Vegan Pickle Soup

Traditional preparations of Polish zupa ogórkowa are brothy, and include ingredients like potatoes, brine, or grated fermented pickles. Variations can include sour cream. Because I love creamy-sour flavors, this is a rich vegan pickle soup recipe with cashew cream, carrots, celery and all the good stuff. It’s absolutely delicious and perfect for the dead of winter or whenever you’re in the mood!

This recipe makes ~4 servings.

A few things…

• For best results, avoid pickles made with vinegar. Instead, use pickles fermented in salt brine. In the U.S., it’s pretty easy to find Bubbies Kosher Dill Pickles, and they work like a charm.

• To make the cashew cream for the vegan pickle soup, you’ll need a high speed blender, like a Vitamix or Ninja. If you don’t have one, you can soak the whole raw cashews in water for 4 hours, drain them, and blend them in a blender or food processor until smooth.

• If you prefer your pickle soup brothy, just skip adding the cashew cream. Taste, then stir in brine and fresh dill. If the flavors are too strong for you, thin with water.

• During the testing of this vegan pickle soup, I grated the pickles with a hand grater and with a food processor. Although one was much faster, either way worked well. Do what suits you!

You’ve got many options for how to enjoy your soup, but I’d like to make the case for a slice of dark rye bread on the side. It pairs quite nicely. Please enjoy 💚 And check out other UVK recipes, like Vegan Cold Beet Soup, Beet Potato Salad with Sauerkraut, Vegan Cucumber Mint Sandwiches, Refrigerator Dill Pickles, Vegan Creamy Italian Pasta Salad, and more.

Vegan Pickle Soup

1 medium onion, diced (OR ~2 cups diced onion)

3 Tbsp vegan butter

½ tsp Hungarian sweet paprika

Black pepper, to taste

3 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and diced (OR ~2 cups diced peeled potatoes)

1 large carrot, peeled and diced (OR ~½ cup diced carrot)

2 celery stalks, diced (OR ~½ cup diced celery)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 cups fake chicken broth (I used 1½ cubes of Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n Bouillon + 3 cups water)

1 cup packed grated fermented pickles (I used Bubbies Kosher Dill Pickles – see notes above)

¼ cup whole raw cashews

½ cup water

1 tsp cornstarch

Salt brine from the pickles, to taste (I added 3 Tbsp)

3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

1. In a large pot, add the onions, vegan butter and a dash of salt. Sauté over medium-low heat for ~7 minutes or until golden. Stir in the Hungarian paprika and black pepper, and sauté another minute.

2. Stir in the potatoes, carrot, celery and garlic. Occassionally stirring, sauté over medium-low heat for ~5 minutes.

3. Then, add the broth. Bring to a boil, and then, lower to a simmer and cover. Simmer for ~10 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft. Stir in the grated pickles and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

4. While the vegan pickle soup is simmering, add the cashews, water and cornstarch to a high speed blender (like a Vitamix or Ninja). Blend until completely smooth.

5. Pour the contents of the blender into the vegan pickle soup. Add the brine (to taste) and the fresh dill. Stir together over low heat until well incorporated. Taste and adjust flavors, if needed (more brine? more dill?). Serve.