Soup for dessert might sound unusual, but this Swedish blueberry soup is exactly that! It's a wonderfully comforting dish that you can enjoy warm or chilled. It's really easy to make, and a lovely (and relatively healthy) treat to enjoy any time of year.
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I first went to Sweden as a young teen and a few experiences naturally stayed with me. Since food has always been in my thoughts, funny enough a few involved food. Among them were having a crayfish party (SO delicious, and worth feeling a bit silly wearing a bib), eating smørrebrød on the ferry to Copenhagen, and enjoying this delicious soup while camping.
It might not be the first thing you think of when you think Swedish food - I imagine Swedish meatballs and cardamom buns are higher on the list. But it's absolutely something you'll find many Swedes enjoying at least semi-regularly.
What is blueberry soup made from?
While you might think the first ingredient should be blueberries, actually its technically traditionally made from bilberries. These are closely related to North American blueberries, and are in effect European wild blueberries, found in Scandinavia and beyond. I grew up in Scotland knowing them as blaeberries, and they made a tasty distraction on hikes.
They're smaller and have a darker flesh, but the flavor is very similar and you can make this soup with both bilberries (if you can get them) or blueberries (just as in Finnish blueberry pie). After that, all you need is water, a little sweetener and potato or corn starch to help thicken it.
Traditionally, this is sweetened with sugar but you could also use maple syrup or honey. You can sweeten it up or down to taste as well - this version is only gently sweet but you can add a little more as suits.
How to serve blåbärssoppa
Since this is sweet, you can enjoy this fruit soup for dessert, but it can also be a breakfast in Nordic countries since it's packed with energy. In fact, it's traditionally served to participants in the Vasaloppet ski marathon as it's so energy-rich.
You can serve this both warm in the winter months, and chilled in summer. Or of course whichever you prefer any time of year. I really like it warm, personally, but really whatever works for you. If you serve it cold, you might find it forms a skin so you can sprinkle over some powdered sugar to help counteract this.
It's great on it's own, but a little swirl of whipped great on top is great as well. If warm, it soon melts in (as you can see!) but adds a lovely extra richness. You might also find it with mini macaroon cookies on top, too.
Can you use frozen berries?
Yes, you absolutely can! This works just as well with fresh or frozen berries, and in fact you don't even need to defrost frozen berries - just place them in the pot with the water and sugar.
You can also freeze leftover soup for another time, too - just do so before adding any cream.
Tips for making blueberry soup
This is really a very easy dish to make, but a couple things to note:
- Make sure you wash and pick over the berries before you start to get rid of any stems etc.
- Use less water if you prefer the soup thicker, or else cook a little longer after adding the cornstarch.
- Simmer the soup for a good 15 minutes or more to allow the berries to break down a bit. You can also partly or fully blend the mixture if you prefer it smoother.
- Blend the cornstarch with a little water then add off the heat. Stir well to mix in before then warming again to help thicken. This helps to avoid lumps of cornstarch in the end soup.
Other than these few tips, it's really incredibly easy!
Swedish blueberry soup might sound unusual if you are not familiar with it, but you'll soon learn how wonderfully comforting and tasty it is. Just a few ingredients come together to give you an energy-packed, delicious dessert (or whenever) sweet soup that you'll soon want to enjoy over and over again.
Try these other fruity desserts:
- Strawberry mousse
- French pear cake
- Mango panna cotta
- Plus get more Nordic recipes and dessert recipes in the archives.
Swedish blueberry soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups blueberries
- 2 cups water (see notes)
- 3 tablespoon sugar or use maple syrup, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon corn starch cornflour (can use potato starch)
Instructions
- Wash the blueberries and pick over them to make sure you remove any stems etc that may still be attached. Place the blueberries in a saucepan/pot with almost all of the water (save back 1-2 tablespoon for later) and the sugar.
- Place the pan over a medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring now and then so that the sugar dissolves. Once boiling, continue to boil gently for around 15 - 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, so that most of the berries become soft and start to break up.
- While the soup is cooking, add the reserved water to the cornstarch and stir to form a smooth paste.
- Remove the soup from the heat once the berries are fairly well broken up and it has reduced a bit. If you like, you can use an immersion/stick blender to blend some or all of the soup to be smoother (I quite like to blend some but not all). Off the heat, add the cornstarch slurry and immediately stir to mix it in and ensure it doesn't clump together.
- Return the soup to a medium-low heat and warm, stirring constantly, for a few minutes to thicken the soup to the consistency you want.
- You can serve the soup either warm or chilled, as you prefer. In both cases, you can serve as it is or topped with a spoonful of whipped cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Lori Lindquist says
If you love blueberry pie you’ll love this . I add lemon zest , a little lemon juice and a cinnamon stick .
Caroline's Cooking says
Indeed, those same delicious flavors! Yes, lemon is great in there and I can see cinnamon being good too.
Monica says
Hey I want to make this soup for my family's traditional soup off tradition we have for Christmas this weekend, I was wondering would using honey as a substitute for sugar work just as fine? I also need to make enough for about 14 servings do you suggest maybe cooking it in two batches rather than one big batch?
Caroline's Cooking says
Hi, so first it would be fine to make it all as one batch - I don't think there's any real reason to separate unless you don't have a pot big enough. In terms of a substitute for sugar, as I suggest in the recipe my preference would be maple syrup as a substitute as it gives more consistent results when heated. Honey can be a little problematic when you heat it, particularly if over a period of time or if it gets relatively hot. If you do want to use honey, I would suggest largely making this unsweetened then add the honey at the end, off heat, sweetening to taste.
Heidi says
Delicious! It thickened very nicely with the cornstarch and it was the perfect sweetness, I thought!
Caroline's Cooking says
I'm so glad to hear!
Gwen says
Hi. Have you tried this recipe with tapioka starch instead of corn starch? I cannot eat corn because I have an inflammation. Thanks. 🙏🏻
Caroline's Cooking says
I haven't tried it but I imagine it should be fine, I think you would probably just need a little less and I'd suggest you watch the temperature as tapioca swells a bit more and at a lower temperature. Another option wold be arrowroot, which also probably needs a little less, but probably less need to watch the temperature as much. Hope it works out for you!
Nic says
This was absolutely delicious. Great flavor, perfectly sweet. Thank you!
Caroline's Cooking says
Glad to hear you enjoyed!
Tara says
I love that this soup can be enjoyed warmed or chilled! It looks fantastic. Such a wonderful use for blueberries.
Caroline's Cooking says
Thank you, I agree it's great that it's flexible, and a lovely use of blueberries indeed.