Yahoo Lifestyle We Tried Kristen Bell's Grandmother's Soup and It's a Comfort Food Classic with a Twist
There are two foods that really divide our house: pickles and soup. Half of us like them, and half of us don't. I like them both, though, so when I saw Kristen Bell's recipe for pickle soup, I was personally giggling with glee much to the eye rolls of some of my family members.
The beloved actress and star of Netflix's hottest new show, Nobody Wants This, introduced this recipe on Good Morning America in 2021. Kristen Bell explains that it’s a family recipe handed down from her grandmother and has become a holiday favorite among her Polish relatives. Although she admits that pickle soup might be one of the more unusual dishes her family prepares, she encourages you not to knock it til you've tried it, which is exactly what I did.
Get the recipe: Kristen Bell's Pickle Soup
Courtesy of Angel Albring
Ingredients for Kristen Bell's Pickle Soup
To make this soup you’ll need butter or oil, one chopped onion, chopped carrots, thinly sliced celery, chicken or vegetable broth, Polish dill pickles plus the juice from the jar, frozen cubed potatoes, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, sugar, milk, sour cream, all-purpose flour, and salt and pepper. If you want to garnish the soup, you can grab fresh herbs like fresh parsley and fresh dill (I do not like garnish in my soup, so I skipped this.)
So you might be looking at the ingredients list and think to yourself, nobody wants this. The list seems long, which can be intimidating to some people, but trust me, gathering ingredients is the hardest part of this recipe. From there it's basically a dump-and-stir affair.
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Courtesy of Angel Albring
How to Make Kristen Bell's Pickle Soup
To start, heat butter or oil in a pan. Add the onion, celery and carrots, and sauté until they start to soften. In a slow cooker, add chicken or vegetable broth (I used vegetable), dill pickle juice, chopped dill pickles, cubed potatoes, onion-celery-carrot combo and the frozen mixed vegetables. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Cook in the slow cooker until all of the vegetables are soft. Kristen suggests a 4-hour cook time but I had to cook it for 5 hours because I used fresh potatoes instead of frozen.
Once the soup has finished cooking, beat the milk, sour cream and flour in a bowl until smooth. Ladle in a small amount of the hot soup broth and whisk it in (this will help prevent the dairy from curdling when it hits the hot soup). Pour the milk mixture into the slow cooker and stir until well combined. Keep the soup warm but do not bing it to a boil because the milk will curdle. Garnish with parsley and dill, if desired.
Related: Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Courtesy of Angel Albring
What I Thought About Kristen Bell's Pickle Soup
I was really hopeful this recipe would wow me, but it just didn't. I mean it wasn't bad, and I did eat an entire bowl of it for cozy fall comfort, but there are some things I would change if I were to make it again. For one, I would not add sugar. It's not much, but it did add a sweetness that I didn't care for. Also, I would add more than salt and pepper. Kristen Bell's grandmother's soup was a little bland for my liking, and I think some garlic salt and paprika would really help with that.
Additionally, I didn't like the peas. I love peas, in general, but I didn't think the texture went well with the rest of the soup. I think corn may have been a better option. Finally, I wanted more pickle juice! When I hear "pickle soup" I want a stronger pickle flavor. I did end up adding more, for a total of one full cup, and that really helped.
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Tips on Making Kristen Bell's Pickle Soup
Adjust it to suit your needs and tastes. For example, this recipe calls for frozen potatoes, but I prefer fresh potatoes, so I used small white potatoes for my soup. I also used baby carrots because they're sweeter and already peeled, so it saved me some time. I chose Claussen pickles because I like their flavor. If you want more pickle flavor, add more pickle juice. If you don't like peas, add in a different vegetable. Taste and tinker with the seasonings to make the recipe work for you.
Bulk it up. Add some pasta or rice to the soup for a filling meal that's perfect for a cold day.
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