Traditional Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

Ukrainian borscht recipe in a white bowl with more in a pot

4.93 from 101 votes

Traditional Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

This delicious Ukrainian soup is loaded with veggies and flavor. The striking red color is achieved with beets, which not only make this dish gorgeous, but also loaded with nutrition!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 30

Course: entree, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Ukrainian

Servings: servings

Calories: 330kcal

Author: Hilda Sterner

Ingredients

1½ lb beef with bones
2 bay leaves
1 large yellow onion
2 medium carrots
2 celery ribs
½ medium green cabbage
2 medium potatoes
3 medium beets
4 slices bacon
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoon white vinegar (or pickled beet juice)
¼ cup Italian parsley
¼ cup fresh dill (plus more to garnish)
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 jalapeno (optional)
½ cup sour cream (optional)

Instructions

Cube meat into 1-2" pieces. Add to a large soup pot or Dutch oven along with soup bones and bay leaves. Cover with 10 cups of cold water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
While the meat is cooking, prepare your vegetables by dicing the onion, and chopping the carrots and celery. Next, slice (or shred) the cabbage, peel and cube the potatoes, and peel and julienne the beets.
Remove the meat from the Dutch oven and strain the broth. Wipe or wash the pot then add the bacon. Fry the bacon over medium-high heat then remove from the pot. Sear the meat on all sides in the bacon grease.
Add onions, carrots, celery, and chopped bacon to the pot. Sauté for a few minutes then season with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and sauté for a few more minutes.
Pour strained broth back into the pot. Mix to dissolve the tomato paste. Add potatoes, beets, and cabbage, then cover and simmer over low heat, for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Add vinegar (or beet sour), chopped parsley, dill, and minced garlic. Mix to combine the soup ingredients. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes then taste to see if the seasoning needs to be adjusted. I added a teaspoon of sugar and ½ teaspoon citric acid.
Serve the borscht topped with a dollop of sour cream and chopped dill. For those who like it spicy, I also add sliced jalapeños (optional).

Video

Notes

To remove the scum and foam from the surface, I use a skimmer spoon. It's perfect for the job!
I like to prep the potatoes right before I'm ready to add them to the pot. If you peel and cubed them beforehand, soak them in cold water to keep them from discoloring.
To test if the potatoes are done, pierce with a fork. If the fork does not meet any resistance and can pierce the potato cubes easily, they're done.
Some Ukrainian borscht recipes call for the addition of allspice. Because Assyrians use this spice in many of their recipes, I decided to try it and found that I prefer borscht without it!
It is said that you can make a spoon stand up in a proper bowl of borscht because it's so hearty. If you prefer a thinner soup, you can either add more beef broth or reduce the amount of veggies used, except for the beets.
Store leftover borscht in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Nutrition