Vegetarian Borscht Soup (with Beans)

Vegetarian borscht is a delicious, hearty soup popular in Poland as well as other East European countries.  It contains a mixture of fresh and pickled beets, white beans and potatoes. It's sweet and tangy, full of goodness, delicious and ready in about 40 minutes!

If there is one soup I really crave once in a while and, as a result, make more often than any other soup it's vegetarian borscht.

Vegetarian borscht ticks so many boxes for me! It's easy to make, healthy, hearty and filling and contains one of my favourite vegetables - beetroot.  And I absolutely love the colour!

Back in December I posted a recipe for Polish Christmas Eve Borscht, which is essentially a simplified version of this vegetarian borscht. (Plus it contains porcini mushrooms, absent in this recipe, and is served without any vegetables in it).

In this vegetarian borscht soup recipe I tried to recreate the flavour I remember from my childhood (in Poland).  Not every borscht recipe is the same, which is no surprise given the popularity of this soup. There must be hundreds version of borscht using different methods and ingredients.  

What ingredients go into vegetarian borscht

Apart from the beets this vegan borscht also contains potatoes (use all-rounders such as Maris Piper or russets) and white beans.  Some recipes also call for shredded cabbage though I omitted it in this recipe.  The most popular herb in a borscht recipe tends to be dill which I also used in my soup.

This kind of chunky borscht/barszcz in Poland is also known as 'Ukrainian barszcz'.

Despite there being such a variety of borscht recipes, they all have 2 things in common.  In addition to having beetroot as their main ingredient (rather obvious) they all contain an ingredient that adds sour, sharp notes to the soup.

While some recipes call for sour cream or yogurt, usually added once the soup has been cooked, others use vinegar, lemon, sauerkraut or pickled beetroot, which are usually added during cooking.

I like my borscht quite sharp and without the added calories of sour cream so I chose the pickled beetroot route (plus a little vinegar).  You can add either homemade or shop-bought pickled beetroot (along with some of the brine).

I also added a little soy sauce for more richness and depth of flavour (not a traditional ingredient but one I never skip in this soup).

How to prepare the beets

Beetroot is a very hard vegetable and takes longer to cook than other ingredients which is why I cut it into quarters (to speed up cooking time) and added it into the soup before adding the potatoes.  After the initial 15 minutes of cooking you'll have to take the beets out of the soup, coarsely grate them (either by hand or in a food processor) and then put back into the pot for the final 10 minutes of cooking.

I used a small amount of pickled beets, which are sweet and sour and add lots of flavour into this recipe.  Grate these coarsely along with the regular beets (see Instructions below).

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Start by frying the onion, garlic, celery, bay leaf and allspice berries in a little oil.

2. Add the quartered beets, half of the stock, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. In the meantime peel and cube the potatoes and grate the pickled beets.

3. Carefully remove the beets from the soup and set aside for a few minutes to cool.

4. To the pot add the cubed potatoes and beans, cover and bring to the boil again then simmer for 10 minutes. In the meantime coarsely grate the beets.

5. Put the grated beets back into the soup, add the pickled beets along with the brine, the remaining stock, dill, vinegar, soy sauce and pepper to taste, cover and bring to the boil again. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are fully cooked.  

6. Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning as necessary and serve.

Top tips

• Preparation: I recommend using rubber gloves when handling the beetroot or you'll end up having red hands for a couple of days!
• This soup cooks in stages so you can prepare the ingredients according to when you need to add them (this will save you time).
• Flavour: Make this soup as sharp, tangy and sweet as you like by adjusting the amounts of vinegar, soy sauce and seasoning according to your preference.
• You may not need to use any salt in this recipe (the vegetable stock and soy sauce should provide enough salt) but be generous with the pepper.
• Serving suggestions: Enjoy with a slice of rye or pumpernickel bread, with a dollop of sour cream (this will add more sourness to the soup) or simply on its own.
• Storing: This vegetarian borscht soup tastes even better the next day.  Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
• Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

Substitutions

• Cannellini beans: Use another white bean variety (butter beans work well).
• Pickled beets: I used pickled baby beets but you can use any pickled beet variety. Use a little more vinegar (not more than 1 tablespoon) or dill pickle brine instead of the beet brine if preferred.
• Vinegar: I used apple cider vinegar but white vinegar is fine to use too.
• Soy sauce: I used dark soy sauce but the light version is a good alternative (adjust the amount to your preference).

You might also like

• Polish Christmas Eve Borscht
• Beetroot Summer Soup (Chlodnik)
• Beet Greens Vegetable Soup  
• Creamy Beet Soup with Fennel

Check out also this collection of over 12 creamy vegan soups.

Keep in touch!

If you make this simple borscht recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you.  Do you have a favourite borscht soup recipe? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Vegetarian Borscht Soup (with Beans)

This simple vegetarian borscht recipe is a delicious, hearty soup popular in Poland and other Eastern European countries as well as Russia.

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Course: Lunch, Soup

Cuisine: East European, Polish

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 7 people

Calories: 108kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Equipment

• ▢
  Large pot with a lid
• ▢
  Food processor or box grater

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 medium beets peeled, cut into quarters
• ▢ 150 g pickled beets, coarsely grated
• ▢ 60 ml brine from the pickled beets
• ▢ 3 medium potatoes peeled, cubed
• ▢ 250 g canned cannellini beans rinsed, drained weight
• ▢ 1 onion finely chopped
• ▢ 1 small celery stalk finely chopped
• ▢ 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 2 allspice berries
• ▢ 1½ tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp dill finely chopped
• ▢ 1⅓ l hot vegetable stock or according to preference
• ▢ 1 tbsp cider/wine vinegar
• ▢ 1½ tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ Pepper to taste

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• In a large pot heat the oil, add the onion, garlic, celery, bay leaf and allspice berries and cook over a medium heat for 3 minutes stirring often.
• Add the raw quartered beets, ½ vegetable stock, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes. In the meantime, peel and cube the potatoes.
• Carefully take the beetroot pieces out of the soup and set aside to cool a little.
• To the pot add the potatoes and beans, cover, bring to the boil again and simmer for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime coarsely grate the beetroot and put it back into the soup along with the grated pickled beets (plus the brine), remaining stock, dill, vinegar and soy sauce, cover and bring to the boil again. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and continue cooking for 10 more minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning and serve.

Notes

• Preparation: I recommend using rubber gloves when handling the beetroot or you'll end up having red hands for a couple of days!
• This soup cooks in stages so you can prepare the ingredients according to when you need to add them (this will save you time).
• Seasoning: Make this soup as sharp, tangy and sweet as you like by adjusting the amounts of vinegar, soy sauce and seasoning according to your preference. 
• Serving suggestions: Enjoy with a slice of rye or pumpernickel bread, with a dollop of sour cream (this will add more tanginess to the soup) or simply on its own.
• You may not need to use any salt in this recipe (the vegetable stock and soy sauce should provide enough salt) but be generous with the pepper.
• Storing: This soup tastes even better the next day.  Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
• Freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1050mg | Potassium: 339mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 417IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg

*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

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