Traditional Irish Soups To Savor | Irish American Mom (2024)

While it's widely known that the Irish are known for recipes of cabbage and hearty potatoes, there are also some amazing Irish soup recipes that are eaten all over Ireland.

Traditional soups are a must in cooler weather and fall, but some are perfect year-round. Here's a mixture of crockpot recipes, Irish stews, and traditional favorites.

If you've ever visited Ireland, you know that soups are served all year round in the Emerald Isle, even during the summer months. A good bowl of soup is always on the menu - the soup pot is always simmering.

Table of Contents

Traditional Irish Potato Soup

Potato soups are extremely simple to make, especially if you use a slow cooker or crockpot. There are minimal ingredients required, but the soup is very filling and delicious.

Try my Traditional Irish Potato Soup. Unlike years ago when people would use a sieve to smooth their potatoes, you can use your modern kitchen gadgets like a food processor or hand held blender.

Garnish this soup with a little parsley or chopped chives.

Carrot and Coriander Soup

The flavor of ground coriander, made from the seeds of the coriander or cilantro plant, is similar to that of roasted orange peel, making it a great complimentary spice for sweet carrots. If you're like me, you may have never realized that coriander in Ireland is called cilantro in America!

Mixed with sweet carrots on a chilly day, makes an amazing soup to warm your soul.

Deliciously Hearty Beef Barley Stew

My version of this filling stew is based on a traditional Irish recipe, but I add a few peppers and corn to make it an Irish American fusion recipe. When I was growing up in Ireland the veggies of choice for this stew were potatoes, celery, carrot, and onions.

I love to add an extra bite and depth of flavor with multicolored peppers, mushrooms, green beans, peas, and corn. Believe me, this Beef Barley Stew has it all and is super easy to make in the crockpot or slow cooker.

Dublin Coddle

Dublin Coddle is a sausage, bacon, and potato stew associated with Ireland's capital city. Irish pork sausages, often called bangers, are key to a good coddle.

Their flavor is far more subtle and less spicy than an American sausage, a bratwurst, or a kielbasa. Coddle is a Dubliner's choice of stew when under the weather with the flu, and a favorite Irish dish for tourists to the city.

Try this Dublin Coddle Recipe with a pint of Guinness or stout on St. Patrick's Day or on cold nights when you need something to warm you up quickly.

Potato and Leek Soup

Served with a loaf of Irish soda bread Potato and Leek Soup is a delicious warm treat on a cold winter's day. Some call it Irish leek and potato soup while others give the potatoes precedence!

Most people make this soup with regular potatoes, but red potatoes work just as well! Paired with chicken broth, the flavors are amazing. Since this easy recipe requires leeks, and a leek is a root vegetable, be sure to wash them thoroughly.

A little heavy cream makes this soup extra delicious and smooth. Make it with vegetable stock for a vegetarian version, plus skip the bacon bits as garnish if you don't eat meat.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Yes, it's true, we do love our cabbage. Cooking too much is an Irish trait, probably with roots in the Irish Famine.

We never want to appear mean, so leftovers are inevitable. This Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup is the perfect soup recipe after Paddy's Day.

Super Easy Pea and Mint Soup

Another delicious soup prominent in Irish heritage is Pea and Mint Soup. It's a summertime classic and a staple in our Irish kitchen.

This soup is comprised of vegetable or chicken stock, garlic, onion, peas, lemon juice, fresh mint leaves, olive oil, and Crème Fraiche. Follow my Pea and Mint Soup recipe and throw it all in an immersion blender or food processor for a delicious and creamy soup.

The final texture is up to you. Make it compeltely smooth or leave the peas with a little more texture for a heartier soup.

Parsnip and Apple Soup

In this traditional dish, apples and parsnips join forces to create a sweet and creamy soup. The pairing of parsnips with apples intensifies their sweetness, with an added underlying warmth from curry powder. This Parsnip and Apple Soup is truly satisfying.

In case you didn't know, chicken curry is a very popular dish in Ireland. In centuries past, soldiers serving with the Munster fusiliers and other Irish regiments, spent time in India and brought a love of spicy curry flavors back to Ireland. Whoever thought to add it to this simple soup was genius.

Creamy Irish Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower soup is extremely hearty and filling for dinner. It has an amazing texture and everyone loves it. Add some bacon and cheddar cheese, and this will be one of your favorite Irish recipes.

While it isn't always traditional to add bacon, my Cauliflower and Bacon Soup has some added flavor! It's a wonderful soup for any time of year and a favorite soup from Irish cuisine.

Spicy Red Lentil and Carrot Soup

Red lentil soup is made in Ireland very frequently. My mom loved the fact that this soup is full of protein.

The spiciness of this recipe I'm sharing is not the traditonal way of making this soup. No spices, other than salt and pepper, were used by my mother to make this soup during my childhood days in Dublin.

However, I've spiced up this traditional red lentil soup to take it to the next level of deliciousness. I hope you'll like the revved up taste.

Irish Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soups are served all over Ireland in cafés and restaurants, and especially for lunch. Soup is a wonderful midday meal, especially when touring around Ireland.

A quick bowl of soup and a few slices of buttered brown bread, make a hearty and fulfilling meal anytime of year.

Here's my recipe for Irish vegetable soup.

Colcannon was originally associated with Halloween in Ireland. It is enjoyed often as a St. Patrick's Day dish but has spread over the years. Many make this dish as a soup, but it is also one of many amazing potatoes recipes that Irish people enjoy year after year.

My Colcannon Recipe incorporates the starchy flavors of potatoes with the rich earthiness of kale and cabbage. Top with melted unsalted butter or sour cream and you are in for a treat.

Remember, Irish soups are best served with Irish brown bread, a delicious, hearty, whole wheat bread.

And when you're cooking soup, don't forget to simmer not boil your soup as it cooks. Explore more soup making success tips with me in this kitchen tutorial.

Replicate any of these Irish food recipes and enjoy a lovely soup any time of year.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Mairéad -Irish American Mom

Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th

Mairéad - rhymes with parade