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.

Red Borscht Recipe with Dollop of sour cream and dill

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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.

Classic Borsch served with sour cream

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.

Ingredients for Beet Soup Borscht including beets, carrots, potatoes, chicken broth, beans

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.

  1. Use a paper-towel to blot off any excess juice.
  2. Run cold water over the opposite/under side of the fabric to push the stain out.
  3. 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.

How to Make Borscht

Watch Natasha Make Classic Borscht:


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Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Classic Borscht Recipe (Beet Soup)

4.95 from 747 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Our family's go-to recipe for Borscht (Red Beet Soup). It's best to have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go which makes this soon super easy and care free. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or real mayo.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 10

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.
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: Borsch, Borscht
Skill Level: Medium
Cost to Make: $

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?

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

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Comments

  • Sarah
    September 14, 2013

    Hi Natasha! My son is adopted from the Pskov region of Russia and despite living there with a host family for close to two months we never had a single bowl of borscht in his region, St Pete or Moscow! We’ve been home with our son for almost three years and on a whim purchased beets and all the other ingredients at the farmers market today. Our Ruskie and his non-Russian brother loved your recipe. (We did too….) It made so much I froze two gallon sized bags and were looking forward to having it again 🙂 My son said “Russia makes good food!” I guess he’s never lost his taste of his first home! Thank you for helping us keep his heritage alive 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 14, 2013

      That’s awesome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and that it brought back food memories for your son 🙂

      Reply

  • Kristina
    September 12, 2013

    I honestly haven’t tried this yet, but I was thinking- this isn’t classic borsch. My mom had beans in it but never canned and also never ketchup. She had homemade canned tomato sauce. Do you know that version by any chance? I would do anything to taste my moms borsch once again! Thank you Natasha! I love your site!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 13, 2013

      This is our families version of borscht and you can use canned tomato sauce and add more salt/lemon juice to taste. Most borscht recipes taste pretty similar. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you try it 🙂

      Reply

  • Annie
    September 4, 2013

    I made this tonight for the first time. I don’t know what Borscht is supposed to taste like but this tastes good!! Two of my beets were sapped of their color after soaking for about 45 minutes… Is that normal? They tasted just like the purple ones but turned a yucky brownish color! I was a bit confused by the recipe. I started with the 16 c of water, then added 6 c of chicken broth and 10 c of water when you added the paste (which I couldn’t find). Was the 6 c of broth and 10 c of water supposed to replace the 16 c of water at the beginning? I can’t tell by the recipe. Hopefully I did it correctly!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 4, 2013

      It depends on the type of beets. If they were older beets, they might discolor faster. I looked over the recipe and you are so right. It’s written out way more complicated than it needs to be. I’ve simplified it. There should be 16 cups of liquid total. If you ended up using 16+6+10, your borsch was probably seriously diluted and I think you’d love it way more if you used just the 16 cups total of liquid (10 cups water and 6 cups broth). Sorry if I threw you a curve ball. I’m glad you still liked it 🙂 I updated the step-by-step instructions and the print friendly. Thank you Annie for asking! 🙂

      Reply

      • Vesa
        November 21, 2013

        I’m just about to start preparing it so I can’t comment on the result yet, but I’m sure it will be great. A technical detail about the recipe though: you fixed the long version of the recipe to tell you to add 10 cups of water, but the short printable version still says 16. The printable ingredient list is also fine, but there’s the discrepancy in the instructions.

        Reply

        • Natasha
          natashaskitchen
          November 21, 2013

          Thank you so much Vesa! That is a decent sized blunder! I fixed it. Thanks for brining that to my attention! 🙂

          Reply

  • Janee
    August 22, 2013

    Loved your “Russian borscht” recipe. Here in Western Canada it would be considered a Ukrainian recipe. Recipes are often called “Russian” because Russia controlled Ukraine for so long, but really, brorscht is Ukrainian! Happy cooking!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 22, 2013

      One day I’ll travel back to my “homeland” and learn more about the history of the food. I guess there is also such a thing as Wikipedia though 😉 Thanks for sharing! 🙂

      Reply

  • Tatyana
    August 18, 2013

    Hi Natasha. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I am Ukrainian and absolutely love when my mom would make borscht for the family. Now that I live on my own, I no longer have the luxury of my moms cooking. I used this recipe for my first time making borscht by myself. It came out PERFECT just like my mom used to make. Excellent recipe. Thank you again for sharing!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 18, 2013

      I’m so glad it reminded you of your Mom’s borsch 🙂 That’s awesome!

      Reply

  • Gwen Erwood
    August 17, 2013

    I’m in the canning mode and now cooking my third batch of peach preserves using your slow cook recipe. Love it.
    My garden is overflowing. Do you know if this borscht recipe can be preserved in quart jars using the water bath method?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 18, 2013

      Wow I’ve never tried it, but I don’t think it would work because it’s not acidic, sweet or salty enough to really be canned. It does freeze well though 🙂

      Reply

    • Jinx
      November 4, 2013

      I read that low-acid foods can be canned but you have to do them for about twice as long. I’d still put the jars in the back of the fridge though.

      Reply

  • U.N.Owen
    August 15, 2013

    I don’t see why you don’t just throw everything in a crock pot and let it cook without wasting so much time adding this and that at different times.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 15, 2013

      Is that your method? I guess the overall cooking time is probably shorter on the stove. Have you tried the superfood borsch that I posted? It’s even faster!!

      Reply

  • Bart
    August 9, 2013

    Наташа, Это лучший борщ я имел в годах, хотя у меня не было все ингредиенты и пришлось добавить одну, а также сделал замену. У меня не было базилик, поэтому я добавил один зубчик фарш, чеснок свежий, чтобы морковь / лук соте. Впоследствии я использовал с низким содержанием натрия, обезжиренный куриный бульон вместо пасты.
    Спасибо,
    Барт
    Гора Эйри, штат Мэриленд, США

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 9, 2013

      Bart, It took me a little bit, but I did read and understand your comment 🙂 Thank you and I’m glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply

  • Judy
    August 7, 2013

    I am really excited to try this recipe. I’ve looked at a lot of borscht recipes on line, and yours seems to be the one to beat (beet!). One question before I shop for ingredients: the nice long beets shown in your photos can’t be found in my local markets. From your photos, I’d say it would take approximately 4-6 of the beets commonly sold around here (they usually are sold in bunches of 3, not very large) to equal the 3 long beets shown in your photo — does that sound about right?

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 7, 2013

      I would use 3-5 round medium beets, my mom grows the long ones but they taste the same as regular :).

      Reply

      • Judy
        August 7, 2013

        Will do — thanks very much!

        Reply

  • Langlo
    July 24, 2013

    Yo Natasha i tried my first ever attempt at borscht with yr recipe, it was on some god level tasty bouncin bliss bomb! I had the whole neighbourhood hollerin for some of that deep red juice bomb deluxe goodness! I nearly didnt use the ketchup but am so glad i did, all that sugar n salt went hard in paint.

    Keep it real girl!

    – Langlo xxoo

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 24, 2013

      Thank you Langlo, I’m glad you enjoyed it :). I have few variations of Borsch on the site so feel free to check them out as well.

      Reply

  • Olga's Flavor Factory
    July 18, 2013

    Hello Natasha! This is a top favorite comfort food for me. Being from Belarus, I like my borscht cold with tomatoes and a few potatoes, and serve it with hot garlic bread and, of course, don’t forget the sour cream. Would love to have this on one of our dinners this weekend.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 18, 2013

      Same here. It always brings back childhood memories and it’s one of the few soups that my son will eat 🙂

      Reply

  • kristen
    June 1, 2013

    My sister married a man from Ukraine and they had a child together. I’m now raising him as my sister suddenly and unexpectedly died 4 years ago.. My 9 year old nephew spends little time with his Ukranian family now and asked ME to make him borsch! Haha. Yea right… Welllll… I made this recipe and he critiqued me the entire time… He LOVED it. Said it tasted just like babushkas (which he says means grandmas in Ukrainian). Thanks! You saved my butt lol

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 1, 2013

      That’s so sweet that it reminded him of his babushkas borsch :)… I’m so sorry about your sister… It Sounds like you are an awesome auntie and he is blessed to have you in his life.

      Reply

  • Marianna
    May 19, 2013

    In how much cups of water do you desolve the paste?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 19, 2013

      You can just dissolve it in 1 cup, or just toss it in the pot with all of the liquid and it will dissolve as it cooks.

      Reply

  • Owen
    May 12, 2013

    I made this a month ago when I had a bunch of beets I didn’t know what else to do with. Wonderful soup, although I had to modify it because I lacked all of the ingredients. So rich and flavorful, and nutritious! I found plain whole milk yogurt to be an acceptable sour cream substitute. Thanks Natasha! I am going to make it again tonight!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 13, 2013

      Good job on improvising Owen, let me know how it turns out again :).

      Reply

  • Oksana
    April 3, 2013

    I made this borsch following your recipe and my husband said it was one of the best borsch he has ever eaten!!! Why, thank you pretty lady for the awesome recipe! :))

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 3, 2013

      That’s awesome. You’re very welcome 🙂

      Reply

  • Anna
    March 25, 2013

    I’ve made this before and i perfer this recipe over the other borsht recipe that you have. Any suggestions on making this in a slow cooker?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 25, 2013

      I never made it in the slow cooker before, but I can recommend this recipe for the slow cooker.

      Reply

  • Gulia
    March 13, 2013

    Hi Natasha, if i were to make this borscht with meat, when in the process would I add it in? I was thinking maybe boil it with beets or potatoes, but I don’t know. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 13, 2013

      I’d add it at the very beginning; then you don’t need broth and your meat will be tender by the time you’re done. Scrape off the impurities that float to the top.

      Reply

  • Cathy
    February 24, 2013

    Best borscht recipe ever. I changed it up a bit, with pouring out some water and using my homemade beef stock. (I only had Maggi seasoning, no boullion). After chopping up vegetables for what seemed like an hour, I was thinking “this really better be something special” — and it was! The beans were a great addition, I’ve never had that in borscht before.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 24, 2013

      Thank you Cathy, I’m glad all that chopping paid off :D.

      Reply

  • FrenchieRona
    February 16, 2013

    I absolutely loved this recipe, Natasha. You are a genius! Even though I had to do alot of substituting of ingredients, it still tasted amazing! It was my first time making it. I substituted black pepper with a Croatian seasoning called “Vegeta”, parsley for dill, sliced beets in the can for the real ones, beef broth for chicken broth. I added organic rutabagas in with the potatoes and left out the ketchup and bay leaves. Like I said, I had to change alot but I thought I’d mention it for those who are curious!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 16, 2013

      Great way to work with ingredients that you have available on hand :), great job.

      Reply

  • JakeRyan
    February 8, 2013

    Delicious recipe! Made this tonight using all organic ingredients from EarthFare. This made enough to last me a week!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 8, 2013

      Awesome! I’m glad you like the reciep Jake :).

      Reply

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