An easy to make rhubarb soup - tangy, aromatic and topped with bacon omelet. An amazing way of using rhubarb this spring.
You will not believe this soup! I have had rhubarb in savory dishes many times before (have a look at this Chicken with Rhubarb Sauce or this Chicken Green Curry with Rhubarb for instance), but I have never made a rhubarb soup before.
I did not even know it was possible. I never saw a recipe for it, it never occurred to me to make rhubarb soup or to look for a recipe.

RHUBARB SOUP WITH OMELET
But then we had some people from Romania visiting us this spring. They saw me coming from my friend's garden with my arms full of huge rhubarb stalks and they both exclaimed simultaneously: “Oh! Are you making rhubarb soup?” And me: “Ha? No... Rhubarb soup, I have never heard of it! I am just making jam.”
They told me it was a soup traditionally eaten in their region, every spring you would have this rhubarb and tomato soup at least once. They could not really give me a recipe, they just roughly explained to me, what I should put into it. They told me it was a pork soup with tomatoes and bacon.
I was immediately curious! I searched for a recipe online and I have only found one rhubarb soup recipe in Romanian.
I found a few more recipes in English, recipes for rhubarb and lentil soups, they all sounded amazing and I am definitely going to try them some day, but for the moment I wanted to make the Romanian version of a rhubarb soup.
Apparently, it is not a purely Romanian recipe, but more a recipe inspired by the German population living in Romania – the Saxons. They live mostly in Transylvania and it is only in this region that rhubarb is actually eaten in Romania. The Saxons introduced rhubarb to the Romanian population and you will have a hard time finding any rhubarb recipe in any other region of Romania.
And if you would like to see more delicious Saxon recipes, have a look at this Poached Chicken in White Sauce with Raisins and Rice or this Stewed Sauerkraut with Meat Dumplings. And in autumn, you should definitely give these Pumpkin Fritters a try, they are to die for.
HOW TO MAKE RHUBARB SOUP
What stock to use for the rhubarb soup?
The original Transylvanian rhubarb soup is make with pork. You should actually cook some meaty pork bones and use the stock to make the soup. However, I do not often use pork to make stocks, it is not that I don't like it, but I do like chicken stock better.
We also eat way more chicken than pork, so I always have some leftover roasted chicken (or turkey) bones in my freezer. This way, it is easier for me to make and use chicken stock for soups. But if you happen to have some pork stock in your freezer (or even beef), that would do as well.
A good quality bought chicken stock is fine as well, use your favorite brand.
Or you could keep this rhubarb soup vegetarian by using vegetable stock and replacing the bacon with some finely chopped spring onions or fresh herbs in the omelet.
Rhubarb soup:
This is a very easy recipe, but there are two different things you have to cook: the soup itself and the bacon omelet.
- Lightly saute the rhubarb pieces together with some onions. The rhubarb might not be the main component of the soup, but it is certainly the most important one.
Most soups in Romania are sour soups, we like to add vinegar, lemon juice, pickled tarragon or fermented wheat to our soups to make them sour. In this case, we use rhubarb to sour the soup. But what makes this soup so special is not only its sourness, but that amazing specific rhubarb sour flavor.
You will be surprised of how much you will like this soup, it was one of my best recipe discoveries this year and I know that I will make this soup every spring as long as I live.
- Sprinkle the paprika powder on top and stir for another minute. Add the sugar, chicken stock and the pureed tomatoes. If you are using dried lovage, add it to the soup now. Fresh lovage should be added later.
Fresh lovage is a wonderful herb, very much used in Romanian cooking, perfect for hearty soups. Unfortunately, I have never seen it fresh in a supermarket in Germany, so I only use it in spring and summer when it grows in my garden. Otherwise I use dried lovage.
If using dried lovage add it to the soup together with the paprika powder and chicken stock. If using fresh lovage, chop it finely and add it to the finished rhubarb soup.
- Bring the rhubarb soup to a boil. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb is completely soft. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Add the heavy cream and adjust the taste with salt and pepper and more sugar, if necessary. It will probably be necessary, the rhubarb soup should taste sweet and sour.
- Add the torn omelet pieces to the soup and sprinkle the fresh chopped lovage on top. Serve immediately with sourdough bread.
HOW TO MAKE THE BACON OMELET
So, you have this rhubarb soup now, which is already wonderful as it is. But to make it even better and a complete meal, you make a quick omelet with some slightly smoked bacon pieces in it and you bring the soup to a whole new level.
- Chop the bacon finely and fry the cubes in 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan.
- Beat the eggs and the milk in a small bowl, add the sweet paprika and some salt and pepper.
- Pour the eggs over the bacon in the pan, let the omelet get slightly set.
- Start pushing the cooked eggs from the edges of the pan towards the center, so that the uncooked egg can also touch the bottom of the pan. Tilt the pan and push the eggs around until they are all cooked. Break the omelet into rough pieces and give them to the soup.
And all that in about 30 minutes, 40 minutes tops! A delicious and healthy meal, that you will probably end up telling everybody you know about, just because it was so special and so unexpectedly good.
Rhubarb Soup with Bacon Omelet
Ingredients
Rhubarb and tomato soup:
- 2-3 rhubarb stalks depending on size about 250 g/ 9 oz
- 2 medium onions
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar + more to taste
- 1.2 liter chicken stock 2.5 pints / 5 cups, (Notes 1 and 2)
- 500 ml tomato puree/sieved tomatoes/passata 17 oz/ 2 cups, (Note 3)
- 175 ml heavy cream 6 fl.oz/ ¾ cup
- 1 large sprig fresh lovage (Note 4)
Bacon omelet
- 125 g smoked bacon 4.5 oz (See note 2 for vegetarian version)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Rhubarb Soup:
- Clean and chop the rhubarb stalks into small pieces. Chop the onions finely.
- Saute: Heat the oil in a soup pot and cook the rhubarb and the onions until softer, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the paprika powder on top and stir for another minute. Add the sugar, chicken stock and the pureed tomatoes. If you are using dried lovage, add it to the soup now. Fresh lovage should be added later.
- Simmer: Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb is completely soft.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender.
- Add the heavy cream and adjust the taste with salt and pepper and more sugar to taste. The rhubarb soup should taste sweet and sour.
Bacon omelet:
- Chop the bacon finely and fry the cubes in 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan.
- Beat the eggs and the milk in a small bowl, add the sweet paprika and some salt and pepper.
- Pour the eggs over the bacon in the pan, let the omelet get slightly set.
- Start pushing the cooked portions from the edges of the pan towards the center so that the uncooked eggs can also touch the bottom of the pan. Tilt the pan and push the eggs around until they are all cooked. Break the omelet into rough pieces and give them to the soup.
- Serve: Sprinkle the rhubarb soup with the chopped lovage. Serve immediately with bread.
Notes
- You can use pork stock instead.
- For a vegetarian version use vegetable stock. Replace the bacon in the omelet with finely chopped spring onions or fresh herbs.
- Not tomato paste or tomato sauce. Tomato puree or passata is uncooked pureed tomatoes. You can also blend the same amount of canned tomatoes until smooth.
- If fresh lovage is unavailable, it can be replaced with 1 teaspoon dried lovage, which should be added to the pot together with the stock.
mjskitchen says
All of your rhubarb dishes are killing me! I love rhubarb, but putting it in a tomato soup would NEVER have crossed my mind! It sounds and looks delicious and I love seeing lovage leaves in the recipe. I started growing it last year and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite herbs.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
Come to think of it, I have never had rhubarb in a savory dish. I've always have had it a a dessert. This soup definitely sounds interesting and I know that I would love it. And the bacon omelet sounds delicious! I'd make extra of it as a side 🙂
Kelly Mahan says
That looks awesome. Saving it here as "recipe to try this week", thanks!
Adina says
Thanks Kelly, I hope you like it, it is really something special. 🙂
Marvellina|What To Cook Today says
I have never tried rhubarb in savory dishes yet, but this looks and sounds so good!
Sissi says
It's probably the most original way to use rhubarb I've ever seen! I love rhubarb and all the tangy/acid food, so I'm sure I'd love your soup too.
Lisa says
Thank you for the rhubarb soup inspiration! Had an abundance of misc. veggies to use up, including a lot of rhubarb. With only 2 TBSP of tomato paste in the house, I also used the beet powder in my smoothie cupboard to make a lovely borscht like broth. Left my vegg chunky & served with Greek yogurt. Love, love, love rhubarb in soup!!!
Adina says
So happy to hear it, Lisa. I have never had beet powder, but I am sure it tasted good. And looked very pretty for sure! 🙂 Thank you for the feedback!
Emily says
I make a homemade tomato soup from tomatoes in my garden. Instead of using the tomato puree, do you think I could lessen some of the other liquids and use my usual tomato soup recipe, and add in rhubarb? I've been looking for savory rhubarb recipes and hoping this might work out!!
Adina says
Hi Emily. I think anything is possible when cooking. Making the tomato soup from your own tomatoes sounds delicious, I suppose you can use it as a base for the rhubarb soup. Let me know how it worked out.
Connie says
Oh, YES, this is a winner! Stop what you are doing, right now, and get at this. A very crude description would be bacon and eggs served with a luxuriously fancy ketchup. A surprising riot of good! Where IS my spoon?
I will be eager to explore your site!
Adina says
Thank you for the enthusiastic comment, Connie, I was very happy to read it! We love this soup too and now it's the time of the year to make it again.