Bob chorba: Bulgarian white bean soup

By Nikola · Precision Nutrition L1 · Sources checked 5 November 2026

Bob chorba means “bean soup” in Bulgarian, and it is the soup most Bulgarians grew up on. Dried white beans cook slowly until creamy, then onion, carrot, red pepper and tomato fried in a little oil go in, and the pot is finished with two dried herbs that make it taste like nothing else: spearmint and summer savory. It is everyday food, cheap and filling, and it is also one of the dishes on the meatless Christmas Eve table.

The beans need an overnight soak and about an hour and a half on the stove, but almost all of that time is unattended. A pot feeds six and tastes even better the next day.

Portion: about 400 ml each · Difficulty: Easy, one pot and one pan · Diet: Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free

Bob chorba: Bulgarian white bean soup

The Bulgarian classic: dried white beans cooked until creamy with onion, carrot, red pepper and tomato, finished with spearmint and summer savory. Vegan, serves 6.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Soups

Servings 6 servings

Calories 344 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 400 g dried white beans about 2 cups
• 2 medium onions about 200 g, finely chopped
• 2 carrots about 150 g, diced
• 1 red bell pepper about 150 g, diced
• 2 ripe tomatoes about 250 g, grated, or 250 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste 16 g
• 4 tbsp olive oil or sunflower oil 54 g
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp dried spearmint in Bulgarian, djodjen
• 1 tsp dried summer savory chubritsa
• 1 1/2 tsp fine salt 8 g
• 1 small dried hot chilli optional
• A small bunch of parsley about 15 g, chopped
• About 2.5 litres water

Instructions

 

• The night before, cover the beans with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak for 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse.
• Put the beans in a large pot, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, as many Bulgarian cooks do, and cover the beans with about 2.5 litres of fresh hot water.
• Simmer gently, partly covered, for 60-90 minutes, until the beans are soft and creamy all the way through. The time depends on the variety and how old the beans are. Top up with hot water if they peek above the surface.
• About 20 minutes before the beans are ready, warm the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pepper and a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the paprika (it burns quickly), then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes more.
• When the beans are soft, tip the vegetables into the pot. Add the salt, spearmint, savory and the chilli, if using. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, until the broth thickens a little.
• Take the pot off the heat, stir in the parsley and let it rest for 10 minutes. Serve hot with bread and, the Bulgarian way, a few pickled peppers on the side.

Keyword autumn, bean soup, bob chorba, budget, Bulgarian bean soup, Bulgarian food, dairy-free, gluten-free, one pot, vegan, white beans, winter

Nutrition per serving

Per serving, 1/6 of the pot, calculated from USDA FoodData Central for each ingredient.

Data: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Beans, small white, mature seeds, raw (FDC 173749); Onions, raw (FDC 170000); Carrots, raw (FDC 170393); Peppers, sweet, red, raw (FDC 170108); Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC 170457); Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (FDC 170459); Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC 171413); Parsley, fresh (FDC 170416). Beans are calculated on their dry weight with the values for small white beans; USDA has no separate record for the larger varieties used in Bulgaria. The oil is calculated as olive oil. Paprika, dried herbs, chilli, bread and pickles are not included. Carbohydrate is USDA “by difference” and includes fibre.

Swaps and variations

• Quicker, with canned beans: skip steps 1-3. Cook the fried vegetables in 1.5 litres of water for 10 minutes, add 3 cans of white beans (about 720 g drained) and the herbs, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Thicker, old-style: fry 1 tbsp flour with the vegetables before the paprika goes in. It is no longer gluten-free.
• Dried red peppers: in winter many Bulgarian kitchens use 2-3 dried sweet red peppers instead of a fresh one. Crumble them into the pot with the beans.
• No savory or spearmint: use dried thyme with a pinch of dried oregano and a few fresh mint leaves at the end. It will be good, though not quite the Bulgarian taste.
• With meat: outside fasting days, slices of smoked sausage are often simmered in for the last 20 minutes.

Storage and reheating

Keeps 4 days in the fridge and thickens as it stands; loosen it with a little hot water when you reheat it. It freezes well for up to 3 months.

Related

• Recipes: Stuffed peppers with bulgur and feta · Leek and potato soup · Minestrone with pumpkin and cabbage
• Encyclopedia: White beans · Onions · Carrot · Bell peppers · Tomatoes
• Diet: Mediterranean diet · 7-day Mediterranean meal plan

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