Onion, parsnip, carrots, garlic, fresh herbs, tomato, cabbage, pearled barley and tender brisket… all in a soup! What could be a better recipe for leftover corned beef than leftover corned beef and cabbage soup?
If you are like my family, the only time of year you eat corned beef is St. Patrick’s Day. Which is really a shame because it is so darn good! And if you are also like my family, you make WAY too much because beef briskets are usually huge!
Why You’ll Love This Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
A hearty soup that’s both flavorful and easy to make- what’s not to love!
- No wasting leftovers – This cabbage soup recipe is a great way to use up those leftovers from St. Patrick’s Day with no waste.
- Quick and easy – You can have this soup ready and on the table in less than one hour. couldn’t be easier.
- Continue the celebration – No need to stop the St. Patrick’s Day celebration- you can enjoy the food for even longer.
What to do with leftover corned beef?
Most people just reheat or make a delicious corned beef sandwich, but you can also make Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup!
This recipe transforms corned beef into a colorful and hearty meal packed with vegetables like parsnips, carrots and tomatoes.
While the recipe calls for one pound of corned beef, you can use anything from 1/2 pound to 2 pounds, it just depends on what you have on hand and how meaty you prefer your soup. You can even use your previously cooked carrots, potatoes and cabbage!
While my Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup doesn’t use potatoes, feel free to add fresh potatoes along with the first round of veggies or leftover potatoes at the very end to reheat.
I merged my corned beef soup with a beef and barley recipe that I love. Barley is one of those ancient grains that is so underutilized, but tastes great, has a fabulous texture and is so good for you.
Ingredients
You will easily find all of the ingredients to make this corned beef and cabbage soup at your local grocery store.
- Olive oil – The first step of making this soup is sauteing the vegetables. I like to use a mild flavored olive oil for this.
- Yellow onion – Onion adds excellent flavor to this corned beef soup. You can use white onion if you prefer.
- Parsnip – I love parsnips and feel that they aren’t used enough! Make sure this is peeled and chopped.
- Carrots – Make sure these are peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces. This adds both texture and color to the soup.
- Garlic – I much prefer to mince my own garlic cloves. It packs a bigger flavor punch than the pre-minced jar of garlic.
- Broth – This will be the main base of our soup. You can use either vegetable broth chicken broth.
- Herbs – I use both fresh thyme leaves and bay leaves. They add an herbaceousness to this soup that is incredible.
- Salt and pepper – I prefer to use kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Using table salt can make things taste a little like iron.
- Pearled barley – The health benefits of barley include being high in fiber, thus aiding in weight regulation, digestion and blood sugar levels and also high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
- Cabbage – If you have leftover cabbage from St. Patrick’s Day too, perfect! If not, fresh cabbage works too.
- Plum tomatoes – You will want to make sure the pulp and seeds are removed. Chop them up into small pieces.
- Leftover corned beef – You will want to cut this into bite-sized pieces. Alternatively, you can shred it.
- Lemon juice – To add a little brightness and acidity to this soup, we add a little fresh lemon juice.
How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
You can have this delicious soup ready to serve in under an hour!
- Sauté onion, parsnip, carrot and garlic. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat light olive oil. Add onion, parsnip, carrot and garlic. Sauté until slightly soft.
- Remove all vegetables from the pot to a bowl, set aside. Don’t worry about all the little bits and pieces, a few left won’t be a problem.
- Add broth and seasonings to pot. Without wiping it out, add vegetable or chicken broth, thyme leaves, kosher salt, ground pepper, bay leaves and barley to the pot. Cover pot and simmer.
- Add sauteed vegetables back to soup, increase heat to medium-high heat. Cook for a few minutes.
- Add cabbage, tomato, corned beef and lemon juice. Continue to cook for 3 minutes, or until beef is heated.
- Serve and enjoy. Ladle into soup bowls and serve.
Variations
There are plenty of ways you can make this leftover corned beef and cabbage soup your own.
- Vegetables – You can swap any vegetables, or add any in addition to. I like veggies with a snap, so celery would be a great option. You could also add potatoes.
- Broth – You could really use any broth you have on hand- vegetable, chicken or beef. You could also use chicken stock.
- Cooking method – While this soup is made on the stove top and I haven’t tried another method, you could certainly try making it in the slow cooker or pressure cooker.
Storage and Freezing
How to Store Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will stay for up to five days.
Can I Freeze Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup?
Yes, you can absolutely freeze this soup. Freeze it in an airtight container and it will stay for up to three months.
More Festive St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
From sweets and green treats to corned beef and potatoes, here are some of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
Colcannon
Cheddar Beer Bread
Cabbage Casserole with Bacon
Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 1 parsnip , peeled and chopped
- 2 carrots , peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/3 cup pearled barley
- 2 cups cabbage , coarsely chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes , pulp and seeds removed, chopped
- 1 pound leftover corned beef , cut into bite-sized pieces or shredded
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat light olive oil. Add onion, parsnip, carrot and garlic. Saute until slightly soft.
- Remove all vegetables from the pot to a bowl, set aside. Don’t worry about all the little bits and pieces, a few left won’t be a problem.
- Without wiping it out, add vegetable or chicken broth, thyme leaves, kosher salt, ground pepper, bay leaves and barley to the pot. Cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add sauteed vegetables back to soup, increase heat to medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add cabbage, tomato, corned beef and lemon juice. Continue to cook for 3 minutes, or until beef is heated.
- Ladle into soup bowls and serve.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know!
A great recipe to repurpose leftovers! And I looove adding the parsnips — a favorite of mine — I take any suggestions to use them more often!
I do some version of “leftover” soup every time I make corned beef. Tried yours this year and it is spectacular- thanks!
This was the perfect “leftover” soup! It came together so well and was delicious! Thank you!
I always appreciate a good leftover recipe. I don’t believe in anything wasted. Thanks!
I loved corned beef & cabbage as a kid, but I’ve never had it as a soup! So excited to try this and bring back happy memories
We try to be zero waste at our house, and this soup helped us do that after St. Patricks day! This was so tasty!
This soup looks so light and fantastic. It’s so healthy too and bonus… it’s easy to make. I can’t wait to give it a try. I just saved the recipe. Thanks!
This was a great recipe for all my leftovers ! So glad I found it !