Zupa Ogórkowa (Polish Dill Pickle Soup)

Polish Creamy Dill Soup (Zupa Ogorkowa)

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 2 1/4 quarts

This recipe for Polish creamy dill pickle soup or zupa ogórkowa (ZOO-pah oh-goorr-KOH-vah) is the winter counterpart to the summer offering of cold cucumber soup.

In Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe, pickling was a common way of preserving fruits, vegetables, meats, and eggs before refrigeration became widespread. The soup's base of pickled baby cucumbers, (what we just call plain old pickles) in hot broth imakes for a truly delicious and simple soup.

Some versions of this pickle soup use a tomato or ketchup base, but this more widely known variation uses sour cream. If you substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock, it becomes completely vegetarian.

Incidentally, this soup has an interesting background. Eastern European hangover cures often center around salty foods, in order to replenish the salts lost through dehydration, which is a side effect of excessive drinking. This pickle soup is a good contender as is Russian rassolnik, or kidney-pickle soup.

Today, thanks to refrigeration and the availability of year-round produce, this soup can be enjoyed in winter or summer, but it is especially soothing in colder months. Garnish it with fresh chopped dill, and serve with crusty rye or pumpernickel bread.

“Pickle soup sounds a little strange but is truly delicious and very satisfying. A good way to imagine the flavor is like that of a creamy potato soup with a distinctive and irresistible tang. Absolutely worth trying.” —Joan Velush

Zupa Ogórkowa: Polish Creamy Dill Pickle Soup/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 medium onion, halved and sliced

  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

  • 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

  • 4 large garlic dill pickles, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, about 2 cups

  • 2/3 cup pickle juice or water

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup sour cream

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • Sugar, to taste, optional

  • Finely chopped fresh dill, for garnish

  • Hearty rye bread, for serving

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make creamy Polish dill soup

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Melt butter in a large pot. Sauté the onion until translucent, about 3 minutes.

    A large pot with onions cooking in butter

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the pickles, pickle juice, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes more.

    A pot with onions, broth, pickles, pickle juice, and potatoes

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. In a small bowl, blend flour with sour cream.​

    A small of bowl of sour cream blended with flour

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Temper the sour cream mixture by whisking in a little hot soup, so it does not curdle.

    A bowl of sour cream-flour mixture with soup added

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  6. Pour tempered sour cream back into the hot soup, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

    Sour cream-flour mixture added to the pot of soup

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  7. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and optional sugar.

    Seasoning on the pot of sour with salt, pepper, and sugar

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  8. At this point, the soup can be left chunky or puréed to the velvety consistency of vichyssoise.

    A pot of smooth potato-dill pickle soup and a stick blender

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  9. Serve in heated bowls garnished with fresh dill and accompanied by hearty rye bread.

    Polish creamy dill soup garnished with dill and served with rye bread

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Tip

  • Alternative authentic dill pickle soup can be made with a chicken broth base, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and sour cream.

Can You Freeze Dill Pickle Soup?

Sadly, because this soup contains sour cream, if you freeze it and reheat it, it won't fare so well. The soup will likely become grainy upon reheating. Instead, if you want to freeze the soup, set some of it aside before adding the sour cream, freeze that portion, and then add the sour cream upon reheating, following the steps in the recipe.

 

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
286 Calories
12g Fat
39g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 286
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g 16%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 36mg 12%
Sodium 2269mg 99%
Total Carbohydrate 39g 14%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 13mg 63%
Calcium 105mg 8%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 814mg 17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)