Dill Pickle Soup sounds unusual, but the combination of pickles, potatoes, beef and curry powder results in a tasty meal when paired with fresh bread.
What??? Yes....pickle soup. It is exactly as it sounds. Soup with pickles in it. Yes it's good, I promise. Try it.
I had never heard of this soup before meeting my husband, and he raved about it after trying it at a friend's house. Pickles are delicious so I decided to give it a try too.
I browsed the internet for recipes and found that it is actually a real thing. I tried a few recipes, added and subtracted ingredients, and eventually came up with my own recipe for Cream of Dill Pickle Soup.
When I was developing this recipe, I knew I wanted it to be creamy (but not laden with fat), chunky, a little meaty and have a strong pickle flavor. I don't like soups that are thin with no substance to them.
The creaminess in this soup comes from the addition of evaporated milk at the end of the cooking. I always use evaporated milk in my soups to provide creaminess without all the extra fat that you would get from cream.
The red potatoes also help to thicken the soup and give it a little texture.
Where does this soup get its pickle flavor?
There are several ingredients in this soup that help give it a big punch of dill pickle flavor:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Chopped dill pickles
- Dill pickle brine
- Fresh (or dried) dill
While this soup definitely sounds odd (pickles and curry...together?), it somehow works. I love to serve it with fresh bread or rolls. Like any soup, it's perfect on a chilly day. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed.
Want more soup recipes?
Cream of Dill Pickle Soup Nutrition Notes:
I calculated the nutrition information for this recipe using extra lean ground beef. If you use ground turkey, your soup will have less fat. If you use lean or regular ground beef, your soup will have more fat and may end up greasy.
Using canned evaporated milk instead of cream in this recipe (as in all cream soup recipes) significantly cuts down on fat, saturated fat and calorie content of the recipe compared to using half and half or heavy cream.
Cream of Dill Pickle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped fine
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey (see note)
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 medium russet or yellow potatoes peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- ½ cup chopped dill pickles (about 3 medium pickles)
- 3 Tablespoons dill pickle brine
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 14 ounce can evaporated milk
Instructions
- Melt 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ½ pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey, and cook until browned, breaking it up with spoon as it cooks.
- Stir in 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, the diced potatoes, ½ cup chopped dill pickles, 3 Tablespoons dill pickle brine, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill, 1 teaspoon curry powder, ½ teaspoon white pepper, and 2 bay leaves and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered until potatoes are soft, about 30-40 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk and heat through, but don't bring to a boil. Remove bay leaves and serve, topping with additional fresh dill and/or pickle slices if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says
This sounds suuuuper delish! My mother is German and so I've had pickles in soup before - yes, it might sound weird to some, but after trying it, it's sooo good!
KellyRose says
When Nolan was our babysitter he once ate all our pickles and then drank the brine straight from the jar... He told us it was good for our health!
Carissa says
Hahaha...Wow! Funny, he never mentioned that one!
Amie says
This was awesome. I made a pickle soup a while ago and it was okay... this soup will definitely be a keeper!
Carissa says
I'm so glad you liked it. And that reminds me...I definitely need to make this again soon!
Billy says
This looks so great. Been looking for a good soup recipe to make for the family. So happy that this one is centered around dill pickles! Can't wait to make this at home!
Tracy lichacz says
How do u thicken this soup if the soup is not think? I am making this tonite need a answer soon please..
Carissa says
I would normally thicken a soup with a flour based roux, as if you were making gravy. You can add a little flour (no more than 1/4 cup) at the end of step 1, after the beef is browned - just sprinkle right over the beef and continue to cook. If you're already passed that step, I would make a roux with a couple Tablespoons of fat (oil or butter), cooking with a couple Tablespoons of flour for 2 minutes. VERY slowly add 1/4-1/2 cup milk to make a paste, then stir into the soup. Hope that helps! PS. The soup will likely still taste very good even if it's not as thick as you were expecting.,
tracy lichacz says
It looks likes it has enough oil in this soup with the butter .what about half and half cream
Carissa says
You could try whisking some flour into cold cream or milk until it's fully mixed, then pouring into the hot soup while stirring. Continue to summer until thickened. I don't use this method though, so I can't guarantee the results.
tracylichacz says
Very disappointed with this soup .followed recipe rite to the t and looks really greasy on top after using lean beef and not thinking.
Carissa says
I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
Crystal says
To those who think it's greasy, it just looks that way because of the pickle juice colour contrasting with the milk, it tastes wonderful and not at all greasy.
Sherri says
We made this the other night and it is super yummy! Only change was heavy cream instead of evaporated milk and ground moose meat. Added to the recipe binder and will definitely make again!