This cabbage and chicken soup is light, nutritious, and soothing, made with simple ingredients, and it’s perfect if you follow a low-histamine diet.
This soup is also Whole-30 compliant, lectin-free, and keto-friendly.
What makes this soup low-histamine?
I had to follow a low-histamine diet for a while when I experienced histamine intolerance and possibly mast cell activation symptoms, as well as some food sensitivities.
That’s why you will find a few low-histamine recipes on this website and in my two cookbooks.
Ingredients for low-histamine cabbage and chicken soup
- 2 or 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow or sweet onion, chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely sliced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 thumb-size ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 white cabbage finely sliced/shredded
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme (other green herbs, like rosemary, work too)
- salt and pepper to taste
- about 5 cups warm water
- Cooked chicken (frozen)
- For serving: fresh cilantro or parsley, vegetable sprouts, extra virgin olive oil
Is leftover chicken low-histamine?
Leftovers, especially leftover chicken (or other animal protein), can be high in histamine. Still, there is a way to make your meal preparation easier when you follow a low-histamine diet and not have to cook everything from scratch for every meal.
The solution is to cook a whole chicken in the pressure cooker or even in the oven, remove and shred the meat and freeze it immediately in smaller serving sizes. Freezing animal protein will stop the building of histamine-triggering bacteria.
When you make this soup or any soup, you can add the frozen chicken when the soup is almost ready. It will only need to boil for a few minutes.
Souper Cubes
FREEZING stops the histamine-triggering bacteria from forming. My favorite ways of freezing food are with Souper Cubes. You can buy the Souper Cubes here.
‘Take out a frozen cube, warm it up in the microwave, on the stove, or bake in the oven. Warm your food up the way that works best for you!‘
How to make a low-histamine cabbage and chicken soup
- Add the olive oil to a soup pot, generously covering the bottom. When the oil is heated, add the onions, carrot, celery, and ginger and sauté for about 10, 15 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the onions are translucent and fragrant.
- Add the cabbage, the sprig of thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir well and add the warm water. Bring to a boil, taste for salt and pepper, and add more if necessary.
- Let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the cabbage is soft but not entirely mushy.
- Add the shredded, frozen (cooked) chicken for about five minutes before turning the heat off.
- Serve fresh herbs, vegetable sprouts, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
For more low-histamine soups, you might also want to try the Healing Vegetable Soup with Kale and Broccoli Sprouts.
More low-histamine recipes
- Thai Style Curry, Low Histamine
- Sweet Potato Brownie, Vegan, Low Histamine
- Sauteed Cabbage with Fennel and Leeks, Low Histamine
- Instant Pot Beef Taco Bowl with Tostones
- Pao de Beijo – Vegan Sweet Potato Snack Bread
If you want to read about my journey and how I healed the root causes of histamine intolerance, check out this article: My Experience with Histamine Intolerance. Diet and Everything Beyond.
Also, for more information on low-histamine cooking, check out our Guide to Low-Histamine Cooking and Food Preparation.
More chicken soup recipes
- Healthy Ground Chicken Soup
- Kohlrabi Chicken Soup with Lemongrass and Ginger
- Chicken Coconut Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms
- Romanian Chicken Soup (Ciorba Radauteana)
*This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.
PrintLow-Histamine Cabbage and Chicken Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
This cabbage and chicken soup is light, nutritious, and soothing, made with simple ingredients, and it’s perfect if you follow a low-histamine diet. This soup is also Whole-30 compliant, lectin-free, and keto-friendly.
Ingredients
- 2 or 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow or sweet onion, chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely sliced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 thumb-size ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 white cabbage finely sliced/shredded
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- about 5 cups warm water
- 6 oz leftover chicken (frozen)
- For serving: fresh cilantro or parsley, vegetable sprouts, extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a soup pot, generously covering the pot bottom. When the oil is heated, add the onions, carrot, celery and ginger and sauté for about 10, 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and fragrant.
- Add the cabbage, the sprig of thyme, salt and pepper. Stir well and add the warm water. Bring to a boil, taste for salt and pepper and add more if necessary.
- Let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft but not entirely mushy.
- If you are using cooked chicken, add it at the end, or five minutes before turning the heat off if the chicken was frozen.
- Serve with vegetable sprouts, extra virgin olive oil, and even a squeeze of lemon if you prefer a more tangy taste.
8 Comments
Tammy R
January 25, 2025 at 6:12 pmHi Claudia, Dr Gundry now says to use cabbage soup for all meals for a 5-day Fast Mimicking diet, to make it super easy, but I can’t find his recipe. Can I use this one without the chicken? Would you add anything else to it?
Claudia
January 26, 2025 at 4:39 amHi Tammy! Yes, you can use this recipe, but without the chicken. The FMD is a vegan diet. I would probably add some fennel to it. xx -Claudia
Tamara Williams
May 26, 2022 at 7:15 amIsn’t cabbage considered a high histamine liberator?
Claudia
May 29, 2022 at 4:03 amNot at all, on the contrary, all cruciferous vegetables have anti-histamine properties. Maybe you’ve heard sauerkraut is high in histamine? (which it is because is fermented cabbage).
Kelly
January 2, 2022 at 12:04 pmHi Claudia, How much cooked chicken for this recipe?
Claudia
January 2, 2022 at 4:00 pmHi Kelly, a small handful for one serving (2-4 oz).
Thia
January 7, 2021 at 10:13 pmThank you so much for the recipe! Simple and delicious! I added a little fresh turmeric. I will be making this again and again!
Claudia
January 8, 2021 at 10:54 amThank you so much Thia. So happy you loved it! Turmeric is always a good idea xx