This cozy vegan borscht is made with vibrant beets, hearty veggies and flavored with zippy lemon juice and dill.
Funny story: for the longest time I assumed borscht was gross, even though I had absolutely zero logical basis for thinking that.
Back when I waited tables it was the soup of the day one day, but I’d never heard of it before. Some of the other servers explained that it was beet soup, so it must be terrible. I think there was even a gagging noise and finger-down-the-throat gesture involved. I guess that had an impression on me, because for most of my adult life I steered clear of borscht.
Well that was kind of ridiculous. I mean, first of all, I LOVE beets. Love, love, love them. But I guess I assumed they were bad in soup because someone else said so. Second of all, a lot of people make assumptions about the food I eat being unappetizing just because it’s vegan. How many millions of times have people scrunched their faces up in disgust over tofu or miso or Brussels sprouts. All of which is I happen to love.
It wasn’t until recently that I realized I’d been pretty silly all those years making a unconscious assumption based on what other people told me. I decided it was time to whip up a batch of vegan borscht and see what I thought.
The verdict: borscht is the best thing ever. You know, along with tofu and miso and Brussels sprouts and all that other good stuff.
If you love cozy soups and you’re a fan of beets, it’s a safe bet that you’ll dig this.
My vegan borscht is made with not only beets, but also cabbage, carrots and potatoes. It’s super hearty. The beets infuse everything with their slightly sweet, earthy flavor, and the soup gets finished with some zippy lemon and dill. I topped my bowl with a scoop of unflavored non-dairy yogurt, but vegan sour cream or cashew cream would be excellent too. Serve it with some crusty bread for dipping and you’ll be in winter comfort food heaven.
Vegan Borscht
This cozy vegan borscht is made with vibrant beets, hearty veggies and flavored with zippy lemon juice and dill.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium beets, peeled and diced (1/2 inch)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (1/2 inch)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups finely chopped cabbage
- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced (1/2 inch)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus more for serving
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Vegan sour cream, yogurt, or cashew cream, for serving
- Chopped fresh chives and/or parsley, for serving
Instructions
Stovetop Method
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the beets, carrot and onions. Sauté until the veggies begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute, until very fragrant.
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Stir in the broth, tomato paste, cabbage and potato. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer, uncovered, until the veggies are tender, 15-20 minutes. You can add more broth or water if you like.
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Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lemon juice and dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and top with vegan sour cream, yogurt, or cashew cream, and a sprinkling of fresh dill, parsley and/or chives. Serve.
Instant Pot Method
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Press the "sauté" button on your Instant Pot, then add the oil. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the beets, carrot and onions. Sauté the veggies until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute, until very fragrant. Press the "cancel" button.
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Stir in the broth, tomato paste, cabbage and potato. Place the lid on your Instant Pot and set the valve to the "sealing" position. Press the "pressure cook" or "manual" button and set the pressure to high. Set the soup to cook for 15 minutes.
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When the soup has finished cooking, carefully move the valve to the "venting" position. Let the pressure release completely.
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Remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Stir in the lemon juice and dill. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and top with vegan sour cream, yogurt, or cashew cream, and a sprinkling of fresh dill, parsley and/or chives. Serve.
Do you use regular green cabbage or red?
I’ve been using green just because I happened to have some on hand, but red would work too!
I was hooked on this soup with the flavours of dill and lemon juice! Adding to my “to-make” list :)
I hope you enjoy it!!
Thanks, Allisa! I love beets I forgot to mention, so this soup is right down my alley and you got me totally hooked with the dill and lemon flavouring, I think would go so good! I have not yet made it yet (it’s been added to my evergrowing to-make list, which is about getting cooking too…when I get there) but it looks like it will turn out a great soup (and I love soup) :)
Also, I think either red or green cabbage would work, or just add both (I love cabbage).
Just what I needed! I have been searching for recipes that are appealing for beetroot. We love soup all year round – it is the middle of summer here in South Africa :).
This is perfect if you love beets. :) I hope you enjoy!!
Looks delicious I can’t wait to try it. Is the sodium content really 41% dry? Also, how is it cold?
Thank you! The sodium content will depend on what brand of broth you use. Here’s a link to the nutritional calculator that I generate my labels from: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-matzo-ball-soup/ – You can try crunching the numbers with different brands of broth or even low sodium varities to see if you can get a lower number. I think the brand it uses by default is pretty high in sodium! I haven’t tried it cold, but I think it would be good!
Just making a double batch to take to my daughter who is vegan when I go visit her tomorrow, for the freezer while she starts Grad School! I am also adding some dill pickle juice from the pickle jar along with the dill and lemon juice! I think it will be delicious! I’m having some for dinner before I put it in the containers for her! Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds wonderful! I love the idea of adding pickle juice!
I love Beets and the only thing I might try is to puree the Borscht, only because I would like a smoother soup.. But before I do that I will try it the way I have cooked it so I don’t err the next time I make it and get the best blend..
I was actually planning on pureeing this next time I make it!
I’ve become a lazy chef and I’m planning on shredding the beets and carrots instead of chopping. Might give you a smoother soup!
Thanks for the recipes, I am looking forward to making a few that are vegan soon.
Happy Holidays.
Happy Holidays to you too!! I hope you enjoy them!
Borscht is a staple here in Belarus, it’s common to say that a woman is a good wife if she can cook borscht. So sexist, to my mind, but doesn’t change the fact that borscht is very important.
Lol. I just told my husband that and he agreed!
I love Borscht! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Do you have a recipe for a homemade vegan sour-cream?
I do! This one includes my go-to recipe for homemade cashew sour cream: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/chipotle-lentil-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/ I hope you enjoy this!!
I am glad you included some tomato paste. I made one from I THINK Isa Chandra’s cookbook, and I hated it. No tomatoes. It adds a nice zip to it.
I remember Rugrats making fun of Borscht when I was little. I mean, it is a pretty intense looking soup, so I can see why people get scared of it. lol
Yeah, I think it’s definitely necessary! I was going to try skipping it but I gave it a taste test as it was simmering and it was missing something. Tomato paste did the trick. :)
Made this last night and it was so delicious! Only addition I made was some garlic powder for extra flavor. My family and I gobbled it up in a heart-beet. ;)
I’m glad it was a hit!! Thanks so much!
Ok, the rest of the family didn’t love this soup—MORE FOR ME. Delicious! I used dried dill, fresh parsley, and plenty of lemon juice. Also dairy sour cream, because I’m not actually a vegan. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Emily!
This was GOOD.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Meg!
Could it be served cold?
I think this would be delicious served cold during the summer. :)
I prepared the recipe, minus the potato, and the beets never softened, so I purées the soup. It just doesn’t have enough flavor for me. Next time, I will roast the beets and carrots before adding to the broth as I love the taste of roasted vegetables.
How many people is the recipe intended to serve?
Sorry to hear that! I’m not sure why your beets and potato wouldn’t soften – that’s very unusual. The recipe serves four – listed right under the cook time. :)
I’ve never had borscht before and this was amazing. I used garden carrots, potatoes, and beets. I used more beets in the recipe since I have so much. I used red cabbage. Added lots of salt and pepper and extra dill and lemon juice. I made my own easy cashew cream
..and added a dollop of that and dill to serve. I will be making this again. Ive always loved your recipes. Thanks!
Delicious! I didn’t have any cabbage in house so used beet tops! I also added some dried lemon dill spice blend. It was a fantastic soup!
Great idea! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
This was delicious–thank you for the recipe! The only change I made was to substitute beet greens for the cabbage. Why waste the nutritious and tasty greens? :-)
I love that idea! Glad you enjoyed it!
This sounds wonderful! Am making it next Friday for a Loaf&Laden party Saturday.
Would I be able to add any other varieties of root veggies? Can I include parsnip, celeriac, rutabega? We serve it in heavy paper cups and everyone brings a favorite pot of soup and we all try one anothers. This sounds wonderful and, yes!, tomato paste. So necessary. Thank you!
Yup! I think any and all of those veggies would be delicious! You might need to increase the amount of broth – it’s already got a pretty high veggie to broth ratio. I hope you enjoy it!!
Making this Friday to serve Saturday at a soup party. About 25 ppl. Everyone brings a pot of their favorite homemade soup and if you feel nervous about cooking we ask “Then go to a real bakery and get a fantastic bread and a stick of real butter! So many soups to try! So looking forward to this one! Thank you!
I love soup, so a soup party sounds wonderful to me! I hope you enjoy this one!
Thanks everyone who posts their comments and alterations. I find them inspiring.
I LOVE BORSCHT!! 😍
I’m glad to have found this recipe. I’ve made borscht in the past before I was vegan. I love that there’s a vegan version for just about everything!
A few things I altered are I used both purple and green cabbage, red onion, and also added a splash of ACV. Also avocado oil instead of olive oil.
I just came off of a 7 day fast and this is a perfect heart healthy, muscle supporting, keep the weight off meal for the next few nights!
Sooo yum! 😋
Thank you Alissa
Those all sound like delicious variations! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Boss-ass recipe! Came out sick! Thank you. Stoked.
Yay!! Glad you like it!
Just had a bowl of this, delicious, thanks for the recipe. Sadly I didn’t have the fresh dill on hand, so I took a chance and used about 1/2 tsp of cumin. I also used some nice red cabbage. I’ll definitely make this again, and I’ll make sure to get some fresh dill. I’m tempted to use fresh squeezed Key Limes rather that lemon juice as I have a great source for those.
Oh interesting! I’d never think to use cumin in here, but it does sound really good! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipé , I was just wondering in regards to broth, how can I make it?
In the past I used chicken, but it’s not vegan,
Hope you can help me :)
Hi Goren! Check your supermarket near the chicken broth – most stores carry vegetable broth as well. You can also look for vegetable bullion and mix it with water to make your own broth. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Knorr-Cube-Bouillon-Vegetable-count-x/dp/B000SRLJH8/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1549668691&sr=8-3&keywords=vegetable%2Bbullion&th=1
And if you can’t find anything, try making it yourself: https://www.acouplecooks.com/vegetable-broth/
Enjoy!!
Great borscht. The second time making it I left out the tomato paste as I found it too sweet. Used sweet potato instead of potato. Added leeks instead of onions. Also very good. Thanks for posting! Cheers
I love the idea of using sweet potato! I’m so glad you like this! Thanks Susan!
This was so good! Thank you very much. This tasted very truly connoisseur! I can’t wait to look at your other recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this and it turned out INCREDIBLE! I like to serve it with crusty sourdough. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! I’ve been serving mine with sourdough as well! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Delicious!! The only extra thing I added was garlic salt with parsley. I served it with toast with vegan cream cheese and dill.
Sounds like a delicious meal! Glad you enjoyed it!
Very tasty – served hot and lumpy, also tried blended and refrigerated. Both good. 😊. Question- is this nutritional info correct? 7.5 fat grams seems like a lot. And no protein at all? According to the nutritional info, One serving calculates out to be 8 weight watchers points ~ I just don’t see that.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! 7.5 is correct – most of the fat comes from the olive oil (you could cut down to 1 tablespoon for a lower fat version). The protein was left off accidentally, so I just added it – thanks for catching that!
Just made it! I’m new to the vegan cuisine, only went vegan 2 months ago. I love Borscht and make it frequently… so this satisfied my craving. Going into my recipes. Thank you.
Glad this one hit the spot! Thanks Robin!
Could I ommit the garlic and dill? What could beused instead? Would it be flavorless without these 2 things?
You can certainly omit them! There are a lot of borscht recipes that don’t use garlic – including it is just my preference. Chives would be a nice substitute for the dill.
THIS IS AMAZING (HYPERBOLE IN ALL EARNESTNESS!). I had beets from my garden and soup is my favorite thing to make. I adore a good vegan borscht and this is BY FAR the best recipe I have tried. I made some substitutions based on what I had on hand from my garden and my Imperfect Produce box. I didn’t have actual cabbage so I used a combo of kale and bok choy. I also used sweet potatoes instead of russets and added 2 diced garden tomatoes. I also added a can of organic chickpeas because I wanted some extra protein and THEY WORK GREAT! I love the over-use of dill and lemon – it really feels so clean and fresh, even though it is a comfort soup. I cannot wait to try more of your soups!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’ve been thinking of making a batch with kale myself – I’ll have to give it a try!
This is an incredible recipe packed full of flavour and hearty winter goodness. I was just wondering if it would be possible to cook it in the slow cooker? And if so how long should it be cooked for? And should I stagger the additions (I.e add the cabbage later etc)? Thanks.
I’m so glad you like it! I think it would work in a slow cooker, but I haven’t tried so I can’t give exact times and settings. I’m thinking 3 or 4 hours on high or 5 to 7 on low, and you can probably add everything at once. I’d love to hear how it works out if you try!
This was easy to make and absolutely delicious. Very filling too. Wouldn’t change anything about this recipe yum yum yum. Thank you.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you like it!
Perfect recipe! I added about a tsp if pickling spice (like my grandma used to), but this recipe is perfect as is.
Glad you like it!
This recipe is one of the tastiest soups I have ever cooked. It is also my first vegan venture, and I have to say, it was spectacularly good. The only thing I substituted was kale for cabbage, which worked extremely well.
Super tasty, I’ve made this several times now :)
I grew up eating this soup with my mum as she loved it and now I cook it for my housemates who bug me to make it weekly !!! This is by far the BEST recipe to follow and turns out amazing every time I make it! Thank you, Im making this tonight :)
Delicious! I used low sodium vegetable broth and results were very tasty!
Would white beans taste good in this? Would like to make it heartier and add a protein source
I think white beans would make a nice addition.
I pureed this and added popcorn on top! So good.
Amazing borscht recipe. I’m wondering if anyone has a good vegan dairy brand they’ve paired with and can confirm works well?
Glad you think so! I actually like this best with homemade cashew cream: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/cashew-cream/
This is the BEST thing I’ve made since becoming vegan a year ago and possibly ever in my life. Like you, I always thought it looked and sounded disgusting. Boy was I wrong. Thank you Alissa for giving my palate such joy!
Btw, I used Tofutti “sour cream” and it was amazing!
I’ve been using this recipe for so long and felt it was long overdue that I leave a review.
I am particular about my borscht and have tried so many recipes. This is the first one I have made that was spot on in every way. No need to adjust. I love the addition of lemon. I do add celery. And I often leave out potatoes if I’m going to freeze it, but that’s just my preference. This recipe can be made as is and is amazing frozen as well. I’m so glad I stumbled upon it his recipe years ago! Thank you.