Ukrainian Food Recipes: Beet Borscht

Ukrainian beet borscht is a hearty, tangy soup made with beets, cabbage, potatoes, and often beans, served hot with dill and a spoonful of sour cream. Regional and family versions vary; this meatless version is filling, colorful, and practical to make with canned beans and everyday vegetables.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons neutral oil (30 ml), such as sunflower or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion (about 150 g), peeled and finely diced
2 medium carrots (about 160 g), peeled and coarsely grated
3 medium raw beets (about 450 g total), peeled and coarsely grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste (30 g)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (15 ml), plus more to taste
8 cups vegetable broth (1.9 L), preferably lower-sodium
2 medium potatoes (about 350 g), peeled if desired and cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes
3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 210 g)
1 can white beans, 15 ounces (425 g), drained and rinsed; this yields about 1½ cups (255 g) beans
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fine salt (6 g), plus more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (about 1 g)
2 garlic cloves (about 6 g), finely minced
¼ cup chopped fresh dill (about 10 g), divided
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (4 g), optional, to balance especially tart beets or broth
¾ cup sour cream (180 g), for serving
6 slices rye bread, for serving, optional

Instructions

Prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion, grate the carrots and beets, cube the potatoes, slice the cabbage, and mince the garlic. Keep the beets separate from the potatoes and cabbage so you can add them at the right point. Drain and rinse the beans. Having everything ready before the pot goes on the heat makes the cooking sequence easier to manage.
Soften the onion and carrot. Warm the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 8 minutes, stirring every minute or two. The onion should become soft and translucent, and the carrot should begin to soften. If the vegetables start to brown or stick, turn the heat down and add a tablespoon of broth.
Cook the beets with tomato paste. Stir in the grated beets and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato paste and vinegar, then stir for 2 minutes so the paste coats the vegetables and loses its raw, concentrated smell. The vinegar helps keep the soup bright and balances the beets’ sweetness. If your beets taste particularly earthy or your broth is sharp, you can leave the optional sugar out until the soup is finished and taste it first.
Simmer the potatoes and cabbage. Pour in the vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any flavorful bits. Add the potatoes, cabbage, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then lower the heat so it simmers steadily without bubbling hard. Partly cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check a potato with a fork: it should be nearly tender, and the cabbage should be soft but not falling apart.
Add the beans. Stir in the drained white beans and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered or partly covered. This gives the beans time to warm through and lets their starch lightly thicken the broth. Avoid vigorous boiling, which can break up the potatoes and beans and make the soup cloudy and mushy.
Finish and rest the soup. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the garlic and about half of the dill, then simmer for 5 minutes. Taste the broth. Add more salt, pepper, vinegar, or the optional sugar in small amounts until the flavors are balanced; the soup should be savory, gently sweet from the beets, and pleasantly tangy rather than sharply sour. Turn off the heat and let the soup rest for 5 minutes before serving. Add the remaining dill at the table or just before ladling.

Tips

Protect your hands and board. Beet juice stains skin, towels, and porous cutting boards. Wear kitchen gloves if you like, and use a plate or a washable board when grating. A box grater works well; a food processor with a grating disk makes the job quicker, but avoid processing the beets into a wet puree.
Adjust the tang gradually. Beets differ in sweetness, and prepared broth can already contain salt or acidity. Start with the listed vinegar, then taste after the soup has simmered. Add extra vinegar by the teaspoon, and add the optional sugar only if the finished soup tastes noticeably too sharp.
Keep the texture distinct. Cut the potatoes into similar-sized cubes so they finish at about the same time. Simmer gently rather than boiling hard, and stir carefully after adding the beans. If you prefer a thicker soup, mash a few potato cubes against the side of the pot and stir them back in instead of adding flour.
Choose a useful substitute. Sunflower oil is traditional in many versions, but canola oil works without changing the flavor much. If fresh dill is unavailable, use 1 tablespoon (about 3 g) dried dill, added with the broth; it tastes less fresh and herbal, so garnish with parsley if you have it.

Serving Suggestions

Ladle the soup into warm bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of sour cream and a pinch of fresh dill. For a traditional-style presentation, set out rye bread for dipping; a slice of crusty sourdough or dark whole-grain bread also works well. The creamy topping softens the vinegar’s tang, while the bread makes the meal more substantial without needing another elaborate side.

For a fuller table, serve borscht with a simple cucumber salad, sliced tomatoes, or steamed potatoes dressed with dill. If you are serving a group, keep the sour cream and extra vinegar on the side so everyone can adjust their own bowl. Borscht is also a good make-ahead meal: the flavors often seem more blended after a night in the refrigerator, so it can be cooked the day before and reheated gently.

Variations

Use dried beans if you have time. Replace the canned beans with ¾ cup (150 g) dried white beans. Soak and cook them separately according to their package directions until tender, then add about 1½ cups cooked beans at the same point as the canned beans. Dried beans vary in age and cooking time, so do not rely on the soup’s 10-minute finishing simmer to cook them from dry.

Make it without cabbage. You can omit the cabbage and add another diced potato or a small, finely sliced leek. The result will be sweeter and less leafy, with a slightly softer texture. Add the extra potato with the other potatoes and simmer until tender.

Bring in mushrooms. For a deeper, earthy flavor, sauté 8 ounces (225 g) sliced cremini mushrooms with the onion and carrot until their liquid evaporates, about 6 to 8 minutes. Then continue with the beets. This makes the soup more savory but also more substantial; you may need an extra ½ cup (120 ml) broth if the pot looks too thick.

Add meat in a separate preparation. Some versions of borscht include beef or pork, while others are meatless. To keep this recipe’s timing and texture reliable, serve cooked meat separately or use a tested meat-based borscht recipe rather than putting raw meat into this vegetable simmer. If you add meat, follow the USDA FSIS safe minimum internal temperature for its cut and form.

Use beet greens. If your beets come with fresh, clean greens, chop a handful and stir them in during the final 5 minutes. They wilt quickly and add a mild leafy flavor. Remove any tough stems, and do not add a large quantity unless you want the soup to taste more like a greens soup than a classic beet-and-cabbage version.

Storage and Reheating

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate them within 2 hours of cooking, ideally in shallow, covered containers. Keep the sour cream separate and add it only to individual bowls. The soup keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. The potatoes may soften slightly as they sit, but the broth and vegetables should still be enjoyable; stir gently before reheating because beans and beet shreds can settle.

Reheat only the portion you plan to eat in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until steaming throughout. For food safety, USDA FSIS recommends reheating leftovers to 165°F (74°C); check the center with a food thermometer. Add a splash of broth or water if the soup has thickened in storage, then taste and refresh it with a little dill or vinegar. You can freeze the soup, without sour cream, in airtight freezer-safe containers for about 2 to 3 months for best quality. Leave room for expansion, thaw it in the refrigerator, and reheat as above; potatoes can become a little grainy after freezing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes borscht Ukrainian?
Beet-based borscht is strongly associated with Ukrainian cooking and is made in many regional and household styles. Ingredients and methods differ: some versions include meat, beans, or different vegetables, while others are vegetarian. This recipe uses beets, cabbage, potatoes, and white beans for a practical meatless bowl; it is one version, not a claim that there is a single required formula.

Can I use cooked or vacuum-packed beets?
Yes, but the flavor and texture will be different. Use about 450 g (1 pound) cooked beets, grated, and add them after the potatoes and cabbage have simmered for about 10 minutes. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, then continue with the beans and finishing steps. Since cooked beets are already soft, adding them early can make them break down, and they may give the soup a milder, less earthy beet flavor.

Why did my borscht lose its bright red color?
Long, hard boiling can dull the color, and some beets are naturally less vivid than others. Grating and cooking the beets briefly with tomato paste and vinegar helps preserve a lively red tone, while a gentle simmer is kinder to the color than a rolling boil. The soup may also darken somewhat in the refrigerator; a small splash of vinegar when reheating can brighten its flavor.

Can I make this soup ahead?
Yes. Cook it through, cool it promptly, and refrigerate it in covered containers within 2 hours. For the freshest herbal aroma, save some dill for serving rather than stirring all of it into the pot. Reheat the soup until it reaches 165°F (74°C), then add the reserved dill and sour cream at the table.

How can I make borscht vegan?
This soup is vegan before garnishing if you use vegetable broth and oil. Replace the sour cream with an unsweetened plant-based alternative, or omit it and finish each bowl with a little extra dill and a few drops of vinegar. Check packaged broth and plant-based toppings if you are avoiding specific animal-derived ingredients.

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Safety notes: safe minimum internal temperatures from USDA FSIS; raw and undercooked fish guidance from the U.S. FDA. Food safety notes

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