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Easy kielbasa potato soup is a rustic recipe that brings together flavours of Eastern Europe in one steaming pot. Traditional Polish sausage (aka kielbasa) is heady with woodsmoke; chunky and blended potatoes make for a textured broth; plenty of garlic and herbs; finished with a luxuriously generous splash of heavy cream; and a handful of tangy cheese. Grab a ladle and your slippers and cosy up with this supreme soup.
Non-pork eaters can make this soup with turkey or veal versions of kielbasa. But if you’re off meat completely and into cosy, creamy soups this corn chowder (minus the bacon) will see you right.
Potato kielbasa soup
With the winter weather in Warsaw hovering around -5C/23F, you can rely on the Polish for a warming soup akin to a central heating system. This easy potato soup recipe is so simple to bring together and is on the table in around 30 minutes.
Recipes can vary, some adding sweetcorn or mushrooms, but I’ve stuck to basics. Smoky sausage, satisfying potatoes, garlic and herbs (I’ve used fragrant thyme as I love it with pork!), cream for silkiness, and sharp Cheddar cheese for a meal-in-one.
Kielbasa is a versatile little sausage, and not strictly Polish fyi! It’s also rooted in Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and Germany. It can be smoked, spiced, cooked, cured, even uncooked. It is an easy flavour-maker that brings dimension to dishes. Any leftover sausage from this dish can be used in other kielbasa recipes like:
- Kielbasa and sauerkraut– an ample and celebratory side dish
- Pierogies and kielbasa – doughy dumplings with a dollop of sour cream
- Mac n cheese – with a Polish twist
- Beef stew Solyanka – a down-to-earth stewy Russian feast of meat and potatoes
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Starchy (floury) potatoes will give this easy potato soup the creamiest texture.
- Cook the kielbasa with the potatoes, that sumptuous smokiness will infuse the soup like a Polish dream!
- I’ve used thyme as my herb of choice. Rosemary and sage work well too. For extra Eastern European points, try dill! It will give the soup a tangy flavour that really offsets the cheese.
- Heavy (double (UK)), half and half or even plant-based creams work. I have tried them all but prefer oat for the smoothest soup finish.
- I would avoid coconut though. That is a whole other flavour region.
- Start with a pinch of salt. Kielbasa and cheese are both salty in their own rights and that will transfer to the soup. However, taste and salt if necessary.
Serving suggestions
You’ve got sausage, you’ve got potato, you’ve got cheese and cream. What else do you need? Starch may already be represented by potato, but I would still serve with a hunk of freshly baked bread.
I am a big bread fan. There are no fewer than 12 bread recipes on the blog- and that’s not even counting the sweet ones!
An Eastern European soup requires a bold loaf of solid structure. Rye bread, rosemary and spelt or sourdough are all richly savoury, weighty loaves that won’t fall apart after a good dunking in this herb-rich soup broth.
Storage and leftovers
Soups save beautifully, this kielbasa soup especially. The smoked sausage and garlic flavours continue to permeate the potato and broth for a super intense bowl up to 3 days later. Make sure to store it in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container, so you don’t funk up everything else in the fridge.
Sadly, this soup isn’t a freezer. As a rule, cream-based soups don’t freeze well. Ever tried to re-freeze and then eat ice cream? Same grainy thing.
More soup recipes to try
- Spring Minestrone Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
- Curried Roasted Parsnip Soup
- Sausage Gnocchi Soup with ‘Nduja
Easy Kielbasa Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 4 (340g) Polish kielbasa sausages , sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 large clove garlic
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 lbs potatoes, see recipe notes
- 1 litre / 4 cups This is an affiliate link.chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 125ml / 1/2 cup double / heavy cream or plant based cream (oat cream is my favourite)
- 50g / 1/2 cup Gloucester / cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a soup pot and brown the sliced kielbasa until golden, remove to a separate plate and set aside till needed. To the same pot add the chopped onion and celery and sauté in olive oil for 4-5 minutes, add minced garlic and thyme leaves and cook for 30 seconds longer while stirring.
- Add the stock, bite-sized cubed potatoes and a pinch of salt, do not oversalt as kielbasa is salty. Bring half of the kielbasa slices back to the pot and bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until he potatoes are very tender.
- Ladle out half of the soup, making sure to avoid the kielbasa slices, and blend it until smooth, pour it back in the pot, add the cream, grated cheese and salt to taste if needed as well as the remaining kielbasa, stir over very low heat allowing the cream to warm through and the cheese to melt and blend into the soup. Serve topped with sliced green onions and grated cheese.
Notes
-
- Starchy (floury) potatoes will give this easy potato soup the creamiest texture. Maris Piper (UK) and Russet (US)
- Heavy (double (UK)), half and half or even plant-based creams work. I have tried them all but prefer oat for the smoothest soup finish.
- I would avoid coconut though. That is a whole other flavour region.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tasty but a bit rich. I used Gruyère bc it’s what I had. I just didn’t use the full amount. I used only thyme but I can see how dill and/or rosemary would be great as well. In regards to freezing, one might remove half the soup prior to adding the dairy and freeze that portion. (Recipe makes a lot and we are empty nesters.) Defrost when ready to serve and add dairy then.