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Oma's German Green Bean Soup (Grüne Bohnensuppe)

Oma Gerhild

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

Published: August 17, 2009, Updated: May 8, 2025

This hearty German green bean soup (grüne bohnensuppe) is a family favorite ... simple, satisfying, and full of flavor.

Oma's Green Bean Soup recipe is so easy. A traditional grüne Bohnensuppe that uses a basic method that’s the start of so many variations on the original German soup.A traditional grüne Bohnensuppe that uses a basic method that’s the start of so many variations on the original German soup.

This green bean soup is my Mutti’s recipe and a true taste of home. It’s quick, hearty, and always a hit with the whole family. I often make it when I’m short on time and need something easy and comforting. One pot, so many delicious possibilities.

Oma’s Recipe Rundown

  • Ease of Making: Straightforward one-pot meal
  • Taste: Hearty, savory, and comforting
  • Time: Approximately 45 minutes
  • Best Served With: Crusty bread or a slice of rye
  • Naturally Gluten-Free: Yes

Top Tips for Best Results

  1. Use Summer Savory: This herb (bohnenkraut) gives the soup its traditional German flavor.
  2. Customize Your Protein: Ground beef, smoked sausage, or ham hocks all work well.
  3. Thicken as Desired: For a heartier soup, add instant mashed potato flakes or leftover mashed potatoes.
  4. Make It Ahead: Flavors deepen over time; it's even better the next day

Green Bean Soup Ingredients

This is where the fun begins, because this soup is made for experimenting.

Green Beans:
Fresh is great, but I often use frozen, meaning I always have a few bags in the freezer! Canned works too if that’s what you have.

Meat:
Raw lean ground beef is a classic, but ham hocks, smoked sausage, or kielbasa (cut up) are delicious too. Leftover pork or beef roast? Use that! Skip the oil if the meat’s already cooked. You can also fry bacon and use the grease to brown the beef.

Liquid:
Water works fine, especially if using raw beef ... it’ll create a broth. Chicken, beef, or veggie broth adds more flavor. Bouillon cubes or leftover gravy also do the trick.

Potatoes:
Raw, cooked, canned, mashed, or even instant ... anything goes! If you’re using cooked potatoes, you'll have a soup that’s ready in 15 minutes.

Onions:
I usually use yellow cooking onions, but red onions work too. Green onions are nice to stir in just before serving.

Seasoning:
Bohnenkraut (summer savory) is essential! I also love using Vegeta seasoning. Don’t have it? Salt, pepper, and a splash of Maggi are all you need.

Extras:
Add sliced carrots or a handful of canned tomato chunks to make it more colorful

Can You Can It?

One of our readers, Judy Goeringer, wrote in to let me know that she's pressure canned this soup with great success. I'll add her recipe adjustments right under the recipe card below, so you can make it as well.

Pressure Canned Green Bean SoupJudy's jars of German Green Bean Soup, ready to be stored away for future use.

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How To Make Oma's Grüne Bohnensuppe

(Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.)

Get your ingredients ready, peeling those potatoes and dicing the peeled onion.

Green bean soup ingredientsIngredients for Green Bean Soup

Brown the ground beef and add the onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent. You don't need to get it golden brown, although if that happens, that's fine. It's more flavor.

brown meat and onions 600Browning ground beef and onions for Oma's Green Bean Soup

Add the remaining ingredients. When you add the broth, use your wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of your pot. This is the flavor that will make your soup awesome!

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until those veggies are tender. It will only take about 15 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients for Oma's Green Bean SoupAdd the rest of the ingredients for Oma's Green Bean Soup

Now you get to choose how you want to serve your soup. Either creamy or with a clear broth. If this is being served as a light lunch, side dish, or an appetizer, then probably keeping it as a clear broth is best.

Sprinkle in the instant mashed potato flakes to thicken the green bean soupSprinkle in the instant mashed potato flakes to thicken the green bean soup

However, if this is going to be your main meal, then adding those instant mashed potato flakes to thicken this hearty soup is a great idea.

Enjoy your bowl of Oma's German Green Bean SoupEnjoy your bowl of Oma's German Green Bean Soup

Those potato flakes will increase the potato flavor of this soup. Delicious! Using Yukon gold potatoes brings a nice yellow color complement to the green beans. 

Enjoy!

Oma Says

All you really need for the green bean soup is a bag of frozen green beans, some type of potato, some kind of meat (raw or cooked), some kind of liquid, whether water, chicken stock or such, some seasonings, and about 20 minutes.

Oma's German Green Bean Soup (Grüne Bohnensuppe)

This hearty German green bean soup (grüne bohnensuppe) is a family favorite … simple, satisfying, and full of flavor.

Prep Time:

10 minutes

Cook Time:

30 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Servings:

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 - 2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) olive oil
  • 1 pound (454 g) ground lean beef, (see notes below)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 pounds (900 g) bag frozen cut green beans
  • about 1 teaspoon (1 g) dried summer savory (Bohnenkraut
  • 1 - 1½ tablespoons (9-14 g) Vegeta Food Seasoning (see notes below)
  • 5 cups (~675 g) cubed raw potatoes, see below for other ideas
  • about 6 cups (~1.4 L)beef broth or water
  • about ½ cup (15-20 g) instant mashed potato flakes (optional)
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

  1. In large pot or a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil and sauté the ground beef until it starts to brown.
  2. Add onions. Continue to sauté onions until they are translucent.
  3. Add frozen green beans and raw potatoes. (If using cooked potatoes, add once beans are cooked and just reheat.)
  4. Add just enough broth to almost cover veggies. Scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add savory and Vegeta and stir. 
  6. Bring to boil and lower to a medium-low heat. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. 
  7. Stir in just enough instant mashed potato flakes to thicken the broth of the soup, if using. Soup will thicken slightly more as it rests after adding the potato flakes.
  8. Season with salt, pepper, and extra summer savory, if desired.

Notes/Hints:

  • Garnish with fresh parsley or fresh dill with their bright green color.
  • Add Maggi to taste.
  • Instead of raw potatoes, add leftover cooked potatoes or mashed potatoes. Add this at the end of the cooking process and simmer until hot.
  • Instead of ground meat, use ham hocks, smoked sausage or kielbasa. Add it after you brown the onions. Leftover meat can be added at the end instead.
  • Instead of frozen beans, use fresh beans. First trim them and cut into small pieces.
  • Add garlic cloves, bay leaves, or a ham bone to the simmering soup.
  • Vegeta Food Seasoning has salt and dried vegetables in it. If you don't have this, add about 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper to start. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  • If you like soup with a clear broth, omit the instant mashed potato flakes.
  • This can be made in the slow cooker by putting all the ingredients (after browning the ground beef and onion) into a slow cooker and setting it to low for about 6 hours.
  • To make this more of a rich soup, serve it with a dollop of sour cream.
  • This tastes wonderful the next day.
  • Serve some homemade bread or rye bread with this to make it a main meal. Perfection!

*  *  *  *  *

Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

Recipe updated on May 8, 2025

Here's Judy's recipe for Pressure Canning this German Green Bean Soup

It's been years since I've pressure canned, so I'm really glad Judy shared how to do it here. ~ Oma Gerhild 

For 7 quarts, the measurements change to:

Ingredients:

  • If using ground beef, fry as usual (approx. 1.75 pounds)
  • 1.75 medium onion (approx.)
  • 3.3 pounds green beans
  • 1.75 teaspoons Bohnenkraut (if adding 2x) 3.5 teaspoons
  • 8.3 cups potatoes (I used instant mashed because that’s what I had at the time)
  • 10 cups broth, water, or combination
  • I did not have Vegeta Food Seasoning but added Maggi
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: 

You do not need to cook everything before putting into pressure canner.

  1. Add all to huge pot (your potatoes will be warm), stir, fill jars, wipe rims, put lids and seals on, put in pressure canner, 25 minutes at 10 pounds, depending on altitude.
  2. If using meat, (potatoes and meat will be warm), add all to huge pot, stir, fill jars, wipe rims, put lids and seals on, put in pressure canner, 90 minutes at 10 pounds (because of the meat).

You will get more jars by adding meat.  After your jars are filled, eat the rest!

You may also simply add meat when ready to open a jar or two!

~ Judy Goeringer

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Oma's Green Bean Soup recipe is so easy. A traditional grüne Bohnensuppe that uses a basic method that’s the start of so many variations on the original German soup.

Easy German Green Bean Soup Recipe ~ Oma's Grüne Bohnensuppe

By
Easy German Green Bean Soup Recipe ~ Oma's Grüne Bohnensuppe
Oma's Green Bean Soup recipe is so easy. A traditional grüne Bohnensuppe that uses a basic method that’s the start of so many variations on the original German soup.

Ingredients: potatoes, ground beef, green beans, onion, Vegeta or seasonings,

For the full recipe, scroll up ...

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