This beet borscht recipe is easy, vegetarian, and full of nourishing vegetables. Earthy beets, carrots, and cabbage are simmered in a rich, tangy broth, then topped with fresh dill. Make it on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot. Chef-tested and reader-approved. Video.
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
Hal Borland
The color of this borscht alone feels like therapy during the cold winter months - bright, vibrant, and full of life. I return to this soup again and again during the holiday season, a little reprieve in between all the weekend parties and indulging. This is one of those nourishing soups I like to have on hand for weekday meals, gentle and restorative.
Borscht has its roots in Eastern European cuisine, where it has been cherished for generations as both comfort food and a way to celebrate humble seasonal vegetables. In this vegetarian version, the beets provide an earthy sweetness, vinegar adds a tangy lift, and a generous sprinkle of fresh dill makes it feel like a whisper of spring.
Over the years, I've made many variations of borscht for both my catering clients and at home, and I've found this simple meatless version to be my favorite. It's nourishing, light yet satisfying, and easy to adapt, whether simmered slowly on the stovetop or made quickly in an Instant Pot. A deeply comforting bowl of color and flavor, just when you need it most.
Why You'll Love This Borscht Soup Recipe!
The color of this borscht feels therapeutic during the winter months! Bright and vibrant and full of healthy fresh veggies, borscht nourishes body and soul. Earthy, tangy and subtly sweet from the beets, borscht is elevated with a generous sprinkling of fresh dill. A whisper of spring to come.
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!
- Nourishing winter recipe! A veggie-packed soup that is full of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals to heal body and soul.
- Easy to make! A simple recipe that can quickly be made in the instant pot or in 40 minutes on the stove.
- So much flavor! Beets are earthy and subtly sweet, and dill offers a hint of herby, fresh flavor.
- Vegan-friendly! A plant-based recipe that can be served with vegan yogurt!
Craving beets? Take a peek at our favorite Beet Recipes for more ways to cook this nutritious little gem!
What is Borscht?
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!
Borscht Recipe ingredients
- Beet: You’ll need about 2 cups thinly sliced or diced, so an extra-large beet should do the trick! You will also need a cup of beet stems and greens, or substitute with an extra cup of cabbage.
- Other vegetables: Onion, garlic cloves, celery stalks, carrots, and cabbage. Feel free to add potatoes if you like!
- Olive oil: Or butter, for sautéing the veggies.
- Veggie broth: Or use chicken broth or traditional beef stock or bone broth.
- Tomato paste: Intensifies the flavor of the soup and helps to thicken it a bit.
- Spices: Bay leaves, celery seeds (optional), allspice, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- Apple cider vinegar: A splash of acidity that enhances all of the flavors of the dish. Substitute with red wine vinegar.
- Fresh dill: A pop of fresh, herby flavor that tastes like spring to come!
- Sour cream, Greek yogurt, or vegan yogurt useed to garnish.
How to Make Borscht on the Stovetop
1. Sauté the aromatics. Warm olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and stir for 4-5 minutes, until golden. Reduce heat, add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add vegetables. Add celery, carrots, beets, cabbage, and beet greens to the pot and stir. Add broth, tomato paste, celery seeds, allspice, cayenne, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
3. Simmer. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the beets and carrots are tender.
4. Add vinegar, taste, and adjust. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, then taste and adjust the soup, adding salt and pepper as needed.
5. Garnish and serve. Transfer soup to bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt (or vegan yogurt) and fresh dill.
How to make Beet Borscht in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Sauté veggies. Set the Instant Pot to the “saute” function. Add olive oil (or butter) and diced onions and sauté 4-5 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Add remaining veggies (cloves of garlic, celery, carrots, beets, cabbage, beet stems and greens) and stir.
Step 2: Add broth and seasonings. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, spices, salt, and pepper. Stir, then press “cancel”.
Step 3: Pressure cook. Place lid on top and lock, making sure the steam release is locked. Set to high pressure for 10 minutes. Naturally release for 5 minutes, then place kitchen towel over the pressure release button and turn to manually release. When the float valve drops, remove the lid.
Step 4: Add vinegar, taste and adjust. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, then taste and adjust for salt and black pepper.
Step 5: Serve. Serve in bowls with spoonfuls of sour cream, Greek yogurt, or vegan yogurt. Garnish with ample amounts of fresh dill! Feel free to add other fresh herbs too!
Chef’s Tips
Use a food processor. Instead of peeling and cutting, use your food processor! Scrubbed beets and carrots can be grated or sliced, using the grater attachment or slicer attachment in your food processor– especially nice if making big batches of soup, as we did in our catering business.
Balance the salt and vinegar to taste for the best punchy flavor!
What do I eat with borscht?
This hearty soup is typically served with a dollop of sour cream. You can also serve it with Greek yogurt or vegan yogurt! Some enjoy it with a hard-boiled egg.
Storing Beet Borscht Soup
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Borscht can be frozen for up to 6 months- a great freezer meal! Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Enjoy chilled or reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
Traditionally, borscht is made with beef stock or beef broth and boiled vegetables. Some Russians or Ukrainians may include pork ribs, pork belly, shanks, or short ribs. Here, we use veggie broth and a sautéing method. You can sub chicken or beef stock.
In this recipe we use beets, onion, celery, carrots, and red cabbage, however you can also use common borscht veggies like white cabbage, parsley root, potatoes, or tomatoes.
Either way! That’s one of the many reasons we love this versatile dish. But in the wintertime, it is especially comforting to enjoy hot borscht. When spring rolls around, you may want to try cold borscht.
Yes! Borscht is full of vitamins and antioxidants from all of the colorful veggies. Beets are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Rich in fiber, borscht promotes a healthy digestive system.
Serve with sourdough, a salad like Endive Apple Salad or Waldorf Salad, mashed potatoes, or Crispy Herby Smashed Potatoes, or a side of white beans.
The beets should add subtle sweetness, and the tomato paste and vinegar helps to balance the sweetness with a touch of acidity. If it still tastes too sweet, the dollop of sour cream or yogurt really helps to balance it!
We hope you enjoy this iconic beet soup – made with colorful beets, cabbage and fresh dill. Share your adaptations and let us know what you think in the comments below! I hope this one becomes part of your regular rotation!
More Favorite Beet recipes!
Borscht Recipe | 60-Sec Video
🌟 After you try this Borscht recipe, please let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Borscht Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: soup, vegan, instant pot, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Method: Stove top, Instant pot
- Cuisine: Russian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A simple, delicious recipe for vegetarian Borscht, a healthy, vegan-adaptable 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!
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 seeds- optional
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- a pinch of cayenne (more to taste)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1– 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (adjust to taste- depends on the broth you use)
- 1/4– 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1–2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
Garnish: dollop of sour cream, Greek yogurt or vegan yogurt
Instructions
- Saute aromatics: In a dutch over or heavy soup pot over medium-high heat, add oil and onions. Stir 4-5 minutes until golden. Lower heat and add garlic, saute 2 minutes.
- Add veggies: Add celery, carrots, beets, cabbage, beet greens, stirring to coat with the onions and olive oil. Add broth and tomato paste. Add celery seeds, allspice, cayenne, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Simmer: Cover and simmer on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until beets and carrots are tender.
- Finish: Stir in the apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Serve: Top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt ( or vegan yogurt) and ample amounts of fresh dill.
Notes
Instant Pot: Set to Sauté. Add olive oil and onions; cook 4-5 minutes, stirring so they don't stick. Add the remaining veggies and stir to coat. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, spices, salt and pepper. Stir, then press Cancel. Seal the lid and set to High Pressure for 10 minutes. Let pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then place kitchen towel over the pressure release button and turn to manual release. Once the valve drops, open the lid, stir in apple cider vinegar, and adjust seasonings. Serve in bowls with sour cream or yogurt and plenty of fresh dill.
Leftovers will stay in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or placed in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ 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
Delicious! My first time eating borscht and I just loved the color, and being able to use all the fresh winter produce. My husband is Russian and said it reminded him of his childhood, but was even better!
Awesome Brenna! Glad you both enjoyed it!
I’ve been wanting to eat borscht, and was so happy to have made this recipe. It’s delicious, and I felt so guilt-free in eating it (I don’t tend to make my healthiest choices over the winter holidays). I was the one who enjoyed it the most at home, the kids weren’t too keen on it. Still, I’m so glad that I made this version – I almost couldn’t stop eating it. I had 2.5-3 bowls of it, consecutively. Yum! Thanks for posting this recipe.
That is the best when it is delicious and guilt free! So glad you enjoyed Maria.
It sounds to me like a vegetable soup with beets.
I have tried many recipes before but the best and the simplest was my mothers.
A few potatoes cut in 1/4 bite sized.
Very thinly cut green cabage. The thinner the cut the better.
Tomato paste.
An onion.
1 beet.
Salt to taste.
Meat for the meat eaters.
Take a whole beet and boil it until soft. Take it out of water and let it to cool off.
In the mean time slice the onion and fry it a little on the pan with the oil until soft a little. Also shred the cabbage at the same time. Shredding the cabbage very thin is the most important part. You don’t want thick pieces. You want long and thin.
Now throw the cabbage, onion in the same beet water and let it simmer on low.
While that is cooking take cooled beet and shred it. Put shreds in to the pot. Add water to the pot to cover everything by 2 inches. Cooking time about 30 minutes depending on the amount of cabbage.
Now add potatoes and simmer for another 15 minutes checking so potatoes are soft but do not fall apart.
Add tomato paste. If tomato paste contains salt start tasting the borsch. It should be tangy. I add at east 8oz of tomato paste on a 4 quart pot. If not salty enough add more salt.
Borsch should not taste like beets. Sweet. It should taste tangy. My mom also added red chili peppers but I don’t like it. The color of the borsch should be orange red. With it I eat a home made bread and I smother the crust with the garlic juice from cut garlic. After smothering I eat garlic too.
The amount of ingredients doesn’t matter much. If too much cabbage it will be thicker borsch. Beets after shredding and simmering will mostly dissipate in to water. You can always add more water during cooking so it will not be thick.
Russians eat everything with a sour cream. I think sour cream cuts on the taste so I don’t. I want to keep it vegan as much as possible.
Thanks for sharing Eugene!
Soo good and very easy to make
Simple and yummy-sounding!
I have two questions about possible subs/additions:
-can I use fresh tomatoes instead of paste?
-I was thinking of adding beef or lamb stew meat and wondering if you have any tips?
Thanks!
The tomato paste will make the soup a little more rich, but you could totally use fresh. I would probably use about 3-4 times the amount of fresh to the paste amount. And with adding meat, you will get your rich flavor. I would season with salt and sear the meat first and cook separately in a cup of stock in the instant pot for 10-20 minutes? (just guessing here…). Check out how to sear meat here.
I like what Allspice does for this soup. It brings out the flavors of the fall and makes a perfect meal for early September. I’m from Odessa, Ukraine and thought this recipe was excellent. I will make this again and again.
Thanks so much for sharing this Marina! I am so happy you liked it.
This recipe is just DELICIOUS! I’ve never made or even tasted borcht so I have nothing to compare it with. I had to use what I had on hand so my beets were striped, my cabbage was green and my dill was dried. But boy oh boy did it turn out good! I’m looking forward to trying the recipe as written soon. : )
I’m so glad I tried your recipe!
Wonderful to hear Jennifer!
This recipe is unbelievable! The labour’s are so well balanced. OMG …… just go for it. You won’t regret it!
One beet?!! You clearly are not Ukrainian. A good Ukrainian borscht recipe calls for enough shredded beets so that the spoon practically stands up before it’s cooked.
This is not a traditional borscht recipe, but still delicious. 🙂
This is not original recipe. I’d better get mine on stove. Which is longer but more delicious. And I’m from Ukraine.
Hi Inna- no it is not traditional- but it is still tasty. 🙂
Insanely delicious, and now my go to borscht recipe!! The only thing I changed was by adding one peeled, chopped potato to the soup. This is a glorious, rich and hearty bowl of borscht. Both my husband and I couldn’t stop going back for more.
This recipe is gold! Absolutely delicious… savoring every bite good. Definitely add the greek yogurt at the end with chopped fresh dill. MMmmm
So happy you liked it!
I love this recipe! Easy and so delicious!
I never have celery seed or allspice in the house, so I substituted in caraway seeds and thyme and it came out great.
Thanks for another great recipe!
The soup came out amazing in my instapot! My husband went to Poland and it tasted like he was there!!
I used this recipe with a little tweeking and love it very much. Bookmarked for next time for sure. Love the addition of cayenne and apple cider vinegar. I tweeked by adding cubed potatoes and using mushroom bouillon cubes instead of vegetable( basically because I ran out of vegetable), but will keep using the mushroom in future. I doubled the recipe and added an extra large beet- I love beets. Otherwise kept to your recipe and loved it. Thank you.
love how you make it your own! perfect.
Still my go-to borscht recipe year after year. I add half the salt and then squeeze a half of a fresh lemon after cooking to brighten it up and add freshness. I’m an omnivore, but I love this healthy, veggie packed comfort food during the winter. Simple and satisfying. Highly recommend!
I also add a tad more liquid (to stretch it) and I like to blend mine with an immersion blender at the end, because I like the smoothy, velvety texture!
mmmm…. creamy sounds nice!
so glad you like it!
This soup is absolutely delicious! The spices and apple cider vinegar work perfectly. I’ll definitely be making this again…so easy.
Thanks for another amazing recipe!
wonderful!
Thank goodness for additional spice and variations/fusion of original recipes!
Thank you. I made it today and it was delicious!
appreciate that Amita 😊. glad you liked it!
There is a great article in the Washington Post about Borscht’s origin. Cuisine is Ukraine. Apple cider vinegar and cayenne do not belong in this dish. I’ve been making authentic borscht (taught by my immigrated grandparents) for decades. Suggestion to use plain sour cream rather than Greek yogurt.
This is a twist on the traditional- I think if you tried you may be pleasantly surprised. 😉
Can you use canned beets?
This soup is great and I’ll definitely be making it again. I found 1 tsp celery seed a little overpowering for my taste so next time I’ll add 1/2 tsp dried dill and 1/4 tsp celery seed instead. To ease the celery seed flavour this time I added a few tablespoons of coconut milk and it was a lovely added touch!
Thank you Sylvia!
Just astounding. Was not expecting how absolutely delicious this tastes. I sliced the beets thinly and doubled the cayenne. The fresh dill is a must but the entire dish is incredibly good, amazing blend of flavors, and so easy in the instant pot.
I’ve got a pot of this simmering now and can’t wait to taste it my question is do you just put the dill in at the last moment asa garnish
Yes, that is what I would do!
I skipped the tomato paste and the apple vinegar. Instead I added about a half cup of dry red wine. It was perfection itself. I also used only an eighth of a teaspoon of cayenne. It was the right amount.
Delicious! I love the spiciness and it was super easy. The only thing I’d change is that I used too much bouillon and so tasted too salty. I used 4 teaspoons to 4 cups of water, should have kept it at about 1.5 teaspoons I think.
Will make it again and see! Thank you for this nutritious recipe!
Sorry about that- I’ve done that before too. I always half when using boullion.
Amazing and super simple. Made the recipe almost exactly as written but doubled the cayenne. My partner said it was better then his Grandma used to make.
Love it Amy, great to hear!