Name: Traditional Polish Borscht (Barszcz)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 4 medium beets (peeled, cut in half); 2 small pickled beets (chopped or coarsely grated); ¼ cup brine from pickled beets; 1 small celery stalk (or small piece of celery root, peeled); 1 onion (peeled); 1 garlic clove (peeled, cut in half); 3 large pieces dried porcini mushrooms (rinsed, *see Notes below); 2 allspice berries; 2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or a mixture of white and balsamic vinegars, add to taste); 1½ tablespoons soy sauce (or to taste); 5 cups water; ½-⅔ tablespoon coarse sea salt (plus pepper to taste); 1 tablespoon butter (or vegan spread)

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Polish Borscht is a traditional soup served with mushroom dumplings (uszka) on Christmas Eve in Poland. It's slightly acidic and sweet, earthy, peppery, with a hint of garlic and wild mushrooms. It requires few ingredients and is incredibly easy to make. Ready in under an hour!

Polish borscht with Christmas uszka dumplings on white plate with uszka in bowl and pine tree branch on red cloth.

Polish Borscht soup is served as the first of 12 dishes (according to tradition) on Christmas Eve in Poland. It is one of the easiest to make Polish Christmas Eve recipes (along with the dried fruit compote). Preparation is minimal and there is no chopping involved!

What is Polish borscht

Polish borscht, called 'barszcz' (pronounced 'BAR-shch), is a type of beet soup that's served without beets, as a clear broth (which is why it's also called 'barszcz czysty', which means 'clear borscht'). It's also known as 'barszcz czerwony' (meaning 'red borscht', to distinguish it from 'white borscht', a traditional soup made at Easter), as well as 'barszcz wigilijny' ('Christmas Eve borscht').

Polish beet soup is made using very few ingredients and is always vegetarian! (Polish Christmas Eve is meat free, though not vegetarian, as the meal consists of at least one fish dish). It is very different from the hearty, filling Ukrainian borscht (also popular in Poland and served throughout the year).

See also wild mushroom soup which is served on Christmas Eve in certain regions of Poland as an alternative to barszcz.

Polish beet soup ingredients and substitutions

Polish borscht soup ingredients in individual dishes. — Polish borscht ingredients.

Beets: use fresh, not ready-cooked from the store.
Pickled beets and brine.
Other vegetables: onion, celery (or a small piece of celery root, peeled), garlic.
Porcini mushrooms: use wither dried porcini ('borowiki' in Polish) or water from cooking the mushrooms (see details below).
Allspice berries: this spice is used in many traditional Polish dishes.
Vinegar: White wine vinegar or distilled malt vinegar (as an option use in combination with balsamic vinegar).
Soy sauce: adds richness and depth of flavour.
Water.
Butter: for a vegan alternative use plant butter.
Salt and pepper: to taste.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Combine ingredients: Place the beets, pickled beets, onion, garlic, celery stalk, allspice berries and mushrooms (or use 1-2 quarters of a cup of mushroom water from making the uszka dumplings) in a large pot.

Pieces of beetroot, onion, grated beet, celery, garlic clove and wild mushrooms in large pot.

2. Cook: Pour in the water and beet brine, add the allspice, salt and pepper, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 50 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat.

Onion, pieces of beetroot, wild mushrooms and celery stalk in large pot with water.

3. Remove vegetables and serve: Using a slotted spoon remove the vegetables from the pot. Add the vinegar and butter, adjust the seasoning as needed and serve the broth only.

Pieces of beetroot inside large pot with water and steam coming out.

Serving suggestions

Polish Christmas borscht is always served hot, with traditional mushroom dumplings ('uszka'), which make this soup truly special. Beetroot tastes really delicious with wild mushrooms!

You can reheat leftover barszcz and enjoy on its own as a nourishing hot broth served in a cup along with Christmas day leftovers (it tastes delicious the next day!).

In fact Poles love this soup so much they often make it without any special occasion (and serve it with meat or mushroom 'krokiety' or mushroom croquettes).

Beetroot soup with beetroot pieces in white bowl on top of white plate with spoon to the right.

Top tips for making Polish barszcz

I do NOT recommend using ready cooked beets from the store to make traditional Polish beet soup.
How to add flavour: You can make this soup as sharp and tangy as you like so use the vinegar, pickled beetroot brine, soy sauce and seasoning according to your preference.
Although soy sauce is not a traditional ingredient it is a good idea to use it in this recipe. Soy sauce complements the beetroot, adding complexity and more depth to the overall flavour.
Use either 2-3 large dried porcini mushrooms or one or two quarters of a cup of water from cooking the mushrooms (used for making mushroom dumplings).
Serve Polish clear beet soup hot.
Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months.

What to do with leftover beets

Beets from Polish borscht can be used to make shredded beets. Simply grate them coarsely, add a little lemon juice/sour cream, knob of butter, stir and serve hot alongside a meat-and-potato meal. You could also turn them into a zesty, delicious Polish cold beet salad.

More soup with beets recipes to try next

See also these other traditional Polish recipes!

Keep in touch!

Have you made this traditional Polish borscht soup recipe? I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Do you have your own tried and tested way of making this recipe? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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