This Polish Tomato Soup (Zupa Pomidorowa) only requires a few ingredients and is extremely quick and easy to make! It will satisfy your tomato soup craving in about 15 minutes.
Zupa Pomidorowa (pronounced zoo-pah pomido-rovah) is Polish tomato soup. While Sundays are for making Polish chicken soup (rosół), Mondays are for making zupa pomidorowa from the previous day’s leftover rosół.
This soup is so simple and only requires a few basic ingredients such as chicken broth, tomato puree, garlic, and cream. It’s often served with noodles or rice. There is much controversy among Poles on which is the best carb for this soup, so you can make that decision yourself!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken Broth or Stock: If you have homemade chicken broth or stock, all the better, but you can still get good results with high quality store-bought stock. If you want to make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock.
- Tomato Puree/Passata: While you could certainly use fresh peeled and seeded tomatoes to make zupa pomidorowa, I enjoy the convenience of canned tomato puree or passata along with the more intense and saturated flavor you get from it. Make sure to use a smooth tomato puree rather than chunkier crushed tomatoes for the most velvety texture.
- Cream: Heavy cream and full-fat sour cream are both options you could use to make your zupa pomidorowa creamy. If the tomatoes are fairy tart and acidic, the heavy cream will be your best bet. If they are sweeter, then the sour cream may be your top choice. But truly you could use either with varying results. Just remember that if you use sour cream you need to temper it with some of your soup before stirring it into the pot.
- Noodles or Rice: There’s a hot debate among Polish people on whether noodles or rice are the best inclusion for this soup! I’m not Polish, but I personally love noodles all day so that’s what I add. Homemade egg noodles are the most ideal addition, however store-bought noodles (particularly flat ribbon-like noodles) are a great option to save time. For a short pasta rather than a long noodle, rotini or fusilli are popular shapes for this soup. If you choose rice, regular white rice is the standby here. Just make sure in either case you cook the noodles or the rice ahead of time and then just add to the bowls and stir them in.
How to make it
In a medium pot over medium-high heat, heat the broth to a simmer. Add the tomato puree and garlic and bring to a gentle boil. Then turn down the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
Important Note: You can add heavy cream directly to the soup but sour cream needs to be tempered first.
If using sour cream, place it into a small bowl. Then, add about ¼ cup of the hot soup, a little at a time, to the bowl and stir until smooth. Then pour the sour cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine.
If using heavy cream just stir it directly into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve the soup in individual bowls, stirring in cooked pasta or rice as desired, and topping with chopped parsley for garnish.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Store leftover zupa pomidorowa in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Reheat it gently so the cream doesn’t curdle. If desired, you could even freeze this soup before adding the cream. Then add the cream when you heat up the previously frozen soup.
This recipe makes 4 starter-sized servings, but could also yield 3 heartier servings if you prefer. If dividing the soup into 4 portions, you can stir in about ¾ cup of cooked pasta/noodles or rice to each bowl (or add as little or as much as you like). For 3 somewhat larger serving sizes, stir in 1 cup of cooked pasta/noodles or rice into each bowl.
Here is a conversion for the pasta from uncooked to cooked based on my experience using rotini pasta:
130 grams / 4 ½ ounces / about 1 ½ cups uncooked rotini =
300 grams / 10 ½ ounces / about 3 cups cooked rotini
If you use another shape, the volume yield may be different but the weight yield should be similar to what I have shared above. The yield of uncooked to cooked rice will also depend on the type of rice. Ideally, just use some leftover cooked pasta or rice but you can easily cook some especially for this soup as well.
Other recipes you may like
- Italian Minestrone Soup
- Autumn Vegetable Soup with Sausage and Green Lentils
- Sulu Manti (Manti Soup)
- Armenian Meatball Soup
- Chakhokhbili (Georgian Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Herbs)
- Leniwe (Polish Lazy Pierogi Dumplings)
- Zapiekanka (Polish Pizza)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Zupa Pomidorowa (Polish Tomato Soup)
Ingredients
Soup:
- 4 cups (1 quart) chicken or vegetable broth or stock preferably homemade
- 1 ½ cups (400 grams) tomato puree or passata (about ½ a 28-ounce can)
- 2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or full-fat sour cream
To Serve:
- 3 cups (300 grams) cooked pasta or rice (depending on preference)
- Chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a medium pot over medium-high heat, heat the broth to a simmer. Add the tomato puree and garlic and bring to a gentle boil. Then turn down the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
- You can add heavy cream directly to the soup but sour cream needs to be tempered first. If using sour cream, place it into a small bowl. Then, add about ¼ cup of the hot soup, a little at a time, to the bowl and stir until smooth. Then pour the sour cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine. If using heavy cream just stir it directly into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve the soup in individual bowls, stirring in cooked pasta or rice as desired, and topping with chopped parsley for garnish.
Notes
- Store leftover zupa pomidorowa in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Reheat it gently so the cream doesn’t curdle. If desired, you could even freeze this soup before adding the cream. Then add the cream when you heat up the previously frozen soup.
- This recipe makes 4 starter-sized servings, but could also yield 3 heartier servings if you prefer.
- Here is a conversion for the pasta from uncooked to cooked based on my experience using rotini pasta:
- 130 grams / 4 ½ ounces / about 1 ½ cups uncooked rotini = 300 grams / 10 ½ ounces / about 3 cups cooked rotini
- Ideally, just use some leftover cooked pasta or rice but you can easily cook some especially for this soup as well. Note that this may add more time to the total cooking time for the recipe.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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