Potato Soup – Czech Bramboračka

This is a recipe for Czech potato soup, which we call bramboračka or bramborová polévka in the Czech Republic. It’s a traditional old-fashioned potato soup loaded with root vegetables, mushrooms, and other healthy ingredients.

Czechs think of this peasant potato soup as their culinary treasure, and today, I’ll show you how to make it from scratch.

What Is Bramboračka?

Bramboračka is a hearty and incredibly delicious Czech potato soup made with root vegetables, onions, and potatoes. Mushrooms and dried marjoram are critical ingredients.

NOTE: For those who avoid eating meat, I’ve got good news: this recipe is meatless, and it is, therefore, a vegetarian potato soup. It doesn’t contain any cheese, milk, or cream, either.

MY TIP: Try out split pea soup, Czech Christmas hrachova polevka (it tastes so good!)

Pronunciation

I recorded a short audio clip on how to pronounce the Czech word bramboračka.

The first word in the audio is "bramboračka", the last is "bramborová polévka", which means potato soup. Brambor is a potato in English.

Ingredients

Root veggies are very typical for authentic Czech bramboračka. Here is a summary of what you’ll need to make this soup:

• Potatoes; peeled and diced, use any all-purpose potatoes
• Root vegetables: parsley root, celeriac, carrot; peeled and diced into app. ½-inch pieces
• Onions; finely chopped
• Flour; used in the roux to thicken the soup
• Mushrooms; dried or frozen, I described how to make bramboračka with dried mushrooms in this recipe
• Butter; a relatively large amount, to sauté the veggies initially, it’s an important step to get the flavor to the bramboračka soup! You’ll find a section The base for flavorful soup further in this post (instructions with photos).
• Cloves of garlic; sliced
• Caraway seeds; crushed for more flavor
• Dried marjoram; a typical Czech spice
• Black pepper; ground
• Parsley leaves; to garnish the finished soup
• Salt
• Water

Dried marjoram and crushed caraway seeds give this soup the real sense of "Czech". Both spices are widespread in Czech cuisine.

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

Instructions

STEP 1: Clean and peel vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celeriac, potatoes), dice them into ½-inch pieces. Peel and slice the cloves of garlic. Chop the onion finely.

STEP 2: Soak the dried mushrooms in a 1.¼ cup of water, bring them to a boil and cook them for about 10 minutes. Reserve the mushroom broth for later.

STEP 3: Heat a pot with a thick bottom on medium, melt in the butter. Add the root vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celeriac – not the onion yet).

STEP 4: Fry vegetables until lightly golden (5-8 minutes), stirring occasionally. Only now, add the onion and fry while stirring for 5 minutes.

STEP 5: Lower the heat to third, and let’s go to make a roux. Add flour with crushed caraway to the vegetables, fry for about 1-2 minutes until the vegetables are covered with flour, and turn lightly golden brown. Stir frequently to prevent the flour from burning.

STEP 6: Pour in the water in batches, whisk to avoid lumps. Season with salt and pepper. Turn up the temperature and bring the soup to a boil.

STEP 7: Add diced potatoes, chopped garlic, mushrooms, and about ½-1 cup of mushroom broth. Lower the temperature and let it simmer until potatoes soften. It takes about 15-20 minutes.

STEP 8: As the last step, add dried marjoram. Rub the marjoram before adding in your fingers to release its essential oils. Cook for a further 1 minute, then remove the bramboračka soup from the stove.

STEP 9: Add salt and pepper to your liking, stir. Sprinkle with a chopped sprig of parsley before serving.

MY TIP: Don’t miss Květáková polévka, Czech white cauliflower soup

The Base for a Flavorful Soup

If you ever wondered how to add flavor to the potato soup, here is the answer: you need to make a rich base for the soup. That said, you must sauté the veggies in butter in the very beginning, not only cook them plain in water. Just try it; the soup will taste absolutely delicious!

1: In a pot with a thick bottom, melt the butter, add the diced veggies (parsley root, carrot, celeriac). Sauté for 5-8 minutes while stirring:

2: Add the chopped onion, sauté for another 5 minutes. Stir occasionally:

STEP 3: Add the flour and the caraway seeds, mix, and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. This step makes a base for roux, which thickens the bramboračka soup:

More Czech soups:

• Česnečka – garlic soup known as a hangover soup
• Zelňačka – Czech style sauerkraut soup
• Gulášová polévka – spiced goulash soup
• Sourdough soup – with mushrooms

Still hungry? Browse the category with soup recipes!

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