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Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup)
Flour browned slowly in butter or lard with caraway, whisked into water and simmered, then finished with ribbons of beaten egg and crisp bread croutons.
Slovenian · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 25 min
~198 cal · 5g protein · 12g carbs · 15g fat · 1g fiber · 1g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Prežganka, whose name means "browned soup", is often called the Slovenian national soup. It comes from Upper Carniola, the Alpine region just north of Ljubljana, and it is the thriftiest soup imaginable: a spoonful of fat, a couple of spoonfuls of flour, water, salt and caraway. What turns those into a meal is patience, because the flour is stirred in the hot fat until it is toasted to a nutty brown before the water goes in.
For generations it was everyday food in farmhouses, and it was the soup made for anyone who was ill, tired or needed settling, since caraway was believed to help the digestion. Eggs beaten into the simmering soup at the end set into soft ribbons and make it more filling, and cubes of stale bread fried in butter are the usual garnish.
Lard is the old choice of fat and gives the deepest flavour, but butter is just as common today. Some cooks use in place of water.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 3 tbsp butter, or lard, the old farmhouse fat
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1.25 l water, lukewarm, or light stock
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- to taste black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices stale bread, cut into small cubes
- 1 tbsp butter (for the croutons)
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- 1Melt the butter or lard in a pot over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until it turns an even hazelnut brown and smells toasty.✎ Chef’s noteThis is the whole flavour of the soup. Go slowly and keep stirring: a single scorched patch makes it bitter, and then it is better to start again.
- 2Stir in the caraway for a few seconds, then pour in a ladle of the lukewarm water and whisk hard to a smooth paste. Whisk in the rest of the water a little at a time so no lumps form.
- 3Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the soup is lightly thickened and tastes cooked.
- 4Meanwhile fry the bread cubes in the butter in a small pan for about 5 minutes, turning them, until crisp and golden.
- 5Beat the eggs. With the soup at a simmer, pour them in slowly in a thin stream while stirring, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until they set into soft ribbons.
- 6Ladle into bowls, scatter over the croutons and parsley and serve hot.
Slovenian home tradition (Upper Carniola).
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ljubljana. Jota belongs to the northern Adriatic rather than to this city. Trieste, Istria, Gorizia and Friuli all make it, the etymology points to Friuli as the likely source, and within Slovenia it is Primorska food. Some versions use soured turnip in place of sauerkraut, which changes it more than you would expect.
🗺️
Slovenia. Jota is shared with Trieste, Istria and Friuli and most likely came from the Friulian side, so it belongs to a border region rather than to one country: sauerkraut or soured turnip cooked with beans, potato and smoked pork until it thickens. Karst prsut is air-dried in the bora, the cold wind off the Adriatic, which is the same mechanism used along the Montenegrin coast.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Slovenia
JotaA Ljubljana stew of soured sauerkraut, borlotti beans, potato, and smoked pork, winter in a pot.
Ajdovi ŽganciRustic buckwheat "spoonbread" crumbles served with warm milk or cracklings, Slovenian comfort.
Kranjska KlobasaThe protected Carniolan sausage, simmered and served with mustard, bread, and sauerkraut, a Slovenian icon.
Browse all Slovenia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Blender, Whisk.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup)?
Flour browned slowly in butter or lard with caraway, whisked into water and simmered, then finished with ribbons of beaten egg and crisp bread croutons.
Where does Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup) come from?
Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup) is a Slovenian dish from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Can Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Prežganka (Slovenian Toasted Flour Soup) take to make?
About 30 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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