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.
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?
I just tried the recipe last night and it was amazing! Made me miss Romania ❤️
What happened to the original recipe you had posted years ago? The one with cabbage and the beets cut into matchsticks??
Hi Brennen, I have 3 versions of borscht on my site. You might also love the Beef Borscht or the Superfood Borscht recipes. You can find those by searching borscht on my site.
I was taught never peel or interrupt the skin of beets prior to cooking. Remove the leafy green stems 1-2 inches above where they emerge from the top of the beet. Once they have cooked in boiling water, cooled, you then easily peel skin, root and top stem base. If you are adding them to soup you would not cook initially to soft but about 70% so they are not overcooked once combined with other ingredients. You lose so much nutrition and flavor when allowed to bleed to death by removing their armor first!!!!!
it tastes like a vegetable soup. It looks beautiful, but if you’re expecting something astounding and flavorful, look somewhere else. It is a very mild flavor. I followed everything in the recipe and made no substitutions. Still 5 stars because it met my expectations for a mild veg soup.
Secret Ingredient: Save your dill pickle juice (with garlic) to add. Reduce or omit extra salt, dill, and garlic. Add it near the end of simmering, or else the vinegar may bleach the beet coloring! Also, saurkraut juice works.
This is my FAVORITE soup… Or at least top 3. It is comfort in a cup (or bowl). We use chicken bone broth and omit the beans but the rich flavor of the beets, simple addition of the dill, and a dollup of sour cream elevate this vegetable soup to something out of this world. It’s perfect for cold weather! Plus, it’s beautiful!
So glad you’re enjoying it, Alyssa! Thanks for sharing.
so excited to try this! thanks for the easy to follow instructions:)
Best way to keep the onion tears out of your eyes, I find, is to dip your knife in water every couple cuts )))
My grandmother would make a soup that I always called “the green soup”. It was just a little on the sour side but no meat or potatoes, etc., just green. I really loved that soup. She died when I was only ten years old, so I never thought to get any recipes or names of the food she cooked… and she was such a good cook. Could it have been this sorrel soup? Will have to try this to see if it has that taste I remember, or similar. Grandparents were Ukrainian – Ksenia and Nicolas Andruschuk.
I’m not sure but feel free to give it a try, I hope this is what you’re looking for.
We, in our small Community (tiny village), have on Wednesdays, which is the Post Office day, and we have a hall there too, a little cafe–Argenta Pop Up Cafe, that local folks volunteer to cook for and people in the Community come and buy lunch. It gathers folks together. So I shared that cafe once with someone else and I made this Borsch and I made a Cream of Celery and Potato soup. Everybody loved the Borsch!!!!! and the Cream of Celery and Potatoes were good too!!
I am looking forward to trying this. I have made vegetable stock using only beet tops. Can I substitute that for the chicken stock without compromising the taste and texture?
Hi Robin. Feel free to experiment. This would work with vegetable broth too, but I’m not sure how the beet top broth would taste. Let us know if you how it turns out.
Delicious! Used up a lot of garden veggies and had forgotten how much I like borscht!
I would like to use beef broth. Will this work? Possibl a comb
I imagine that will be fine just maybe adjust it if needed since it’s saltier that chicken broth.
Delicious soup, made it for a Church lunch, everyone loved it! To avoid tears while cutting onions, I use a vegetable chopper and was tear-free! Thank goodness for those choppers!
Made this with a mix of beets – red, candy cane and golden, as well as some chopped cabbage. It is an absolutely delicious soup, and is definitely a “keeper” recipe – thank you!
My new favorite soup! I’ve never had borscht but was craving red beets
I love how easy it was to come together and the taste is amazing!! Thank you!
I have been making this recipe for years, and it is my absolute favourite! I have modified it over the years for my family’s preference, and I omit the celery, red pepper, and beans (I swear the recipe is still amazing). But I add about three times the beets, garlic, potatoes, and an entire bunch of fresh dill. I am vegetarian so I sub the chicken broth for Knorr vegetable bouillon cubes and love the flavour. Thank you, Natasha, for a wonderful recipe that I will continue to make each year.
You are so very welcome, Lola! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Can you put hot soup into hot jars and seal without using a hot water bath?
Hi Donna, 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? Borscht freezes very well though if you wanted to try that. I would leave out the garnish (sour cream or mayo) until serving.
Hi
Can you freeze the borscht? It’s delicious but it is a large batch.
Hi Karin, yes, this freezes well.I’m so glad you loved it.
“This version keeps better because it is a meatless version but doesn’t lack in flavor because it uses good quality chicken broth.” Unfortunately that means it is *not* meatless for those of us who only eat meatless… All is not lost, however! I have been a vegetarian and home cook for over 20 years and I’ve found that the “No-Chicken” Broth from Imagine Foods (I swear I am not getting paid for this) is a great substitute. I’m sure there are recipes only to make your own veg. chicken broth but if you’re pressed for time like so many of us are, you will have a delicious, satisfying, and truly meat-free borscht with that product.
Making homemade soups is one of my favorite things to do. This recipe is absolutely delicious! My biggest problem was peeling the beets. They kept jumping out of my hands (which made me laugh)! Thank you Natasha!
I find that boiling the beets whole for 10 minutes, makes peeling very easy.