🟡 Preview — not yet kitchen-tested. Recipe version 1.1 (15 Oct 2026) · Draft formulation — uncooked · Kitchen tester: not yet assigned · Video: technique demonstration (different recipe)

🍲 Борщ · borshch (also spelled borsch or borscht)

A deep-red beet soup with cabbage, potatoes and tender white beans. Borshch is cooked across Ukraine in countless regional and family versions, so there is no single correct recipe. The culture of Ukrainian borshch cooking was inscribed by UNESCO in 2022, and meatless borshch with beans or mushrooms belongs to the Christmas Eve table.

Kitchen Monk adaptation of Ukrainian borshch. 🔄 What we changed: beans instead of meat; vegetables softened in water instead of fried in oil or fat; lemon, garlic and dill bring the flavour instead of salt; our tangy dill cream replaces sour cream.

🍽️ Serves 6 (about 2 cups each; about 12 cups total, to be measured in testing) · ⏱️ Prep 25 min · Cook 50 min · Rest 10 min · Total about 1½ hours
🍳 Equipment: large pot (at least 5 litres), box grater or food processor, cutting board and knife, ladle

🧺 Ingredients

• 3 medium beets (about 450 g), peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 onion (about 150 g), chopped
• 2 carrots (about 150 g), coarsely grated
• 300 g potatoes (about 2 medium), in 1.5 cm cubes
• 400 g green cabbage, finely shredded (about ¼ of a medium head)
• 3 cups cooked white beans (about 500 g), or two 15-oz cans no-salt-added, drained and rinsed
• 400 g no-salt-added crushed tomatoes (one 14.5-oz can)
• 6 cups water, plus about ¼ cup for softening the vegetables
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp lemon juice, divided (1 tbsp, then 2 tbsp)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
• Black pepper, to taste

👩‍🍳 Steps

1. Heat ¼ cup water in the pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook about 8 minutes, adding water a tablespoon at a time whenever they stick, until the onion is soft and translucent.
2. Add the grated beets and 1 tbsp of the lemon juice (the acid helps keep the deep red colour). Cook 5 minutes, stirring.
3. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, bay leaf and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes.
4. Add the cabbage and beans. Simmer 15–20 minutes more, until a potato cube breaks easily when pressed against the side of the pot and the cabbage is tender but not mushy.
5. Turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the garlic, the remaining 2 tbsp lemon juice, the dill and pepper. Cover and rest 10 minutes so the flavours settle.
6. Taste. If it seems flat, add lemon juice a teaspoon at a time.

👀 What you should see and taste at the end: a ruby-red, brothy soup thick with vegetables, with a gentle sweet-and-sour balance and fresh garlic and dill. A ladle should hold both broth and vegetables.

💡 Troubleshooting: brownish rather than red? The beets cooked too long without acid; stir in more lemon at the end. Too thick? Add hot water. Too thin? Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Borshch often tastes even better the next day.

🍽️ Serve with: a spoonful of tangy dill cream, extra dill, and whole-grain bread if you like.

⚠️ Allergens: none of the major allergens in this formula; check canned-food labels. The ingredients are naturally gluten-free, but this recipe makes no gluten-free claim.

🔁 Substitutions: none tested yet.

🧊 Storing: cool a big pot quickly by dividing the soup into shallow containers; refrigerate within 2 hours and use within 3–4 days. Reheat until steaming hot throughout. ❄️ Freezes about 3 months (the potatoes soften); thaw in the refrigerator.

🎥 Technique demonstration

This video by The Whole Food Plant Based Cooking Show shows a plant-based, oil-free borscht with beets, cabbage, potato and carrot. It is a different recipe with different amounts; we have not confirmed whether it uses salt. Follow the ingredients and steps on this page. The creator has not reviewed or endorsed this adaptation.

🛒 Shopping checklist

• ☐ Beets: 3 medium (about 450 g / 1 lb)
• ☐ Onion: 1
• ☐ Carrots: 2
• ☐ Potatoes: 2 medium (about 300 g)
• ☐ Green cabbage: 1 small head, or ¼ of a medium head (you need 400 g)
• ☐ No-salt-added white beans: two 15-oz cans (or 3 cups home-cooked)
• ☐ No-salt-added crushed tomatoes: one 14.5-oz can
• ☐ Garlic: 3 cloves
• ☐ Lemons: 2
• ☐ Fresh dill: 1 bunch
• ☐ Bay leaf and black pepper (check your pantry)

🖨️ To print: use your browser’s Print command (on a phone, tap Share or ⋮, then Print).

📚 Cultural context: Ukraine.ua and The Kyiv Independent. These sources did not create or review this formulation. 🌱 Kitchen Monk Standard: no added salt, oil or refined sugar. Part of The Ukrainian Flourishing Table™ · kitchenmonk.org · Corrections welcome: rfjeep@gmail.com · Last reviewed 15 Oct 2026.