredients:

• 1 head cabbage, chopped (about 5-6 cups cabbage after chopping)
• 1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup chopped onion)
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 small carrots, cut in small rounds or chopped (Use less carrots for lower carbs)
• 2 cups diced lean ham (I used one of those ham steaks that come in a three-pack at Costco.)
• 2 bay leaves (optional but good)
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or use other all-purpose seasoning mix if you don’t have Spike)
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1 T dried parsley
• 1 tsp. Beau Monde Seasoning or season salt (or any all-purpose seasoning that’s good in soup)
• coarse ground black pepper to taste (I used a generous amount of pepper)
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 packets Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate or other ham flavor base (optional, but recommended)
• Parmesan cheese for serving (optional, but very good)

Directions:

1. Chop cabbage, onion, red bell pepper, ham, and carrots (if using).
2. Put cabbage, onion, and red bell pepper in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the chopped ham, carrots, and bay leaves, and sprinkle the Spike Seasoning, granulated garlic, dried parsley,Beau Monde Seasoning, and black pepper over the top.
3. Mix the Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate or other ham flavor base into the chicken stock and pour the liquid over the ingredients in the Instant Pot.
4. Lock the lid, set to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Let pressure release manually for 10-15 minutes, then release manually.
6. Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan to add at the table if desired.

This recipe adapted from CrockPot (or StoveTop) Low-Carb Ham and Cabbage Soup which has been a hit on Kalyn’s Kitchen!

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This soup is great for any low-carb or low-glycemic diet plan, especially if you use a limited amount of carrots. Using carrots would make this phase two for the South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, you can sign up for a free membership with Yummly and use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information. Another option is entering the recipe into this Recipe Nutrition Analyzer, which will calculate it for you.