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?
I was looking for recipes for my new Instant Pot and saw your post for Borscht which I first had at the World’s Fair in Spokane Washington USA. I was disappointed that you added so many things besides beets! I can’t eat potatoes, tomatoes or red peppers, and this wasn’t done in the Instant Pot. I’ll keep looking. Thank you though. I did find out more about beets!
I’m not a big fan of borscht it I make it for my Polish husband. I followed the recipe except I didn’t have the white beans which I know I would love in there but this soup is absolutely delicious. It will now be my go to recipe. It nice yo use the fresh dill from the garden. Now I have to freeze some so I can make this recipe in winter.
I’m so happy you gave our borscht recipe a try, Linda! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
My absolute favorite Borscht recipe. I love this recipe & I even got my boyfriend and his roommate to love this recipe! Highly recommend!
That’s great, Ally! I’m so glad to hear that.
Hi Natasha, love your recipe, however, as far as I know classic borscht has a cabbage. Did you omit it purposely. Many thanks.
Hi Elena, good to hear that. You can check my notes on using cabbage in the recipe.
This is the best Borscht soup recipe! My boyfriend’s Croatian parents were very impressed 🙂
I have made this many times over the years and am never dissapointed. Finally taking the time to write a review. Thanks Natasha!
Hi Samaza! I appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. I’m so glad the recipe was a hit.
My husband and I love this soup – it uses tons of Ingredients from our garden. We add cabbage and use vegetable stock but otherwise make exactly as written. I serve with homemade focaccia – yum!!! Thank you
That’s a great addition to the recipe, Sara. Thank you for the perfect review!
Ketchup? Baba is rolling in her grave lol. I usually just toss in a few tomatoes that were going south that I froze so did that instead. I liked the beans for sure. Baba always used Lima beans and this was much better. Spot on
Thanks for this delicious recipe! Best borscht I’ve tried. I’m serving this to a group of teenagers – most, if not all, have never had borscht before – and was wondering if you recommend a particular side dish to go along with it. Maybe a bread? Thanks!
Thank you so much for your great comments and review, Sam. Garlic bread
This is my favorite!
You need to correct one thing in your video you add 6 cups of water your recipe says add 2 cups of water
I have made this soup at least 10 times and I give jars to my friends who love this as much as I do
Hi Marlene! I’m so glad you love the recipe.
Yes, we updated the recipe since we filmed it but hopefully, we can also update the video. 🙂
How many days before Easter can I make? Can this be frozen?
Hi Susan, this will be good for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Borscht freezes very well. I would leave out the garnish (sour cream or mayo) until serving.
Chew on a celery stick while cutting onions…works well on decreasing tears
Thanks for that tip, Edward!
Hello! Beautiful recipe! My kids aren’t big bean eaters so I replaced the beans with boiled egg halves for a protein and it was great.
Nice idea, glad they enjoyed it!
This recipe is fantastic! It’s my third time making it 🤍
Question: Does this soup freeze well?
Hi Simone, I’m so glad you loved it! Yes, borscht freezes very well. I would leave out the garnish (sour cream or mayo) until serving.
Another great recipe. I’d never tried Borscht and we LOVE beets, so it seemed like a win-win. My nephew adopted from Russia (also Vadim) piques our interest in new tastes. I reviewed many Borscht recipes. It must be like Chili: each family has their own favorite and every one of them is good. I recently learned there is great nutrition in beet stems/leaves, which are delicious, BTW. I included them in the soup and used yellow pepper for color. It looked and tasted so good. This is a hearty, satisfying, healthy meal that’s even better the next day. Oh, I use a mandoline slicing/dicing device to chop onions. It makes very uniform dice and gets the job done without shedding any tears.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback! I’m so glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Start the stove and sit next to it to avoid tears when chopping onion. Works very well with gas stove but i don’t know about the other types
Thank you for the tip!
I served this to a Ukrainian friend. He said “good soup! Put more beets!”
❤️
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Bobbi!
I’m about to give it a try because I just received my crop share and I have beets, garlic and cabbage. Question though, do you ever add the beet greens? I know they are edible and I hate wasting them.
Hi Anne, I usually don’t use beet greens, but I know it is possible. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I haven’t made borscht in years, but when I had my garden I used to make it with the stems & greens instead of cabbage. You could try it, Natasha, if your kids don’t like cabbage.
I’ve been making borscht for years, it was pretty yummy every time but I always felt that something was missing. Love, love this recipe. Guilt free yet so filling and nutritious. For me, the addition of sour cream is a must and perhaps next time I’ll try mayo. I would encourage all to let friends who think they don’t like beets to try this. I served it to a friend who then asked me to send him home with a container.
Also, thanks for the tip to wear gloves and use a food processor. The mess and the work grating on a box grater may be a deterrent to some (me) but prep was almost effortless.
Great to hear, Lucy! Thank you for the feedback.
Recipe says 8 cups of chicken broth but in video you say 4 cups. Which is it?
Hi Maria! Follow the written recipe. Sometimes we update the recipe but cannot change the video since it has already been filmed. 🙂
My favorite borscht recipe ever. I keep it bookmarked and make it regularly. Flawless.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Samantha!
Love this recipe!!!!
We use beet stems and beet greens to replace the celery and cabbage in the recipe. Also add a little smoked paprika and make little turkey burger meatballs that have diced onion, salt and dill.
When the soup is done we add a splash of white vinegar, chopped dill and a dollop of sour cream. Yum!!!
Thank you for sharing, Georgia! I’m so glad you loved the recipe.
The recipe says 8 cups broth and 2 cups water.
The video says 4 cups broth and 6 cups water.
Which do you recommend?
Hi Mary, I always recommend following the written recipe as that can be updated whereas the video cannot be edited anymore. We sometimes update the recipe, so it’s best to follow that.