Krupnyk is Ukrainian barley soup made with pearl barley, dried mushrooms, potatoes, roots, and a late onion-carrot zasmazhka. This version simmers rinsed pearl barley with mushroom soaking liquid until the broth turns cloudy and thick enough for the spoon to stand.

Do I need chicken stock to make Ukrainian krupnyk?

You can make Ukrainian krupnyk with 1.8 litres water or light chicken stock. Water plus 40g dried porcini or mixed forest mushrooms gives a lean, deeply flavored soup. Light chicken stock makes the pot meatier, and a smoked pork rib can be simmered from the start.

How do I keep dried mushroom grit out of krupnyk?

Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water until soft, lift the mushrooms out with your fingers, and roughly chop them. Pour the dark mushroom soaking liquid slowly into the soup pot through a fine sieve, or decant carefully, so any grit stays behind in the bowl.

When is pearl barley done in krupnyk?

Pearl barley is done in krupnyk when the grains swell, lose their hard white centers, and make the broth cloudy at the edges. Keep the soup at a patient simmer and stir from the bottom because barley settles as it cooks and thickens the pot.

Why add the zasmazhka late to krupnyk?

Add the zasmazhka late so the Ukrainian barley soup finishes with sweet onion, softened carrot, golden sunflower oil, and fresh garlic flavor. Sweat the onion slowly, cook the grated carrot until the oil turns golden-orange, then scrape the mixture into the thickened soup.

Can I make krupnyk ahead and reheat it?

Krupnyk is excellent made ahead because pearl barley thickens overnight as it absorbs broth. Reheat the Ukrainian barley soup gently and loosen it with hot water or stock until it returns to a spoonable texture. Taste again for sea salt and black pepper before serving.

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Krupnyk (крупник, barley soup)

Name: Krupnyk (крупник, barley soup)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 40g dried porcini or mixed forest mushrooms; 1.8 litres water or light chicken stock; 250g pearl barley, rinsed until the water runs mostly clear; 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced; 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, lightly crushed; 2 tablespoons unrefined sunflower oil; 1 large onion, finely diced; 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated; 1 small parsnip or parsley root, diced; 2 cloves garlic, grated or crushed; 1 tablespoon tomato paste, optional; 1 small bunch dill, finely chopped; Smetana (sour cream), to serve, optional; Sea salt and black pepper

Created by

Pearl barley looks like nothing in the jar, then it drinks half the pot, turns silky at the edges, and makes a soup that feeds everyone from almost no money.

Soups & Stews

Ukrainian

Comfort Food

Budget Friendly

Make Ahead

20 min

Active Time

1 hr 15 min cook•1 hr 35 min total

Yield8 servings

Pearl barley looks like nothing in the jar, little grey-white stones that promise you very little. Then it drinks half the pot, swells until the broth turns cloudy and silky, and suddenly you've made dinner from roots, mushrooms, and patience. Krupnyk is pantry soup with a backbone. The spoon must stand up straight.

This is the soup for lean weeks, cold weeks, the week before pay arrives, the day after you thought there was nothing in the kitchen. Dried mushrooms give it the forest smell, potatoes soften into the broth, and the barley keeps going until the pot sounds heavier when you stir it. Aunt Nadia wrote only "cook until it sounds right" on the letter for this one, which was rude of her and also correct.

The one thing that decides the dish is the zasmazhka, the slow-sweated onion and carrot. Add it near the end, not at the beginning. Its sweetness should sit brightly on top of the mushroom broth, not flatten into the stock and disappear. Make a big pot, enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian, because krupnyk thickens overnight and becomes even better for lunch.

Krupnyk takes its name from krupa, meaning groats, and belongs to a broad Ukrainian grain-soup tradition where barley, buckwheat, millet, or cracked wheat stretched broth through fasting days and poor winters. Barley versions are especially at home in the forested north and west, including Polissia and Volyn, where dried mushrooms gave lean soups depth without meat. Soviet canteens made cereal soups sound joyless and thin, but village krupnyk was never only filler: it was careful thrift, thickened by grain and finished with a bright zasmazhka.

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Ingredients

dried porcini or mixed forest mushrooms

Quantity

40g

water or light chicken stock

Quantity

1.8 litres

pearl barley

Quantity

250g

rinsed until the water runs mostly clear

potatoes

Quantity

3 medium

peeled and diced

bay leaves

Quantity

black peppercorns

Quantity

1 teaspoon

lightly crushed

unrefined sunflower oil

Quantity

2 tablespoons

onion

Quantity

1 large

finely diced

carrots

Quantity

2 medium

coarsely grated

parsnip or parsley root

Quantity

1 small

diced

garlic

Quantity

2 cloves

grated or crushed

tomato paste (optional)

Quantity

1 tablespoon

dill

Quantity

1 small bunch

finely chopped

smetana (sour cream) (optional)

Quantity

to serve

sea salt and black pepper

Quantity

to taste

Ingredient	Quantity
dried porcini or mixed forest mushrooms	40g
water or light chicken stock	1.8 litres
pearl barleyrinsed until the water runs mostly clear	250g
potatoespeeled and diced	3 medium
bay leaves	2
black peppercornslightly crushed	1 teaspoon
unrefined sunflower oil	2 tablespoons
onionfinely diced	1 large
carrotscoarsely grated	2 medium
parsnip or parsley rootdiced	1 small
garlicgrated or crushed	2 cloves
tomato paste (optional)	1 tablespoon
dillfinely chopped	1 small bunch
smetana (sour cream) (optional)	to serve
sea salt and black pepper	to taste

Equipment Needed

•A big modern stockpot
•A wide pan for the zasmazhka
•A fine sieve or steady hand for decanting mushroom liquid

Instructions

1
Wake the mushrooms
Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with a few ladles of boiling water. Leave them until they soften and the water turns dark tea-brown and smells like a damp forest floor. Lift the mushrooms out with your fingers, chop them roughly, and keep the soaking liquid. Pour that liquid slowly so any grit stays behind in the bowl.
If you have fresh mushrooms too, add them later to the zasmazhka. The dried ones are the backbone; fresh ones are extra generosity.
2
Start the barley
Tip the rinsed barley into a big pot with the water or stock, the mushroom soaking liquid, chopped mushrooms, bay leaves, peppercorns, and a cautious pinch of salt. Bring it to a steady simmer and skim anything foamy from the top. Let it bubble gently until the grains swell, lose their hard white centers, and the broth begins to look cloudy at the edges.
3
Add the roots
Add the diced potatoes and parsnip or parsley root. Keep the pot moving at a patient simmer, not a hard boil, until the potatoes soften and some of their corners begin to blur into the broth. Stir from the bottom now and then, because barley likes to settle and sulk.
4
Make the zasmazhka
Warm the sunflower oil in a wide pan and add the onion. Sweat it slowly until it goes translucent and sweet-smelling, then add the grated carrot. Cook until the carrot softens, the oil turns golden-orange, and the smell changes from raw root to something rounder and sweeter. If using tomato paste, stir it in for a minute so it darkens slightly and loses its tinny edge.
This is not frying for color. You're coaxing sweetness. The zasmazhka goes in near the end so that sweetness sits brightly on the broth instead of vanishing into it.
5
Finish the pot
Scrape the zasmazhka into the soup, then add the garlic. Stir well and listen: the soup should sound thick against the spoon, not watery and sharp. Taste for salt and black pepper. If the barley has taken too much liquid, add a splash of hot water or stock; if it still feels thin, let it keep going until the spoon stands up straight.
6
Rest and serve
Turn off the heat and let the pot sit until the surface calms and the barley finishes drinking. Stir in most of the dill just before serving, saving a little for the bowls. Ladle generously, add smetana if you like, and eat with rye bread or whatever bread is in the house.

Chef Tips

•Rinse the barley well, but don't try to make it polite. Its starch is what gives krupnyk that thick, silky body.
•For a meatier pot, use light chicken stock or add a smoked pork rib at the start, then pull the meat back in at the end. For a lean pot, water and dried mushrooms are enough.
•The tomato paste is a bit more modern and southern in feeling. Leave it out for a paler forest-style soup, or keep it for a warmer color and a little sweetness.
•Krupnyk thickens as it sits. When reheating, loosen it with hot water or stock and taste again for salt.
•Don't skip the late zasmazhka. The chopping forgives you, the exact vegetables forgive you, but that sweet onion-carrot finish is how the soup wakes up.

Advance Preparation

•The mushrooms can be soaked and chopped a day ahead; keep them in their strained soaking liquid in the fridge.
•Krupnyk is excellent made ahead. It thickens overnight, so loosen it with hot water or stock when reheating.
•Rinse the barley earlier in the day if you like, but don't soak it overnight unless you want a softer, faster-cooking soup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)

Calories

215 calories

Total Fat

4 g

Saturated Fat

0 g

Trans Fat

0 g

Unsaturated Fat

4 g

Cholesterol

0 mg

Sodium

300 mg

Total Carbohydrates

40 g

Dietary Fiber

8 g

Sugars

4 g

Protein

6 g

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Krupnyk (крупник, barley soup)

The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.