Instant Pot Dolly Parton Diet Soup—an easy soup packed with vegetables and only 78 calories per serving!
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Dolly Parton Diet Soup
The Dolly Parton diet is said to reduce your belly fat just like Dolly’s tiny waistline. This soup has also been called the cabbage soup diet or miracle soup. I don’t like the word “diet” and I don’t agree with “going on a diet” as they are not sustainable. However, I do like the idea of adding more vegetables into my diet in 2022. One way I can get more vegetables in during the winter months is to make a batch of this soup and eat it as part of lunch each day. In the summer I like salads and green smoothies but in the winter I’m just too cold to make myself a green smoothie! A warm bowl of soup sounds so much better to me.
Ingredients
This soup is very versatile and you can add or subtract the vegetables and spices that you want.
- Cabbage–I used green cabbage but you can also use purple
- Onion–I used a yellow onion but you can also use white or purple onion
- Diced or crushed tomatoes–I used canned tomatoes but you can also use fresh tomatoes
- Celery
- Carrots
- Green beans–you can also use fresh or frozen green beans
- Vegetable broth–or 6 cups water + 2 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base
- Balsamic vinegar–adds a mellow tartness. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar use 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
- Black pepper
- Dried rosemary
- Dried sage
- Dried thyme
- Bay leaf
- Onion soup mix–or you can make your own
How to make diet soup in the Instant Pot or Crockpot:
Although there is a little prep time with chopping vegetables this recipe is a dump and go recipe and comes together quickly.
- Add all ingredients into Instant Pot or slow cooker.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the soup button to 10 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid. Discard bay leaf. For the slow cooker, cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Stir well. Taste test and add salt to taste, if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Tips/Variations
- If you’d like to reduce sodium try using water instead of broth or leave out the onion soup mix
- Try adding in a diced green bell pepper
- Try adding in chopped kale or spinach for more color and nutrition
- Try adding in chopped mushrooms
- To make this gluten free make sure you use a gluten free broth and onion soup mix
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. For a 3 quart pot, halve the recipe.
- You can double this recipe in an 8 quart pot. Double all ingredients and keep same cooking time.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.

What The Best Way To Cut Up Of Cabbage?
- Cut the cabbage down the middle, splitting it into two equal halves.
- Place each half flat side down and cut down the middle. You should now have 4 quarters.
- Locate the stem for each quarter. This is called the core. Cut off the core and discard.
- Place each quarter flat side down. Cut it into slices.
- Finally, cut the slices into squares.
More Healthy Instant Pot Recipes…
Instant Pot “Free” Soup—This soup has zero points on weight watchers plans!
New Year’s Resolution Dish—A flavorful vegetable dish that is low calorie and perfect as a side dish to a grilled chicken breast or pork chop.
Instant Pot 10 Vegetable Soup—Get more veggies in your diet with this healthy and tasty soup.
60+ Healthy Instant Pot And Slow Cooker Recipes
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc. Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.

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Instant Pot Dolly Parton Diet
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Description
An easy soup packed with vegetables and only 78 calories per serving!
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a small head of cabbage, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced or crushed tomatoes
- 2 ribs of celery, diced or sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 (14.5 oz) can of green beans, drained (you can also use fresh or frozen green beans)
- 6 cups vegetable broth (or 6 cups water + 2 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (1 oz) packet onion soup mix
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add all ingredients into Instant Pot.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the soup button to 10 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid. Discard bay leaf.
- Stir well. Taste test and add salt to taste, if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add all ingredients into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Discard bay leaf.
- Stir well. Taste test and add salt to taste, if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Just wondered what the serving size is. I don’t see it in nutrition facts.
I would say a heaping cup is a serving (1/8 of the pot)
Hi Karen….
Love your recipes and always refer to you for info on many recipes.
I was wondering how do I figure nutrition if I add extra lean ground beef to
this soup? I don’t eat it to lose weight….Just really like it.
Thanks for your help…
Have a great and blessed day
Elaine
A pound of extra lean ground beef (90/10) has 790 calories, 45 grams of fat, 90 grams of protein. So you could just take those numbers and divide by how many servings and add it to the other nutrition info in the recipe card.
still not bad on the nutrition. I don’t eat it as diet soup. I love soup so I can eat a little more of it than if I make another soup.. Thanks for the info.
Elaine
★★★★★
This was delicious! It reminds me of the good old weight watchers vegetable/cabbage soup but with much better flavor! I didn’t add any extra salt, the balsamic vinegar and onion soup do their thing to make this soup rock! Dolly was onto something here! Super easy too, just put in all the ingredients and let it cook for 10 and 10 NPR.
★★★★★
So glad you tried this one! It really is tasty and low cal too!
Hi Karen, Thank you for your site and all the questions that you already answered about IP’s. I just ordered an 8 Qt IP/Airfryer because of deep discounts Walmart is offering. I have an IP Mini 3Qt and was looking to cook more at one time. Now I think I’m experiencing buyer’s remorse because of size though. This recipe looks great, but the instructions state that I can use the same recipe for 8 QT and I have a quick question… Can really I use the exact recipe ingredients for 8 QT? I would rather not increase the yield if I don’t have to, since I am cooking for 2pp (and a freezer) only. Thank you in advance for your answer.
Yes make the recipe as stated in your 8 quart. It will work just fine.