Everyday Polish mushroom soup features popular white button mushrooms cooked along with potatoes and vegetables for a satisfying dish. Easy to make, delicious and ready in under 40 minutes!
See also creamy mushroom potato soup!
Polish mushroom soup, ‘zupa pieczarkowa’ (pron. ‘pye-char-KO-vah’) is made with white button mushrooms (‘pieczarki’ in Polish), the most common and widely available type of mushroom. It is a popular, traditional Polish soup, inexpensive, simple and easy to make.
Polish button mushroom soup is different from Polish grzybowa soup, which is made with wild mushrooms (grzyby) and traditionally served on Christmas Eve (though not only). Poles are famous for being enthusiastic foragers and this might be one of the reasons why the wild mushroom soup is probably better known outside of Poland. However, everyday mushroom soup in Poland tends to favour inexpensive pieczarki.
To make this easy Polish mushroom soup you will need a few simple vegetables and a generous amount of button mushrooms. This soup can be made with either potatoes or egg noodles/pasta (my mom liked to add a bit of both!) and is typically served with sour cream. I also added a little light cream as this makes the mushrooms taste even better!
Polish mushroom soup ingredients and substitutions
- Mushrooms: see details below.
- Vegetables: these include onion, carrot and celeriac/celery root. You can also add a small parsley root (not parsnip) if you can get it, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
- Potatoes: use all-rounders such as russets (or ordinary white potatoes).
- Bay leaf and allspice berries: as an option you can also add ½ teaspoon of lovage (‘lubczyk’ in Polish) if you can get it.
- Stock: use either chicken or vegetable stock.
- Oil and butter.
- Flour: helps to thicken the soup.
- Cream: I used a combination of light cream (table/single cream) and sour cream.
- Parsley: fresh is best.
- Salt and pepper: add to taste. I like to use white pepper, which complements the mushroom flavour, but you can use any.
What mushrooms to use
Use ordinary mushrooms you can get in any supermarket. These can be white button mushrooms, closed cup mushrooms, or cremini/baby bella/chestnut mushrooms.
Portobello mushrooms, also widely available, have a ‘meatier’ texture, better suited for stuffing and baking, and I do not recommend using them in this recipe.
How to prepare the mushrooms
The best way of preparing mushrooms for Polish white button mushroom soup is to wipe them with kitchen paper to remove any soil. If you rinse the mushrooms, instead, they will soak up the water and become soggy, so I don’t recommend cleaning the mushrooms this way.
For best results I recommend cooking about ⅓ of the mushrooms (finely chopped) alongside the vegetables to naturally thicken the soup and infuse it with mushroom flavour.
The rest of the mushrooms are sliced then browned in butter before being added into the soup – this brings lots of flavour out of the mushrooms and adds texture to the soup.
- TIP: For best results I recommend making sure your mushrooms are fresh, firm and without greyish spots.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1. Prepare mushrooms: Finely chop ⅓ of the mushrooms and cut the remaining mushrooms into thin slices. Set aside.
2. Cook vegetables: Heat half the oil and butter in a pot, add the bay leaf, allspice berries and onion and cook gently for about 3 minutes stirring often. Add the celeriac, carrot and finely chopped mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the moisture has been absorbed, stirring frequently.
3. Add flour: Stir in the flour until no longer visible.
4. Cook soup: Add the potatoes, stock, pepper to taste, cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Brown mushrooms: In the meantime, prepare the rest of the mushrooms. In a large pan melt the remaining butter with oil, add the sliced mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a moderately high heat for 8-10 minutes until the moisture has been absorbed and the mushrooms are lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
6. Add mushrooms: Stir the mushrooms into the soup and continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
7. Add cream: In a bowl combine the cream and sour cream, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of the hot soup then pour the entire mixture into the soup stirring with a whisk until fully incorporated. Add the parsley, adjust the seasoning as needed and serve.
Serving suggestions
Simple Polish mushroom soup is usually served on its own or with bread as the first course of traditional Polish dinner (often involving meat and potatoes, such as kotlety or braised pork). You can also add a little pasta (small pasta shapes) at serving (this is a good idea especially if you add less potatoes or omit them altogether).
Top tips
- Use ordinary white button or closed cup mushrooms.
- Wipe the mushrooms clean with kitchen paper (do not rinse).
- To save time brown the mushrooms while the soup is bubbling away.
- Polish mushroom soup can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- If you intend to freeze this soup do not add the cream/sour cream and freeze for up to 3 months. Add the cream once the soup has been defrosted and reheated.
More pieczarki recipes to try next
See also these other authentic Polish recipes including most popular traditional dishes.
Recipe
Simple Polish Mushroom Soup (Zupa Pieczarkowa)
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 g) mushrooms see *Notes
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot peeled, coarsely grated
- 4 tablespoons celery root/celeriac peeled, coarsely grated
- 2 medium potatoes peeled, cubed
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 allspice berries
- 5 cups (1,120 ml) vegetable/chicken stock
- 1⅓ tablespoons all-purpose/plain flour
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons light cream table/single cream
- 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste I recommend white pepper
Instructions
- Prepare mushrooms: Finely chop ⅓ of the mushrooms and cut the remaining mushrooms into thin slices. Set aside.
- Cook vegetables: Heat half the oil and butter in a pot, add the bay leaf, allspice berries and onion and cook gently for about 3 minutes stirring often. Add the celeriac, carrot and finely chopped mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the moisture has been absorbed, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour until no longer visible.
- Cook soup: Add the potatoes, stock, pepper to taste, cover and bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Brown mushrooms: In the meantime, prepare the rest of the mushrooms. In a large pan melt the remaining butter with oil, add the sliced mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a moderately high heat for 8-10 minutes until the moisture has been absorbed and the mushrooms are lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add mushrooms: Stir the mushrooms into the soup and continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Add cream: In a bowl combine the cream and sour cream, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of the hot soup then pour the entire mixture into the soup stirring with a whisk until fully incorporated. Add the parsley, adjust the seasoning as needed and serve.
Notes
- Use ordinary white button or closed cup mushrooms.
- *Wipe the mushrooms clean with kitchen paper (do not rinse).
- To save time brown the mushrooms while the soup is bubbling away.
- Polish mushroom soup can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- If you intend to freeze this soup do not add the cream/sour cream and freeze for up to 3 months. Add the cream once the soup has been defrosted and reheated.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Keep in touch!
If you make this traditional Polish mushroom soup recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular recipe updates! Or you could subscribe to this blog and receive all my latest recipes right into your mailbox!
Leave a Reply