Low FODMAP Pickle Soup Recipe

This low FODMAP pickle soup recipe shows you don't have to miss out on the pickle-flavoured EVERYTHING craze, as we keep things high in flavour but low in FODMAPs. It's the zingy springtime soup you never knew you needed but won't be able to stop making once you give it a try.

Ingredients

After several experiments, I found that this specific combination of ingredients helps to bring the perfect balance of spice, sweetness, creaminess and freshness while cutting through some of the sharpness of the pickles.

Although you still need to be a pickle fan to enjoy this soup, it's not all about that blister the end of your tongue sourness.

Here are my tips for some of the main ingredients that can make or break the flavour and FODMAP profile of this soup.

• Whole pickled gherkins/dill pickles - Brine-fermented pickles are traditionally used in pickle soup, but these have not been FODMAP tested and are much more expensive and harder to find where I live. Wash the whole pickles before chopping.
• Canned garden peas - Although the muted green colour of canned peas leaves a lot to be desired, I find them perfectly sweet and, more importantly, they have a decent low FODMAP serving. I used a mid-range supermarket own-brand canned in water. Avoid cheaper brands canned with excess salt and sugar. As with all canned peas and beans, they need to be drained and washed thoroughly before use.
• Coconut yoghurt - Replaces the classic sour cream. Shop around for a brand that works for your taste and budget. I use The Coconut Collab, which adds creaminess without leaving an overly strong coconut taste in cooked dishes.
• Celery leaves - Depending on where you buy your celery, you'll need to hunt around for a bunch with the most leaves/tops still intact. This seems to be getting increasingly harder at regular supermarkets, where the standard seems to be to trim them right down. You might have more luck at your local market or greengrocer.
• Leek greens/tops - As with the celery, look for leeks with the most abundant, greenest, healthiest-looking tops. Be sure to separate each leaf and wash thoroughly to remove the soil and sand that accumulates between the layers.
• Pickled green jalapenos - These are optional, but they add the perfect mellow heat to the flavour of this soup. I used pre-sliced, pickled green jalapenos, which I feel give a milder heat than those pickled whole. I'm a complete wimp when it comes to heat, so I haven't tested this recipe with fresh jalapenos. I imagine the heat would be too intense for my tastes, but you do you.

See the recipe card for the full ingredients list and quantities. See the FODMAP ingredient notes for detailed low FODMAP portions.

Instructions

1. In a deep pot with a well-fitting lid, bring the diced potatoes and hot vegetable stock to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes.

2. Add the leek greens. Replace the lid and continue to boil for 3 minutes until the potatoes are part-cooked.

3. Add the celery tops, optional jalapenos, dried sage, ground fennel and coriander seeds. Continue to cook on medium heat with the lid on for 5 more minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and can be crushed easily with a fork.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and the lid from the pot. Allow the soup to cool for at least 5 minutes until it can be safely blended until smooth.

5. Carefully pour the blended soup base back into the pot. Add the pickles, peas, fresh herbs and the pickling brine. Return to medium heat for approximately 3 minutes, until the peas and soup are heated through.

6. Once the soup is reheated, temper the coconut yoghurt by whisking a few tablespoons of the hot soup into the coconut yoghurt. This helps prevent it from splitting when added to the rest of the soup.

7. Turn off the heat and gradually stir through the tempered yoghurt. Pour the yoghurt in a slow, steady stream, stirring continuously.

8. Test the soup for seasoning and adjust it to your taste. Garnish with optional fresh herbs, thinly sliced pickles and extra yoghurt.

Hint: Step away from the salt shaker! The saltiness of this soup depends entirely on your brand of pickles. To avoid oversalting, leave the seasoning until the very end. Mine did not need any additional seasoning.

Cooks tips

1. Choose whole gherkins/pickles rather than sliced. Sliced gherkins are common here in the UK. Whilst it might seem like a time saver to use sliced gherkins, this recipe has only been tested using whole gherkins. Because more surface area is exposed when the pickles are sliced, this will dramatically alter the amount of vinegar that soaks into each pickle, likely making the recipe too sour, salty or both.

2. Most zupa ogórkowa recipes use diced pickles, but I found that larger chunks of pickle can be a little overpowering, especially when using cucumbers pickled in vinegar rather than brine fermented. I prefer to grate my pickles on the coarse side of a box grater. I also use this method in my creamy low FODMAP potato salad, which I'm sure you'll love if you're a pickle fan like me.

3. You'll also see that I choose to blend the soup before the peas and pickles go in. I love the pops of flavour when I bite into a sweet, earthy pea or the zing of the strands of pickle, but if you prefer a smoother soup, then blitz it right at the end after adding all the ingredients but before adding the yoghurt.

Equipment

I use UK metric measurements in all of my recipes.

• 1 cup = 250 ml
• 1 tablespoon = 15 grams
• 1 teaspoon = 5 grams

You'll need a blender to blitz the soup into a smooth, creamy base.

I prefer the easy cleanup of shredding the gherkin by hand using a box grater, but a food processor works, too.

This soup's quick cooking time is partly due to keeping the lid on the pot during the initial boiling stages. Ensure that your chosen soup pot has a close-fitting lid.

Storage

This soup is best eaten on the same day. If making it ahead, proceed up to step 5. The soup can then be refrigerated for 48 hours or frozen for up to 3 months. When you're ready to eat, heat the soup and continue the recipe from step 6, tempering and adding the yoghurt just before serving.

This soup does not freeze well once the yoghurt has been added.

Recipe FAQ's

FODMAP Notes

FODMAP data changes over time. Always refer to the Monash or FODMAP Friendly apps for current low FODMAP serving sizes and FODMAP categorisations.

FODMAP servings

This recipe makes two generous portions with a low FODMAP portion of 500 ml or 2 cups per serving.

This recipe will be suitable for the majority of people during the elimination phase of a low FODMAP diet. It contains the following FODMAPS in low FODMAP servings:

• Fructans - gherkin/pickles
• Fructose - gherkin/pickles
• GOS - green peas
• Mannitol - celery

FODMAP ingredient notes

Celery

Celery stalks contain high levels of mannitol. They are listed in the Monash FODMAP app as a high FODMAP food with a very small low FODMAP serving of 10g. Servings of just 15g become moderate for mannitol. Update May 2025 - The low FODMAP portion of celery has been retested and has now increased to 51 grams. The stalks become moderate for mannitol at 75 grams and high at 78 grams.

This update means that you could now use a low FODMAP portion of celery stalks in this recipe and still keep it low FODMAP. I choose to use the more unconventional celery leaves to flavour this soup, as they are lower in overall FODMAPs.

Celery leaves are listed in the Monash FODMAP app as low FODMAP food in servings of 75 grams. They become moderate for mannitol at 244 grams and don't become high for mannitol until a whopping 369 gram serving.

The FODMAP Friendly app lists celery stalks as a pass. Their low FODMAP tested serving size is 61 grams with a maximum recommended serving of 68 grams. They do not list the leaves separately.

Gherkins/Dill pickles

See the detailed FODMAP notes in the recipe FAQs above.

Green peas (canned)

See the detailed FODMAP notes in the recipe FAQs above.

Canned peas should be drained of their canning liquid and thoroughly rinsed before use. This helps to remove the water-soluble FODMAPs that leach out of the peas during the canning process and storage.

Jalapeno peppers (pickled in vinegar)

Pickled jalapenos are low FODMAP. They are listed in the Monash FODMAP app as remaining low FODMAP in serving sizes up to 500 grams. The recommended serving size is 15 grams, but this is based on typical serving sizes and not FODMAP findings.

Jalapenos contain naturally occurring capsaicin, which can be a gut irritant to some people with IBS. Whilst this is not a FODMAP trigger, you may need to modify your intake according to how you tolerate this food.

FODMAP food waste

I generally try to avoid recipes that use only a small amount of a high FODMAP ingredient. It can be tricky to use up leftovers when you're in the elimination phase of the low FODMAP diet.

However, for this recipe, I broke that rule as the celery leaves add so much freshness and a signature grassy, anise, herbaceous flavour to the final soup.

To avoid excess waste, try swapping with friends or family, their celery leaves, which are often discarded, for your celery stalks. You can also freeze the celery stalks for future use, such as in your mannitol reintroduction trial.

Celery stalks can be frozen for 2 months if unblanched or up to 12 months if blanched before freezing. I prefer the quick and easy unblanched method, but blanching may be the best option if you think it will take a while to get through them.

Wash the celery and cut it into bite-sized slices. Lay the slices on a baking tray in a single layer so they are not touching. Freeze the tray for a few hours until the pieces are frozen solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. This method, known as free-freezing, stops the celery from clumping and sticking together.

Celery changes in texture after freezing and defrosting. Frozen celery is best used in cooked recipes such as soups and stews.

Free from

• Garlic free
• Gluten free (check stock cubes and coconut yoghurt)
• Mustard free (check gherkin flavourings)
• Oil free
• Peanut free
• Sesame free
• Soy free (check coconut yoghurt)
• Tree nut free (contains coconut)
• Wheat free (check stock cubes and coconut yoghurt)
• Lactose free
• Sorbitol free

Always double-check your ingredients to ensure your products and brands are "free from" if required. Where we list free from FODMAPs, please be aware we are referring to free from excess FODMAPs as defined by low/high FODMAP limits in the Monash app and not a true allergy-safe definition of "free-from".

Most plant foods will still contain some level of FODMAPs, but in amounts considered tolerable for most people on the low FODMAP diet.