Twelve ingredients and forty-five minutes on the stovetop.
Everything a Reuben has is in here — the meat, the kraut, the Swiss, the rye and the mustard — but arranged as a soup.
Why This Recipe Works
- A flour roux thickens the broth before any dairy goes in.
- Draining the sauerkraut keeps its brine out of a cream soup.
- Chopping it fine lets it season the whole pot rather than sitting in strands.
- Melting the Swiss over low heat stops the soup going stringy.
- Crisping a little corned beef gives a topping with texture against a smooth soup.
Ingredient Notes
- Sauerkraut, drained and chopped
- One cup. Both words matter — drained keeps the brine out, chopped lets it season the pot rather than sitting in visible strands.
- Cooked corned beef
- Twelve ounces diced, plus a little extra crisped for the top. The topping is the same meat, given a skillet.
- Shredded Swiss
- A cup and a half, melted in over low heat and more scattered on top. A component the title never names.
- Toasted rye bread
- Six slices, alongside. A serving element rather than an optional extra — it is in the photograph.
How to Make It
Onion softened in butter
Melt butter in a soup pot and soften the onion.
Flour cooked a minute, then broth whisked in
Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, then gradually whisk in beef broth.
Corned beef, sauerkraut, Dijon and caraway simmered
Add diced corned beef, sauerkraut, Dijon, caraway, and black pepper and simmer 10 minutes.
Cream in, then Swiss melted over low heat
Stir in cream, then melt in the Swiss cheese over low heat until the soup is thick and pale orange.
A little corned beef crisped for the top
Crisp a small amount of corned beef in a skillet for the topping.
Served with Swiss, crisp beef and toasted rye
Serve with shredded Swiss, crisp corned beef, and toasted rye bread.
A Sandwich Rebuilt as a Soup
Look at this bowl and you will not find any sauerkraut in it - which matters, because sauerkraut is what makes a Reuben a Reuben. It is there, and the reason it is invisible is in how it is prepared. Here is the soup built in order.
The base
2 tbsp butter and 1 small diced onion, softened
The only aromatic in the recipe. Everything else arriving later is cured, sharp or dairy, so this is the one layer supplying plain sweetness underneath them.
The thickener - before any dairy
2 tbsp flour, cooked 1 MINUTE, then 4 cups beef broth whisked in GRADUALLY
A roux, and the order is strict. The full minute cooks the raw flour taste out, and the broth goes in gradually so the starch disperses instead of lumping. Thickening happens now, on broth alone - adding flour after the cream would mean cooking a dairy soup hard enough to activate starch, which is how cream soups split.
The Reuben itself, simmered 10 minutes
12 oz diced CORNED BEEF, 1 cup DRAINED AND CHOPPED SAUERKRAUT, 1 tbsp Dijon, 1/2 tsp caraway, black pepper
This is where the sandwich goes in, and where the sauerkraut becomes invisible. DRAINED keeps its brine out of a soup that is about to take a cup of cream - undrained kraut liquid will curdle it. CHOPPED breaks it out of strands so it seasons the whole pot rather than floating in identifiable ribbons. It is present in every spoonful and visible in none.
The cream, then the cheese - and the heat comes DOWN
1 cup heavy cream, then 1 1/2 cups shredded SWISS OVER LOW HEAT
Swiss is a stringy melter and it will rope into threads in a boiling pot. Dropping the heat before it goes in is what gives a THICK PALE-ORANGE soup rather than a stringy one. The colour comes from the cheese and the corned beef together; there is no tomato in it.
Then tasteA SMALL AMOUNT of corned beef CRISPED SEPARATELY in a skillet for the top - the same meat as the soup, given texture; those crisp strips are beef, not bacon. Then more shredded Swiss, and TOASTED RYE BREAD alongside. Every element of a Reuben is accounted for: the beef, the kraut, the Swiss, the rye and the mustard.
Success Tips
- Cook the flour a full minute before the broth, or the soup tastes raw.
- Drain the sauerkraut properly; its brine will curdle a cream soup.
- Drop the heat before the Swiss goes in — boiled cheese goes stringy.
Serving Ideas
Six bowls of the thick pale-orange soup with shredded Swiss and crisp corned beef on top, black pepper over, and a slice of toasted rye bread beside each.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there sauerkraut in this?
Yes — a cup, drained and chopped. It is chopped fine and simmered into the soup, so it seasons everything rather than sitting on top in strands.
What are the crisp pieces on top?
Corned beef — a little of the same meat crisped in a skillet, not bacon.
Is the rye bread part of it?
Yes, toasted, alongside. It is a serving element rather than an optional extra.
