Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup

A traditional German dish, jägersuppe translates to hunter’s soup in English. This version features wild mushrooms, bacon, red wine and sour cream. 

A while back I was looking for soup recipes and came across the name jägersuppe. I am not familiar with German cuisine so, intrigued, I followed the links and went down a rabbit hole of recipes with all manner of wild game and foraged ingredients.

The recipe I finally settled on called for chanterelle mushrooms which my high-end local grocery store, Central Market, often carries. Much to my disappointment, they didn’t have any! So I picked up some baby bella mushrooms there instead and decided to hydrate some wild mushrooms to keep to the spirit of the recipe name. 

It turns out that chanterelle season here in the US is July through November so I’ll definitely be making this again later in the year. Even without the special mushrooms though, it was delicious, rich and satisfyingly savory. My husband said it was the best mushroom soup he's eaten in quite a while!

Jägersuppe – Hunter’s Soup

Use whatever nice fresh mushrooms you can find if chestnut ones aren’t available. If you have chanterelles, all the better! This recipe is adapted from one on Gute Kueche, Germany’s Good Food magazine. It makes four servings. 

Ingredients

1 oz or 28g dried wild mushrooms

8 oz or 227g fresh baby bella mushrooms

½ large or 1 small onion (Mine weighed 112g)

2 tablespoons butter

3 ½ oz or 100g bacon crumbles

2 tablespoons flour

4 ¼ cups or 1L beef stock

½ cup or 120ml dry red wine

½ cup or 120ml sour cream

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste – depending on the saltiness of your stock

Optional for garnish - chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

Pour boiling water over the dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and set aside to soak. 

Clean the fresh mushrooms, trim any hard bits and slice them. 

Mince the onion.

Sauté the sliced mushrooms in the butter.

Keep cooking until they have released their liquid and turned a lovely golden brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside. 

Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving the liquid and straining out any dirt. Chop them finely with a sharp knife.

Fry the bacon crumbles in the same pan you used for the mushrooms.

Add in the minced onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent. 

Dust the bacon and onion with the flour. (I like to use a little sieve which helps avoid lumps.) Stir well and cook the flour for a minute or two. 

Pour in the stock and red wine and bring to a low boil.

Stir in the fresh and dried mushrooms along with the soaking liquid. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the sour cream, season with salt, if needed, and white pepper and bring to a boil again briefly.

Stir well to combine.

Garnish with some chopped parsley to serve. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 10th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter J. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the J recipes below:

• Aloo Tamatar Jhol - No Onion No Garlic from Sneha’s Recipe
• Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers from Blogghetti
• Coconut Cherry Jasmine Rice from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Cowboy Candy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup from Food Lust People Love
• Jasmine-Infused Tres Leches Bundt from Culinary Cam
• Jerk-Seasoned Caribbean Honey Mustard Sauce from Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Juniper Butter Cookies from A Messy Kitchen
• Jicama Slaw with Carrots, Cucumbers, and Bell Peppers from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Vegetable Jalfrezi from Mayuri’s Jikoni

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Bavarian Cheese Spread

Bavarian Cheese Spread, also known as obatzter, obazda, obazde, obazd'n and obatzda, is a strong cheese spread made with ripe Camembert, cream cheese, butter, onions, spices and, of course, beer. It’s a classic Bavarian beer garden recipe, best enjoyed with a cold stein of Weissbier or indeed, your own favorite brew.

The original Obatzda recipe is credited to Katharina Eisenreich who was the innkeeper of the Bräustüberl Weihenstephan from 1920 -1958, a good long run. She served it to her guests as a light snack to accompany their morning beer and soon the idea spread, with many beer gardens creating their own special recipes. 

I'm just going to say that again to make sure you didn't skim by it: morning beer. Why don't we have a morning beer tradition? It sounds like a solid idea, at least on the weekend.

The recipe I’m sharing for this week’s Sunday FunDay Oktoberfest theme is purported to be that original Bavarian cheese spread recipe from the Bräustüberl Weihenstephan. I must confess that I had a certain reluctance to believe that a classic German cheese spread recipe would actually start with a French cheese. So I consulted an American friend who spent time in Germany growing up. Enough time that, in fact, she is fluent in German and is now a qualified German teacher. She kindly checked what she called the “German part of the web” and confirmed the recipe and added a bit more information. 

Bavarian Cheese Spread

Frau Eisenreich's Bavarian cheese spread does start with Camembert, the riper the better. The story there goes that it was created to use cheese that was reaching its use by date and was quite strong. Butter was added to make it milder. And to be authentic, obatzda must be mixed or kneaded together by hand. A side note that I found humorous: Apparently Germans call all cream cheese Philadelphia. 

Ingredients

8 3/4 oz or 250g Camembert cheese

1/3 cup or 70g butter

5 1/3 oz or 150g cream cheese, at room temperature.

4 1/4 oz or 120g onions, minced, plus extra sliced in rings to serve

1/4 teaspoon paprika, plus another pinch for garnish

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 pinch each salt and pepper

7 tablespoons or 100ml Weißbier (weissbier/wheat beer)

Method

Cut the Camembert into small pieces with a sharp knife. This is easier when the Camembert is still chilled. Put it in a large mixing bowl and leave to come to room temperature.

Add butter, cream cheese, chopped onions, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. 

Use your clean hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients together until you have a homogeneous paste. 

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl, then add in the beer and mix again until all the beer is incorporated, using your hands or a wooden spoon. 

Cover the bowl with some cling film and refrigerate several hours or even till the next day to give the flavors time to combine.

Serve the Bavarian cheese spread sprinkled with a little paprika for garnish, along with brown bread or pretzels, slices of raw onion and, of course, beer. 

It’s Sunday FunDay and we are here to help you celebrate Oktoberfest whether that’s a thing in your neck of the woods or not! Check out all the German fare we are sharing below! 

• Bauernfrühstück (German Farmer’s Breakfast) from Sneha's Recipe
• Bavarian Cheese Spread from Food Lust People Love
• Beer Braised Steak from Palatable Pastime
• Beer Brats on Pretzel Rolls from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Obatzda (Cheese Spread) from Making Miracles
• Oktoberfest Breakfast Casserole from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Soft Pretzels from Karen's Kitchen Stories

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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