Cuisine: The Polish Palate
Course: Soups
Diet: High-Protein, High-Fibre, High-Carb, High-Satiety, Iron-Rich
Occasion: Winter Warmer, Batch Cooking, Dinner, Supper, Milk Bar Classics, Culinary Heritage, Autumn Harvest

Zupa Fasolowa (Traditional Polish Smoked Bean Soup)

A hearty, smoky, and deeply comforting white bean soup loaded with tender root vegetables, smoked bacon, and proper Polish sausage.
Prep time 25m
Marinate 12h
Cook time 1h 45m
Rest time 15m
Total 14h 25m
Yield
6
Per serving:
608 kcal
60g Carbs
26g Protein
30g Fat
By Adam Dworak
Published: 11 August 2026
❖
Last Updated: 07 September 2026

Brilliant!

You cooked this today. How did it turn out?

Maybe Later

Ingredients

Read more in Pantry
Make it from scratch:

Success!

Ingredients added to your shopping list.

View Shopping List Continue Browsing

Kitchen Kit

  • Large Heavy-Bottomed Pot
  • Frying Pan
  • Whisk
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Large Bowl
  • Peeler
  • Chopping Board
  • Chef's Knife
  • Ladle

Method

  1. The night before, tip the dried beans into a large bowl, cover them with plenty of cold water (they will expand massively), and leave them to soak on the counter for at least 12 hours. Drain and rinse well before using.
  2. Chuck the soaked beans into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Pour in the 2000ml of water and add the bay leaves and allspice berries. Chuck it on a high heat. It will take roughly 15 to 20 minutes for this volume of water to reach a rolling boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook for about 40 to 50 minutes until the beans are just starting to yield. Do not add any salt at this stage.
  3. While the beans are simmering, get your prep sorted. Peel and dice the carrots, parsley root, and celeriac into neat 1cm cubes. Peel and chop the potatoes into slightly larger 2cm chunks. Dice the onions, bash and finely mince the garlic cloves, and slice the kiełbasa into thick coins. Slice the bacon into thick lardons.
  4. Heat a heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat. Chuck in the bacon lardons and fry until the fat renders out and they turn crisp. Add the kiełbasa coins and fry until caramelized on the edges. Toss in the diced onions and fry for another 4 minutes until softened in the pork fat, then add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute further until fragrant.
  5. Scrape the entire contents of the frying pan—meat, onions, garlic, and all that glorious rendered fat—straight into the simmering pot of beans.
  6. Tip the diced carrots, parsley root, and celeriac into the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add the diced potatoes. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and beans are completely tender.
  7. Now for the zasmażka (thickener). Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Whisk in the plain flour and cook for about 2 minutes until it smells nutty and turns a pale golden colour.
  8. Here is where the sauce physics come in: ladle about 150ml of the hot soup liquid into the roux, whisking furiously to create a smooth, lump-free slurry. Pour this slurry back into the main pot, stirring well. Let the soup simmer for a final 5 minutes to thicken slightly and cook out the raw flour taste.
  9. Turn off the heat. Take the dried marjoram, rub it vigorously between your palms directly over the pot to release the oils, and stir it in.
  10. Finally, address the seasoning. The smoked meats will have released a lot of hidden salt into the broth. Taste it now, and only then add the 8g of salt (or to your taste) and the freshly ground black pepper. Let the soup rest for 15 minutes off the heat before ladling into deep bowls.
Chef's Note & Storage
Fridge up to 4 days. The starches will cause the soup to thicken considerably overnight; chuck in a generous splash of water when reheating on the hob to loosen it back up.
00:00

The Backbone of a Polish Winter

There is nothing quite like a proper Zupa Fasolowa to cut through the chill of a damp, biting day. This isn't one of those delicate, puréed affairs that leaves you hungry an hour later. This is a working-class masterpiece—a thick, smoky, rib-sticking broth built on a foundation of dried white beans, sweet root vegetables, and heavily smoked meats. The magic of this soup lies in the slow extraction of flavours; the starches from the beans and potatoes break down just enough to naturally thicken the liquid, while the smoky fat from the bacon and kiełbasa weaves its way through every single spoonful. It’s a soup that demands patience but repays you with absolute, undeniable comfort.

CHEF'S SECRET: Never, ever salt your beans at the start of the cook. Salt toughens the skins of dried beans and stops them from softening properly, no matter how long you boil them. Wait until the beans are tender before adjusting your seasoning. Furthermore, when adding dried marjoram, rub it vigorously between your palms right over the pot—the friction awakens the essential oils and completely transforms the aroma.

❖

Building the Smoky Foundation

The depth of this soup relies on two things: proper traditional Polish smoked sausage (Kiełbasa) and a classic 'zasmażka' (a quick butter-flour roux) at the very end. The smoked meats act as a background seasoning—they carry a significant amount of hidden salt and fat, which is why we hold back on adding extra salt until the final moments. The zasmażka, tempered carefully with the hot broth, binds everything together, giving the soup its signature silky, velvet finish without turning it into a stodgy porridge.

Back to Soups

Cook’s Notes & Discussion

Be the first to leave a note on this recipe.

Leave a note or ask a question

Back to Soups