Hungarian Savoy Cabbage Soup is a cheap and filling recipe.
My vegan version of the classic Hungarian Savoy Cabbage Soup is a very simple and budget-friendly recipe. It’s a lovely, hearty soup, made of seasonal ingredients, that’s perfect for the colder months.
Well, it’s another recipe that I used to hate as a child, but somehow started to crave about a year ago….
Savoy cabbage soup, or in Hungarian called frankfurti leves – frankfurter soup, is a popular dish in Hungary. It’s made with savoy cabbage, potatoes, carrots, lots of sour cream, plus some sausages (frankfurter). It’s pretty much a staple in most Hungarian families’ kitchen in the winter times.
I have actually never tried this recipe when I was younger. Or at least I can’t remember it. But I smelled it about a billion times, so I have a very strong feeling about what it should be like.
Growing up cabbage, sausage and sour cream just didn’t seem like a combination I wanna try. But times have changed and I realized this soup is actually a really-really good, warming meal. So I tried it. And liked it. A lot.
I hope you’ll too.
This Savoy Cabbage Soup is a pretty foolproof recipe with only a few simple ingredients, but you can easily add a few extras to make it more interesting.
For flavor I went with smoked and sweet Hungarian paprika, plus a little garlic, but you can add caraway seeds, bay leaves, or hot chili as well. Or if you don’t plan to keep things traditional, try cumin, coriander, or a good curry mix.
Normally Savoy Cabbage Soup is made with sour cream, but I find that plant milk and a little flour works just as well. However if you want a thicker finish, you can use homemade sunflower or cashew sour cream, or a store-bought soy alternative.
Any brand of vegan (hot dog) sausage will do for this recipe, or just use some diced smoked tofu. Traditionally the sausage is cooked in the soup, however I think it’s best to simply prepare the sausage on the side and then top the soup with the sausage slices. I am personally not a huge fan of vegan meats, so for me 2-3 slices is more than enough for a portion, while my BF loves to cover his soup with about 20 slices.
Serve this soup warm with fresh bread for dunking. Hungarian Savoy Cabbage Soup is also great reheated for the next couple of days.
If you’d like to try more veganized Hungarian recipes, check out these ones:
- Hungarian Bean Soup
- Bread Dumplings w/ Root Vegetable Sauce + Roasted Mushrooms
- Layered Hungarian Potato Casserole
- Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage
- Hungarian Green Pea Stew
- Sauerkraut Soup with Smoked Tofu
- Vegan Hungarian Cheese Spread in Bread Bowl
- Hungarian Paprika Potato Stew
- Pogácsa or Hungarian Sweet Potato Biscuits
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
Print
Hungarian Savoy Cabbage Soup
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (optional)
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
- 1/4 tbsp smoked paprika
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 potatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1.5 l/6-7 cups of vegetable broth
- 1 small head of savoy cabbage (400g or about 5 cups chopped)
- 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
- 1.5 tbsp flour (use GF if needed)
- salt, pepper
To serve:
- 1–2 vegan sausages
- vegan sour cream
Instructions
- Heat up oil in a large pot, then add onion and carrots. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use a few spoons of vegetable broth instead of the oil, if you prefer to keep this oil-free.
- Add sweet and smoked paprika, and garlic, and cook for 20-30 seconds, just until fragrant. Then add potatoes and enough vegetable broth to cover. Bring soup to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Add chopped or thinly sliced savoy cabbage, plus the rest of the vegetable broth to cover the veggies, and bring to a boil again. Simmer for 10 more minutes, until potatoes and savoy cabbage are fully cooked.
- Whisk together milk and flour, and pour into the soup. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens.
- Meanwhile prepare vegan sausage according to package instructions, then slice it.
- Serve soup warm topped with sour cream and sausage slices. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
.I didn’t grow up eating cabbage soup, but always love cabbage. This looks warming and tasty, perfect for soup season.
I think you’d like this, Angie 😉
It looks so good. I never had sausages with cabbage in soup form, but plenty of times in stew-like form. I’m curious about this one, so I will keep it in mind for the future.
Thanks, Anca! Let me know, if you try it 🙂
Why is there not an option to print your recipe? Looks delicious
It messed with my site, so had to remove my print button. But I’m working on a new one already, it’s gonna come soon, I promise 🙂
I love this recipe!!! – it is outstanding!! I’ve been making it for a while now and it never fails. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad to hear this! Thanks for the lovely feedback, Susanne 🙂
Lovely soup, instructions are easy to follow.
Thanks, Kate 🙂
Lovely soup, instructions were easy to follow.
I love this soup! I just finished making it and ate a bowl right away – before even adding any sausage or sour cream – – – it’s totally delicious! I’ve been making cabbage soup different ways trying to find a recipe for an amazing cabbage soup I had at a fancy banquet and I think this must it!!! Wonderful! The paprikas does something amazing to cabbage!
Thank you so much for this new staple in my house!!!
Hi Karen!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, I’m so glad you like the recipe 🙂