After several requests for my borscht recipe, here it is. Ukrainian Borscht… everyone knows what it is and many people around the world have fallen in love with this iconic beet soup.
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I love the deep ruby color of this borsch! It’s so healthy and nutritious; packed with beans (protein), beets (iron), carrots (carotene), potatoes (vit C, potassium, Vit B6), oftentimes cabbage is added (vit K, vit C, fiber, etc…). It feels so good serving this to my family.
Our Family’s Borscht Recipe (Beet Soup)
This is our family’s version of classic borsch and it’s one of the two soups my children absolutely love (Mom’s Meatball Soup being the second). Borscht is definitely on the regular rotation at our house!
This version keeps better because it is a meatless version but doesn’t lack in flavor because it uses good quality chicken broth.
Ingredients for Classic Ukrainian Borsch:
It’s best to have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go which makes this soup super easy and care free. Start by peeling, grating, chopping, slicing and dicing all of the vegetables for borscht.
Once your potatoes are peeled and sliced, transfer them to a bowl of cold water to keep them from discoloring until ready for use.
Note on Using Cabbage:
We used to add cabbage but our children prefer it without so for years now we’ve been making it just like this without cabbage. If you prefer cabbage, add 1/4 to 1/2 small head of cabbage, thinly shredded, adding it when the potatoes are halfway cooked.
How to Peel and Cut Beets:
- Use gloves when handling beets or your fingertips will stain red for a couple of days.
- To peel beets, use a simple potato peeler like this one.
- You can slice the beets into matchsticks but it is way way easier to grate and children don’t mind the texture of grated beets. We love our food processor for this task as it grates more coarsely than on a hand grater so the beets still have some texture. It also keeps the counter and your hands clean (beat juice can be a pain to get out of clothing and porous surfaces).
How to Remove Beet Stains:
When you eat borscht often, you learn quickly to pace a napkin in your lap and bibs on children. If you do get beet juice on your clothes, address the stain right away.
- Use a paper-towel to blot off any excess juice.
- Run cold water over the opposite/under side of the fabric to push the stain out.
- If the stain persists, apply a stain removing agent (I have found that dish soap works well in a pinch) and launder clothing as usual.
Watch Natasha Make Classic Borscht:
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Classic Borscht Recipe (Beet Soup)
Ingredients
For Borscht:
- 3 medium beets, peeled and grated
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 8 cups chicken broth , + 2 cups water
- 3 medium yukon potatoes, peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
For Zazharka (Mirepoix):
- 2 celery ribs, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped, optional
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsp ketchup or 3 Tbsp tomato sauce
Additional Flavorings:
- 1 can white cannelini beans with their juice
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 Tbsp white vinegar, or to taste
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 large garlic clove, pressed
- 3 Tbsp chopped dill
Instructions
- Peel, grate and/or slice all vegetables (keeping sliced potatoes in cold water to prevent browning until ready to use then drain).
- Heat a large soup pot (5 1/2 Qt or larger) over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add grated beets and sauté 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beets are softened.
- Add 8 cups broth and 2 cups water. Add sliced potatoes and sliced carrots then cook for 10-15 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
- While potatoes are cooking, place a large skillet over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Add chopped onion, celery and bell pepper. Saute stirring occasionally until softened and lightly golden (7-8 minutes). Add 4 Tbsp Ketchup and stir fry 30 seconds then transfer to the soup pot to continue cooking with the potatoes.
- When potatoes and carrots reach desired softness, add 1 can of beans with their juice, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 pressed garlic clove, and 3 Tbsp chopped dill. Simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes and add more salt and vinegar to taste.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
So, which camp are you in? Do you love that dollop of sour cream at the end or the flavor that real mayo adds to borscht?
That’s a wonderful, trusted recipe. Sometimes I add a bit of sugar ( if the beets are not sweet enough) and a bit of lemon juice or lemon acid instead of vinegar. Just one little thing: in this recipe you mention carrots in zazharka, but in the video you put them in the pot. I don’t think it makes a lot of difference, but for those who are not familiar with this soup it could be confusing. Thank you for your wonderful recipes and great presentation. And oh, about onions: if you peel it and put in a bowl with cold water for a few minutes and chop after, it helps.
Thanks for this feedback, Valerie! SO happy you enjoyed that!
Supurb!!
I tweaked it a bit, but great recipe.
Scrubbed beets and removed root and stem ends. Quartered beets. Rumpled parchment paper, wetted it and put in bottom of 4 quart pot. Put in beets, topping with 1/4 cup vinegar and another piece of parchment paper. Baked 1 1/2 hours covered at 350°F. Rinsed under cold water in colander to b cool enough to handle. Cut beet quarters into 4-5 wedges, then crosscut 4-5 times, then sautéed. Sautéed 5 cloves minced garlic with onion and bell pepper, adding celery seed as I was out of celery ribs. Cut 1/4 head of cabbage into thin wedges, then crosscut 4-5 times, like for coleslaw. Simmered liquid down, uncovered, for 1 hour to reduce liquid to “wet” stew consistency. I used only low-sodium chicken broth, no water. The 10 cups was too much, will use 8 cups next time. This was a flavor bomb, in a great way!!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for this wonderful review and sharing your changes with us!!
Thank u for a easy and delicious recipe, we were very happy with the results.
I done some changes because I was trying to make a borsch without zazharka( I had someone that couldn’t eat fatty food after a surgery)
so I prepped all the ingredients, put everything in the pressure cooker on soup button, except the beans I added them at the end with the fresh herbs and that’s it so easy healthy and so yummy 😋
I love that you made this in the pressure cooker! Thank you for sharing this with us!
any chance an instant pot version coming? with meat preferably. I made few times and total time with prepwork was less than 30 min. but all recipes I find is with out meat. this one is my favorite so far. http://instantpoteats.com/delicious-instant-pot-borscht-recipe-beet-soup/ but would love to add beef to it
I haven’t tried this in an instant pot but now I sure want to experiment!! If I come up with something awesome, I will be sure to share it 🙂 Thanks for sharing that link – it’s super helpful!
*Instant pot borsch* I usually cook the beef first for 20-25 mins, then I add the rest of ingredients for it(fry the carrots and onions beforehand) and cook on soup button and at the end add fresh herbs more seasonings, that’s it👌🏻
Hi Natasha! I thought it was only me who used one tablespoon of ketchup as a secret ingredient in Borscht. Now, the secret is out. I never tried to make Borscht without cabbage, though I do add beans, couple of tomatoes and substitute potatoes with zucchinis to make it lighter on carbs. Celery is definitely an american twist, but it works well too. I add teaspoon of sugar to make beets brighter, but I do use a lot less ketchup, I guess in your version you would get all that sugar that way.
Thank you for sharing! Borscht is good in all of it’s variations and it’s a good timely reminder to start making it when winter is near.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Natasha! Hey great name!!
You want the onion not to burn your eyes? If you wear contacts…it won’t. Otherwise get a gas mask.
I can totally picture making a video in a gas mask! Thank you for your suggestions, Andrew!
Hey Natasha, I tried this recipe tonight and it turned out great! The trick my family has always used for the onion crying problem was to wear swim goggles, since they’re easier to find than gas masks!
Thank you for sharing that with us Anna!
Borscht is one of my favorite soups ever. I made it last night using this recipe and it turned out amazing! The mirepoix with red bell pepper and ketchup adds so much extra flavor. This is the perfect soup to keep warm on a cold fall night.
Thank you for this wonderful review, Gina!! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
I can’t wait to try!! This receipe looks amazing !!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you Yulia!!!
I’m making this soon! I love your recipes and we have several in regular rotation around here. 🙂 I fell in love with Eastern European food about ten years ago when I taught English in Moscow and Kyiv. I loved Moscow, but nothing compares to Kyiv! It was a beautiful experience and I hope to go back someday soon. I lived near the train station and walked by a beautiful bright yellow church everyday. Such fond memories.
I make pelmeni with my kids at least once a year. I recently found out I have Eastern European roots from one of those ancestry Dna tests. 🙂 the foods I miss and wish I had recipes for are pastries! Our school lunch ladies used to make this delicious round pastries with some kind of white cream cheese-like filing. They were amazing. There was another kind that was similar but had poppy seeds. I haven’t been able to find recipes online for anything similar but they were so delicious! 🙂 maybe you or your mom will know what I’m talking about?
(And mayo in Ukraine and Russia is way yummier than mayo in the US! Now I’m wishing I’d have put mayo in my borscht when I was over there! If I get to make a trip, I’ll know what to do! :))
Thanks!
Thank you so so much for sharing this with me Jo! I can picture the yellow church and the train station! Are the recipes you are talking about sort of these poppy seed buns, or these piroshki?, This poppy seed roll is very popular, and a favorite – cherry filled buns.
Hi Natasha,
I’ve recently used your Quick Borscht II and loved it but can’t seem to find that recipe on your blog anymore. Could you please help?
Thanks,
Irina
Hi Irina, this is that same recipe for quick borscht. The only difference is that we switched to vinegar for better flavor and we sauteed the beets in the pot before adding the broth rather than sautéing them with the onion, carrot which makes for a very overcrowded pan and takes a long time to saute them adequately. This is the new and improved version of that same recipe 🙂
Thank you for such a quick response! Just made a big pot of this borscht 🙂
That’s so great! Hope you loved it!
Didn’t this recipe used to have cabbage??? I have it saved to my favourites and have used it several times and I think it has changed?
Hi Gabby, You can add cabbage but we haven’t been adding cabbage for the past few years since the children prefer the borscht without it.
Hi. This recipe sounds good. But I’m looking for the old one, meatless but with cabbage and where you cook the beets first then add all the ingredients to the water from the beets. Thanks.
Hi Sveta, this is that same recipe, with a few of the steps simplified and improved. You can add cabbage towards the end if you like cabbage.
Would you be able to please put the recipe you had back up, the one that was called “classic ukranian borscht”, it had cabbage in it and no celery if that helps!
Thanks in advance,
A fellow Ukranian
Hi Roman. I’m not sure which recipe you are referring to specifically but we have several Borscht recipes on our blog. Including this one with beef.
It was this exact same recipe pretty much, even the wording in the blog was the same, but it was called a different name “Classic ukranian Borscht” and it had cabbage in it instead of celery as the major difference. Along with peeling and boiling the beets and using that as the water because it gives the soup a darker colour.
Hi Roman, this is that same recipe. You would add cabbage at when the potatoes are half cooked and omit the celery if you prefer not to use it. We had 2 very similar recipes on our site which always caused a ton of confusion for readers so we condensed it into this new and improved version. I hope that makes sense! 🙂
Ok, thank you! 🙂
I haven’t made this yet, but the recipe says 1 hour 40 minutes cook time. I’ve read the recipe several times, and I just don’t see it; is that correct?
I can’t wait to try it!
Between the boiling, sautéing and following the steps it does take about that long. 🙂 Enjoy!
In my family (Lithuanian) we make a hot red beet soup and we also make a cold red beet soup.
Mmm I also love cold red beet soup and we have a recipe posted on our blog for it. I’d love to hear how you make yours!
I thought I was the only one who eats this with mayo! It’s so good!!
Natasha you are amazing! I love all your recipes and your videos. I watch you together with my kids!
You’re so nice, Lydia! Thank you so much for this thoughtful and amazing review!
In your introduction you write about cabbage adding nutrients to the soup. I read the recepie couple time and didnt find cabbage in a recepie. Classic borsch to me cabbage is a must. Recepie sounds good but its a beet soup.
Hi Olga, We used to add cabbage but our children prefer it without so for years now we’ve been making it just like this without cabbage. If you prefer cabbage, add 1/4 to 1/2 small head of cabbage, thinly shredded, adding it when the potatoes are halfway cooked. I added that note above 🙂
Hi Natasha! Just peel off the onion cut it in half and wash each part with cold water for about 10 seconds and no tears -effect. Today I’m going to make your peach Danish:-). Love…😊
I’ve had several people comment about soaking it in water! Thank you Izabela!
I love borsch and was surprised at how easy it was to make. I held of making it for YEARS because the recipes I found (pre-internet, which gives you an idea how long ago it was) all required roasting the beets in the oven before peeling and cutting. As a busy young married with a job and later with children, I needed a recipe that didn’t require toasting in the prep stage.
Fast forward to about a year or so ago, I found a recipe (no roasting!) and tried it.
Delish!!
One thing I was afraid of was the beet juice. I hear and read all the time how bad it is, how hard it is to get off hands, chopping board, etc.
Perhaps it’s an anomaly of the beets my grocery store buys, but the juice from them washes right off like pink water. No stains on my plastic chopping boards. No discolored hands. Washes right out of my clothes.
To be sure, I do the prep at the sink and rinse my hands often, so maybe that’s the trick. Any splash on my clothes gets washed immediately at the faucet.
I’ve been making borsch for over a year now and haven’t had any problems with stains.
Is there a variety of beets that just doesn’t stain? I’ve heard horror stories about how tough it is to deal with beet juice, but they just don’t match up with my experience.
Oh and to answer your question: hands down I go for sour cream. I would like to try it with greek yogurt. Mayonnaise sounds like it might be tasty. I’ll have to give it a try.
There is a variety of beets that is more pink then red – I wonder if maybe that is the type your grocery store has? That’s great either way!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!! I agree – this method is way quicker without sacrificing any flavor 🙂
Maybe a good and tasty recipe but for sure not classic Ukrainian. The original recipes used only root vegetables, no ketchup or beans….it’s more like a stew with your ingredients. Still nice.
Thank you for your feedback Layla!
THANK YOU!! I get beets in an organic farm box. I really DESPISE them. I thought what can I do with them. I remembered my grandmother’s borscht recipe and so I started hunting the Internet. I’m so glad I found your recipe. My grandmother was Ukrainian also and this recipe tastes just like the borscht she used to make. Thank you again. 😉
Hi Pamela! I’m so happy you found this recipe and can use up your beets! I appreciate the awesome review!
I use canned beets for my borscht. Here in the Southeast you can find either sliced or shredded beets. It is a quick and cleaner way to make borscht.