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Beef Soup Kharcho (pronounced harcho), is a hearty beef soup in tomato broth with a wonderful blend of spices and plenty of fresh herbs. The beef is fall-apart tender and just melts in your mouth – delicious! All it needs is a thick slice of fresh crusty bread.
This beef stew also reheats really well and I was pleasantly surprised that my 1-year old loved it! This recipe also made a soup Kharcho lover out of my husband.
Kharcho is Georgian in origin but has been adopted and well loved by Ukrainians for many years. This recipe was loosely adapted from The New Ukrainian Cookbook.
Ingredients for Beef and Tomato Soup (Kharcho):
3 lb beef stew meat
3 tsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
4 Tbsp light olive oil (or any cooking oil), divided
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
4 cups beef broth + 4 cup filtered water
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 dry bay leaves
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup uncooked white rice (I used Jasmine)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 medium lemon)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more to serve
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, plus more to serve
How to Make Beef Soup (Kharcho):
1. Sprinkle meat with 3 tsp salt and stir. Heat a dutch oven or soup pot over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add beef in 2 batches, sautéing until browned on all sides (don’t worry about cooking it through). Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add chopped onion and celery with more oil as needed. Saute 5 minutes until softened.
3. Add canned tomatoes with their juice, 4 cups broth, 4 cups water, 2 bay leaves and browned beef. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender.
4. Add 1/2 cup white rice, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp paprika. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup parsley and 1/4 cup dill then cover and let sit off heat another 10 minutes before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed and serve with more fresh herbs as desired.
Beef Soup (Kharcho)
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef stew meat
- 3 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp light olive oil, or any cooking oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 4 cups beef broth + 4 cup filtered water
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice, I used Jasmine
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 medium lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more to serve
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, plus more to serve
Instructions
- Sprinkle meat with 3 tsp salt and stir. Heat dutch oven or soup pot over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add beef in 2 batches, sautéing until browned on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside. Don't worry about cooking it through.
- Add chopped onion and celery with more oil as needed. Saute 5 min until softened.
- Add canned tomatoes with their juice, 4 cups broth, 4 cups water, 2 bay leaves and browned beef. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender.
- Add 1/2 cup white rice, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp paprika. Cover and simmer 20 min or until rice is tender.
- Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup parsley and 1/4 cup dill then cover and let sit off heat another 10 min before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with more fresh herbs as desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Natasha,
Thank you for posting your delicious recipes. I’ve never been disappointed with any dish I’ve made from you. My family and I have eaten so well over the years, thanks to you!
Aww, thank you Amanda! Your kind message just made my day. I’m so excited & it warms my hear to to know your family has loved my recipes! Thank you for your lovely comment.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I hadn’t heard of it before. What a comforting meal on a cold winter night!
You’re very welcome!
Great recipe, one correction – Harcho is not russian, but Georgian cuisine.
Loved your soup. So tasty and full of flavour. My husband has requested it for his upcomIng birthday.
We’re glad that you loved our Beef Soup Recipe, Karen!
The soup turned out to be ok. It tasted more like beef stew with rice.
The original Georgian soup does not have the celery in the soup. Also cilantro and khmeli suneli herbs are the ones that will give the true taste of this soup.
I am so happy this soup turned out so well. It’s absolutely delicious.
Hi Teena! That’s wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
Hi there, I really enjoyed reading the steps taken and understood well, but could you please explain the abbreviations Eg; tsp, Tbsp and 1b
Hi! Yes, teaspoon (tsp), tablespoon (Tbsp), and one pound (1lb). I hope that helps.
I have been looking for this recipe for many years. This is the soup my Mom used to make and everyone loved. Made it today and it tastes exactly like hers. I looked through all her recipes and couldn’t find this one. Most likely she got it from a old neighbor from Ukraine. Thanks for a taste of home and the memories it brought.
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, sounds like it was well worth it. I appreciate your feedback and am glad you found this recipe that takes you back in time. 🙂
Hi Natasha,
great job on your recipes is there any way you send me a video because I only understand what you doing step by step. personnel I am deaf. can you do that please? thank
Lisa
Hi Lisa, we don’t have a video for this recipe at this time but thank you for the suggestion. I hope the step-by-step tutorial photos are helpful to you.
I’ve had traditional Georgian kharcho and this version is not bad, but it doesn’t taste authentic. It’s missing some key Georgian spices in the mix and I feel like this was kharcho “light”. Georgian cuisine is notorious for the aromatics and the very strong spices in the cuisine. This recipe wasn’t it for me.
Hi Sasha, this is our Ukrainian version. It sounds like the Georgian region uses differing spices. I’d love to hear more about your soup. Thank you!
Hi Natasha, I am Georgian and ate this soup million times in my life 🙂 Your recipe is amazing and tastes like Gerogian one.
Thank you for your awesome comments!
Khmeli suneli, you can get it from Amazon or your local Russian store, they always have it. You can also add safran and coriander.
Question, why 4cups of broth + 4 cups of water? Would 8 cups of broth have more flavour?
Hi Michelle, you can definitely make that adjustment to your liking! I recommend making the recipe as written the first time around and adjusting as you see fit.
Hi Natasha I’m wondering can I use basmati or minute rice in stead of jasmine, thanks Liz
Hi Liz, I have not tested this but one of my other readers said she used basmati rice and it worked well.
The dill was a pleasant surprise. I felt it could have had more rice to make it heartier. It was easy to make and very good.
Thank you for your good comments and review, Jacqueline.
Natasha,
With all the adds on this page, I can’t print this to PDF and get a complete recipe. I had to copy and paste into word to be able to save the recipe. GOD I HATE THESE ADDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Kristine, The print-friendly recipe is at the bottom of each post. Once you scroll there, click on the print icon in that recipe card which will open a print screen, then you would need to click file —> print. I hope that helps! If not, please let me know exactly what steps you are taking and where you are navigating to print our recipes.
Made your wonderful soup again today. It’s my kids favorite, they ask for it all the time. The only adjustment I make and that’s personal preference, is I remove the chunks of meat from the soup after they are done cooking and I shred them back into the soup. Thanks Natasha!
Hi Irene! That’s great to hear. I love finding a recipe that the kids love to eat. Thank you for sharing.
OMGoodness!! Saw this recently and had to make this today! So very good!! Our church has been supporting a Ukrainian church for quite a while, and we have helped with the recent times as well for them to reach safety. Praying for this to end soon. 🇺🇸♥️🇺🇦
I made this last night. I had asparagus that I had to cook so I cut it into small pieces and sautéed with the celery and onions. THIS WAS SO GOOD! I am keeping this recipe for sure!
Love it! Thanks for sharing your experience trying out this recipe, Jen. Great to know that you loved it!
Made your beef soup the other day and it was a solid hit with my family (including one very picky eater). Going to make it again. Love your recipes.
Hi Sharon, that’s awesome feedback. Thank you for sharing, I’m glad your family loved the recipe!
Delicious Ukrainian soup added to my family’s list of favorites. Thank you, Natasha!
You are very welcome! I’m glad that you have found another favorite.
Hi thanks for sharing , I don’t have instagram but you said to share pics if we make this. Sorry for what’s going on in the Ukrainian right now but thanks for sharing this recipe I’m going to try and share on my Facebook so I can share pictures, so delicious!
Thank you for thinking of the people in Ukraine. Yes feel free to share some photos of your creation on our Facebook page and group so others can see them too and feel inspired!
This recipe came across my Facebook feed and oh my goodness – this soup is DELICIOUS! I halved the recipe and followed it to a ‘T’.
So easy to make. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Hi Jennifer, I’m happy to hear that you loved it! Thanks for sharing this with us.