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Hungarian goulash bowl
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4.67 from 12 votes

Hungarian Goulash Soup Made at Home

A hearty soup to welcome special guests or merely to warm up on a cold day! Enjoy this full-flavored soup.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Soup
Servings: 24 large bowls
Author: Belgian Foodie

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp (refined) sunflower oil or virgin olive oil (see notes)
  • 5 onion
  • 3 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2000 g pork shoulder cut in cubes
  • 1000 g tomato fresh cut in quarters or canned stewed tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 l water
  • 1000 g potato cut in cubes
  • 1000 g carrots
  • 4 parsley roots or parsnips cut in cubes (see notes)
  • 500 g celery root peeled, cut in cubes
  • 6 green wax peppers or banana wax peppers or a mix of red and yellow bell peppers (see notes)
  • 4 cloves garlic (optional)
  • 2 tbsp Lecsó (optional) (see notes)

Instructions

  • Dice onions and cut pork shoulder into cubes. Leave fat on the pork cubes to give more flavor.
    Pork Shoulder Cubed for Hungarian Goulash
  • Heat cooking pot. When very hot, add olive oil.
  • Add the onions and leave over hot heat until onions are translucent and become tender. Stir regularly to avoid burning. If needed, add a little water to prevent the onions from sticking to the pot and becoming too dark.
    Onions over fire for Hungarian Goulash
  • Remove the pot from the heat. Add the paprika powder and stir. Add salt and pepper. Stir 1 to 2 minutes off of heat before next step.
    Paprika on Onions for Hungarian Goulash
  • Add the pork cubes into the pot and stir. Leave to cook until brown on all sides.
    Adding Pork for Hungarian Goulash
  • Add the tomatoes cut in quarters. If you are using canned tomatoes, use stewed tomatoes if available, otherwise cubes are fine. Mix well and continue to cook a couple minutes.
  • Add enough water to cover the ingredients by about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters). Bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat and leave covered to cook for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is almost tender. Stir from time to time. Keep adding water so the water tops the ingredients by about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters).
    Water added to Hungarian Goulash
  • Add remaining ingredients (potatoes, carrots, parsley roots, celery root, garlic, wax peppers) as well as Lescó if you choose to add. Bring back to a boil and then reduce heat and continue to cook until vegetables are tender. Make sure the ingredients have the soup consistency that you like. If needed, add more water.
  • Serve with bread and if you choose with nokedli (Hungarian dumplings). Enjoy!
    Hungarian Goulash Nokedli Bread

Notes

  1. Use a vegetable oil that can withstand high heats and thus maintain their nutritional value.  In this respect, refined oils do better than unrefined.  For instance, sunflower oil over unrefined sunflower oil and virgin olive oil over extra virgin olive oil.
  2. Parsley roots are not the same as parsnips, yet they are in the same family of root vegetables.  If you are unable to find parsley roots, feel free to substitute with parsnips, which are slightly sweeter.
  3. Hungarian wax peppers tend to be more mild than bell peppers.  If you use bell peppers to replace the Hungarian wax peppers (or longer banana wax peppers), use a mix of yellow and red peppers as these will be more mild than green peppers.
  4. See the link in my post above (http://www.thehungarydish.com/lecso-recipe-guest-post-by-peter-pawinski/) to learn how to make your own Lecsó.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Hungarian Goulash Soup Made at Home
Amount Per Serving
Calories 232 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 56mg19%
Sodium 363mg16%
Potassium 864mg25%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 19g38%
Vitamin A 0IU0%
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 0mg0%
Iron 0mg0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.