German potato soup is an absolute must-make during fall and winter! It is super simple to make, tastes incredibly delicious, and is packed with the most flavorful and healthy vegetables.
If you are looking for an authentic recipe for classic German potato soup, you’ve found it! This is one of the dishes I always look forward to making when the weather gets cold and it’s time to make cozy and warming soups.
Among my favorite soups that I make every year are chicken tortellini soup, lasagna soup, and vegetable lentil soup. And of course this German potato soup.
It is filled with super delicious vegetables, spices, and tasty wieners. So don’t be deceived by the simple ingredient list, this soups packs tons of flavor and is incredibly nutritious!
What is German potato soup?
German potato soup, called „Kartoffelsuppe“ in German, is a traditional German dish that uses potatoes, a combination of a classic mirepoix and a German mirepoix (called „Suppengrün“), wieners, and often bacon (which I omitted in this recipe).
But you’ll also find variations of German potato soup that are made with other types of sausages, celeriac instead of celery, or meatballs.
The version of Kartoffelsuppe in this recipe is the one that most people know and that I used to eat as a child every week. It is super flavorful, healthy, and delicious! So if you’ve never tried German potato soup before, this is your call to make it!
German Potato Soup Ingredients
To make a classic German potato soup, you’ll need the following ingredients.
- Potatoes: I recommend using Yukon Gold potatoes to make this potato soup.
- Mirepoix: For this potato soup recipe, you’ll need onions, celery, carrots, leeks, and parsley. Be sure to use all ingredients as they are necessary to make a delicious homemade potato soup.
- Vegetable broth: Use your favorite vegetable broth as liquid for this soup recipe. Alternatively, use chicken broth as a substitute for vegetable broth if you prefer it.
- Herbs and spices: For a classic German potato soup, you’ll need dried marjoram and ground nutmeg. Please don’t omit these two ingredients as they are very important for the flavor of the soup! But if you can’t find marjoram, use thyme as a substitute.
- Wieners: One of the key ingredients in German potato soup are sliced wieners. You can use either turkey or pork, I always use turkey wieners.
How to make German potato soup
Making German potato soup is super simple! Just follow these steps:
- Sauté the onion: First, preheat some olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Then sauté the onion until it turns translucent.
- Add the vegetables, liquid and herbs: Next, add the potatoes, carrots, leeks, celery, vegetable broth, and dried marjoram. Season with salt and pepper. Then cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
- Blend: When the vegetables are tender, blend the soup partially with an immersion blender.
- Season and add the wieners: Now add some ground nutmeg and the sliced wieners. Let the soup simmer for 2-4 minutes.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Cooking tips
Here are a few tips and notes that I recommend reading before you make the soup.
- Don’t omit any of the ingredients. All ingredients are very important to create the flavor German potato soup is known for. So please don’t skip any of the ingredients (especially the dried marjoram and ground nutmeg). I want you to enjoy the best potato soup ever!
- Adjust the amount of liquid you use. If you prefer very thick soup broths, you might have to use less vegetable broth than I did. The soup is usually a little thick, yet runny. So adjust the amount of liquid to your own taste.
- Let the soup simmer without the lid to thicken the soup. If you have added too much liquid, let the soup simmer without the lid so it thickens.
- Leave vegetable chunks when you blend the soup. German potato soup always has vegetable chunks left, so only spot blend until you have the perfect ratio of pureed and chunky vegetables. Don’t blend the soup for too long.
Storage tips
This dairy-free potato soup is perfect for meal prep! Just prepare a large batch of this soup, then refrigerate or freeze it. Here is how you store the soup:
- To refrigerate: You can store the potato soup for 3-4 days in your refrigerator in an airtight container.
- To freeze: Another option is freezing the soup for up to 3 months in a freezer-friendly container.
- To reheat: To reheat the soup, thaw it overnight in your refrigerator. Then reheat on the stove or in a microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can very easily turn this into a vegan or vegetarian potato soup! Just omit the sausages or use plant-based sausages instead. The vegan version of this potato soup tastes just as amazing!
Yes, this soup is gluten-free! So feel free to enjoy it if you are on a gluten-free diet.
As this soup is already packed with vegetables and very satiating, you don’t need any side dishes. But I highly recommend serving some bread with this soup. Nothing beats delicious bread dipped into the best potato soup!
More healthy and warming soup recipes
If you are looking for more soups you can make this winter, check out the following recipes.
More delicious German recipes
If you love German food, try the following recipes. They are super simple and taste great!
German Potato Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled and diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- ½ leek halved and sliced
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- salt and pepper to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 turkey wieners cut into slices
- parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Then sauté the onion until it turns translucent.
- Next, add the potatoes, carrots, celery, leeks, vegetable broth, and dried marjoram. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, blend the soup partially with an immersion blender until the broth has thickened a little.
- Now add the ground nutmeg and wieners. Let the soup simmer for 2-4 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy!
Bicycle Dude
What a wonderful and easy soup to make and eat. I followed the recipe exactly as written, with the exception of the wieners (not a big fan) and immersion blender. Instead, I used a potato masher to break up the soup mixture (I don't have an immersion blender), and bratwursts that I browned, then sliced and added to the mixture for the final simmer to finish cooking the bratwursts. Served it with rustic bread to sop up all the yummy broth.
Definitely, will make this soup again!
Beri
I'm so happy that you liked the soup! 😊 It's one of my favorites. 🥰
Ann
I made this today. It was so good! I didn't have majoram, so I used dried thyme. It was great for the two of us!
Beri
So happy that you liked it! 🥰 Dried thyme is a great replacement. 😊
Cathy Chapman
What are the best type of potatoes to use for this recipe?
Beri
Hi Cathy, I recommend using yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold. Hope you enjoy the soup! 😊
Lisa
This is the closest I have found to what my mother made. She did not use meat or blend at all but she added drop dumplings. She called it Depression Soup.
Beri
Thank you! 😊
Andy T.
Made the German potato soup last week. What a big hit. I did change it somewhat. I made a huge batch to fill 25 (16 oz. containers) for resale. I added 2 jars of Aldi's German sauerkraut because it's milder than the American kind and I love the taste
It really did add another dimension and level to the flavor. Great job Beri.
Beri
Hi Andy, I'm happy that the soup was a hit! It's one of our family favorites. 😊