This beet greens soup is a Polish-style dish made using beet stems and leaves and a handful of vegetables including a small amount of shredded beet for added colour. It's easy to make and delicious, perfect to enjoy in spring and summer using seasonal produce.
Beet greens soup is one of many traditional Polish soups, typically made in spring and summer using seasonal vegetables. Beet greens in Polish are called 'botwinka' and this is also the name of this soup. Botwinka soup is light and refreshing, slightly acidic and earthy and always served hot (unlike chłodnik, a cold summer soup made with beet greens).
Traditional Polish beet greens vegetable soup can contain meat (such as beef bones or chicken), but today I am sharing a quicker, vegetarian version of this summer dish. It's made simply by cooking chopped beet greens alongside shredded vegetables (including 1 beet) and cubed potatoes and finished off with traditional sour cream.
This summer beet greens soup has only a subtle beet flavour (unlike rich and robust Polish barszcz and Ukrainian-style borscht, made predominantly with beets). It's easy to make, comes together in just over 30 minutes and tastes delicious!
Beet greens soup ingredients and substitutions
- Beet greens: use the stems as well as the leaves.
- Beet: not everyone uses it, but I like to add a small amount for more colour and flavour.
- Potatoes.
- Onion: use any.
- Garlic.
- Celery root: this is a popular soup ingredient in Poland, but if you can't get it use 1 finely chopped celery rib, instead.
- Carrot.
- Vinegar: I like a combination of balsamic and sherry vinegars, but white wine or rice vinegars are good alternatives. Some recipes recommend lemon juice, but for me vinegar works better as it adds more depth (in addition to acidity). Adjust the amount to your taste but make sure you don't make it too acidic.
- Allspice berries.
- Dill.
- Stock: either vegetable or chicken.
- Oil: sunflower or rapeseed.
- Butter.
- Sour cream.
- Flour.
- Salt and pepper.
How to prepare the beet greens
It is important to rinse both the stems as well as the leaves of the beet greens very thoroughly before making the recipe. The easiest, most effective way to do this is to first rinse them quickly under cold running water then chop, place in a colander and rinse again stirring the mixture to make sure you get rid of any grit or sand.
How to store beet greens
The leaves wilt quite quickly so try to use your beet greens soon after purchase. Keep them refrigerated in a plastic bag for up to 3 days (they won't stay as fresh in a paper bag). Don't cut off the beets until you are ready to make the recipe.
How to make beet greens soup: step-by-step
1. Sautee onion: Heat the oil, add the allspice berries, onion and celery root and cook gently for 3 minutes until softened, stirring often. Stir in the garlic.
2. Add vegetables: Add the chopped beet greens, grated carrot, beet and potatoes. Add the stock, a few grindings of pepper, stir, cover and bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes (until the potatoes are tender).
3. Prepare sour cream: In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, flour and 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth and creamy. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of the soup then add the mixture into the pot stirring until thoroughly incorporated. Add the butter, dill and simmer for about 2 more minutes.
4. Serve: Remove from the heat, add the vinegar, more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.
Serving suggestions
Polish-style beet greens vegetable soup can be served on its own, with hard boiled eggs (similar to traditional żurek soup) or bread, such as sourdough or pumpernickel. In Poland it is often served as part of a traditional 2-course lunch alongside a main meal, which can be ground meat patties, cabbage rolls or dumplings accompanied by potatoes.
Top tips
- When buying beet greens choose ones with firm stems and vivid green leaves. They are usually sold along with beets, which can stay attached until you are ready to make the recipe.
- Rinse the beet greens thoroughly to get rid of any grit before making the soup.Â
- Serve hot. Leftover Polish beet tops soup can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. I find that it needs a little more salt and pepper the next day.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Related soup recipes to try next
See also these other easy, delicious soup recipes!
Recipe
Beet Greens Vegetable Soup (Botwinka)
Equipment
- Large pot
- Colander
- Box grater
- Small bowl
Ingredients
- beet greens from 4 beets rinsed thoroughly, finely chopped
- 1 medium beet peeled, shredded
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons celery root peeled, shredded, or 1 celery rib, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot peeled, shredded
- 3 medium potatoes peeled, cubed
- 2 tablespoons dill or to taste, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon oil any
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 3 tablespoons sour cream at room temperature, plus 1 tbsp cold water
- 2 allspice berries
- 6½ cups (1,550 ml) vegetable stock use up to 7 cups
- 1½ tablespoons sherry vinegar or white wine/balsamic
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sautee onion: Heat the oil, add the allspice berries, onion and celery root and cook gently for 3 minutes until softened, stirring often. Stir in the garlic.
- Add vegetables: Add the chopped beet greens, grated carrot, beet and potatoes. Add the stock, a few grindings of pepper, stir, cover and bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes (until the potatoes are tender).
- Prepare sour cream: In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, flour and 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth and creamy. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of the soup then add the mixture into the pot stirring until thoroughly incorporated. Add the butter, dill and simmer for about 2 more minutes.
- Serve: Remove from the heat, add the vinegar, more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.
Notes
- When buying beet greens choose ones with firm stems and vivid green leaves. They are usually sold along with beets, which can stay attached until you are ready to make the recipe.
- Rinse the beet greens thoroughly to get rid of any grit before making the soup.Â
- Serve hot. Leftover Polish beet tops soup can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. I find that it needs a little more salt and pepper the next day.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Keep in touch!
If you make this simple beet greens soup recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Nancy Armitage says
I found that the addition of butternut squash gave this additional depth of flavor. I also blended it into a potage. I didn’t have allspice so I substituted pumpkin pie spice. This is a great use for beet greens.
Monika says
Thank you! The addition of squash sounds interesting.
Molly J Baross says
This winter, I am growing beets for the first time. The greens are beautiful and continue to produce. I used quite a lot of them to make this soup and it was delicious! (I also added some beans) Thanks for the recipe!!
Monika says
You are welcome! Glad you liked it:)
Laura in Montevideo says
This was excellent but I substituted cauliflower for the potato. I reduced the cook time to 25 minutes and that was too long as the cauliflower was softer than I wanted
Monika says
Yes, cauliflower cooks very quickly so if you make it again consider adding the cauliflower halfway through. Thanks for the feedback:)
Lynnda says
Made this last night. Modified a bit. Added pumpkin pie spice because it was on hand. 1 yellow squash, an 1/8 tsp Tumeric, a 5 oz jeweled yam cut in chunks, a can of garbanzo beans and a can of lentils for protein. Yummy and filling. Thank you.
Monika says
I like these substitutions and extras, your soup sounds delicious!
Ally says
I loved it!
I was looking for a new recipe for soup. My partner is from Mennonite culture and they use beet greens in soup often, but I don't like their family recipes so much. 😛 Then, I found this recipe, and felt skeptical about using allspice in a non nutty or creamy soup. but,,, I was very wrong. It worked so well that I want to keep the whole 4 littler pot of the soup only for myself XD
I didn't have enough ingredients to follow your recipe completely, so I had to substitute a few. Instead of potatoes, I used brown East Asian rice. Instead of allspice, I used black pepper, cloves and cinnamon. I used frozen home grown beet greens and a bit of swiss chard. I didn't measure stuff. Next time, I really do need to follow your recipe!! <3 <3
Monika says
Hi Ally, thank you for your feedback! Glad it turned out ok even with the substitutions you used. Allspice is very popular in Polish cuisine and is used in soups especially so I am used to using it a lot, but I understand why you were hesitant. I hope you like this soup with potatoes too if you do decide to make it:)
Mary Raven says
I did not think that we would enjoy this but my husband who really hates anything beets actually had 2 bowls! I had bought yellow beets so the colour of the soup reflects that. Thank you for the great recipe
Monika says
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, especially your beet-hating husband! Thanks so much for the feedback:)
Laura says
How many cups of beet greens do you think that would be?
Thank you!
Monika says
I haven't actually measured these using cups but I would guess it would be approx. 4-6 cups.
HC says
Amazing soup - one of the most home-y soups I found online. Yum!
Monika says
Thank you, glad you liked it:)
Ruth says
Delicious! I added too much S&P to the first batch. Made a second batch and then combined both and it was great. First time making a beet greens soup. I did add a Tbsp. of Costco’s organic ‘Better Than Bouillon’ seasoned vegetable base for more flavor.
Monika says
Glad it worked out for you in the end:)
Carol says
I made this soup today and it was very good and easy to make.
Monika says
Great! Thanks for letting me know.
Madeleine says
Beautiful, delicious recipe!
Thank you!
Monika says
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
Chris Lanigan says
We had most of the veg needed in a semi random lockdown delivery and this was the perfect recipe to use it up. Easy to do, very tasty and healthy too 🙂
Monika says
Glad you liked it and thanks for letting me know:)
Lina says
I grew up eating soups even though we lived in a warm and humid climate, so I don’t need a cold day to enjoy a good soup. After harvesting the beets in our garden today I have a lot of greens I didn’t want to go to waste. This soup taste delicious and is so easy to make, thank you !!
Monika says
You are welcome, glad those beet tops didn't go to waste:)
Parvati says
A delicious soup. I added a few things that deepened the flavour.
I added: lemon juice
A squirt of organic ketchup
Herbal Pepper (Pieprz Ziolowy)
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
a few outer leaves from cauliflower head
Result was more tangy and zingy soup. What a great find, this one! Thank you!
Monika says
Thanks for your feedback Parvati, glad you liked the recipe and made it your own. The extras sound great!
Susan Roman says
I dug up all my beets this past weekend and had so many gorgeous greens. This soup was so perfect, we chopped up all the rest to freeze in 4 /5 cup portions so we can make it throughout the winter. My husband said it tastes like a soup his mom would have made - high praise indeed. I only had ground allspice so I used that. I also didn't have leeks but I had lots of green onions which I subbed.
Monika says
Glad you enjoyed it! It really means a lot knowing that my recipes remind people of food their family cooked. Thank you for the feedback:)
Hayley M says
Delicious soup! Made it exactly as written (with vegetable stock) - thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Monika says
So glad you liked it! Thank you for your feedback:)
Paula says
I made this soup and added sun-dried chicken sausage and fresh corn. Delicious!
Monika says
Sounds delicious! Thank you for letting me know:)
Paula says
Great blend of flavors! I substituted sweet potatoes for the potatoes. I also added one pound of tomato basil chicken sausage and fresh corn. I cut back on the salt. I served it with roasted garlic naan and it was a huge hit. Healthy delicious soup whenever you can get fresh beets!
Monika says
I like the idea of using sweet potatoes and the sausage, sounds very tasty! Thank you for your feedback.
Dulce says
Hi Monica! The recipe looks lovely. Never used all spice in soup. How much all spice ground would you recomend? Thanks
Monika says
About 1/4 teaspoon should be enough.
Eric says
Yum yum
Monika says
thanks!
Jack says
This was awesome! I added 1.5 cups of lentils for protein and an additional 3 cups of water, as well as 2 vegetable bouillon cubes as I like my soup on the brothier side. Thanks for a new cold rainy day favorite!!
Monika says
You are welcome, glad you enjoyed it:)
Alex says
I love this theme of reducing waste! I'm always looking for ways to use things like beet greens and carrot tops, will definitely be trying this 🙂
Monika says
Thank you!