Creamy Brussels Sprouts Soup

This is a simple recipe for Brussels sprouts soup as we cook it in the Czech Republic. The added heavy cream makes the soup smooth and incredibly delicious.

Brussels sprouts are a cool-weather cuisine staple vegetable whose season begins in September and lasts until spring. It is an ideal ingredient for winter cooking. In the cold months, Brussels sprouts serve as an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

➤ Czechs call Brussels sprouts růžičková kapusta.

MY TIP: Try Czech sauerkraut soup, aka zelnacka (it tastes fantastic!)

📝 Ingredients

To make European-style Brussels sprout soup, you need:

• Brussels sprouts
• Potato; raw
• Pork lard; or vegetable oil (sunflower, canola)
• Onions
• Garlic; fresh cloves
• Beef broth; or vegetable broth
• Marjoram; dried – a typical Czech herb
• Heavy cream; with fat content over 30 %
• Wine vinegar; or freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Sugar
• Salt; the amount of salt depends on how salty the broth you use to prepare the soup is

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

📷 Instructions with Photos

STEP 1: Rinse the Brussels sprouts and discard any wilted outer leaves. Peel the potato and cut it into cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion; also peel and slice the garlic.

STEP 2: In a smaller pot, boil the water, salt it properly (about the same as for pasta, so rather more salt). Carefully drop in about a third of the brussels sprouts and cook for 10 minutes. Then drain the water and cover the sprouts with cold water. Later, you will put the heads prepared in this way into the soup.

Quarter the remaining two-thirds of the brussels sprouts.

STEP 3: Heat the lard in a soup pot over medium heat and fry the onions while stirring until pink. Add the quartered cabbage, chopped potato, and garlic. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.

STEP 4: Pour in the broth, add salt. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to a minimum and cover with a lid. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the sprouts and potatoes are soft.

STEP 5: Remove the pot from the stove, add the marjoram. Rub it in between your fingers beforehand (1). Pour in the heavy cream (2). Finally, blend the soup with an immersion stick blender (3). Do not boil anymore.

STEP 6: Season with wine vinegar, sugar. Add salt, stir well.

STEP 7: Finally, quarter a third of the sprouts you have previously cooked, and add them to the soup. Before serving, let the sprouts warm up in the soup for a while.

🍽️ Serving

Serve the Brussels sprout soup for lunch before the main course or for dinner. You can throw a handful of bread croutons into the plate.

Give the soup an extra boost: If you miss the taste and aroma of meat in the soup, I recommend frying strips of bacon in a frying pan until crispy and adding these chips to the soup bowl.

👌 Useful Tips

• The method of cooking the sprouts in boiling salted water followed by shock cooling is called blanching. The cold water stops the brussels sprouts from boiling and gives them a beautiful green color. The Brussels sprouts will be pleasantly crisp to the bite, not mushy.
• Don't forget to season the soup with vinegar and sugar at the end. This combination will add a delicious, slightly sweet-sour flavor to the soup. Instead of wine vinegar, use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• The soup is naturally gluten-free. It contains no flour or roux; the creamy texture is obtained by blending the vegetables, which also thickens the soup.

More tasty soups:

• Czech garlic soup – česnečka
• Goulash soup – gulášovka
• Sauerkraut soup – zelňačka

You will find more inspiration in the Czech soups category.

Recipe Card