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This easy dill pickle soup recipe is an unexpected yet comforting delight with an irresistibly creamy and tangy broth! It’s a hearty and filling soup with ham, potatoes, and fresh dill.
You may also like my Kielbasa Soup or Cabbage Soup with Bacon and Potatoes next.
Why you’ll love it
Dill pickle soup may seem a little unusual if you haven’t heard of it before. Obviously, you won’t like it if you don’t like pickles. But if you do like pickles, give it a chance! I promise it’s delicious. The savory broth is uniquely tasty, and everyone always wants seconds in my home.
I’ve been making my own simple take on classic Polish soup (zupa ogórkowa) for years now. My Czech mom makes pickle soup and so does our Polish friend, so it’s something that I enjoy often! I hope you find my version as scrumptious as I do for easy winter comfort food.
What you’ll need
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion and garlic – tasty aromatics. I like using sweet (Vidalia) onions.
- Dill pickles and pickle juice – the star of the show! Use your favorite brand, and the pickle juice is simply the juice from the jar of pickles.
- Carrots and red potatoes – vegetable goodness
- Chicken broth – for more savory taste in the broth
- Worcestershire sauce – it’s one of my go-to flavor enhancers
- Fresh dill – for even more flavor and a pop of freshness
- Ham – for a special touch, ham adds a little smoked quality
- Sour cream – for creaminess
- Flour – to thicken the broth
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I use this Dutch oven for this soup.
- Easily chop up the vegetables and ham with a chef’s knife.
- This ladle is my favorite since it’s sturdy and less messy than others.
How to make dill pickle soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a large pot, sauté the onions and carrots in the olive oil. Add the pickles, potatoes, broth, pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dill, and ham to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat.
Simmer until the potatoes are tender. In a small bowl, mix the flour into the sour cream until smooth. Add to the soup, and cook for another few minutes. Season with salt & pepper and more fresh dill if you like.
Substitutions and variations
- You could always use crumbled Oven Cooked Bacon in addition to/instead of the ham. Or, try a smoked sausage like Kielbasa.
- To make this a vegetarian dill pickle soup, omit the ham and Worcestershire sauce and add 1 tsp of smoked paprika for that smoky quality. Increase the veggies if desired.
- If unable to find fresh dill, start with 1 tsp dried dill and add more as needed.
What to serve with dill pickle soup
- It’s a filling soup with the ham and potatoes, so you can simply pair it with a slice of fresh crusty bread or a dinner roll. Or go all out with Cheesy Garlic Bread!
- For a salad, serve it along with mixed greens and this Homemade Ranch Dressing. Craving something different? This Creamy Pesto Dressing is a winner, or try this bright Honey Mustard Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- This pickle soup makes amazing leftovers since the flavors intensify. Store in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat over a low heat slowly until warmed through. Add a splash of chicken broth if needed.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. I like to use containers for individual portions.
If you made this creamy pickle soup recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I’d love to hear from you. Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram with your creations.
Dill Pickle Soup
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
- 1 handful fresh dill chopped
- 3/4 pounds ham diced
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, onion, and carrots to a soup pot. Sauté over medium-high heat 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 and ham) 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on January 9, 2017. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
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?
Hi! You could give it a try. Let me know how it goes!
We are gluten intolerant and simply sub gluten free flour for the regular flour in this recipe.works great!
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.
Hmmmm… I’m sorry to hear that! 🙁 Yup you could definitely make the roux in the beginning.
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!
Great tips!
Great recipe/ Will be trying this weekend!
Enjoy!!
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!
Fantastic!! I’m so happy it was a hit. I appreciate your review, Michele!
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!
Haha well that’s great to hear!! 😀 You’re very welcome.
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.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!! 🙂 Thank you for your review!
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!
I’m so glad you gave it a try, Robin! 🙂
Can you freeze this delicious soup?
Yes – I think that should be fine. 🙂
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!
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!