This recipe for Hungarian Green Pea Soup with pinched noodles, carrots, kohlrabi, and parsley makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner. It is a popular meal in Hungary all year around, mainly because it’s cheap, easy to make, but tastes so good! It’s also a great meal to make ahead and then enjoy throughout the week.

This soup is one of those everyday Hungarian classics that many of us grew up eating every week. It’s simple, nourishing and comforting, and it manages to feel both light and filling at the same time. The combination of sweet green peas, tender carrots, earthy kohlrabi, and fresh parsley makes it bright and flavorful, while the little pinched noodles turn it into a proper meal.

What makes this soup special is that it works in every season. In spring and summer, it’s a beautiful way to celebrate fresh peas and young vegetables. In fall and winter, it’s just as good made with stored carrots, onions, and frozen peas.

It’s also a great make-ahead and budget-friendly dish. You can make a big pot and then enjoy it throughout the week, and you can also freeze it.

Hungarian Green Pea Soup is:

fully vegan and plant-based
simple and budget-friendly
comforting but light
packed with veggies
great for meal prep
suitable year-round
family-friendly
quick enough for weeknights
made from pantry staples + seasonal produce
can be served as a starter or as a main dish

How to make Hungarian Green Pea Soup

Start by sautéing onion, carrot, and kohlrabi in oil until soft and translucent. Add the parsley stems and paprika, cooking just briefly so the paprika becomes fragrant without burning. Then pour in the vegetable broth and let everything simmer until the vegetables are tender.

While the soup cooks, make the pinched noodles by mixing flour of your choice, chickpea flour (instead of eggs), black salt (for that eggy flavor), and oil, then adding water little by little until you get a smooth, firm dough. Pinch off small pieces, roll them lightly, and set them aside on a floured plate so they don’t stick together.

Once the vegetables are cooked through, stir in the green peas, parsley leaves, and noodles. Let everything simmer together for five more minutes until the noodles are cooked. Taste, adjust with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Any leftover soup keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can simply freeze it.

How to serve Hungarian Green Pea Soup

This soup works perfectly as a light lunch or simple weeknight meal on its own. Serve it hot with a slice of fresh bread or crusty roll for dipping.

Traditionally in Hungary, soups like this are often served as a starter before a bigger weekend meal. In that case, serve smaller portions first, followed by your main dish.

This soup serves 3-4 as a main dish, or 6-8 as a smaller starter soup.

Customize it the way you like it!

Add extra veggies like potatoes, white carrots, parsnips, radishes or even spinach to your soup. And add extra protein like vegan chicken or tofu, if you like

Play around with the pinched noodles. Traditionally they are made with white flour, but whole-wheat, rye or spelt work here too

Or simply skip the pinched noodles completely and add some type of small pasta to the soup instead

Add extra flavors to your soup such as garlic, chili, smoked paprika, caraway seeds, or dill

More Hungarian recipes to try:

Hungarian Green Pea Soup w/ Pinched Noodles

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Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 3-4 1x

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Ingredients

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2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 kohlrabi, diced
3–4 carrots, diced
1 small bunch of parsley, stems and leaves divided and chopped
1/2 tsp paprika powder
4–6 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of fresh or frozen green peas
salt, pepper

For the pinched noodles:

3/4 cup of flour of your choice, use GF if needed
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 tsp black salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil

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Instructions

Heat up oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, kohlrabi, and carrot, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are translucent.
Add chopped parsley stems and paprika powder, and cook for another minute or two, or until paprika is fragrant. Stir to make sure paprika doesn’t burn.
Pour 4 cups or 1 litre of vegetable broth over the vegetables. If you like your soup more brothy, add up to 2 cups or 0.5 litres of extra broth. Bring soup to a boil, then turn the heat to low to medium low, cover, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
While soup is cooking, prepare pinch noodles. In a bowl mix together chickpea flour, all purpose flour, and black salt. Add vegetable oil, and mix quickly with your fingers again.
Start adding water, one tablespoon at a time, until you get a firm and smooth ball, when kneading with your fingers. I usually need around 4 tablespoons of water, but you might need less or more, depending on your flour.
To shape the noodles, pinch small pieces of the dough (the size of your diced veggies), and roll them between your fingers for a second. Drop to a lightly floured plate, and roll gently around, so they don’t stick together.
Alternatively, you can also cut the noodles with scissors.
Once vegetables are cooked through, add green peas, parsley leaves, and pinched noodles. Make sure to stir the soup directly to avoid the noodles sticking together.
Cook soup for 5 more minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately with a slice of bread. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes