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
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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?
You ever ad meat to it
HI Gary, here is our borscht with meat recipe. I hope you love it!
I’m off to the supermarket soon to get the ingredients for this recipe. I tried the beef bone version in Moscow many years ago but have never made my own.
Thank you.
Sounds great, Ian. I hope you love it and please share with us how it goes.
Can you make a recipe for vushka to go with this borscht?
Oh! I just found a can of kidney beans as well! So I could also use that instead of the cannelini beans if you think it would be a better substitute than Garbanzo or pinto
I haven’t tried that yet but I imagine it should be okay. Please share with us how it goes if you give it a try!
Hi! I am thinking of trying this recipe but I am going to have to make some substitutions based on what I already have at home. Can I get your opinion on these changes?
1) Fennel fronds instead of dill
2) Fennel bulb instead of celery
3) Red potatoes instead of Yukon Gold
4) Garbanzo or pinto beans instead of cannellini (do you think either of these beans would work??)
Thank you! I am sorry to have to change your recipe so much, since it looks so good as is! I am just trying to avoid going to the store as much as possible right now
Hi Maddie, I honestly have never tried making borscht with fennel. Red potatoes should be fine and garbanzo beans will work as well, but they do have a different texture.
Hi Natasha,
I made this last night, with all these substitutions, and I used kidney beans in place of the cannellini. It turned out amazing! It was soooo good! I thought the fennel added some really good flavor. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I look forward to the day I can make it the way it was written!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
No
I could hardly call borscht without cabbage with grocery store chicken broth a “classic recipe” but thank you anyway
can make the soup super sour either just normal sour flavour?!? I just don’t find the sourness flavour. thx waiting for ur answer
Hi Lion, I’m not sure I understand your question, but if you want it more sour, you could add more of the lemon juice to taste and a little more ketchup.
ketchup to make it more sour? strange suggestion
There is vinegar in ketchup, making it sour.
Can this be canned?
Hi Carol, I have not tried canning. One of my readers canned it and stored it in the refrigerator for a month. Maybe someone else has more experience with canning borsch?
Hi Natasha. I did can the borscht and it lasted a year no problem. I opened the last jar a week ago. I didn’t have meat in the recipe though. I am about to make a big batch tomorrow to can. Its very handy for a quick meal. It is an excellent recipe. Thankyou very much for it.
That is wonderful to know that this borscht cans well! Thank you so much for sharing that.
Chewing gum while cutting onions works every time
It sounds like I need to stock a pack of gum in my kitchen drawer. Thanks for the tip!
My daughter and I made this together – she’s 5. Borscht is one of my all-time favourites. This was such an easy recipe to follow and so full of flavour. Winner with us! We’ll be making it more and more, I’m sure!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles!
I am going to make this and also make draniki without the meat to go with it
I love sour cream in whatever recipe I have
Sounds like a good plan. Please share with us how it goes!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Is it possible to make it without dill? It has been very difficult to find these days.
Is the flavour too different without it?
Hi Jo, we love it with dill but we can absolutely omit if need be. We like to freeze for the winter months since we use it so often.
I never have any trouble with onion tearing – I wear glasses!
That’s a great tip! Thank you for sharing that with me.
I wear glasses and still get teary when cutting onions
Indeed it is true what they say – there are infinitive amount of recipes for borscht. Being myself also with Eastern European blood, since whenever I could reach the stove, we cooked borscht. And completely different starting by having home made broth boiled for hours from bones.
Indeed each family has their own recipe and there is not one which is wrong.
Totally agree. I hope you like our version too!
Made this twice in 2 weeks. The best borscht I’ve had (after many attempts with other recipes). This one is just perfect, made my own chicken broth from leftover BBQ chicken and used cabbage instead of white beans and it was great!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hi thank you for the video. My cousin told me to put a slice of bread in mouth while cutting onions to keep you from crying. She said the bread absorbs whatever the onion releases.
Nice tip! I have to try this one to see if it works!
I’ve never made borscht before but I had beets to use up. This is super delicious. We put the soup over leftover stuffing which sounds weird but was very good. Nothing is going to waste these days! Thanks for the recipe.
I made this soup for the first time. The color is beautiful and very delicious. I am wondering if it can be frozen for future meals?
Hi Wendy, yes borscht freezes very well. I would leave out the garnish (sour cream or mayo) until serving.
I really love this Borsch. I’m Polish and trying to cook dishes close to that ethnic background. I used pinto beans, Idaho potatoes, and dried dill but it still came out amazing. I didn’t use sour cream as I avoid dairy but would like to add cabbage next time. One suggestion I had is to purchase large beets (even if not organic) of about the same size as this will make them easier to peel. I tried to peel with dish washing gloves that were a little too large and was much harder on smaller beets. Definitely will buy a box of sanitary gloves for future prep. Thanks for making me feel closer to my roots.
Hi Jill, I’m so glad you loved the borscht. Thank you for sharing that with me and yes the gloves make cleanup a breeze especially when working with beets.
I volunteer at a church-based drop-in seniors’ centre, the amazing ladies in the kitchen made this soup for Valentine’s Day for our guests. These kitchen wizards work on a tight budget but also are tasked with serving a nutritious and tasty meal. This soup was ONE OF THE BEST they’ve ever made! They added cabbage (saw your note about your kiddos and their palate). Excellent recipe, thanks Natasha’s Mom for the great hand-me-down.
That’s amazing Sara! Thank you for sharing that amazing review with me!
but dear Natasha, as Ukrainian you would know there is no t in borsch as it is spelled борщ in Ukrainian and Russian both. Let’s not Americanize such a wonderful dish.