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Beetroot soup in a bowl with decorative corn ears behind it.
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5 from 2 votes

Easy Beetroot Soup (Vegan Borscht)

This easy beetroot soup is my take on Polish borscht with a gentle hint of spice. It's vegan, tangy, filling, vibrant, nourishing & delicious and can be made on the hob or in your Instant Pot. Proper winter warmer-upper your whole family will enjoy!
Course Soup
Cuisine Polish
Keyword beetroot soup, Polish borscht, vegan borscht
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 184kcal
Author Jo Allison

Ingredients

  • 300 g raw beetroot (peeled weight) peeled and roughly chopped
  • 150 g carrots peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 celery stick
  • 10 g thumb size piece of ginger peeled and grated
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped or grated
  • 200 g potatoes peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 large leek or onion cleaned and thinly sliced
  • 15-20 g fresh dill roughly chopped and more to garnish
  • 2 tablespoon rapeseed/olive oil
  • 1 ltr vegetable stock cube is fine
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice (half a lemon) or 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar - see notes
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • vegan yogurt to serve
  • more lemon juice to adjust acidity to taste

Instructions

Traditional "on the hob" cooking method

  • Heat up couple of tablespoons of oil in a large pot with a lid or in a stockpot.
    2 tablespoon rapeseed/olive oil
  • Add thinly sliced leek/onion, celery, garlic and ginger (if using) and sauté for a few minutes until soft and translucent but not coloured stirring often to prevent vegetables from colouring too much.
    1 celery stick, 10 g thumb size piece of ginger, 1 large leek or onion, 2 garlic cloves
  • Feel free to add a splash of water to help veggies along.
  • Add chopped carrots, beetroot, potatoes and juice of half a lemon followed by vegetable stock.
    300 g raw beetroot (peeled weight), 150 g carrots, 200 g potatoes, 1 ltr vegetable stock, 2 tablespoon lemon juice (half a lemon)
  • Bring the soup to boil, cover, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
  • Once veg is tender give the soup a taste and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper) as well as level of acidity by adding more lemon juice if required.
    salt & pepper, more lemon juice to adjust acidity
  • Add fresh dill and mix it in.
    15-20 g fresh dill
  • Using immersion blender, puree the soup to your preferred consistency adding a splash more stock if needed. Alternatively, feel free to enjoy your beetroot soup chunky.
  • Serve with a dollop of vegan yogurt and some more fresh dill.
    vegan yogurt

Instant Pot

  • Heat up couple of tablespoons of oil in your Instant Pot using "Sauté" function (it should be set on High, 30min).
  • Add thinly sliced leek/onion, celery, garlic and ginger (if using) and sauté for a few minutes until soft and translucent but not coloured stirring often to prevent vegetables from colouring too much.
  • Feel free to add a splash of water to help veggies along.
  • Turn the pot off by pressing "Keep Warm/Cancel" button.
  • Add chopped carrots, beetroot, potatoes and juice of half a lemon followed by vegetable stock. The added liquids will deglaze the pot but you might want to help a bit using wooden spoon to make sure there are no little bits of leek burnt onto the bottom.
  • Put on the lid and lock it in place making sure that the black, steam releasing valve is pointing to "Sealing". Set your Instant Pot to "Soup" setting for 15 min.
  • When the time is up turn the pot off by pressing "Keep Warm/Cancel" button and let the pressure go down naturally for 10min (NPR - Natural Pressure Release).
  • Once the time is up move the steam releasing valve to "Venting" and quickly release remaining pressure.
  • Season soup to taste with salt and pepper, adjust acidity by adding more lemon juice if you wish and puree to desired consistency using immersion blender or enjoy it as is.

Notes

  • Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 4 serving), without vegan yogurt and should be treated as a rough guideline only. 
  • Beetroot soup will store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  • Freezer friendly. 
  • Use ½ lemon (roughly 2 Tbsp) to add together with beetroot to preserve its colour and add acidity which is synonymous with borscht. You can substitute it with 2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. 
  • For other ingredient substitutes see - Ingredients
TIPS:
Try and cut your veg into similar size chunks for even cooking.
Keep your peeled and cut potatoes in water until needed to prevent them from going brown.
Adding some type of acid (lemon juice or apple cider vinegar) to the pan together with beetroot, will preserve its gorgeous colour.
Always taste and adjust seasoning according with your preference. The amount of salt you add will depend on saltiness of your stock.
You might want to add more lemon juice once your soup finished cooking to adjust acidity.
This soup is great both pureed and chunky.

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 1089mg | Potassium: 680mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 7487IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg