# Russian Borscht: Beetroot Soup with Beef

> Borscht is a Russian beetroot soup built on beef stock with cabbage, potato and carrot, with grated beetroot added in the final twenty minutes along with a splash of vinegar — the vinegar is what keeps the deep red colour. It's served with sour cream, dill and garlic.

**Russian Cuisine · 120 min · 6 servings · 290 kcal per serving**

Half the pleasure of borscht is its colour, and most people lose it by cooking the beetroot from the start. The beetroot goes in at the end with a little acid, and that's what fixes the colour.

## Ingredients

- 600 g — beef on the bone
- 3 medium — beetroot, grated
- ¼ حبة — cabbage, shredded
- 2 medium — potatoes, diced
- 1 حبة — carrot, grated
- 1 medium — onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp — tomato paste
- 1 tbsp — white vinegar
- 2 leaves — bay
- 1 cup — sour cream, to serve
- ½ cup — chopped dill + 2 cloves garlic

## Method

1. **The stock** — Simmer the beef with the bay leaves, skimming the foam, for an hour until tender. Lift out the meat, cut it up, and strain the stock.
2. **The vegetables** — Add the potato to the stock for ten minutes, then the cabbage for another ten.
3. **Frying the beetroot** — In a pan: soften the onion and carrot, add the grated beetroot, tomato paste and the spoon of vinegar, and cook for ten minutes. The vinegar is what fixes the red.
4. **Bringing it together** — Add the beetroot mixture and the chopped beef to the soup, check the salt, and give it ten minutes over low heat without boiling hard.
5. **Serving** — Crush the garlic with the dill and scatter it in for the final minute. Serve hot with a spoon of sour cream in the middle of each bowl.

## Tips

- Vinegar with the beetroot is non-negotiable if you want the red to survive.
- Don't boil the soup after the beetroot goes in — boiling fades the colour.
- Borscht is better on the second day, like most soups.

## FAQ

### My borscht came out brown.
The beetroot cooked too long, or without acid. Fry it separately with vinegar and add it at the end.

### Can it be vegetarian?
Yes — vegetable stock instead of beef, everything else the same. Lenten borscht is common in Russia.

### A substitute for sour cream?
Thick Greek yoghurt gives roughly the same acidity and texture.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/russian-cuisine/russian-borscht-beetroot-soup-recipe
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-12