Authentic Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

Traditional borscht in a black bowl with a spoon of sour cream on the top against of a wooden surface.

4.75 from 8 votes

Authentic Ukrainian Borscht Recipe

This delicious and rich authentic Ukrainian borscht soup is full of sweet, savory, and sour flavors. The taste is irresistible - you can't have just one bowl!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 50

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: Authentic Borscht Recipe, Borscht Recipe, borsh recipe, Traditional borscht recipe, Ukrainian beet soup, Ukrainian borscht recipe, Ukrainian borscht soup

Servings: large bowls

Calories: 380kcal

Author: Natasha Levai

Cost: 10

Ingredients

1-2 kg bone-in meat of choice (I used 4.5lb of pork trotters) bones are for broth, omit if using premade broth
350 grams cabbage
1 medium-large onion
3 medium carrots
2-3 medium beets
2-3 bay leaves
3 medium potatoes
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tablespoon white vinegar or 4 tablespoon of ACV
2 tablespoon tomato paste or 16oz tomato sauce
1 tablespoon salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, adjust to taste
2 tablespoon sunflower or olive oil for frying

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

You can either use store-bought broth or homemade, but for authentic Ukrainian borscht, I prefer making my broth from scratch.
Place the bone-in meat (pork, beef, or chicken) into a large Dutch oven or another heavy-bottomed pot, and add enough water to fully submerge it. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1-2 hours or until the meat is tender and cooked through.
I'm using pork trotters, so I simmered them for two hours to enhance the richness of the broth.
1-2 kg bone-in meat of choice (I used 4.5lb of pork trotters)
While the broth simmers, you can prepare the vegetables - peel them, chop the cabbage, finely dice the onion, cut the beets into thick sticks, and slice the carrots into circles.
350 grams cabbage, 1 medium-large onion, 3 medium carrots, 2-3 medium beets
Once the broth is ready, remove the meat and add 2 teaspoon of salt and bay leaves. Then place the chopped cabbage into the pot with the broth and simmer for 20 minutes.
Note: use more or less broth depending on how thick you want the borscht soup to be. I normally place the meat in a 6-quart Dutch oven and fill it up with water almost full. Then I use the entire broth for the recipe.
2-3 bay leaves
Preheat a frying pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add the oil. Add the chopped onion, beets, and carrots to the frying pan and saute over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoon of salt, along with the tomato sauce/paste and vinegar. Fry for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2 tablespoon tbsp white vinegar, 2 tablespoon tomato paste
In the meantime, peel and chop potatoes into medium-sized cubes peel and mince the garlic, and slice the cooked meat into bite-size pieces.
3 medium potatoes, 3-4 cloves garlic
20 minutes after adding the cabbage, stir in the sauteed beets, carrots, and onion, along with the peeled and chopped potatoes, minced garlic, and cooked chopped meat. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork. Do a taste test and add more salt if needed. Turn off the heat and serve! Enjoy!
1 tablespoon salt,

Notes

Tips:

1. Use a regular Y-shaped peeler to speed up the peeling process!
2. Wear disposable gloves and an apron when dealing with beets to avoid stains. You can use lemon juice and a paper towel to remove the stains as they appear!
3. Make homemade broth by boiling bone-in meat for a richer and heartier authentic Ukrainian borscht. You can make healing chicken bone broth, too!
4. For an authentic experience serve this traditional Ukrainian borscht with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, fresh dill, and garlic rolls or buckwheat sourdough bread (naturally gluten-free).
5. Serve the soup hot or cold depending on the season and mood!
6. Let the borscht soup "mature" in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. This will create a more blended, richer flavor just like in traditional authentic Ukrainian borscht.
7. If the borscht tastes bland, add more vinegar.

Storage:

- The soup will keep for up to 5 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

- Freeze borscht soup in a freezer bag or an air-tight container for up to 3 months (keep in mind that containers are easier to defrost than freezer bags!).

- To reheat simply place a bowl of borscht soup into a microwave for a couple of minutes or reheat on the stove.

Nutrition