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)
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
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
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
I lived in Poland for a couple of years when I was working as an English teacher and I really grew to love borscht, especially when it does have plenty of sourness in it! Before that I didn't like beetroot and it's only since then that I've started to like beetroot properly. Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEAtTwice!
How fabulous! I think the reason people don't like beetroot is often because they don't really know it - you were in the right place to really start to appreciate it:)
I love beetroot but have never had borscht. It sounds delicious. #freefromfridays
Thanks! I absolutely recommend it if you love beetroot:)
I've never seen a borscht as enticing as this one. Thanks for submitting it to Meat Free Monday. The roundup is now live and I featured your recipe. Sharing it now!
Thank you so much! For your very kind words and featuring my recipe this week! Going over to see the roundup and submit a new recipe:)
We all love beetroot here and love trying new dishes. This is a must try! Sorry for the late comment and I hope you have a good week. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thank you Kirsty! Have a good week too:)
This is a gorgeous soup - I love beets but have never attempted borscht! Time to remedy that, I think.
Mollie
Thanks Mollie! It's very easy to make:)
Gorgeous! I have borscht in years! Need to try this.
Thanks! Let me know how it turns out if you do try it:)
What a wonderful recipe! I vary between a meat-heavy version and one similar to yours - the addition of beans is a stroke of genius! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us at Fiesta Friday!
Thank you! As a child I only ate a meaty version of this but I prefer this soup vegetarian, always with cannelloni beans:)
Again, such an excellent and healthy alternative!
This is just such a fantastic colour. Such a great thing to make when beetroot are in season!
Thank you! When they are in season I make this soup even more often than usually:)
This sounds lovely. I only had borscht for the first time recently and I loved it so I'll definitely have to try your version. My husband is a huge pickle fan too so I think he'll enjoy this.
Thanks Mandy! My version is really easy. Let me know what you think if you do try it:)
I have never had borscht before, though it is something I have always wanted to try. Such a beautiful colour!
It's very easy to make and it does have the most amazing colour:)
Yummy - this looks sooo good, Monika! What a wonderful colour too. I bet it tastes every bit as great as it looks!
Pinned and Tweeted!
#CookBlogShare
Oooh this looks yummy! I have to admit that for all the beets we eat in this house I have never made borscht. Millie is poorly today and thinks that it looks so pretty! Thanks for sharing x #cookblogshare
Thanks Millie:) It's a very easy dish to make, why not give it a go:)
What an incredible colour. Beautiful beautiful bowl of loveliness xx
Thank you! That's why I love beetroot, it just makes dishes look so gorgeous:)