This all season Polish pickle soup (zupa ogorkowa) is a tangy, flavourful, hearty dish made using cucumbers pickled in seasoned brine (vinegar free). It’s simple, easy to make and tastes fantastic the next day too! Both vegetarian and meat versions included.
Polish pickle soup (zupa ogorkowa) is a very popular dish in Poland. It can be made with or without meat. My main recipe is vegetarian but I’ve included instructions on how to make this soup with chicken in Recipe Notes at the bottom of the page.
This recipe is essentially a basic root vegetables soup with added pickled cucumbers. It’s simple, cheap and easy to make!
Polish dill pickle soup is often thickened with flour and served with sour cream, as are many other soups in Polish cuisine. But this recipe doesn’t require either, in my opinion. So this dill pickle soup can be enjoyed gluten free as well as dairy free and vegan.
Polish dill pickles for Polish dill pickle soup
The pickled cucumbers are the star of this soup so you need to make sure you buy the right kind. There are really 2 types of pickled cucumbers – some are pickled in vinegar while others in seasoned natural brine. This soup is made using the latter – read the label carefully and ensure there is NO VINEGAR in the product.
The reason is that cucumbers pickled in natural brine taste quite different from ones pickled in vinegar. So you would get very different soups. While both types of pickles are delicious, this particular soup requires dill pickles in brine. Otherwise it won’t taste authentic.
Depending on where you live you might come across Pickled Gherkins or Dill Pickles but these may contain vinegar so to avoid confusion it is best to get ‘ogόrki kiszone‘ from your nearest Polish delicatessen. The ones I got looked like this:
The brine consists of a few spices, salt and water and it’s additives free. Despite its simplicity it is full of flavour (if you like sour food you will love this product!). It’s amazing how much flavour there is in a simple little pickle – the brine is absolutely delicious and I ended up adding a whole cupful to the soup (along with 5 pickles).
How to season Polish pickle soup
Because dill pickles are so flavourful this simple dish does not need much in the way of spices. Pepper will suffice. It’s best to season this dill pickle ogorkowa soup only with pepper as it’s cooking and perhaps add a bit of salt (if any) once it’s cooked. The brine and pickles are quite salty so you may not need to add any.
Equipment you’ll need
- Kitchen scales/measuring cup
- Cutting board and knife
- Grater
- Large pot and spoon
How to make Polish dill pickle soup: step-by-step
Polish dill pickle soup is incredibly easy to make! It does require a bit of chopping and grating but once you’ve prepped the vegetables it takes minutes to put together.
1.Start by gently frying the onion, leek and bay leaf in a bit of oil in a large pot until softened.
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2. Add the carrot, celery, potatoes and dill pickles and cook for 5 more minutes stirring often.
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3. Pour in the hot water, dill pickle brine (add some to start with and more later if needed), add the stock cube, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 50 minutes.
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4. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and add more water/pickle brine if needed. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed. Enjoy!
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How to make a meat version of Polish cucumber soup
If you would like to make this soup with meat I would suggest using a couple of chicken thighs, one chicken leg or about 3 chicken drumsticks (without the skin). Simply add the chicken into the pot along with the onion and leek. Then add all the other ingredients as per instructions. Do not use chicken breast as the meat will be very dry after an hour of cooking.
Top tips
- You will need Polish dill pickles in brine (NOT in vinegar) to make this soup. They are available to buy from Polish delicatessens.
- Add a little the dill pickle brine to start with. Add more towards the end of cooking, if needed.
- Seasoning: You may not need to add any salt to this soup, but be generous with the pepper.
- Garnish with parsley/dill or serve as it is, with a slice of bread.
- Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.
More Polish Soup Recipes
If you like this Polish pickle soup recipe you may also like Sauerkraut Vegetable Kapusniak Soup – another hearty, tangy Polish dish! You might also enjoy my post on How To Make Vegetarian Borscht. For a non-vegetarian recipe try my Homemade Chicken Noodle Rosol Soup.
Check out also this collection of over 12 creamy vegan soups.
Keep in touch!
If you make this recipe I’d love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Polish Dill Pickle Soup (Ogorkowa Zupa)
Ingredients
- 250 g dill pickles about 5 pickles, coarsely grated
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 small leek finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot peeled, coarsely grated
- 60 g celeriac peeled, coarsely grated
- 3 medium potatoes peeled, cubed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 vegetarian stock cube
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3.5 cups hot water add more if needed
- 1/2 - 1 cup dill pickle brine
- 1 tbsp butter optional
- Pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp each: parsley and dill (optional) finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot heat up the oil, add the bay leaf, onion and leek, stir and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until soft.
- Add the celeriac, carrot, potatoes and dill pickles, stir and continue cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with pepper, add the stock cube, water and pickle brine (some to start with), stir, cover and bring to the boil then simmer for about 50 minutes (until the potatoes are soft). Add the herbs towards the end of cooking (if using). Remove from the heat, add the butter, more water/pickle brine, if needed, stir and serve. See Notes below for making this soup using chicken.
Notes
- You will need Polish dill pickles in brine (NOT in vinegar) to make this soup. They are available to buy from Polish delicatessens.
- Add a little the dill pickle brine to start with. Add more towards the end of cooking, if needed.
- If you would like to make this soup with meat I would suggest using a couple of chicken thighs, one chicken leg or about 3 chicken drumsticks (without the skin). Simply add the chicken into the pot along with the onion and leek. Then add all the other ingredients as per instructions. Do not use chicken breast as the meat will be very dry after an hour of cooking.
- Seasoning: You may not need to add any salt to this soup, but be generous with the pepper.
- Garnish with parsley/dill or serve as it is, with a slice of bread.
- Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Recipe Link Parties
I am bringing my Polish ogorkowa dill soup to #CookBlogShare. Also sharing with Cook Once Eat Twice and Fiesta Friday. The co-hosts are: Petra @ Love Food Eat and Zeba @ Food For The Soul.
Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about creatively simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking. 
I have never heard of a dill pickle soup before but it sounds so good and I love reading new recipes! Happy Fiesta Friday 🙂
Thank you Petra, it is really tasty and easy to make too! Happy FF:)
This looks so interesting and delicious! I have never had a soup with dill pickles in it and I definitely want to make this for the family the next time I head to the grocery store. I’ve been trying to branch out when it comes to soups and entrees. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Billy, glad you like it, just make sure you get the right dill pickles (in natural brine, not vinegar). Thanks for stopping by!
I’m such a vingera fiend I reckon I wouold love this!
Thanks Kat, yes, this soup is pretty sour:)
wow Monika..I have never ever had pickle soup and if I could try yours right now I know I would love it!
Thanks Zeba!
Sounds so good and healthy!
Thank you Nancy:)
Since being back in Britain, if I’m feeling homesick for Slavic lands, I just go to my local Polish supermarket, and spend a bit of time perusing the shelves, and listening to people chatting! And then I buy a block of fresh chałwa, a huge bunch of dill, some sauerkraut, veggies, and beans, then come home and make soup!
Not with chałwa though, ha ha!
I’m about to go there now to buy some dill pickles to make this awesome looking soup! Thanks so much for sharing! xx
Thanks Nico, there are so many international shops everywhere now there is virtually nothing we can’t get here, which is great! I hope you like the soup, do let me know how it turns out:)
ANytime a non-Polak hears about pickle soup, they are weirded out..and everytime a non-POlak tries pickle soup…they wish they’d been Polish the entire time 😉
Najlepsza zupa! Sprobuje Pani przepis – ciekawy czy lepszy od przepisu mojej Babci i mojej Mamy.
<3
Great! If your babcia and mama made it with meat, as most people do, then it will be different. Hope you like it, smacznego:)
I lived in Poland for a couple of years when I was teaching English and I loved the sourness that you get in some Polish soups but I never had a clue how to recreate it. I didn’t use to do much cooking at the time but would love to have a go at it now and bring back some memories. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
I remember you mentioned you’ve spent some time in Poland. Glad to hear you liked the food, yes, there are a lot of sour recipes as Polish people love pickling:) most recipes are actually really easy to make, you just have to have the right ingredients – good thing there are Polish shops everywhere!
It’s a blast from the past for me Monika! 🙂 I still very vividly remember my grandma’s ogorkowa, it was the best and sadly I haven’t had it for years now. Really like your veggie version, it looks and sounds delicious!
I know how you feel Jo, I also haven’t had it in a long time, but it’s great to go back to old flavours once in a while:)
Have never heard of dill pickle soup, but since I LOVE dill pickles, I’m sure I would love this soup. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by! This soup is very popular in Poland, always has been and it exists in various versions throughout Eastern Europe, and if you like dill pickled I know you’d love them in a soup too. If you make it I’d love to know how it turned out:)
Cant say that I have ever eaten pickle soup or much Polish food for that matter. It sounds really interesting I must try it. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare.
Thanks Jacqui, if we ever meet in person I’ll make you a Polish dish:)
POlish dishes are the best. Most are so basic and actually come out of poverty…but they beat out so many other “haute” cuisine 😉 Try salata jarzynowa…mizeria…pulpety…szarlotka…sernik wiedenski (which is Polish-not-Polish haha)…oh so many good ones…zupa pomidorowa (with egg yolk to make it cream!)…pierogi with sauerkraut and mushrooms or pierogi with meat…or with fruit and topped with SWEET sour cream…ahhhhhh!!!!!
These are all fine dishes, I totally agree:)