Green Bean Soup (Gluten Free)
This green bean soup is one of my favorites. It is a traditional Bulgarian soup, so it might not appeal to my American readers, but I had to share it. I grew up eating this soup. It is very well known in Bulgaria. Depending on the region, there are many different recipes for it. I’m sharing the recipe my mom used to make for us.
Why should you make this recipe?
This soup is not only delicious but also very nutritious. There are six vegetables in it. All of them contain antioxidants, vitamins and other beneficial nutrients. The green bean soup is also naturally gluten free. It doesn’t contain any grains and starches.
The flavors go so well together. The combination between green beans, garlic, tomatoes and fresh dill is one of my favorites. I actually have another recipe on the blog that unites the same flavors. It is the Mediterranean green bean casserole. If you like this recipe you are going to love the soup too.
Helpful tips
An important step is to sauté the onion and carrot first. Slightly caramelize the onion and soften the carrot before adding the water. This will develop the flavors better. Add the salt before the water. This releases the water that is containing in the vegetables and makes the vegetable broth delicious.
When you add the water increase the heat and bring it to a boil. Add the rest of the vegetables only if the water is boiling. Then reduce the heat to simmer.
The hardest step of making this soup is adding the yogurt and the egg yolk mixture to the soup at the end. This is a Bulgarian tradition that is called “zastroika”. We do this with almost every soup we prepare. It adds creaminess and flavor to the soup. If you dump the egg and yogurt mixture in the hot soup it will separate. You need to slowly warm it up. Add one tablespoon at a time of the hot broth to the egg and yogurt mixture and stir constantly. When the mixture is warm enough I return it to the soup.
To make this recipe more heart healthy skip adding the yogurt and egg yolk at the end. The soup will still be delicious but lower in saturated fats.
Serve the soup with chopped fresh dill. I also love to add some crumbled feta in my soup. That takes the flavor to another level.
Green Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil other oil works too
- 1 cup finely chopped onion one small onion
- 1 finely chopped medium carrot
- 2 cups green beans cut to thirds fresh or frozen
- 1 cup chopped russet potato peeled and chopped to 1 inch cubes
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves finely chopped
- ¼ cup tomato sauce without seasoning
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup Plain or Greek yogurt whole
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Start by chopping the onion, carrot, potatoes and garlic.
- Heat two tablespoons of oil in a deep pot and sauté only the chopped onion and carrot in it until slightly soften.
- Add salt and pour eight cups or half a gallon of water over the vegetables. Then bring to a boil. Check for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
- Once the water is boiling add the chopped potatoes and green beans. Then add the chopped garlic.
- Boil for 10 minutes or until the potato is cooked. Then add the tomato sauce, stir, check for seasoning and remove from the heat.
- In a bowl add an egg yolk and ¼ cup of yogurt and stir them well. Then add a tablespoon form the soup to the yogurt mixture and stir well. Continue adding broth (one tablespoon at a time) and stirring until the mixture is hot. The goal is to temper the egg yolk so it doesn’t separate. When the yogurt mixture is tempered add it back to the soup and stir.
- Serve with chopped fresh dill.
