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Red Borscht in white bowl with yogurt on top

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Borscht [Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan]

Borscht is a warm, comforting bowl of goodness to enjoy on a cool, winter day. This is the recipe I’ve been making for my family for years.

Borscht topped with cashew yogurt in white bowl

Borscht: Beet and Cabbage Soup

Introduction to Borscht

One of my major assignments when I was in high school home economics class was to plan, prepare, and serve a complete meal from a foreign country to my entire class! Each student had to choose a different country. As you can imagine, the easiest countries were snapped up quickly! This was back in the days of the Soviet Union, and I remember my teacher expressing her sympathies that I got suck with Russia.

What she didn’t know at first was that I had a little advantage. A friend, and wife of my father’s cousin, had immigrated from Russia. She told me verbally how to make her borscht recipe. This must have been my first introduction to bay leaves. I distinctly remember asking her to repeat bay leaf a couple of times. I had probably never heard of it before, and with her accent I had no idea what she was saying. Awkward. So now, whenever I reach for a bay leaf, I think of our dear friend.

As is often the case with favourite recipes, this one has evolved over the years I’ve been making it. I hope you’ll appreciate my current delicious, simplified vegan version!

Russian Foods

The other day while I was going through some old recipes, I actually came across my high school notes with my original Borsch recipe. Apparently I also served a sauerkraut dish with bacon and onions, rye bread, and apple torte. Other Russian dishes are beef stroganoff, mushroom gravy, cabbage rolls, and babka, a round loaf of bread.

Borscht Broth

As with any broth-based soup recipe, using good quality broth or stock is vital. It’s not difficult to make your own. You just need to allow some time. I make the easiest stock ever. I simply fill a pot with chicken or beef bones, cover them with water, add a spoonful each of salt and vinegar, bring to a boil, and simmer for several hours. You can do the same thing with an assortment of chopped vegetables to make a vegan broth. In that case, you don’t need the vinegar.

Cashew Yogurt

Borscht would typically be topped off with a dollop of sour cream. For this dairy free, vegan version, I actually prefer my Cashew Yogurt on it. You’ll notice that the nutrition facts for each are listed separately below.

Red borscht topped with cashew yogurt in white bowl
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Borscht

CathysGlutenFree.com
Course Side Dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 4 cups vegetable broth (for vegan) or bone stock
  • 4 medium beets peeled and cubed
  • 2 medium carrots chopped (1 cup)
  • 1 medium yellow cooking onion chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 small head cabbage shredded (3 cups)
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup cashew yogurt for topping

Instructions

  1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, combine broth, beets, carrots, onion, bay leaf, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
  2. Stir in cabbage and undrained tomatoes. Cover and cook 30 to 35 minutes more or until vegetables are tender.
  3. Remove bay leaf.
  4. Puree with an immersion blender, if desired.
  5. Garnish with a dollop of cashew yogurt to serve.
Nutrition Facts for Borscht

Nutrition Facts for Cashew Yogurt

Vegan Borscht: Beet Cabbage Soup Recipe

Vegan Borscht

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. As they say, everything happens for a reason. Wonderful story, thanks for sharing. This borscht looks just perfect. Have pinned to try ♥♥♥

  6. I still never tried borscht before and I love beets so I think I need to make this recipe soon. Especially when it’s rhis easy to make!

  12. I like the look of your simplified borscht! So many wonderful veggies and I’m amazed at how simple the method is! Will have to give this a go.

  14. I love borscht so much we make them in the winter time! My kids love beets, it’s a great way to get them eat a lot of veggies. Thank you for sharing your recipe!

  15. I am a big fan of borscht! I grew up eating Doukabour borscht which is a little different but just as good. I love the colour of this soup and your photos are gorgeous!

  16. Oh yum, this is such a special soup. I LOVE that you included the cashew yogurt, such a nice dairy-free alternative to sour cream (because you really can’t have Borscht without that creamy goodness on top – so classic and perfect). This looks so good!

  17. I love that you still had your high school notes! That must have been a blast to look back on! Do you remember your meal going well? I don’t remember so many things from those years – I’d love to have such a vivid recollection!

  18. Every family in Russia has their own borscht (борщ) secrets 🙂 I never added honey or stewed tomatoes before, but would love to try next time!

  20. Your story reminded me of my high school project (a few decades ago!!) too. I cooked a meal for my science class of foraged wild foods. Fun memories. Your borscht looks beautiful; I like your idea of pureeing it for a totally different look – very elegant. I can see serving it as a first course for a dinner party.

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