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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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:
If you enjoy our videos, please and click the bell icon so you’ll be the first to know when we post a new video. THANK YOU for subscribing! We love spending time with you on our
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
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 am so happy to find your recipe – we love it and make it weekly. My husband was craving the recipe his Ukrainian mom used to make for him as a boy.
Planning to can it (also have frozen it) – have you canned it for your family? Did you pressure can it or water bath it?
Anyone else?
Loving this recipe – perfect every time!
Hi 🙂 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?
I just wanted to say this is my go to recipe for borscht and it turns out amazing every time! I do make two small changes: I add a little garlic to the carrot and onion mixture and I use tomato paste instead of ketchup and leave out the beans! It’s so amazing every time!
I’m so glad to hear it is your go-to recipe!! Thank you for sharing that with us 🙂
If you are going to can soup make sure the salt you use when preparing it is uniodized. If you use iodized salt it will always spoil after canning.
Thank you for sharing your tip! I usually purchase non-iodized salt but that is great to know!
Hello! This looks wonderful, cant wait to make it! But I don’t usually have ketchup at home anything you would sub it with? Thanks for the help =)
Jessica, I would use tomato paste or half a can of (14 oz) stewed tomatoes. Let me know what you end up doing.
YUM!!!
Привет! Natasha, thank you so much for sharing your recipies. I made this tonight (my first attempt ever at making Борщ) It was wonderful. My daughter whom has never tried it and loved it. I can’t wait to start making some of your other dishes. Спасибо большое, очень вкусно!
На здоровье Rick and thank you for such a nice review 😀. That is the best when kids love what we parents make. That’s so great!
I love this recipe! I am curious though as most times I try to can it in large jars, it goes bad. Is there a set time to process the jars or is it best not to can it ?
Hi Kay, I’ve never tried canning borsch so I can’t really advise on that. I recall a reader said she cans it and places it in the fridge and it keeps about a month but I haven’t tested borsch canning myself.
Try freezing, works very well for my mother (with a different recipe, with meat), In my opinion it’s even better after being frozen.
I always use a can of tomato paste instead of ketchup and add a tbsp of sugar to it. It turns out great for me!
Is there a more traditional item besides ketchup that can be added?
Carl, you can add 1 cup strained tomatoes or tomato juice. Let me know how it turns out 😄.
My baba used to can her borscht. Should be ok. Looking forward to trying this recipe.
Hi Jessy, I’ve never tried canning borscht so I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think there is enough acidity, salt or sugar in this to keep it from spoiling at room temperature. One of my readers reported that their borscht stayed canned for 1 month in the refrigerator, but keep in mind that was in the refrigerator.
Would it be okay to add the beet tops in this amazing recipe which i am going to make this morning?
Yes! Check out how in this recipe.
thankyou so much for this recipe. made it and gave some to my neighbour she loved it it reminded her of her mother when she made it as well as mine she even noticed the beet tops lol once again thank you
You are very welcome 😀.
How essential is dill to the flavor of the soup?
I always thought dill added great flavor but you can omit it if you don’t have it and the soup will still taste great 🙂
First time making borscht and it was delicious! Love how the recipe has step by step instructions that were easy to follow thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and step-by-step instructions. That’s music to my ears 🙂
I’m wondering if the chicken broth you use is salt free or the added salt broth?
Hi Ivory, I have used both, but when I wrote out this recipe, I used regular chicken broth with added salt. If using low sodium, just add salt to taste 🙂
Can I pressure can this recipe.. sounds and looks amazing.
Hi Tony, I’m not sure this has enough acidity to preserve it for canning. I’ve never canned borsch before so I don’t know for sure but my guess would be that it wouldn’t can well.
Thank you for your rapid reply. None the less I am making this recipe this weekend. I have all these ingredients in our garden. Thanks
I canned a couple of jars last year to see if it would work. Kept them in the fridge. Not sure how long it will last. The last jar we took out was in the fridge for 2 months and was still really good. I will be canning more this year to see just how long they will last.
Oh wow that’s awesome to know that it works canned in the fridge! Thank you for sharing that with us! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Delicious! I picked your recipe out of all the recipes I looked at online because you added a great pictorial. I did my beets in a pressure cooker first as they were enormous and round. I’ve just come out of hospital and this soup was so nutritional and comforting I actually feels so much better!
God bless,
Kate from Melbourne
Kate, this is truly a feel good soup 😀. May God bless you for the speedy recovery.
Since when did The Ukraine add kidney beans? I know I only lived and worked there for three years but I certainly never found it with beans or without smetana (sour cream)
Hi Gary, we add the beans in our family for protein since there is no meat in this recipe. It’s one of the variations of borsch that our family makes. There are many different ways to make borsch and every family has their own twist on it. I do love it with sour cream also but my husband doesn’t.
Anastasi puts mayonnaise in ours:-)
It all looks really good. My woman, she just uses beef or chicken broth(no water)cooks the spuds and beets in the broth, then puts the cabbage in to cook, fries the onions along with bell pepper and what not in a skillet, then pours tomato juice and tomato paste in the skillet, then puts that in the pot along with beets, and yum yum. She’s stuck right now in Donbass in the DPR in donetsk. She can’t get out, and I can’t get in. Bummer.
Thank you for sharing her method with us! I’m always curious about how people make their borsch. That is a tough situation for you and I’m sorry to hear that :(.
My son has to make Borsch for his high school cooking class. He’s adopted from Donetsk, I lived there for a few weeks while I finished his paper work. Very depressed in that region. I have friend also stuck there. Putin. Bad news.
We are making this tonight. But I ate Borsch in Ukraine almost every night for 6 weeks. Couldn’t get enough of it.
Yeah, I’ve been making it, trying to make it as good as she does, but you know there’s something about a woman’s touch we men just can’t seem to quite copy, lol, especially a Russian girl from Donets’k. You can get the latest news about the struggle by typing the day’s date, and then Doni News in your address bar. Thanks. Phil.
Hello Natasha
I’ve just watched Poh (Poh’s Kitchen) make this and right at the end she blends it all together to make a thickish smooth soup. Have you made it this way?
Its definitely not the traditional way – blending the soup. I love the heartiness of borsch so I never blend it except for the baby to enjoy ofcourse 🙂
Hello.. Just now I try this recipe and my employer love it. Thanks Natasha… 😊
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Just made this and it was beautiful!
I’ve made the Polish version previously but this recipe is quite easy to make and has extra ingredients I have never used before in this dish. Letting the soup stand for a few hours while still warm infuses the flavours. My husband enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
You are welcome 😁, I’m glad you liked it. I totally agree with you to have the soup stand for few hours.