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?
Наташа. Can tomato paste be used instead of catsup. I’m not a catsup fan.
Hi Dale, I would use tomato paste or half a can of (14 oz) stewed tomatoes. Let me know what you end up doing.
Not a ketchup fan either! I plan on using tomato paste. I did that last time and it came out great!
Hello, can this be made in a pressure cooker? Thanks!
Hi Iryna, I haven’t tried this in an instant pot or pressure cooker, but now I sure want to experiment!! If I come up with something awesome, I will be sure to share it.
It may seem silly, but it works, I wear swimming goggles when I cut onions.
Yeah, did that too! Yes, it works.
Not so silly. I wear ski goggles.
If I could give it 6 stars I would. I was driving to my ex wife Katya’s house in order to see the kids again. I brought leftovers of this recipe and my ex wife and kids loved it. We recently got remarried, and I accredit this great success in part to this wonderful Borscht recipe. Thank you Natasha.
Wow, that is so awesome! Thank you for your perfect review, Vlad. I am so happy to read your comments and congratulations!
This sounds amazing and I’m going to try it. Would canned beets work or must I prepare fresh beets for it to be at all good?
Hi Kevin, I honestly haven’t tried, so I can’t say for sure. I think it would be worth experimenting with! Please share with us how it goes if you try that.
offer sauerkraut to add to the bowls of those, like me, who love red borscht that way [white borscht too!]. hard boiled egg too.
Thank you for sharing that with me.
Loved this recipe, However sometime in the distant past I have had bourcht and it always contained meat usually beef, so I replaced the chicken broth with beef broth and added a cup of stew meat. Other wise used all the ingredients in your recipe. It was wonderful.
Sounds good too! Thanks for sharing your good feedback with us, George.
This recipe is amazing!! Everyone loved it, even the picky ones. Never had borscht before making it but this is a money winning dish. Took a picture of it the soup is so beautiful.
Hi Jen, I’m really happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
We love this recipe……as we are vegetarians, we used vegie broth, and mixed beans as we didn’t have canellini beans in our pantry. And definitely better with a big dollop of sour cream. In this winter of Covid it seems that we need comfort food for our mental health, and this borscht works for us……..good with easypeasy baking powder biscuits fresh out of the oven!! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Hello Jean, nice to read your comments and feedback. Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
I was given a big container of cooked sliced beets, and was inspired to make borscht! I had never made it, yet I had eaten it and I really enjoy borscht (and I love beets). This recipe was fabulous! I did adjust it slightly, simply to make use of ingredients that I had on hand. I replaced 8 cups of broth with 3 cups of ham broth plus 5 cups of homegrown frozen diced tomatoes (mainly juice). And I skipped the beans, simply because I didn’t have any white beans in the cupboard. This soup is wonderful – so healthy and tasty and a gorgeous color. My husband and teenage kids had never eaten borscht and they liked it a lot! I will make it again. Thank you.
PS: We didn’t use mayo or sour cream … we just ate the soup without the dollop, and it was great!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Ruth! I’m happy you all enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love it and so do my friends, who I supply with ball jars filled with this heavenly soup. I make it with chicken stock (rather than broth). I add a little bit extra beet, carrot and celery and then use an immersion blender to smooth some (but not all) of the chunks of vegetables. I think the blending makes it even more savory. So wonderfully beautiful and delicious!
I’m happy you enjoeyd that!
Was wondering if a person could use golden beets instead of red ones?
Hi Sandy, I honestly haven’t tried, so I can’t say for sure. I think it would be worth experimenting with. I hear golden beets are sweeter in flavor than reds. You would have a much different looking soup without that classic red coloring from red beets, but I just haven’t tested it as far as flavor goes.
Hi i was just telling you Natasha that I am a sour cream person and i hate mayo
Thank you for sharing that with me!
I followed the recipe exactly.
Taste test was good But I always thought borscht was smooth…
Thanks for your feedback, Joan!
Hey there! Actually went to a play in London put on by some folks from Ukraine where they served borscht and have been meaning to try cooking it myself ever since, can’t wait to try! Since I’m vegan, do you think veggie broth would work instead of the chicken?
Hi Brett, that will impact the classic flavor a bit, but I bet that could work. If you experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
I just made it with vegetable Better Than Bouillon – I am a vegan Brazilian feeding my Russian BFF in 2 days. I will let you know what she says.
“want tomorrow Borscht, come tomorrow.”
I hope you both enjoy this recipe, Bruna!
If you never tried Better Than Bouillion No Chicken Base it’s a game changer – cannot recommend it enough!
Hello, is it 4 cups of broth or 8? The video says 4 but the recipe says 8. Thanks!
Also it says 2 cups of water in the recipe but the video says 6 cups
Hi Herbert, sorry for the confusion. We updated the recipe to add more broth and less water for richer flavor.
Hello Herbert, we changed it to 8 cups chicken broth for a richer flavor. 8 cups are correct.
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s divine. I don’t alter a single thing! My husband absolutely loves it and he can be pretty picky.
Team sour cream all the way!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Best borscht recipe ever. I make it all the time. My two year old twin grandsons love it.
Hi Diane, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Really delicious and quite easy to sub stuff in or out, great recipe thanks very much!
You’re welcome, Mike! I’m glad you enjoyed that!
This looks really good! I spent a great deal of time in Ukraine and they always had Pompushki with the borscht. Do you have a recipe for Pompushki? Thank you! I’m going to make this for a friend who traveled with me to Ukraine for many years.
HI Dasha, I do have a recipe for Pampushki or Garlic Rolls.