Vegetarian Borscht (Борщ) | Authentic Russian Beet Soup Recipe

Gluten-Free, Lunch, Soups

Soups have a special place in my heart. To me, they are the ultimate comfort food. But borscht has got to be my all time favourite. So I decided to share with you our  family recipe for a vegetarian borscht.

We’ve been making this meatless version of borscht for many years now and it tastes just as good as the beef version (well I think it tastes better). Borscht is ideal for lunch and dinner. If you decide to bring it with you to work or school, I suggest using a thermos container.

Although there are a few variations of borscht, I’ll show you the traditional way of making this Russian beet soup (minus the meat of course).  Borscht is really easy to make and it’s the perfect recipe to use up those beets you might have laying around.

Vegetarian Borscht (Борщ) | Authentic Russian Beet Soup Recipe by FablunchBorscht is low in calories (if you skip the sour cream) and full of vitamins and minerals. So don’t feel bad if you go for seconds! Besides, why not take advantage of the awesome health benefits of beets?

Vegetarian Borscht (Борщ) | Authentic Russian Beet Soup Recipe by FablunchUsually, you serve borsht with sour cream or mayo on top, but you don’t have to add it if you don’t eat dairy. The borscht will then be vegan and anyone, regardless of their diet, can enjoy it!

For a snack, I packed some homemade energy bars.

Homemade 3-Ingredient Energy Bars by Fablunch

MAIN: Vegetarian Borscht
SIDE: Homemade Energy Bars
DRINK: Lime Water


4.7 from 3 reviews
Vegetarian Borscht (Борщ) | Authentic Russian Beet Soup Recipe
 
Print Recipe
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 12-14
Ingredients
  • 2 medium-size beets, peeled and grated
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 2 tbsp of water
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 L of water/vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 5 medium-size potatoes, diced
  • ½ cabbage
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 5-7 whole black peppers
  • 3-4 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, halved
Directions
  1. Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot over medium/high heat. Add grated beets, carrots and diced tomatoes.
  2. Add 2 tbsp of water and lemon juice to the vegetables and stir.
  3. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 20 min.
  4. Boil 2L of water in a kettle. Add the water to the shredded vegetables after they have been simmering for 20 min.
  5. Bring to a boil and add 1 tbsp of salt.
  6. Add diced potatoes and shredded cabbage to the soup and cook for 10 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, heat up 1 tsp of olive oil in a small skillet and sauté the onion over medium heat until it becomes golden.
  8. Add the onions to the pot and give it a good stir.
  9. Finally add black pepper, bay leaves, garlic and dried parsley to the soup and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes.
  10. Remove borscht from the heat. It is now ready to be served.
  11. When serving borscht, add sour cream and fresh herbs to individual bowls.
Notes
Storage:
Borscht will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Add to individual bowls:
- sour cream/mayo
- fresh herbs
- freshly ground pepper

Have a Fabulous Lunch!

More from Fablunch


Comments

  2. Please, show us! This looks fantastic – thank you so much for sharing! I
    know what you mean about the sour cream though – my mum is Hungarian, and
    it’s in EVERYTHING. 🙂

  7. I’m really enjoying your videos they are such good quality. Also, I’m vegan
    and a lot of your recipes are vegan or can be made vegan so I appreciate
    that.

  8. i never cared for borscht, but the recipe looks great. i may give it a try
    🙂

  10. That looks SO good! Can’t wait to try it! I love how most of your recipes
    are vegetarian or optionally vegetarian/vegan, it’s always easy to add meat
    but leaving it out of a recipe can sometimes make the food blant so I love
    that your base is vegetarian 🙂

  12. can you make something asian? i’m sorry i love asian food for some reason
    lol.

  14. Thank you so much Sophie! I am really happy to hear you say that. I try to
    post recipes that can accommodate different diets. 🙂

  16. It’s a very hearty and rich soup and the beets are definitely the star of
    this dish. It has a slight sour taste because of the lemon juice. Mmmm I’m
    hungry now lol

  18. I use lemon juice instead of vinegar and there is enough natural sugar in beets without adding any artificial sugar to the soup. 🙂

  20. I made this for my family and it was a hit! Even my dad who super hates beets! I topped with 0% natural Greek yogurt, green onions and white pepper. Thanks for the recipe!

  22. Thank you! I am making this today. I am allergic to garlic, so I am substituting shallots instead. Can’t wait to eat it!

  23. So glad your family enjoyed it! My siblings who are pretty picky eaters love this soup as well 🙂

  24. Yes of course. This is just a basic recipe for vegetarian borscht and you can make changes/substitutions to make sure it’s perfect for you 🙂

  26. It was fabulous! I definitely will make it again. (I am following you o Facebook now.) Thanks so much!

  27. I am Russian myself. I am making the borscht right now as I watch your video for the first time. 🙂

  28. Thanks to a kind customer in Welburn, tonight I’m cooking vegetarian
    Borscht for tea (made with fresh vegetarians) 😉

  31. that looks amazing! one thing i miss about my ex-boyfriend is his borcht! he’s russian/ukranian and made some good food. =)

  33. It was superb. I made it twice already and loved it so very much. I am going to be making it again in a few days. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your family recipe with us. 🙂

  36. Your olive oil has a strange colour. I’im italian and i live in Tuscany and our organic olive oil is green/golden.

  38. heyy guys , check out my channel! I specialise in Russian and Eastern European Food and yummy desserts ;))

  39. I just Love your all your recipes .. keep it up please 🙂
    waiting for more healthy recipes & lunch ideas … much love from Yemen <3

  40. I made this tonight and it was SO good! I didn’t realize until in the middle of making it that I only had sweet potatoes, but it seemed to work out. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  41. Hello! I’ve discovered your channel thanks to Leyla, and I feel so Lucky because I just LOVE it! You’re doing very great videos! Btw I’d like to know what is your editing software. Just love your videos and I can’t wait until try your recipes! love from Paris

  45. Loved your recipe!!! Here is mine, if you’re curious! I was born and raised
    in Moscow and this is a recipe I’ve had in my family for a long time. Russian
    Borsch Recipe – step by step!

  46. You mention at the end if the video that you will post an addition component of when to add meat. I’m just curious because I wanted to make this borsht with beef and wanted to know when you add it to the soup and what type of beef you use. Thank you

  48. This was absolutely delicious! I made it tonight and it had my Russian fiancé’s approval. 🙂 Thank you so much! I am a bit picky about beet dishes, and I found this so tasty. It has wonderful flavor and I like that it is not overly sweet. All the vegetables were delicious and I loved the addition of the lemon juice.

  49. Hi, Olga: Awesome borscht! Made it two days ago. We had it hot for
    dinner with crusty French bread drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with
    fresh garlic. Oh my! Then had it the next day for lunch, cold with a
    drizzle of Balsamic vinegar and chopped chives. Soooooooo delicious. I’ve
    signed on to your wonderful site. Thank you again for this excellent
    recipe, your very professional videos and, most especially, your charming
    self.

  52. Olya, you are amazing, as well as your videos!!! Really nice!! You look like superstar and all your receipts are so healthy and tasty!!! Very good job!!! Wanna know now how do you prepare your energy bars :)) Kisses looove

    • Lenochka, thank you so much! I really appreciate all your kind words and I’m so glad you liked my videos. I hope you try some of my recipes 🙂 And DO let me know how they turn out!

      Sending you lots and lots of hugs and kisses <3

  53. i dont think garlic works with borsht, it takes away sweetness of beetroot
    which is whole point of that soup… also, if you get something like:
    “T-Fal Fresh Express Food Shredder and Slicer”, prep work for this recipe
    take about 10 min all together and Borsht comes out even tastier and
    uniform with things ground smaller.

  54. Ohhhhhhh Goddddd!!! You have no idea how long I’ve waited to make
    vegetarian borscht soup!!!!!!!
    And your recipe is the only recipe I shall use for the rest of my
    life!!!!!!!
    SPACIIIVOOOOOOO ♥

  57. спасибо for this recipe! I so wanna try Борщ and it’s awesome that this
    recipe is vegetarian 😛
    I’m going to subscribe because you are sooo cute!!! I hope to see more
    Russian recipes in the future ^^

  58. wow this is my favorite recipe it’s easy and well explained will try it
    very soon. Thank you for sharing 🙂

  60. I love both this recipe and your joyful video. Have you discovered a palatable vegan alternative for the sour cream, or is it best to not try to make an ersatz substitute?

    • Thank you! You’re really sweet 🙂 Have you tried Vegenaise before? It’s a vegan mayo. I personally find it tastes even better than mayo. Sometimes I add it to my veggie borscht. The rest of the time I don’t use anything.

      I’d say it’s a good alternative, but I would still use it in moderation just because some of it’s ingredients sound a bit iffy to me. The company claims that Vegenaise is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and free of GMO; however, some people believe it contains hidden MSG. So I would just be careful.

  62. WHY didn’t I wait to buy a grater? oooooowwwww

    But, worth every ache in my hand. nom nom nom

  67. Wonderful video, my mouth is watering watching this. Thank you for the
    recipe. I would love to see more veggie russian recipes. I have tons of
    fresh dill from the garden maybe something with dill in it?

  68. Borscht has Ukrainian origin! Nowadays I feel really sensitive about how
    Russians are trying to take from us everything, even a borscht. Russians
    are having an equivalent (russian cabbage soup, called schi). Your recipe
    is might be a variation, but it is not a traditional borsch.

  69. Lovely recipe! It looks delicious, and I’m glad that I can make it even
    vegan (my sour cream is made of soy milk). Spasibo for teaching me! 🙂

  82. I cook vegetarian borscht is absolutely the same way
    Здорово, я так его и готовлю. Только лук вместе с морковкой и свеклой
    пассирую. Надо будет ваш вариант попробовать.

    А вот тут просто ужасный рецепт: awful recipe ->
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5L2aFLaPHs
    Аж кровь в жилах стынет.

  86. I’d definitely recommend adding the lemon juice AFTER everything else,
    including the potatoes, is cooked. It tends to prevent stuff from getting
    soft 😉

  87. Olga thank you for the recipe. I made borscht for the first time in my life and it was delicious!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXO

  95. Отличный рецепт! Я готовлю почти также, только лук обжариваю вместе со
    свёклой и морковью, ещё добавляю красную фасоль.

  96. I was visiting Kharkiv ukraine , and the hotel I stayed in made tasty
    vegetarian borscat
    I’m glad I came across your channel..

    Will try and make this wonderful dish , and post to u how it came out.
    Thank you..

  98. I love borsch soup, I always eat it with my ukraine friends…..My favorite
    soup! now I will try to make it

  101. Thanks for the recipe, Olga, it’s definitely a keeper from now on. Even
    parents enjoyed the meal and they are somewhat picky. Take care and good
    luck with your invention :).

  102. Hi Olga! I love your recipie and the video to it! Im most definatly going to make it for next week! My mother-in-law was russian but sadly she passed away 2 years ago and my husband and I miss her a lot and her tasty borscht. Cant wait to suprise him with this next week! Thanx and <3

  104. Ever since I first tried borscht in a restaurant in Poland in 2011, I wanted to try it again. At restaurants though I couldn’t find another vegetarian/vegan version, and recipes called for a blender which I don’t have. So thank you so much for this simple recipe! It is not the same that I remember, but my partner and I really like this one, too!