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?
The Borscht I always had, even In Uzbekistan, had beef in it. I’ve never seen without beef actually. I will try your recipe but feel like adding beef would be more filling. Re onions- keep a very wet cloth next to where you are cutting the onions. Don’t know why it works, but it does for me. (Love your recipes!)
Thank you for sharing, Margaret. I have a Borscht Recipe with Beef recipe too, but I hope you love this one!
I want to use an immersion blender to make this more of a purée. That is how I remember my friends Polish grandmother making it so many years ago!
love your recipe! i use it every year for christmas!
do you happen to have adjustments in making it in very large quantities- like for 300 people?
Hi Ashka, wow, that’s a lot of people. You can use the recipe slider to adjust the serving sizes on the printable recipe card.
Beet Borscht is so good.
Our Polish family recipe is to use the Pork Shoulder Roast and left-over pork to make the stock.
I bet its delicious that way too!
Thank you Natasha for all of your fabulous meals
I just wish to tell, I add my home made sauerkraut cabbage as well😊
You’re very welcome, Anna! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them.
I use onion goggles to stop the crying. It works perfectly!
Genius idea!
I use lemon juice instead of vinegar. We like the flavour more.
My mom and two baba’s died in 1984. This is my go to borscht now when I celebrate Ukrainian Christmas with my family. Delicious. Thank you 😋
I’m so glad you are loving this recipe!
Hi Natasha, I love to cook and to watch your videos. Regarding new videos I’d like to see, my mother used to make a turkey/chicken stuffing made of numerous eggs, with separately beaten yolks and whites, and with chicken livers of all things. Are you familiar with this recipe? If so, I would love to see it. Best wishes for the new year to you and yours.
Hi there! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I am not familiar with that recipe, but thank you for the suggestion.
Looks Delish, will try this new years weekend thank you!
You’re welcome, happy new year! I hope you love it!
A.good recipe. I added sliced onions and kidney beans like I had as a kid.
First time making vegetarian Borscht. Using it for Ukrainian Christmas. Delicious!
your recipe states 8 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water; your video calls for 4 cups broth and 6 cups water… which is your preferred recipe?
Hi Dana! Follow the written recipe, it’s the most up to date version.
Made this for the first time on Christmas day yesterday (risky, I know, but it paid off) and it was soooooo good and everyone loved it! My sister (a notorious picky eater) complained about it tasting a bit too much like pepper, but went for seconds anyways so maybe next time I’ll just put half a pepper.
I was wondering if it would be ok to freeze it and then reheat it later on? If so, it qould definitely enter my meal prep rotation.
So happy to hear you loved it! Yes, it freezes well.
This was delicious. Just curious though- which ingredient gives it the spiciness.
Hi Stefania, it should not be spicy unless you added a spicy pepper or used a lot of black pepper.
Does this soup freeze well? Can it be made in advance?
Hi Luanne. Yes, you can freeze it, just make sure to cool it completely before freezing and you may use an airtight containers or freezer bags.
Added half a head of cabbage as to me that is an important borscht ingredient. Came out wonderful.
Wow! I followed the recipe exactly. Amazing! Delicious! Yummy, yummy! Will cook it again!
Lots of flavorful ingredients that blend so nicely. Nothing over powering!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I made your Borscht today, and it was oh so good! I often follow your recipes because I love them!
I’m so happy you’re loving them, Julie!
Hello Natasha,
I’m going to be making your borscht soup for the first time this weekend, I was just wondering if I could use a green pepper, instead of a red pepper as I only have green peppers on hand?
Hi Rhonda, we always use red peppers but I think that will work too. Let us know how it goes if you give that a try!