This is a traditional and incredibly delicious Czech soup with a name that may be misleading to many: Frankfurter soup! It comes with the taste of garlic and sweet ground paprika and bits of Vienna sausages floating on the surface.
The soup got its name from Frankfurter sausages, known by Czechs as Vienna (Wiener) sausages.
The reason for its name, even though Frankfurt isn’t located in the Czech Republic, is that the Frankfurter soup counts among similar dishes with a geographically deceptive name, such as French potatoes (francouzské brambory), Dutch schnitzel (holandský řízek) or Spanish bird (španělský ptáček).
Frankfurter soup translates into Czech as “frankfurtská polévka”.
MY TIP: If you like soups, try another one of my favorites – clear garlic soup, Czech česnečka (perfect as a hangover soup!)
➜ Ingredients
To make Frankfurter soup, you will need:
- Potato; waxy or all-purpose variety (e.g. Yukon Gold). Peel and dice the potatoes into cubes about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size.
- Onions; for onion roux. Peeled and chopped finely.
- Garlic; fresh, peeled, and crushed
- All-purpose flour; for the roux, which will thicken the soup slightly
- Sweet paprika; ground. I recommend quality Hungarian paprika.
- Lard; for frying the onions and sausages. If you don't have lard, you can use sunflower or canola oil.
- Broth; beef or chicken broth, or vegetable broth for a mild soup flavor
- Salt and pepper; for seasoning
- Vienna sausages; good quality, with a higher meat content
- Green parsley sprigs; for garnish
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with Photos
STEP 1: Heat a tablespoon of lard over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté until the onion turns light brown. This takes about 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly.
Add the flour and sauté briefly for about 30 seconds. Lumps will form in the bottom of the pot but don't worry, they will be neatly disposed of in a moment.
STEP 2: Add the sweet paprika and stir again for 30 seconds at most. If you did it longer the paprika would turn bitter.
STEP 3: Take the broth and a ladle.
Remove the pot of onion roux from the heat source and pour in one or two ladles of broth. Whisk diligently until the lumps dissolve and you are left with a thickened mash at the bottom of the pot.
Only now add another ladleful of broth and whisk again. Return to the stove and carefully add the rest of the stock, stirring constantly.
STEP 4: Bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to a minimum. Add potato cubes and crushed garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Stir from time to time as the flour tends to sit to the bottom and get burnt.
STEP 5: Before the soup is cooked, slice the Vienna sausages and fry them in the remaining fat in the pan. Fry at a somewhat lower temperature, the sausages should not be brown, just slightly golden.
STEP 6: Once the potatoes soften, remove the soup from the stove. Add the fried sausages immediately. If necessary, add salt and pepper, and you're ready to serve!
TIP ON THE AMOUNT OF SALT: The exact amount of salt will depend on the type of broth you use to prepare the soup. Generally, homemade broths will not be too salty, but the opposite may be true of store-bought broths. Always taste the soup before adding more salt.
➜ Serving
Frankfurter soup is delicious as the first course at a family lunch or a stand-alone lighter meal, preferably with a slice of fresh bread.
When serving, garnish the soup in the bowl with finely chopped fresh parsley leaves.
➜ Storage
If you have any soup leftover, wait until it has cooled completely. Then store it in the fridge, where it will keep for about 3-4 days. Heat the soup in a saucepan on the stove or in a bowl in the microwave.
More authentic Czech soups:
- Sauerkraut soup – zelňačka
- Kulajda – mushroom soup
- Bohemian beef noodle soup
Or check out the category with all the soup recipes for further ideas.
Sausage Soup – Czech Frankfurtská polévka
Ingredients
- 3 potatoes mid-size; any waxy or all-purpose variety, e. g. Yukon Gold
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic fresh, peeled, and crushed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (45 g)
- ½ Tablespoon sweet ground paprika Hungarian style
- 1 and ½ Tablespoon lard or sunflower / Canola oil
- 6 cups chicken broth (1.45 L) or beef / vegetable broth
- ¼ tablespoon black pepper ground
- salt the exact quantity depends on the saltiness of the broth used
- 7 ounce Vienna sausages (200 g)
- green parsley sprig to garnish
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat a tablespoon of lard over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté until the onion turns light brown. Stir thoroughly. This takes about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and sauté briefly for about 30 seconds. Lumps will form in the bottom of the pot but don't worry, they will be neatly disposed of in a moment.
- Pour in the sweet paprika and stir again for 30 seconds at most. If you did it longer, the paprika would turn bitter.
- Take the broth and a ladle. Remove the pot of onion roux from the heat source and pour in one or two ladles of broth. Whisk diligently until the lumps dissolve, and you are left with a thickened mash at the bottom of the pot. Only now, add another ladleful of broth and whisk again. Return to the stove and carefully add the rest of the stock, stirring constantly.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to a minimum. Add potato cubes and crushed garlic–season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Stir from time to time as the flour tends to sit to the bottom and get burnt.
- While the soup is cooking, slice the Vienna sausages and fry them in the remaining fat in the pan. Fry at a somewhat lower temperature; the sausages should not be brown, just slightly golden.
- Once the potatoes soften, remove the soup from the stove. Add the fried sausages immediately. If necessary, add salt and pepper, and you're ready to serve!
Notes
- Makes about 4-6 portions.
- Tip on the amount of salt: The exact amount of salt will depend on the type of broth you use to prepare the soup. Generally, homemade broths will not be too salty, but the opposite may be true of store-bought broths. Always taste the soup before adding more salt.
- SERVING: Frankfurter soup is delicious as the first course at a family lunch or a stand-alone lighter meal, preferably with a slice of fresh bread. When serving, garnish the soup in the bowl with finely chopped fresh parsley leaves.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chartNutritional Estimate pro portion
Frankfurter Sausages
Just a few words about the origin of the soup’s name.
The sausages used in it have had various names over centuries, but Frankfurter Sausages is the oldest and perhaps most well-known name.
The history of Frankfurter Sausages lies back in the 15th century. Back then, merchants sold them on the market in the German city of Frankfurt am Main.
During the 19th century, the sausages have found their way into Wien, the capital of Austria—Hungary, a state comprised of many territories, including today’s Czech Republic.
Czechs have taken a liking to these sausages and started calling them Wiener Sausages. They quickly became a beloved delicacy in Czechoslovakia and its successor states – Czechia and Slovakia.
However, the 1989 Velvet Revolution brought an end not only to communism but also to all centralized smoked meat products regulation.
That’s why there’s no single official recipe for Frankfurter (or Wiener) sausages today.
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