Authentic Hungarian Mushroom Soup - My Pure Plants (2024)

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❤️ Why you’ll love it

This mushroom soup has been passed down in my Hungarian family for generations. I teach you how to get authentic flavors regardless of where you are making it in the world.

It is a soup that can be enjoyed all around the year and truly represents Hungarian cuisine. The ingredients are budget-friendly and easy to find to create rich, authentic Hungarian flavors.

The combination of onion, mushrooms, sweet paprika, and sour cream is the key. You know it is a Hungarian recipe when it begins with saute onion in oil and add sweet paprika powder.

🧾 Key ingredients

Most of the ingredients for this authentic Hungarian recipe can be found at your local grocery store, and you may already have many of them in your kitchen.

Button mushrooms are the star of this dish, bringing a rich, earthy flavor and meaty texture that is truly satisfying. Hungarians rarely add wild mushrooms, it is always button mushrooms.

Onions and garlic are the perfect duo to start the flavor base of this soup. They add a depth of flavor that is both savory and slightly sweet, which pairs beautifully with the mushrooms and paprika.

Carrots and parsnips are the key ingredient in most Hungarian soup recipes. They add a touch of natural sweetness and complement the earthy flavor of the mushrooms.

Hungarian sweet paprika is essential. Not Spanish and not chili peppers. Keep those for Mexican dishes.

Hungarians love to use sour cream in all kids of traditional dishes. It adds a rich, tangy creaminess that is absolutely delicious. If you want to make this soup completely plant-based, you can use a vegan sour cream. Preferably soy-based natural tasting.

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

STEP 1
Peel and chop onion and garlic. Once these are ready, move on to your root vegetables. Wash, peel, and slice your carrot and parsnips.

STEP 2
Now, it is time to prepare your star ingredient – the mushrooms. Clean them well and slice them. Once all your ingredients are prepped, you can move on to cooking.

Making the Hungarian mushroom soup

STEP 1
Heat a stock pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add vegetable oil and chopped onion. Sauté these for about 3-4 minutes.

STEP 2
Next, add your chopped garlic, sliced carrot, and parsnips to the pot. Stir these ingredients together and cook for about 5-6 minutes.

STEP 3
Add your sliced mushrooms to the pot. Season everything with some salt and black pepper. Stir well and cook for another 5-6 minutes.

STEP 4
Add some sweet smoked paprika to the pot. This is a key ingredient in Hungarian cuisine and will give your soup its characteristic flavor and color. Just a quick stir and go to the next step. The paprika powder can easily get burnt and you don’t want that.

STEP 5
Pour your veggie broth into the pot and let the soup cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat.

STEP 6
While the soup is cooking, prepare a mixture of sour cream and cornstarch (or all-purposes flour) in a separate bowl. Add 2-3 ladles of the soup to the bowl with the sour cream and starch mixture. Mix everything well. The whisk is your best friend here to get a smooth consistency.

STEP 7
Pour this sour cream and starch mixture back into the pot of soup. Let the soup boil for another 3-4 minutes. This will thicken the soup and the flavors will meld together.

💡 Expert tip

The activate the flavors of the paprika powder, you need to add it before any liquid ingredient. The soup taste different if the powder gets mixed with the oil and fried a bit. But only for a couple of seconds. You also don’t want to burn the paprik powder. It is quite bitter like that.

🔄 Variations

If you prefer a bit of heat in your food, consider adding a touch of chili powder to the recipe. However, Hungarians add Eros Pista,which is a roughly pureed hot paprika or spicy Hungarian wax pepper.

If you like your soups on the creamier side, you can increase the amount of sour cream in this recipe. An extra dollop or two will make the soup richer and creamier. But if you add too much, you will lose the mushroom flavor.

Traditionally, button mushrooms are used in Hungary for an authentic flavor. However, feel free to use wild mushrooms. Many Hungarians like to forage, and use those to make this soup.

🥣 Serving ideas

Hungarian serve it as a first course and pair it with a light meet-free pasta dish. We usually dunk our bread in it or add a dolop of sour cream or a couple of spicy Hungarian wax pepper slices. But nothing else. We don’t eat it with salad or use it in any other way. It is a simple, filing meal that we usually serve for weekend lunch.

❄️ Storing tips

The key is to allow the soup to cool completely before storing it.

To store, once the soup has cooled, you can transfer it to an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator. The soup will stay fresh and tasty for up to four or five days. However, I doubt it will last that long because it is so delicious and will likely be enjoyed quickly.

I would not recommend freezing this particular recipe. The sour cream can separate and become grainy when you thaw and reheat the soup, which can alter the texture and consistency.

When you are ready to enjoy the leftovers, you can reheat the soup on the stovetop. Place the soup in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is warmed through. You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave. Just be sure to stir the soup every 30 seconds to make sure it heats evenly.

🤔 FAQs

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