Borscht is one of the best assets of Russian and Ukrainian cuisines. There is no single universal way of cooking here, and it has always been prepared differently in different regions. We have collected 20 proven borscht recipes for you for every taste!
1. Classic homemade borscht
For the broth, be sure to take beef on the bone and cook it longer.
You will need: 1.5 kg of beef on the bone, 3.5 liters of water, 2 onions, 3 carrots, 1 parsley root, 2 beets, 3 bay leaves, 3 potatoes, 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 3 tomatoes, 0.5 tsp. sugar, 500 g cabbage, 5 cloves of garlic, spices.
Cooking: Pour the beef with water, bring to a boil, remove the foam and add one peeled onion, carrots and parsley root. Boil the broth over low heat for about 2 hours, and 15 minutes before the end, add the bay leaf and spices.
Fry the grated beets over medium heat, add vinegar, sugar and a little broth, and simmer for 15 minutes. Separately, fry the remaining onions with carrots, add peeled chopped tomatoes and also stew for 10 minutes.
Send chopped potatoes and cabbage to the boiling broth, after 5 minutes – carrot frying, and after another 5 – beets. Cook everything together for 15 minutes, season the borscht, season it with crushed garlic and return the meat to the pan. Take it off the fire and let it steep.
2. Borscht with tomato juice
Pork is used for this recipe, so the broth will be fatter and richer.
You will need: 400 g pork, 1 beetroot, 200 g cabbage, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 3 potatoes, 2 cups tomato juice, spices.
Cooking: Boil the pork until done. Fry the grated carrots with chopped onions until soft, add the grated beets and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add chopped potatoes and cabbage to the boiling broth, and after 7 minutes – tomato juice and frying. Boil for another 3 minutes, season and remove the borscht from the heat.
3. Borsch with sauerkraut
Sauerkraut gives borscht an original piquant sourness.
You will need: 300 g chicken, 230 g sauerkraut, 600 g potatoes, 70 g onions, 90 g carrots, 150 g beets, 200 g tomato sauce, 130 g tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves, sugar, salt, spices.
Cooking: Boil chicken broth, add potatoes and cook for 20 minutes. Grate carrots and beets, chop onions and fry everything together for 3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices, and simmer everything under the lid for a couple of minutes.
Squeeze and chop the sauerkraut, lay out for frying and mix. Pour in a little broth and simmer for another 10 minutes under the lid. Send the frying to the borscht, boil for 5 minutes, add sugar, salt, spices and crushed garlic, and remove from heat.
4. Borscht without potatoes
If you want to make borscht a little lighter, but still satisfying, just remove the potatoes.
You will need: 700 g beef, 4 beets, 300 g cabbage, 2 carrots, 3 tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1 onion, 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 1 tbsp. vinegar, spices.
Cooking: Boil beef until done. Send chopped cabbage to the broth and cook for 10 minutes. Fry the grated beets, pour in vinegar and a little broth, and simmer for 15 minutes under the lid. Separately, prepare a frying of carrots, onions and peppers, add grated tomatoes and tomato paste, and also stew for a couple of minutes. Send both roasts to the pan and cook the borscht until tender. Season at the end.
5. Borscht without beets
Borscht without beets is not as bright, but still very tasty.
You will need: 400 g pork, 400 g potatoes, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 bell pepper, 300 g cabbage, 1 tbsp. tomato paste, salt, sugar, spices.
Cooking: Boil the pork until cooked, strain the broth and send chopped potatoes into it. After 10 minutes, add cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes. During this time, prepare the frying of onions, carrots and peppers. Add tomato paste and spices to it, mix and put in borscht. Continue cooking until the vegetables are cooked.
6. Borscht with mushrooms
If you are using dried mushrooms, then for this recipe you don’t even need to soak them ahead of time.
You will need: 1 l of broth, 2 potatoes, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 100 g of mushrooms, 1 beetroot, 1 tbsp. tomato paste, 150 g cabbage, 0.5 bell pepper, 1 clove of garlic, herbs, spices.
Cooking: Cut the potatoes with mushrooms, pour in the broth and cook for about 20 minutes. Chop the onion, grate the carrots and beets, fry them together and add the tomato paste. Separately, finely chop the bell pepper, garlic and herbs, and chop the cabbage. Send all the ingredients to the broth, boil for another 5 minutes, season the borscht and let it brew.
7. Borscht with beans
The biggest problem with beans is that they take a long time to cook. So first soak it overnight!
You will need: 500 g chicken, 4 potatoes, 1 beetroot, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 0.5 head of cabbage, 1 tomato,1.5 cups boiled beans, spices.
Cooking: Cover the chicken with water and boil until done. Add chopped potatoes with cabbage, and continue cooking. Grate the beets and carrots, chop the onion and fry them until soft. Add peeled grated tomato, a little broth, and simmer for 5 minutes. When the cabbage becomes softer, send the fried beans and boiled beans to the borscht, season and remove from the stove after a couple of minutes.
8. Chinese cabbage soup
Here the nuance is that Beijing cabbage is cooked faster, so watch for its softness to your taste.
You will need: 1.5 l of broth, 100 g of beets, 2 potatoes, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 300 g of Beijing cabbage, 150 ml of tomato juice, 2 cloves of garlic, spices.
Cooking: Cut the potatoes, pour in the broth and cook until almost done. Saute chopped onions, grated carrots and beets together. Pour in the tomato juice and simmer under the lid for 15 minutes. Send the frying and chopped Chinese cabbage to the broth. Boil for another 5-7 minutes, remove the borscht from the stove and add spices with crushed garlic.
9. Green borscht
Classic sorrel borscht has nothing to do with red, but we couldn’t ignore it!
You will need: 1 chicken fillet, 2 onions, 4 potatoes, 200 g sorrel, spices.
Cooking: Boil the chicken until tender, add the chopped potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes. Fry the chopped onion until golden, and finely chop the sorrel. Send everything to the pan and cook the borscht for another 2-3 minutes after boiling. Season with spices at the end.
10. Borscht with sprat
A cheap recipe for borscht, for which you need a can of sprat in a tomato.
You will need: 2.5 liters of water, 240 g of sprat in a tomato, 300 g of cabbage, 4 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 tomato, 0.5 bell pepper, herbs and spices.
Cooking: Grate the carrots and finely chop the onion and pepper. Fry everything together until soft, add the grated tomato and evaporate a little. Add the sprat in the tomato and simmer for 5 minutes. Separately, boil potatoes in water, add chopped cabbage to it, and after 5 minutes – fish frying. After another 7 minutes, add spices and chopped greens, and the sprat borscht is ready!
11. Diet borscht with chicken
One of the easiest recipes without potatoes and based on chicken fillet.
You will need: 350 g chicken fillet, 250 g carrots, 300 g beets, 500 g cabbage, 1 purple onion, herbs, spices, garlic.
Cooking: Cut the chicken fillet into cubes and boil until tender. Add chopped cabbage and grated carrots with beets. After 5 minutes, add chopped onion, and cook for another 20 minutes. And at the very end, add garlic, herbs and spices to taste.
12. Borscht without frying
Borscht is a rather fatty and heavy first course, but even it can be cooked without frying.
You will need: 500 g beef, 300 g beets, 200 g cabbage, 200 g tomatoes, 200 g potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 bunch of herbs, spices.
Cooking: Pour the beef with water, bring to a boil and add the whole peeled beets with tomatoes. Boil everything for about an hour, but take out the tomatoes after 10 minutes. Remove the skin from them and mash them into a puree.
Remove the cooked meat with beets from the broth, and add chopped onions, carrots and potatoes. After 10 minutes, add cabbage and cook until tender. Add tomato, chopped greens, grated beets, spices and chopped meat. Bring the borscht to a boil and remove from the stove.
13. Borscht with lard
An original way to use lard when cooking borscht.
You will need: 600 g of beef, 1 beetroot, 2 onions, 600 g of tomatoes, 4 potatoes, 50 g of bacon, 1 head of cabbage, 1 bell pepper, 1 bunch of herbs, spices.
Cooking: Boil the beef until tender and send chopped potatoes, chopped peeled tomatoes and grated beets to the broth. Pass the onion and bacon through a meat grinder and send this mixture to the broth. After a couple of minutes, add chopped peppers and chopped cabbage. Boil borscht until the cabbage is ready, season and sprinkle with herbs.
14. Lean borscht without meat
Such borscht is perfect for vegetarians and those who fast.
You will need: 1 beetroot, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 200 g cabbage, 4 potatoes, 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp. sugar, salt and spices.
Cooking: Finely chop the cabbage, chop the potatoes, add spices, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. Fry the onion with grated carrots and beets, add tomato paste with sugar, and simmer for 10 minutes. Send the frying to the borscht, bring to a boil and season to taste. Add crushed garlic and remove from heat.
15. Borsch with bell pepper
Bell pepper can rightfully be called one of the traditional ingredients of borscht for a long time.
You will need: 2 beets, 3 potatoes, 1 purple onion. 2 bell peppers, 1 chili pepper, 1 carrot, 250 g cabbage, 3 tomatoes, 1.5 l broth, spices.
Cooking: Send the chopped potatoes with spices to the boiling broth and cook for 10 minutes. Add cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes. Grate the carrots and chop the onion, fry them until soft.
Grind peeled tomatoes, bell peppers and chili in a blender. Pour into the frying pan, season and simmer for 5-7 minutes under the lid. Send the frying to the borscht and boil for another 3-5 minutes.
16. Borsch with green beans
String beans very harmoniously complement the taste of homemade borscht.
You will need: 2.5 l of broth, 1 beetroot, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 4 potatoes, 150 g of green beans, 1.5 tbsp. tomato paste, 200 g cabbage, sugar, salt and spices.
Cooking: Add chopped potatoes and cabbage to the boiling broth, and cook for 15 minutes. Fry chopped onion with carrots and grated beets until soft. Add tomato, sugar, salt and spices, and also send to the pan. Put the green beans there and cook for 10 minutes.
17. Borscht with cauliflower
An original and tasty borscht is obtained by replacing ordinary cauliflower.
You will need: 400 g chicken, 2 beets, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 3 potatoes, 200 g cauliflower, 1 tomato, garlic and spices.
Cooking: Boil the chicken until tender, strain the broth and bring to a boil. Add chopped potatoes and onions to it, and cook for 10 minutes. Add grated carrots with beets, and cook for another 5 minutes. At the end, add small cauliflower florets, grated tomato, garlic and spices, bring to a boil, boil for 3 minutes and remove the borscht from the heat.
18. Borscht with pickled tomatoes
Pickled cherry tomatoes or other sweet varieties are best.
You will need: 2 beets, 4 potatoes, 300 g cabbage, 200 g pickled tomatoes, 1 chicken fillet, garlic and herbs.
Cooking: Boil the chicken until tender, add the potatoes and cabbage and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender. Fry the grated beets until soft. Add peeled chopped tomatoes and chopped garlic to it, simmer for a couple of minutes and put in a saucepan. After another 5 minutes, remove the borscht from the heat and sprinkle with herbs.
19. Borscht with prunes
It turns out even tastier and more aromatic if you add smoked meats.
You will need: 500 g of smoked meats, 2 liters of water, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 500 g of potatoes, 500 g of cabbage, 300 g of beets, 100 g of prunes, 0.5 bunch of parsley or cilantro, spices, garlic.
Cooking: Grate the carrots and beets, chop the onion and fry everything together until soft. Cut the smoked meat and potatoes into cubes, cover with water and cook for 10 minutes after boiling. Add shredded cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the roast and finely chopped prunes there. After 5-7 minutes, add spices, garlic and parsley, and remove the borscht from the heat.
20. Baked beetroot borscht
Roasted beetroot always gives borscht a richer color.
You will need: 1 beetroot, 3 potatoes, 1 carrot, 0.5 onion, 200 g cabbage, 1.5 tbsp. tomato paste, 1.5 l of broth, 2 cloves of garlic, spices.
Cooking: Bake the beets in foil for about an hour in the oven at 200 degrees and grate. Add narzan potatoes to the boiling broth and cook for 15 minutes. Fry the chopped onions with carrots, add half the beets and tomato paste, and simmer for a couple more minutes.
Put the dressing in the pan, add the shredded cabbage, and cook for another 7 minutes. After that, add garlic, spices and the remaining beets, boil for another minute, turn off the stove and let the borscht brew.