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My stress levels are higher since I started working (naturally I guess), and my funny bone is suffering because of it. I’ll try a joke. Ahem. Two beets walk into a bar…… nope, it’s just not flowing. 🙁
Anyway, about this Holodnik – Russian Cold Soup recipe. It really is this color; a vibrant violet. It’s all in the beets. Gorgeous isn’t it? Wild looking, but gorgeous! Holodnik is a a little like cold borscht, but tangier. I guess its more like Okroshka so if you enjoyed that, you’ll like this too. Oh and the egg is nice. Don’t skip it.
Ingredients for Holodnik:
3 large red beets or 5 small beets
2 quarts water
1 quart buttermilk
1 medium onion or 3 green onions
4 cucumbers
Sea salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
1 bunch dill
4-6 boiled eggs (optional)
Large Cooking pot
How to Make Russian Cold Holodnik Soup:
1. Boil beets, drain, and let them cool. I boiled mine for 35 min and added 1 Tbsp of sugar for extra sweetness. These were fresh beets. Older beets may take up to an hour.
2. Boil 2 quarts of water and let it cool. Mix cooled water with 1 quart of buttermilk in a large pot.
3. Shred beets and add them to the pot with water/buttermilk mixture.
4. Add salt and sugar. I recommend starting with 1 Tbsp salt and adding more to taste, you may like it sweeter or saltier.
5. Next add sliced green onions, dill and diced cucumbers (Vidalia Chop Wizard
6. Place completed soup in the fridge to let it cool completely.
Enjoy it with half of a boiled egg. You can also serve it with a dollop of sour cream.
Holodnik - a Cold Summer Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large cooked red beets or 5 small cooked beets
- 2 quarts boiled cooled water
- 1 quart buttermilk
- 1 medium onion or 3 green onions
- 4 cucumbers
- 1 Tbsp sea salt, or add to taste*
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 bunch dill
- 4-6 boiled eggs, optional
Large Cooking pot
Instructions
- Boil beets, drain, and let them cool.
- Boil 2 quarts of water and let it cool. Mix cooled water with 1 quart of buttermilk in a large pot.
- Shred beets and add them to the pot with water/buttermilk mixture.
- Add salt and sugar. *I recommend starting with 1 Tbsp salt and adding more to taste, you may like it sweeter or saltier.
- Next add sliced green onions, dill and diced cucumbers.
- Place completed soup in the fridge to let it cool completely.
- Enjoy it with half of a boiled egg. You can also serve it with a dollop of sour cream.
Who says you can’t enjoy soup in summer?
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I just made this yesterday and served it chilled for lunch. YUM! Using canned cooked beets shredded and then added some diced pickled beets for texture and crunch as well as a big dollop of sour cream when serving. Excellent.
One question: why boil and cool the water? I used a quart of cool filtered water (which we use for coffee, tea and drinking) and all seemed OK.
Now to try some of your other summer soup recipes.
What’s the purpose of boiling/cooling water. Can plain filtered water be used? Also, can we use the liquid beets were boiled in? Thank you! Love this recipe!
HI Natasha, I wouldn’t use the water from the beets because it can taste a little too earthy from the beet skins. Boiled water prevents bacteria growth – that is the main reason for boiling the water. You can also use boiled and cooled water from a kettle.
Oh my, could this be what my grandmother called “Easter soup??”. It was the stuff dreams are made of, except she added kielbasa (she’s Polish) and it was actually served warm.
Delicious! My husband, who is meat and potatoes type of guy, really loved it! I made half a recipe, used plain kefir instead of buttermilk, added thinly sliced, cut up radishes, and used chives instead of green onion (as I had all these ingredients on hand). This recipe is a winner and I will definitely be making it again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Natalie!
Dear Natasha IF the beets are very large can one cut them in half or quarters first, or is it better to leave them whole so as to not spoil the flavor and texture of the beets?
Love your recipes and refer to them frequently thank you
Hi Victoria, if I am boiling beets, I don’t cut them but if you baken them or put them in an instant pot, that would work. Check out our beet salad post for instructions on baking or pressure cooking beets.
Love all your recipes and this also looks fantastic, exactly how we make it 🙂 The only difference is that we mix in the fresh ingredients and kefir daily as we serve it. So question, how long can this last in the refrigerator in the pre-mixed form? Without cucumbers getting soggy and or spoiling? Thank you!
I think it’s best in the refrigerator about 3 days.
Hello,
Don’t you put kefir?even natural yogurt goes well 🙂 thank you for the recipe
Hi! Yes, you can definitely use kefir!
On point! Really quick to make, I kept the water from boiling the beets for the soup water later for a more dramatic effect and less cooking time. I also diced the eggs and tossed them into the soup as well. Worked out fantastic, a genuine old country recipe. Fantastic!
It sure is a classic! Thanks for the great review!
I am confused with the salt proportions, is it really 3Tbsp? Or should it be 3tsp. It turned out way too salty I had to add double the liquid.
Hi Elisabeth, I’m so glad you asked! When we switched to the new recipe card, I think it somehow switched tsp to Tbsp. So sorry about that! I updated the recipe card and with this one, I recommend starting with 1 Tbsp salt and adding more to taste, you may like it sweeter or saltier.
Thank you for your quick response. This soup is delicious! What a great way to remember childhood favorites!
You’re welcome!