This dill pickle soup with smoked ham is a hearty, savory, creamy, and comforting dish. A big pot of it can be on your table in only 45 minutes!
It's not very often that I get excited by soup, but here we are. I've wanted to make my own version of the classic Polish dish (zupa ogorkowa) for a while now. My mom makes pickle soup and so does our Polish friend, so it's something that I enjoy periodically.
I can't say I've ever had a pickle soup that didn't hit the spot, and this version definitely left me wanting more (my husband finished most of it). 😛
I get that dill pickle soup would sound very weird if you hadn't heard of it before. Obviously you won't like it if you don't like pickles.
If you do like pickles, give it a chance! I promise it's delicious.
The smoked ham adds a special little something extra to this creamy pickle soup and also makes it more filling. This is the perfect winter comfort food. Or anytime comfort food, really. I can do soup year-round.
This comforting dill pickle soup recipe isn't complicated, and the soup doesn't take ages to cook, which is nice for busy weeknights.
Obviously I don't mind spending time in the kitchen, but I think we can all appreciate quick meals that taste just as amazing the next day.
How to make pickle soup
- Sauté the onions and carrots in a large soup pot; add the pickles, potatoes, chicken broth, pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dill, and ham to the pot.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
- Mix the flour into the sour cream until smooth, then add it to the soup. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve with extra salt & pepper and more fresh dill if desired.
(Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below)
More cozy soup recipes to try:
So. Dill pickle soup - yay or nay?
Will you be making this easy pickle soup recipe?
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

Polish Dill Pickle Soup with Smoked Ham
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 cup finely chopped dill pickles
- 1 medium carrot peeled & grated
- 3 large red potatoes (skins on) diced
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup pickle juice
- 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Handful fresh dill chopped
- 3/4 pound piece smoked ham diced
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot once the oil is hot. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients except for the sour cream and flour. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Mix the flour into the sour cream until you have a smooth mixture. Stir it into the soup and cook the soup for another 5 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with extra fresh dill if desired.
Notes
- This soup can turn out a bit salty for some people (depending on the salt in the pickle juice) so I suggest using low-sodium chicken broth if that's a concern for you.
- If using dried dill, start with 1 teaspoon and work your way up from there if needed.
- Serves 4-6.
Shannon says
Oh my word, this is the most delicious soup! The name kinda throws you off and I honestly didn’t know what to expect but SO glad I tried. This will be a staple now. Thank you!
Natasha says
Yay!! That's what I like to hear! 😀
Tehl says
Followed this recipe to the T and omg it's AMAZING!!
Natasha says
Thank you so much, Tehl!
Erin L Strelkov says
I'd love to try this soup but my son is gluten intolerant, so I can't use the flour. Is it possible to substitute corn starch?
Natasha says
Hi! You could give it a try. Let me know how it goes!
Jennifer says
We are gluten intolerant and simply sub gluten free flour for the regular flour in this recipe.works great!
Danielle says
Everything turned out great EXCEPT the flour and sour cream mixture made the soup have giant lumps and I whisked it for 10 mins and that did the bare minimum. Will make a rue in the beginning and not the end next time.
Natasha says
Hmmmm... I'm sorry to hear that! 🙁 Yup you could definitely make the roux in the beginning.
Theresa says
We grate the pickled gherkins on the coarse blade which gives a good distribution & nice texture. Can also add chopped polish sausage if no ham as always have cubed frozen kielbasa for soups!
Natasha says
Great tips!
Rob Keesee says
Great recipe/ Will be trying this weekend!
Natasha says
Enjoy!!
Michele Feldman says
I'm very impressed with this recipe! It was delicious just as written, not too salty and very easy to pull together. I used low sodium chicken broth. Thank you!
Natasha says
Fantastic!! I'm so happy it was a hit. I appreciate your review, Michele!
Kristina says
This soup was a surprise...mostly because I made it thinking my dill-hating husband would have nothing to do with it. Well, he (and I) loved it...and he ate most of the leftovers. I followed the recipe pretty closely and will definitely make this again soon. Thank you!
Natasha says
Haha well that's great to hear!! 😀 You're very welcome.
Vonne says
A couple of variations, but not enough to greatly alter the recipe. I had a little more ham, so in addition to the chicken stock, I added 3 c of water with ham based mixed in. I have navy beans so I used them instead of potatoes. Had fresh dill from garden as called for - I just folded what I cut and put in soup to pull out after the flavors are out. My crew loves dill pickle soup. Oh yes, and I also still had the ham bone, so it’s in the mix to pull out when the soup is done.
This one is a winner.
Natasha says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it!! 🙂 Thank you for your review!
Robin says
My first thought when I saw this recipe was “no way!” I like all the ingredients though so I decided to give it a try and I’m not sorry I did! This soup was remarkably delicious. The pickles and pickle juice are tempered by the broth, smoky ham and sour cream so it doesn’t scream pickles when you taste it. Overall it was just a big bowl of comfort! My husband and I love soup all year round and this one is definitely going into my soup rotation!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you gave it a try, Robin! 🙂
Nicole says
Can you freeze this delicious soup?
Natasha says
Yes - I think that should be fine. 🙂
Mary says
This looks good and I like to make it. I have some ham bone stock. How do you think that would work in place of the chicken stock? Thanks!
Natasha says
I think that would work just fine. I'd probably be careful about adding extra salt until you taste it, though. Let me know how it goes!
Lynda M Appel says
Hi Natasha,
Due to the Stay at Home order, trying to cook from my freezer and pantry. I had Honey Baked Ham left over from New Years and pickles and potatoes. Just made this soup. OMG! So so yummy! Thanks for this great recipe. Stay safe and healthy.
Lynda
Natasha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Lynda!! You too! Thanks for leaving me a comment. XO
Jenn says
We love your recipe. I used this recipe in a soup cook-off last year at my work, and it won first place! I use homemade bone broth, and I don't add salt, so it seems to do the trick to regulate the salt. Thanks for sharing!
Natasha says
Oh wow... I'm happy it won the contest! So glad you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Lori says
Had tried pickle soup a couple years ago in a restaurant and enjoyed it. Made this as an experiment. Had some homemade pickles that ended up being much too salty to eat from the jar. So the options were, soup or pig food. Soup WINS!
Natasha says
So happy you liked it!! Haha pig food... yes, I am glad you made the soup. 😀
Annie says
I have a quart of buttermilk that needs to be used up. Do you think I could substitute it for the sour cream and just add a bit more flour to thicken? Or would that alter the flavor too much?
Natasha says
Hi Annie! I don't cook with buttermilk too often, so I can't say for sure, but it seems pretty ingenious to me, so I'd give it a go! 🙂
Randi says
I'm wondering if I leave this to simmer for a few hours, will it turn out OK?
Natasha says
I’d say a low simmer with lid ajar would work fine. ❤️
Cindy Beals says
A dear family friend made a potato casserole with dill pickles and spicy breakfast sausage. We could never find the recipe, so when I stumbled upon your dill pickle soup recipe it sounded like a soup version of her potatoes. I substituted sausage for the smoked ham and was so excited when I had a spoonful of the soup! It was amazing and tasted just like Elna's potatoes. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Natasha says
I'm so pleased you like it, Cindy!! I love the idea of adding sausage into this soup... I will have to try it.
Bobbi | Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen says
OK, can I just say that looks insanely good? I love everything about this soup 😋
Natasha says
Thanks, Bobbi! You should definitely give it a try. 🙂
judy Mullendore says
I made this with Turkey bone broth and smoked turkey meat ( I work at a restaurant that specializes in everything Turkey) and our garlic dill pickles... It was a big hit .
Natasha says
Love your twist on the recipe! Thanks for letting me know!
Beth Ball says
So. I have NEVER had Polish food until I made a best friend that is as Polish as Polish can be, living in Chicago. Everytime I go visit, he makes me all the Polish foods- and I come back craving his food lol! So went to Pinterest to get some recipes and found this.
Made it.
Ate it.
Holy Yum.
So then I shared it on my FB with all my very American, west coast friends and they all made it, and shared it. Repeat. You and your soup are near famous over here.
So why am I telling you this long ol story? I am Director of Content for Twin Cities Kids Club (located in MN, 7000 FB followers). We are writing a blog about yummy soups, and would like to mention this. We will link back to this blog and your FB and Instagram- if you need anymore from us please don't hesitate to email me!
And for real- Thank you for the deliciousness.
Natasha says
Polish food is delicious, isn't it?! So glad you liked this soup. And that you told all your friends haha. 🙂 Happy new year!!
K. Anderson says
Excellent! Made this with half homemade dills/juice and half Bick's Garlic Dills/juice and simmered broth with ham bone.
Natasha says
Yay!! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Dani says
Made this tonight in my instant pot. Turned out really yummy! I have a multi generation household and this soup is now a favorite of my 82 yr old mom and 3 yr old grandson. My grandson usually hates pickles won’t even eat them on hamburgers but really loved the soup asked for seconds! My mom who is a really picky eater said this was her new favorite! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Natasha says
That's wonderful to hear, Dani! So glad everyone liked it. 🙂
Karol says
I want to make this in my instapot too. How long did you set timer for?
Natasha says
Hi Karol! I don't own a pressure cooker, so I am really not sure how long it would take in one.
Jennifer says
Do you think it would taste ok using sweet potatoes vs. white potatoes?
Natasha says
Hmm... it's hard to say. It'll definitely be sweeter, but I don't see why it wouldn't work if you're ok with that. 🙂
Monica M says
This recipe is delicious! My daughter doesn't like pickles and she had three bowls. I am currently eating low-carb meals so we substituted radishes for the potatoes and no one knew it had radishes. Note: the radishes need a about 10 min. longer than potatoes
Natasha says
I'm so glad you all liked it!! Subbing radishes for the potatoes is a great idea. Happy holidays!
Joyanne says
Making this tonight. My entire house loves pickles, so Im sure it will be a hit. I doubled the recipe tho as there are 7 of us!
Natasha says
Hope you guys all love it!! 🙂
Carol says
This soup is delicious! I've made it at least 6 times in 4 months. Everyone makes a face when you say pickle soup... then they taste it and they love it. I've given out the recipe 4 times Thank you for sharing!.
Natasha says
Your comment made my day! I am so glad you like it, Carol! 🙂 And thanks for sharing the recipe too.
Melissa says
Could you use bacon instead of ham??
Natasha says
I don't see why not. 😊
Tracyanna says
I made this soup yesterday and it turned out delicious. It was very good. However when I added all the ingredients, there was barely any liquid so I ended up adding a lot more chicken broth and the potatoes needed to simmer for a really long time. But it turned out great because the pickles softened which I liked. And even though I mixed the flour into the sour cream, I got worried because it was really hard to get it to completely melt in the soup. Almost thought I ruined it lol. But I am definitely making this again because it was such a unique and delicious flavor. Thank you.
Natasha says
Hi Tracyanna, so glad you enjoyed it! I'm thinking I possibly sliced my potatoes a bit smaller and used a smaller pot, which could account for the differences. Sometimes flour can be a bit stubborn! I'm so glad it all worked out, though. 🙂
Kim says
I am excited to try this tonight. Do you by any chance have a recipe for meatloaf with dill gravy? I have been searching forever! There was a restaurant in Downers Grove, IL that used to serve it...soooo good!
Natasha says
I hope you enjoy it, Kim! Sorry, no recipe for meatloaf with dill gravy, but that does sound tasty!!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I have never heard of this Polish soup Natasha, but I'm totally intrigued! Considering my love for pickles, I'll definitely need to try it!
Natasha says
Let me know what you think! ????
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
This sounds, and looks soooooo good, I think I'm going to make it tonight!
Natasha says
Thanks, Sue!! I hope you like it! 🙂
Natasha's Sister says
Why would you make this with ham? Srsly. Make me a version without it. Now.
Natasha says
No.
Suzie Q says
I agree with Natasha. The ham is like the “bacon” that makes every recipe sooo much better. It adds depth.
ellarn says
I used smoked turkey and the broth I made from the carcass, same sweet smoky flavors, but no pork