Potato Mushroom Soup (Czech Bramboračka) Recipe - Cook Like Czechs (2024)

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 like to think of this peasant potato soup as their culinary treasure. No wonder, it really is delicious! Today I will show you how to make homemade bramboracka from scratch.

➜ What is bramboracka soup?

Bramboračka is a hearty and incredibly flavorful Czech potato soup made with root vegetables, onions, and potatoes. Dried mushrooms and marjoram are crucial ingredients.

NOTE: For those of you who don't eat meat, I have good news: this recipe is meatless, so it's a vegetarian potato soup. It also contains no cheese, milk, or heavy cream.

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

➜ Pronunciation

I have recorded a short audio clip on pronouncing 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 many Czech soups, including Czech potato soup. Here's 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 about ½ inch pieces.
• Yellow onion
• All-purpose flour; used in the roux to thicken the soup
• Dried mushrooms; preferably European, dried
• Unsalted butter; a relatively large amount, to sauté the vegetables first, it's an important step to get the best flavor into the potato soup!
• Cloves of garlic; chopped
• Caraway seeds; crushed for more aroma (learn how to grind spices by hand)
• Dried marjoram
• Black pepper; ground
• Parsley leaves; to garnish the finished soup
• Salt
• Water; or vegetable stock for bold flavor

Dried marjoram and crushed caraway add depth of flavor and a true "Czech" feel to this soup. Both spices are widely used 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 the vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celery, potatoes) and cut into ½-inch cubes. Peel and chop the garlic. Finely chop the onion.

STEP 2: Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 ¼ cups water, bring to a boil, and gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Reserve the mushroom stock for later.

QUICK TIP: If you are a fan of mushrooms, try scrambled eggs with mushrooms (Czech smazenice)!

STEP 3: Heat a Dutch oven or a thick-bottomed soup pot over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the root vegetables (carrot, parsley root, celery - not the onion yet).

STEP 4: Fry the vegetables until lightly golden (5-8 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

STEP 5: Reduce the heat to one-third and start making the roux. Add the flour to the vegetables and fry for about a minute, until the veggies are coated with flour and lightly golden. Stir frequently to prevent the flour from scorching. Add the crushed caraway seeds and ground pepper, and stir.

Note: Do not skip any of the steps above. Sautéing the vegetables in butter gives you the perfect base for a flavorful soup.

STEP 6: Add about a cup of water or vegetable broth and whisk to prevent lumps. Add the remaining liquid and stir. Salt to taste, turn up the heat, cover and bring to a boil.

STEP 7: Once the soup starts to boil, add the diced potatoes and boil gently for 10 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic, soaked mushrooms and about 1 cup of stock. Reduce heat and let cook covered for about 5-7 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

STEP 8: The last step is to add the dried marjoram. Rub the marjoram with your fingers before adding it to release its essential oils. Cook for another 1 minute, then remove the bramboracka soup from the heat.

STEP 9: Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in a spoon of chopped fresh parsley.

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

➜ Serving

This potato soup is very filling and can be served either as a first course for a light lunch or as a stand-alone meal with a slice of fresh crusty bread.

For a nice presentation and a little extra flavor, garnish each bowl of soup with chopped green parsley.

My personal tip: I find that this soup tastes even better the next day when the flavors have developed. Just heat it up in a small pot on the stove or in the microwave.

➜ How to store

Cool remaining soup completely, then refrigerate in a covered pot. It will keep for about four days.

Czech potato soup freezes perfectly! Place individual portions in an airtight container and put in the freezer. Use within three months.

➜ Video recipe for mushroom potato soup

Is the blog recipe not enough? I made a video for you on how to make this Czech potato soup!

Please click on the photo below and you will be taken tomy YouTube channelwhere you can see step by step how to make Czech bramboracka soup.

If you like my YouTube content and would like to watch more Czech recipes, please subscribe.Thank you very much!

➜ Useful tips

• This potato soup is thickened with a floury roux. The roux thickens the soup and gives it a velvety texture.
• The next day, the soup gets thicker. You can stir in a tablespoon of water during reheating to make it thinner.

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
• Tripe soup – drztkova polevka
• Oyster mushroom soup – polevka z hlivy

Still hungry? Browse the category for soup recipes!