Vegetarian Borscht Recipe

Vegetarian Borscht is a delicious vegetable stew with a signature deep red color. Made with beets, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and more, it is often served with sour cream, dill and hard boiled eggs. 

Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!

Vegetarian borscht is a popular Ukrainian food filled with the earthy sweetness of beets, carrots and potatoes and topped with the freshness of dill. This traditional beet soup is one of the most popular Eastern European dishes. It is packed with healthy vegetables and comes out the most beautiful, deep red color.

A Short Story 

During the summer of 2017, I worked part-time as a waitress at an upscale restaurant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The food at this place was DELICIOUS, and they were especially famous for their awesome soups, particularly their cream of mushroom.

Every day that there was a new soup on the menu was a great day because it meant I got to try something new (plus, the soups were the only things the servers were allowed to eat without paying… That summer, I ate A LOT of soup.)

One day, I saw a soup on the menu that I had never heard of before… Borscht. When I asked one of the food runners how I should describe it to customers, he said “it’s a cold beet soup… we serve it with hard-boiled eggs.”

If I could have run out of the restaurant at that very second, I would have run faaaarrrr away from this soup. Everything about that description made me anxious. Cold soup? Made out of beets? Topped with eggs?!?! No thank you!!!!

So, of course, the Borscht Soup was the only soup that summer that I didn’t try.

Now here we are, and I decided to swallow my pride, employ Mama Foreign Fork to help cut me up some beets, and throw a pot on the stove to make this vegetarian borscht recipe.

This red beet soup is bomb. The color is gorgeous; the taste is delicious, and I am quite the fan! So, my readers, don’t run from this soup. Embrace it. Try it. It’s delicious and you’ll thank me for this advice.

What is Borscht?

I’m going to try to describe this better than my coworker did two years ago. Borscht is made by simmering beets, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes on the stove with some broth. Eventually, the vegetables break down, the soup thickens, and out comes a thick, yummy soup that is the most beautiful color I have ever seen.

There are many different variations of borscht in Eastern European countries. In Belarus, this traditional soup is typically served cold, like at the restaurant I worked at. Ukrainian borscht is served warm. This recipe is for Ukrainian borscht (although cold borscht is equally delicious!)

How to Cut and Peel Beets

If you’ve never cooked with beets before, this recipe may seem intimidating. Beets are a typical root vegetable and like most root vegetables, they can be peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces. 

I recommend wearing gloves to keep your hands from dyeing red but if you don’t have any, the red will fade in a few hours. It can stain your clothes so wear an apron or change into something you don’t care as much about.

You can also rub your hands and your cutting board with some lemon juice to prevent some dyeing. 

Cut off the ends of the beets and use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin away before chopping up the vegetable.This recipe is best when the beets are cut into thin matchsticks. However, I have also made it with grated beets, and the end result works well enough. To make it easier, you can use the grating feature on a food processor.

If your beets come with leaves you can also eat the beet greens to enjoy the whole beet!

What You Should Love About Beets

There are so many reasons to love beets! There are so many health benefits! Beets are low in calories but rich in nutrients. They are full of fiber, potassium, magnesium, copper and vitamins C and B. 

Beets also contain folate, which is great for heart health and manganese which is great for brain function, metabolism and bone formation.

Beets are an excellent source of natural energy. They are the perfect fuel for a workout. They also contain pigments called betalains which help fight inflammation, even chronic inflammation from obesity, heart disease, liver disease and cancer.

According to Healthline, beets have been shown to help lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, but the blood pressure benefits are temporary so you need to eat beets regularly to continue to see the benefits. Sounds like a great excuse to make borscht! 

Beets are even considered by many to be a superfood because of all the benefits they provide.

If you’re using a beet for the first time for this recipe, they make a great addition to salads and can be enjoyed raw, cooked or pickled. Another great way to use beets is trying some Beet and Potato Salad from Ethiopia or these Instant Pot Beets.

Recipe Origins

There are a few different stories for the origins of this sour soup, but most agree that the original recipe for this delicious soup comes from Ukraine. 

One story is that an early rendition of this recipe was developed by rural, poor families sometime between the 5th and 9th centuries. The families would put cow-parsnips (including the stems and leaves of the plant) into a clay pot to ferment before adding broth, egg yolks and cream. It was eaten nearly every day and served even at special celebrations when meat would be added to the stew. 

It wasn’t until the 17th century that the dish began to be consumed by noble families and spread to more parts of the world. As the popular soup spread, the ingredients changed, and the current version of borscht was developed. 

Another theory is that the word “borscht” comes from the old Slavic word for beets, “b’rshch”. This is fitting, as beets are the main ingredient of this beet-based soup!

Lithuania, Moldova, Poland and Russia all have their own versions of borscht, and the recipe has even traveled to Brazil and China. In Ukraine, the ingredients for borscht are all cooked together in a clay pot, symbolizing a strong family that blends each unique flavor together to create something amazing!

Why Make This Recipe

1. Enjoy a Superfood: Borscht is known for the deep red color provided by the beets. As mentioned above, beets are so delicious and good for you too!
2. Easy Meatless Meal: This recipe for borscht is completely vegetarian but still so filling and satisfying. If you’re looking for ways to cut down on the amount of meat you consume, this is a great choice. You can also check out Khachapuri for a cheesy flatbread with egg that will fill you up!
3. Try a Taste of Belarus/Ukraine: This dish is very popular in Belarus and Ukraine. If you have ever wanted to travel to that portion of your world but can’t make the trip yet, you can at least try out some of the food they are known for.

What Do I Need To Make This Recipe?

Ingredients

1. Beets: I like to cut my beets to matchstick size, but you could also grate them if you have a machine that will make that job easier. 
2. Vegetables: Carrots, onion, red or green cabbage and potatoes make this soup hearty and filling. You could even add additional vegetables if you’d like.
3. Tomato Sauce: Tomato sauce and vegetable broth make up the base of the soup, along with a splash of white vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar.
4. Fresh Dill: Fresh dill on top is the perfect addition! It is not traditional to use dried dill. 

Tools

1. Large Pot: With a lid. 

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Saute your Vegetables

In a large pot, add the oil over medium heat. Cook garlic and onion in the oil until translucent, or about 5 minutes.

Add the beets and carrot and sautee again for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Sprinkle with sugar and add the tomato paste. Mix again to combine. 

Add the cabbage to the pot along with the vegetable broth.

Step 2: Let it Boil

Cover the pot and bring the broth to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Stir in potatoes, vinegar, dill, salt, and pepper. Cook, covered for about 20 more minutes, until the soup reduces and gets a bit thicker.

Step 3: Add Final Seasonings and Enjoy!

Add the tomato sauce and cook for about five more minutes, uncovered. 

Serve and enjoy! Garnish with sour cream, freshly grated garlic, and lots of fresh dill. 

Expert Tips

• I made my Vegetarian Borscht Recipe with just vegetables, but many people add beef or beans to the soup as well. Kidney beans, pinto beans or white beans work well in borscht. 
• You can add any vegetables you want to this stew. Turnips, parsnips, zucchini, celery and bell peppers are sometimes added. 
• If your beets came with leaves, you can chop up the leaves and add them to the soup in the last few minutes of cooking.
• One recipe I found mentioned roasting your vegetables before adding them to the soup. This is an extra step that would dirty up a roasting pan but it adds another level of flavor that you may like to try.

FAQs

Did you enjoy this Vegetarian Borscht Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you: 

• Escudella (Andorran Meat Stew)
• Mantiabour Soup from Armenia
• Algerian Chickpea Stew
• 8 Easy Soup Recipes from Around the World  
• Split Pea Soup in the Instant Pot
• Fish Soup from Cambodia
• Strawberry Kissel from Belarus
• Potato Pancakes from Belarus
• What To Serve with Falafel Balls