Russian Borscht Soup

Borscht soup is traditional Russian beet soup. It’s a hearty soup packed with vitamins and nutrients and has a distinctive vibrant red color. This is the original Russian recipe from my Mother.

So back I’m back with a traditional warming soup recipe, which is my family’s absolute favorite soup recipe. It’s definitely our number #1 recipe when it comes to soups, and everyone in my family loves it.

You probably already know that my Mom is Russian, I grew up in a Russian family and that means that we ate a lot of Borsch growing up!

Borsch is cooked in our house at least once every fortnight until this very day. It’s a warming hearty soup that can be served all year round. I love the fact that it’s packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and it’s made with very simple ingredients.

This recipe that I’m sharing with you today is a vegan version of the original Russian Borscht recipe and exactly the way we cook it in our family.

Before we get into more detail, let me tell you one thing. The secret is in the beets that you use! If you’re using fresh, hard, and deep red beets, then your borsch will turn out so vibrant and awesome!

What Is Borscht Soup?

Borsch or Borscht (борщ in Russian) is a healthy and filling soup that comes from the former Russian Empire. With beets being the main ingredient in this soup, it has a distinctive red color. There are many different variations of this soup but it’s mainly made from beets, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and spices.

This version of Borscht that I’m sharing with you is Russian and it’s vegan. However, Russian Borscht is traditionally made with beef, using the bone broth or both the meat and the broth/stock. It can also be served with hard-boiled eggs or without as a vegetarian version.

Is Borscht a Russian Soup?

I believe that Borscht is Russia’s national dish. As I mentioned before, the soup comes from the former Russian Empire. There are different variations of this soup in other countries though, such as Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland (try my Polish Borscht version), Lithuania, Belarus, and Armenia.

To make this soup more nutritious, and to add plant-based protein, I recommend adding cooked kidney beans.

Cold Borscht

This soup can be served hot or cold. In the summer, it can be mixed with smetana, kefir, or sour cream and served cold. Once mixed with Smetana, it will have a very pretty deep pink color. In Russia, the cold variation of Borscht soup is called Svekolnik, and in Belarus, it’s called Khaladnik.

The Ingredients

The main ingredient for this soup is beets. Beets can be either roasted, boiled, or sauteed.

To make this Borscht, you will also need:

• Raw beets, cabbage, carrot, potato.
• Onion, garlic.
• Tomato paste, vegetable oil, vegetable stock, or water.
• Bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
• And to help the beets stay red, you will need a little bit of sugar and white vinegar.

How to Make Russian Borscht Soup

• In a large pot, add water and boil the potatoes for 5 minutes then add the cabbage and bay leaves. Cook until the potatoes and cabbage are tender but not overcooked.
• In a pan, heat oil and saute the onion with grated carrot and beets. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat then add a little bit of water and cover with a lid. Cook until the beet is tender.
• Add half of the sauteed onion, carrot, and beet mixture to the potato and cabbage.
• Season with salt, add sugar, and white vinegar. Give it a quick mix and cook for a couple of minutes.

• Add the rest of the onion, carrot, and beet mixture to the soup. Remove from heat, and add crushed garlic. Cover with a lid and let it sit for around 10 minutes before serving.
• Serve with crusty bread and a dollop of Smetana or Greek yogurt.

Garnishes and Sides

Borscht soup is usually served with Smetana which is a runnier version of sour cream, Smetana can be found in Russian and most Eastern European stores.

The soup is usually garnished with chopped dill, but can also be garnished with chopped parsley, green onions, or chives.

In our family, we love Borscht with a piece of rye bread (it’s called black bread in Russia!) and dill pickles.

This recipe first appeared on Little Sunny Kitchen in July 2018, but was updated in March 2020 with new images that were actually taken in Russia!