Go Back
+ servings
Print

Vegetarian Goulash aka Authentic Hungarian Bean Goulash

If you would like to eat a vegetarian goulash soup EXACTLY how Hungarians eat it, you should try this recipe. Our family has been making bean goulash this way for generations. It is a 30-min simple, one-pot soup using only veggies and beans. 
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Dairy-free, Egg-free, European, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword bean goulash, hungarian goulash, vegan goulash
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 95kcal

Ingredients

Optional ingredients

Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

  • Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and chop potatoes. Wash, peel, and slice carrots and parsnip.

Making the soup

  • Heat your stockpot to medium heat and add oil. Cook the chopped onion for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the sliced carrots and parsnip. Stir and cook for 5-6 minutes.
  • Add chopped garlic and the seasoning (salt, pepper, parsley, and caraway seeds) and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the sweet paprika powder and the tomato or goulash paste, and stir until combined.
  • Pour the vegetable broth and cook the soup for approx. 5 minutes.
  • Add the diced potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Finally, add the cooked or canned beans and cook for another 5 minutes.

Notes

TOP TIP: This soup gets more and more delicious with every passing minute. 
  • Chop vegetables evenly - We added carrots and parsnip first as they need the most time to be cooked, then potatoes. They will cook more evenly if the veggies are the same size. 
  • Chop vegetables smaller - If you prefer to reduce the cooking time, you can cut the potatoes to smaller or slice the carrots thinner. 
  • How spicy should it be? - Depending on how hot and spicy you prefer your soup, you can add chili powder or sriracha or freshly chopped raw chili peppers beside the sweet paprika powder.
  • Beans vs chickpeas - While the traditional recipe calls for beans, you can use chickpeas if you like them better.  
  • Why coconut oil? - The traditional way is to make the base for cooking onion and garlic with lard. As we eat plant-based, the closest alternative is coconut oil. Why? It gives the soup a fatty after-taste similar to lard. 
  • What to serve with vegetable goulash soup? - If you'd like to keep it authentic, the only side Hungarians pair this soup with is bread. We use the bread slices to dunk them in the soup and eat it like that. Goulash soup is a one-pot dish, so the side is the cooked potatoes that are already in it.
  • What kind of beans can I use? - The most authentic ones are kidney beans of any kind: red kidney beans, white cannellini beans aka white kidney beans, or speckled kidney beans... We have also made it several times with chickpeas and the soup tastes amazing.
  • What else can I add to the soup? - If you'd like to add more veggies, but still keep it real, we recommend adding mushrooms. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 759mg | Potassium: 392mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3001IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg