Borscht Soup

Hearty borscht made with cabbage, tomato, potatoes and white kidney beans. This nutritious beet soup will be great for lunch or dinner.

European popular dish with deep red color made with beetroot, cabbage, tomato, white potatoes, carrot and beans. Learn how to make healthy and flavorful dish for your weeknight dinner.

Borscht Recipe

Texture: thick with many variety of vegetables.
Taste: salty, earthy flavor, a little tangy, since beets and lemon goes well together.
Simplicity: vegetables needs to be sliced or diced, step by step cooking is also needed. You don’t cook all vegetables at once. To make the soup delicious and not mushy these steps are important.
Meal Type: luncheon, soup.

Where is borscht originally from?

This sour soup is well known in Eastern European countries. It is usually associated with Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Ukraine. There are many variations of the borscht for each country, however soup originally comes from Ukraine.

How to make Borscht

1. Firstly gather all ingredients: butter, onion, garlic clove, chicken broth, carrot, tomato, savoy cabbage, potatoes, white kidney beans, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
2. Saute chopped onion and garlic clove in a large pot.
3. Add chopped beets (save stems for later) and chicken broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add rest of vegetables and beet stems, cook for another 20 minutes.
5. Once veggies are soft and cooked, add kidney beans, lemon juice, salt and pepper, cook on low-medium heat for extra 20 minutes.

Tips to make Beet Soup

• Don’t overcook the borscht, it will become brownish. It is better to cook on low-medium heat rather than high heat. You want bright red beet soup.
• Make sure to use flavorful chicken broth or chicken stock. You can buy the broth/stock at the store or make your own. I used my chicken broth for this recipe.
• Cook vegetables according to the steps. I like to cook beets first for 15-20 minutes, then rest of veggies. Also, add kidney beans in the last 20 minutes to prevent them from becoming to soft.
• You can use any type of cabbage for this soup, I used savoy.
• Also, you can use any type of beans: red kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, chickpeas etc.
• Serve the soup with plain greek yogurt or sour cream.
• The soup is thick, but you can increase the broth by 1 or 2 cups, if needed.

Beet Soup Faq’s

How to make vegetarian borscht? You can use vegetarian bouillon, broth or stock. Alternatively, you can use water, but increase amount of salt and black pepper.

Why is borscht healthy? It is healthy simply because, it is packed with variety of vegetables including beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomato and carrot. It is low in fat, rich in antioxidants, vitamins B and C.

Can borscht be frozen? Yes, you can freeze in glass or plastic container for several months.

What goes well with borscht? Sour cream, plain greek yogurt, freshly chopped parsley or dill.

Other Soup Recipes:

• Black Bean Mexican Soup
• Homemade Tomato Basil Soup
• Brown Rice Beef Barley Soup

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Borscht Soup

Borscht soup made with white kidney beans, tomato and beets.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 10 mins

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: European

Keyword: beetsoup, borscht

Servings: 5

Calories: 278kcal

Author: Ilona

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 onion small, chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 3 beets 1 bunch with stems
• 10 cups chicken broth homemade or store bought
• 2 potatoes small, peeled, diced
• 1 carrot small, sliced
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 cup savoy cabbage chopped
• 19 oz. white kidney beans 540 ml
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Instructions

• In a large pot melt butter, saute onion for 5 - 9 minutes on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for another 1 minute.
• Remove stems from beets, dice them, set aside. Peel and dice beets into small cubes.
• Pour chicken broth, add cubed beets (except stems). Cook on low-medium heat partially covered for 15-20 minutes.
• Add potatoes, carrot, tomato, savoy cabbage and beet stems. Cook for another 20 minutes until all vegetables will be soft.
• Add kidney beans plus the liquid from the can, add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes.

Notes

• Don't overcook the borscht, it will become brownish. It is better to cook on low-medium heat rather than high heat. You want bright red beet soup.
• Make sure to use flavorful chicken broth or chicken stock. You can buy the broth/stock at the store or make your own. I used my chicken broth for this recipe. 
• Cook vegetables according to the steps. I like to cook beets first for 15-20 minutes, then rest of veggies. Also, add kidney beans in the last 20 minutes to prevent them from becoming to soft.
• You can use any type of cabbage for this soup, I used savoy.
• Also, you can use any type of beans: red kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, chickpeas etc.
• Serve the soup with plain greek yogurt or sour cream. 
• The soup is thick, but you can increase the broth by 1 or 2 cups, if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 2356mg | Potassium: 1495mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2473IU | Vitamin C: 60mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 7mg

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Update Notes: This post was published in March, 2014, it was updated with new tips and Faq’s in February, 2020.