Nourishing Cabbage Chickpea Soup with Herbs and Parmesan

episode #96 of 30-minute budget meals

I don’t cook enough with cabbage. It’s not that I don’t like it, I’ve just never been in the habit of picking it up at the grocery store. And now that Vogue has declared 2026 the year of the cabbage (lol), it was time to stop making excuses.

I’m about to spend the week in the desert where it’s going to be 90 degrees, but my brother and sister-in-law weren’t able to fly back to New York this weekend because of a snowstorm. So when I was thinking about what to cook this week, I tried to put myself in the shoes of most everywhere else where people are cold and looking to be comforted. So, naturally, soup it was.

This soup is truly SO quick and SO easy. Cabbage is, of course, the star here, and chickpeas come in a close second. I didn’t realize until afterwards that if you leave off the Parmesan garnish at the end, this soup is actually vegan! It’s light and brothy but also filling, thanks to the fiber in the cabbage and the chickpeas. There’s some lemon and garlic, and of course, your classic soup aromatics of onion and carrots. And then it all gets topped off with some chives and parsley, and my personal favorite, grated Parmesan.

I can’t make any scientific claims, but this is the type of soup that will heal you — if not physically, then certainly emotionally.

RECIPE!

Nourishing Cabbage Chickpea Soup with Herbs and Parmesan

Ingredients (serves 2-3)