Borscht Recipe

What is Borscht Soup?

Borscht soup is a traditional Ukrainian soup made with beef, cabbage, beets, and other vegetables. It’s known for the beautiful ruby-red color that comes from adding beets.

The main ingredients that always go into borscht soup are cabbage, beets, and beef. You can change up some other veggies that you put into it. Mushrooms and potatoes could be left out if you wish or just don’t like mushrooms. Try adding leek and parsnips to your soup.

There are a tons of other variations of borscht from different regions of Eastern European countries. One is white borscht that has no beets. White borscht has a lot more of a cabbage taste and is a little more on a sour side.

Another popular version of borscht is one that is made with sorrel and no beets. Sorrel is a sour herb and it looks somewhat similar to spinach. I adore sorrel and its juicy, sour taste. It gives a great taste to soups. Unfortunately, it’s not a popular herb where I live so it’s extremely hard to find.

Yet another popular version of Borsch is served cold. This soup is completely vegetarian and can be served warm or cold. It has a vegetable only base, no meat at all. (I don’t recommend trying to serve beef based Borscht cold because cold pieces of meat fat will not be pleasant.)

Beef – Use “stew beef,” also known as chuck roast. It’s inexpensive, tough, and has lots of marbling and connective tissue. Not a cut that you want to cook quickly, but it’s perfect for slow cooking and very flavorful. You can buy a whole piece and cut it yourself or get a package that’s pre-cut into about 1-inch chunks. 

Marrow Bones – Marrow bones will provide nutrients and richness to the beef broth. I highly recommend that you use them. Make sure to discard them once the stock is cooked.

Whole Peppercorns and Coriander – Make sure to use whole, not ground spices. If you don’t want to deal with straining and picking the whole spices out of the meat and stock later, you can always tie the spices in cheesecloth so you can easily discard it after. 

Cabbage – Use green cabbage that is small to medium in size. If you could only get a large cabbage, use what you need for soup and you can use the leftovers to quickly make Fried Cabbage or Colcannon. 

Potatoes – Idaho potatoes, also known as russet or baking potatoes, are the best ones to use because they cook soft and fluffy.

Tomato Paste – Make sure to use tomato paste and not tomato sauce. Tomato paste is more concentrated, thicker and richer.

Garlic – Use fresh for the best flavor, not pre-minced garlic for the best flavor.

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.

Make the Beef Stock

PRO TIP: If you don’t want to deal with straining and picking the whole spices out of the meat and stock later, you can always tie the spices in cheesecloth so you can easily discard it after. 

Sear meat: Place a pot over medium-high heat and add oil. If there are any big, hard chunks of fat on the beef, cut them off. Add the beef and marrow bones to the pot and sear for a few minutes. (1)

Bring to Simmer: Pour the water into the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the bay leaves, coriander and peppercorns, then lower the heat to low. (2)

Cook: Loosely cover the pot with a lid so that steam can escape. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. (3)

Add the beets: About halfway through cooking, add the beets to the pot. (4) Cook until done, then take out and set aside.

Strain. Strain the stock. Discard the bones, herbs, and seasonings. Set the meat aside.

Make the Soup

Prepare the veggies: Slice onions, mushrooms, and cabbage thinly. Grate carrots on a large grater and cube the potatoes. Peel the garlic and set aside. Set the cooked beets aside to cool. 

Sauté: Using the same pot you made the stock in, set the heat to medium and add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Sauté the onions and carrots until softened (5), then add the minced garlic to the pot and stir. (6)

Add more veggies. Add the potatoes and mushrooms (7). Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cabbage, stir and cook until cabbage softens (8).

Add tomato paste and seasonings: Add the tomato paste, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stir well until tomato paste is evenly mixed.

Add beef and stock: Break apart the beef and add it to the pot (9). Stir and start pouring in the stock (10). Add enough stock to completely cover the veggies.

Cook again. Cook the soup over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes (11). Stir occasionally. Taste to make sure you have enough salt and pepper.

Finish it off. Stir in dill weed. Peel beets and grate them into the soup on a large cheese grater (12). Give it a good stir before serving.

PRO TIP: Don’t forget to garnish with sour cream and fresh dill weed for the most authentic experience.

Make Ahead Suggestions

Borscht requires two steps to make: first you need to make the beef broth and cook the beets, then composing the actual soup. You can always break down this process into two days!

One day, you can prepare the beef broth and cook the beets. Make sure to store the meat with broth and the beets in separate containers! Take the beets out of the broth once cooked and store them in another food storage container, in the refrigerator. Store the meat and broth in the refrigerator as well. Then the next day, you can make the soup according to the recipe and it will take less than an hour.

Storing and Reheating

You can easily store the soup in the same pot you used to make it as long as it has a fitted lid. Store leftover borscht in the refrigerator, covered airtight. Properly stored, it will last for up to 5 days. Remember to always use a clean ladle when taking out individual portions to reheat.

To reheat it, you can easily reheat the whole pot or portions in a smaller pot on the stove-top over medium-low heat. Heat through just until reheated and stir often to distribute the heat. You can also use a microwave for faster reheating.

You can also freeze half or all of the soup for later. Make sure to cool the soup completely before freezing. Portion it into individual freezer friendly containers or zip-top bags, or store it all together in a large container. Let as much air out as you can, seal, label, and freeze for up to 2 months. Make sure to thaw borscht slowly in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. 

PRO TIP: Note that potatoes do tend to break down more when frozen and thawed, so the texture will change slightly.