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Hungarian

Meggyleves

Vegetarian

Hideg meggyleves

A chilled Hungarian summer soup of sour cherries poached with cinnamon and cloves, thickened with sour cream — sweet-tart, pink and refreshing, eaten as a first course.

Meggyleves is a Hungarian soup from Hungary, ready in about 3 hours 30 minutes and made with sour cherries, cinnamon and sour cream. It serves 4 and is rated beginner to cook.

Start cooking
Overhead view of a cherry soup garnished with fresh cherries and hands holding a spoon on a table.
Photo: Antoni Shkraba / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Rest
3 h
Total
3 h 30 min
Serves
4
Level
Beginner
Calories
255

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the water, sugar (opens in a new tab), cinnamon (opens in a new tab), cloves (opens in a new tab), lemon zest (opens in a new tab) and salt in a saucepan (opens in a new tab) and bring to the boil. Add the cherries (and wine, if using) and simmer gently for 8 minutes.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the sour cream (opens in a new tab) with the flour until smooth, then whisk in a few ladles of the hot liquid to temper it.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Stir the mixture into the pan and simmer gently, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until lightly thickened. Remove the cinnamon (opens in a new tab) and cloves (opens in a new tab).

    • 5 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Cool, then chill for at least 3 hours until very cold. Serve in chilled bowls.

    • 180 min

    Food safety: Cool within 2 hours before refrigerating.

About this dish

Origin
Hungary · Well documentedMore food from Hungary
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method
Poached, Simmered
Taste
sweet & sour, fruity, creamy, refreshing
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · Low-sodium
Without the optional extras: Alcohol-freeWith the listed swaps: No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead
Cook more with
Cinnamon · Sour cream · Sugar · Cloves · Lemon zest · All-purpose flour
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Poaching · Tadka (tempering)

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom sour cream
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains, can be adapted: Sulphitesfrom dry red wine

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

255 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 400 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 4%
  • Carbohydrate 62%
  • Fat 34%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy255 kcal64 kcal
Protein2.9 g0.7 g
Carbohydrate41.1 g10.3 g
Net carbohydrate38.6 g9.6 g
Sugars32.3 g8.1 g
Added sugars20 g5 g
Fibre2.6 g0.6 g
Fat10.1 g2.5 g
Saturated fat5.2 g1.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol30 mg7 mg
Sodium63 mg16 mg
Salt equivalent0.2 g0 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
288 mg
Calcium
100 mg
Iron
0.7 mg
Magnesium
22 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
142 µg
Vitamin C
14 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
24 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: dry red wine.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Tempering the sour cream with hot liquid first stops it from curdling.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the sour cream straight to the hot soup without tempering — it curdles into flecks.

Serve with

  • Serve as a summer starter, with a dollop of whipped cream if you like it sweeter.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days chilled.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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