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A simple delicious Borscht Recipe -a healthy, vegetarian beet and cabbage soup that can be made in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop. Warming and nourishing, Borscht is full of flavor and nutrients! Vegan-adaptable and gluten-free. Video
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ―
The color of this soup almost feels therapeutic during the winter months! Bright and vibrant and full of healthy fresh veggies, Borscht nourishes body and soul. This version made by my friend Tonia is vegan, except for a dollop of sour cream (or yogurt ) on the top, but feel free to leave it off entirely or sub vegan yogurt. I find the little extra richness to be lovely.
Earthy, tangy and subtly sweet from the beets, Borscht is elevated with a generous sprinkling of fresh dill. A whisper of Spring.
Make it quickly in your instant pot or simmer it slowly on your stove – either way it is sure to delight. A little bit of color therapy, just when we need it most!
Craving more Beet Recipes? Take a peek at our collection of 20+ Best Beet Recipes, for more ways to cook this nutritious little gem!
How to make Broscht| Video
Where does Borscht Originate?
Borscht hails from Eastern Europe – Russia and Ukraine – and is traditionally made with beef bone broth, giving it delicious depth to balance the tartness. If so inclined feel free to use bone broth- or keep it vegan with veggie broth– up to you!
The fresh really dill elevates the Borscht – so be sure to include this!
We hope you enjoy this simple Borscht recipe – made with colorful beets, cabbage and fresh dill. Share your adaptions and let us know what you think in the comments below!
Other Beet recipes you may like
- 2O+ Vibrant Beet Recipes
- Healing Lentil Beet Soup
- Beet Braised Lentils
- Beet Bliss Bowl
- How to Make Beet Kvass!
- Poke Beets!
- Delicious Beet Salad Recipe with Feta & Pistachios
Simple Borscht Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: soup, vegan, instant pot, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Method: Instant pot, stove top
- Cuisine: Russian
Description
A simple delicious recipe for Borscht, a healthy, vegan-adaptable beet and cabbage soup that can be made in an Instant Pot or on the stove top. Warming and nourishing, Borscht is full of flavor and nutrients!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 large garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, sliced or diced small
- 1 extra large beet, thinly sliced, or small dice (approx. 2 cups)
- 2 cups red cabbage, shredded or chopped
- 1 cup beet stems and greens, chopped (optional or add another cup cabbage)
- 4 cups veggie broth (or chicken stock or traditional beef stock)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more to taste)
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
Garnish: dollop of sour cream, Greek yogurt or vegan yogurt
Instructions
Set Instapot to “saute” function.
Add the olive oil (or butter) and diced onions and sauté 4-5 minutes stirring often making sure onions do not stick. Add the rest of the veggies; garlic, celery, carrots, beets, cabbage, beet stems and greens and stir to coat with onions and oil.
Add the broth and tomato paste, spices, salt and pepper. Give and stir and press “cancel” button.
Place the lid on pot and lock, making sure steam release is pointed to Sealing. Press High Pressure and set to 10 minutes. When time is up, allow to naturally release for 5 minutes then place kitchen towel over the pressure release button and turn to manually release. Once the float valve drops, open the lid.
Stir in the apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
To serve, top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt ( or vegan yogurt) and ample amounts of fresh dill.
Enjoy!!!
Notes
This can also be made on the stove top, in a similar fashion. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the onions, stirring 4-5 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add garlic, saute 2 minutes, then add celery, carrots, beets, cabbage, beet greens, stirring to coat. Add broth and tomato paste. Add spices, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer on low heat 20 minutes or until beets and carrots are tender.
Continue with recipe above, adding vinegar, adjusting salt and pepper.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups -without sour cream
- Calories: 106
- Sugar: 7.6 g
- Sodium: 491.4 mg
- Fat: 5.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.7 g
- Fiber: 3.8 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: vegan Borscht, vegetarian Borscht, instant pot Borscht, easy borscht recipe, beet borscht, beet soup, beet cabbage soup,
Great easy recipe!
Glad you enjoyed!
Have enjoyed making this recipe this winter and spring! Use cinnamon instead of all spice. Sometimes add beans and or ham. Love it veggie too.
★★★★★
Sounds perfect!
My husband and I love this recipe. We make it at least once a month! It’s our absolute favorite.
Thanks so much Kaity!
The best borscht I’ve ever tasted, I make it for everyone I know and they all agree. Thank you!
★★★★★
Great to hear Daniella and glad you enjoyed this!
Have I commented earlier? Great recipe! Usually add a sweet potato. May add meat if I have it. Tonight using leftover roast pork and the deglazed pan drippings, fat poured off, from when it was browned, with water added. Using cinnamon instead of allspice – all out! I bet Ukrainians and whoever ate a lot of borscht made do with what they had.
★★★★★
Glad you are enjoying this Ethel. And love that reminder that food on the table was about resourcefulness, the odds and ends usually make the best soup!
Could I use celeriac in place of the celery do you think?
Sure, it’s worth a try!
Great recipe! Have made it twice, great both times!
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear!
Is there a way to make it without the extremely High sodium content? Is that from using broth? My mom’s on low sodium diet
Nutritional info was off a bit. Fixed now. The sodium comes from, yes the broth and the type of salt used (we generally use Himalayan, Real salt or something with high mineral content. 🙂
To give the soup some protein I added some garbanzo beans. I know, it sounds weird, but the blandness and creamy texture of the beans balanced the acidity and broth of the soup.
★★★★★
I think it sounds good Lucy!
my baba always added navy beans to her borscht.
This is essentially the borscht I have made forever and is my favorite soup. My first introduction to this was at Moosewood when they were a hole-in-the-wall, served on card tables. I do things a bit differently. I add a chunked apple and use a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes rather than veg stock and tomato paste. I also add a handful of raisins, highly divisive, I know. Sour cream and dill as garnishes are an absolute must. The best!
Sounds intriguing!
super stove top
★★★★★
great!
Delicious. I chose this recipe without potato so I could serve toasted potatoes on the side. Made with green cabbage and it still comes out ruby red. I added some honey. Thank you!
★★★★★
Yum! Glad you enjoyed Nancy.
Delicious! Nicely simple to make. Thank you!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed Barbara.
So delicious! I used a combination of red and golden beets, with their greens, and a combination of red and green cabbage. I only had 1 tablespoon of tomato paste so I subbed a tablespoon of Siracha ketchup and omitted the cayenne.
I also did this in my crockpot.
I sautéed the onion and garlic first, added the remaining veggies (except the cabbage) to the oil to coat, then dumped it in the crockpot with the remaining ingredients (except the vinegar and dill) and cooked it on low overnight. In the morning I turned it to high and added the cabbage for 30 minutes, then the vinegar. Added dill, and a little fresh parsley at the end. Then served with sour cream and garnished with a little more fresh dill.
Beautiful, vibrant, healthy, and delicious!
This first time borscht maker completely approves!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for sharing your adaptions! Glad you enjoyed it.
I plan to make the soup this week-sounds delicious, but haven’t much experience with beets
One question: are the beets added raw or cooked and do they have to be peeled first?
Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Penelope, the beets are raw and there is no need to peel them.🙂
Delicious! I love the idea of incorporating the beet greens into the borscht.
★★★★★
Yes! We like to pack the nutrients in 😉
I was looking for instant pot recipe for borscht. Your recipe exceeded my expectation. Glad I found it 😋
So great to hear Mary, happy you enjoyed!
I love this recipe. I usually make it when I am making beet juice to use up the extra beats. Delicious and nutritious, or could you ask for?!
★★★★★
Nice Kevin, love the resourcefulness!
Me and my mom really like this recipe. It’s also good for my mother’s health cause she had a triglyceride problem. With the ingredients and vinegar is a win win for me. Thank you for this recipe. 🙂
★★★★★
Awesome Nelly!
Amazing! Even better than my Russian mother used to make it – which is saying a lot!
★★★★★
Wow! Thanks Kat!
Delicious soup! I added ground caraway seed; that’s how I had it growing up. Reminded me of my childhood minus the beef!
★★★★★
Love it Joy!
Delicious. My husband said that anyone who hasn’t had this doesn’t realize what beets can be.
★★★★★
Aw…I like that! So glad you enjoyed.
I always wanted to make Borscht. So, when I saw your recipe and realized I had the red cabbage and beets, I decided to give it a go—delighted with the results. What a difference the apple cider vinegar made. I also added a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of fish sauce, which I find often gives my soups a little boost. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll make it again.
★★★★★
Thanks Heather, so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
yo! This recipe is legit. Thank you!
★★★★★
Aweomse Simone!
I made this for the first time ( i have never had borscht before). It was amazing! The only change i made to the recipe was i sauteed with water (because i am WFPB’d). I plan on making this flavour packed, comfort dish again. Thank you for sharing this recipe Sylvia…
So glad you enjoyed this Eliza and adapted it to your needs!
I grew up with a Lithuanian mother and grandmother’s borscht recipe and this one is just as good if not better 🙂 and a wee bit healthier to boot. We have this regularly at home now. Thank you!
★★★★★
Love this Kristina! Thanks so much.