🍲 Basler Mehlsuppe (Basel flour soup)

Name: Basler Mehlsuppe (Basel flour soup)
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Switzerland · Basel
Ingredients: 60 g plain flour; 40 g butter; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1.2 litres beef broth; 1 bay leaf and a pinch of grated nutmeg; 60 g Gruyère, grated; Salt and black pepper

Origin: Switzerland · Basel

255kcal

per serving · 300 g

85kcal

per 100 g

9 gProtein3 g / 100 g

15 gFat5 g / 100 g

21 gCarbs7 g / 100 g

Basler Mehlsuppe is a dark, savoury soup made by slowly toasting flour in butter until it turns deep brown, then simmering it with onion and beef broth. The result is smooth, rich and nutty, with a roasted flavour. It is served piping hot with grated Gruyère cheese scattered over the top, which melts into the soup.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Low-carb7 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: beef broth

Not veganbecause of: butter, beef broth, gruyère cheese

Contains glutenbecause of: flour

Contains dairybecause of: butter, gruyère cheese

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

flourbutteronionbeef brothgruyère cheese

Recipe

4 servings60 min

Ingredients

60 g plain flour
40 g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1.2 litres beef broth
1 bay leaf and a pinch of grated nutmeg
60 g Gruyère, grated
Salt and black pepper

Method

Toast the flour in a dry, heavy pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes until it is the colour of cinnamon. Let it cool slightly.
Melt the butter in a pot, soften the onion for 5 minutes, then stir in the toasted flour.
Whisk in the broth a little at a time to avoid lumps, add the bay leaf, and simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, stirring now and then.
Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, remove the bay leaf and serve hot with the Gruyère sprinkled on top.

How to make it lighter

Use half the butter: the toasted flour already gives a deep flavour.
Cheese adds up quickly — a tablespoon of grated Gruyère per bowl is enough for taste.
Choose a fat-skimmed or low-salt beef broth and serve with a green salad for a light supper.

History

The soup is famously linked to Basel Fasnacht, the city's carnival, which opens with the Morgestraich at 4 a.m.; afterwards revellers warm up with bowls of Mehlsuppe in restaurants across the old town. Simple flour soups were once everyday fare in many parts of Switzerland and southern Germany.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Basler Mehlsuppe (Basel flour soup) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →