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This beef borscht started my lifelong love of adding sour cream to things. The way the tangy, rich cream melts into the hot, beefy broth is a wonder to behold.
Ingredients
- 1 (1 inch thick) slice bone-in beef shank
- 3 quarts water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups diced peeled beets
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
- ¼ cup white vinegar, or to taste
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup sour cream, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, for garnish
Directions
Step 1
Cook beef shank in a large soup pot over high heat until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add water, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf; bring to a simmer and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Strain broth and discard solids.
Step 2
Combine beef broth, beets, and cabbage in the same pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar, salt, and black pepper.
Step 3
Serve soup in bowls garnished with sour cream and dill.
Editor’s Note:
The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of beef broth ingredients, even though only the broth is used.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 8 | |
| Calories 138 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat8g | 10% |
| Saturated Fat4g | 22% |
| Cholesterol21mg | 7% |
| Sodium96mg | 4% |
| Total Carbohydrate12g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber3g | 11% |
| Total Sugars6g | |
| Protein6g | |
| Vitamin C15mg | 75% |
| Calcium82mg | 6% |
| Iron1mg | 6% |
| Potassium415mg | 9% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.
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source by allrecipe
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Omg…..marry me please!! Chef John Love your recipes would relocate if you would cook for me…LOL
On a serious note-
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. -
Great recipe. I love beets and this is a winner! I totally agree with
Sundances review. Amen. Thank you, Chef John. -
I made this for Halloween one year and it was SOOO delicious! LOVE IT!
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When I made this it was my first time making or trying borscht. It was absolutely incredible! I ate everything in my bowl and then went back for seconds, and even my husband enjoyed eating it (a MAJOR accomplishment!) And the leftovers are equally good.
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I simply started with beef stock and cooked all the veggies together in the stock for 1/2 an hour. I also used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. Great and couldn’t have been quicker.
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A local Eastern Euro restaurant switched and became a wing joint. Weirded their borscht so much I looked for a recipe. Found this one and the very first time I tried it we couldn’t get enough! Very easy the only time consuming but is simmering everything. I mixed the broth in a mixer with the beets and cabbage til slightly chunky. This is so good on a cold day and definitely add the sour cream! My husband is no fan of beets but he loves it. Comfort food full of veggies!
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Change from orifinal recipe- total prep and cook time:45 minutes. I used to live in Ukraine and I ate borscht several times a week there. This recipe tastes very similar to how they eat it over there. Yummy! I changed the recipe slightly so it was ready after about 35 Minutes of simmering. I used regular old stew meat from the store, browned it along with the chopped onion for a few minutes, then let it rest for 5 minutes while I finished preparing the veggies. I made sure to chop my carrots into smaller pieces since I knew I wouldn’t be cooking them for 4 hours. I cut the beets into cube like, solid chunks, and used a half a red cabbage. I then combined all ingredients, brought to a boil, reduced heat to simmering and 35 minutes later had the Yummiest soup ever. The Bay leaves and sour cream can’t be skipped. I added 4 leaves. You are going to have to add a lot more salt than you think you may – the cabbage and beats really suck up the flavoring. I also used some Montreal Steak seasoning – that’s powerful stuff and I used 2 tablespoons plus a lot of salt.
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Highly recommended – the result was a hearty borscht, with great depth of flavor and beautiful balance! Followed the recipe to the tee, and served with toasted/buttered dill bread. Yum!
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Using this recipe it was the first time I made borscht. I saut?ed the onions first in the pot. Then added all the cut up veggies ingredients, except the beets, to the pot to saut?. Then instead of cubing the beets, I grated them and added them to the pot. Then added the water, vinegar, salt, pepper and bay leave. Instead of the beef shank, I used fresh Mennonite farmers sausage diced into quarters, browned it in a frying pan and added it to the pot and simmered until all was tender. It was a hit!
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Used store bought beef broth and this was amazing. Vinegar at the end is a must! Highly recommended – and I’m Ukrainian!
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Been making borscht since my “from the old country” Gramma taught me 40 yrs ago, this is excellent. While I will still make Gramma’s recipe, this is a hearty, and delicious variation. I had to make one change, add the vinegar to the stock while simmering the shank, Gramma told me it draws out the flavor. Another winner Chef John, thanks!
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Very good. Thanks!
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I’m a russian dude and I ate everything from dumplings to pork chop my mom was the best Russian cook ever to heat up a pan so I took in her foot steps and opened a restaurant in Houston Texas and I’ve been using your soup and your soup got so many fans I made it every day I was tired of looking at it. so I went ahead and and gave it a spoon full it was amazing thanks to your borscht my restaurant is on the map. many thanks
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Wow!!! Quite possibly the best soup I have ever made. The only change I made was using two bone in beef shanks instead of one. I forgot to skin the foam but the broth was still delicious. Added some extra beets to use up all we had from our bountiful basket. Try this, it is easy and delicious!!!
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My dad and I absolutely loved it! The only issue I had was I wanted more. Guess it means I will be making it again. The only difference I did from the recipe was that I chopped up some of the meat and put it back in the soup.
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I think the vinegar could be left out.
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When I saw your ingredients I knew this was the recipe I had been looking for! I used everything in your recipe but cooked the beef shanks in the crock pot for seven hours, removed the meat and strained the broth. Refridgerated overnight and was able to remove the solidified fat from the top. Cooked onions,carrots,celery and 4 whole beets in electric pressure cooker for 20 min. When done I removed the beets, peeled them and cut into matchsticks. Used the immersion blender on the remaining vegetables, added the broth,meat and beets. Added vinegar to taste. Amazing!!!! So even though my technique was a little different it was basically your recipe! Thank you so much!!!!!!
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Delicious! I made several adjustments to my particular taste. I added garlic, used half beef stock and half water to boil the beef shank, and kept the meat on the side to add to soup to desired consistency.
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This was my first time trying and/or making Borscht and it was amazing!!! And, healthy! Thanks Chef John. I’m fairly new to AllRecipes but I’m slowly starting to realize that you might know what you’re doing lol. Only thing I did different was add a shank and tomato to make the initial broth.
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Look for Tyson Kampenhout’s version in comments. I made his shorter version. Served it to RUSSIAN girlfriend. She was very impressed. Do I need to say more? No.
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I made a few changes to the recipe, and it turned out delicious! I cooked the meat and mirepoix for an hour and a half, then took out the meat. At this point, it fell off the bones but was still plenty flavorful. I cut it into pieces, then added it back with the beets and cabbage, then cooked for an additional 30 min. Leaving all of the veggies and meat in makes the borscht super hearty.
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I substituted beef broth, used veggies from the farmer’s market, and topped it off with organic low fat sour cream. I simmered the soup for about an hour. My husband, who is from Detroit, said that this was the best borscht he has ever had. Score!
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I made this for dinner last night. The humidity here often causes liquids to evaporate faster. Because of this I ended up adding extra beef broth toward the end of cooking. I also returned some of the meat to the broth while the vegetables were cooking. It was wonderful!
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Made this without the dill. Ended up adding the meat back to perfect the recipe. Delightful, light, and filling.
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Easy to make. Really good with beets fresh from the garden.
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Let’s just say words can’t describe how yummy this delisous treat is! Second time using beets! New to the whole cooking world… Made for myself & friends stopped by, tasted my magical soup that took me some time.. They also loved it too! Wow, the sour cream was a great mix.. Loved it .. Also – I added green onion in and extra cabbage ..
I followed the recipe but for some reason I added green onion verse regular onion.. Lol .. So it was so to late to take out .. So I just say it was an addition lol.
Also mistake two . I put the two cups of cabbage in the beginning lol .. So when I say extra .. I mean I tossed in an extra at the right time with the beets .. Oops ..But sill came out amazing ..
Thanks For the recipe ..
Did have a question ..
How come no potatoes ? -
I needed to make this in the crock pot due to my schedule – so I threw beef broth and stew meat and the rest of the ingredients (minus the celery and onion) into the crock pot along with four bay leaves and some steak seasoning – cooked it all day on low and it was delicious. Garnished it with sour cream and dill – even better. It wasn’t that pretty red color because of the crock pot, but it tatsed good!
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I made a huge batch so I didn’t follow the measurements, but the ingredient list and method were helpful. I used dried dill and added it to the soup about half an hour before serving. Also I used about half red wine vinegar and half dill pickle juice for the acidity. Mine didn’t need anything to sweeten it up. So good, will be making again for sure!
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Made for Thanksgiving, Everyone loved this, except the little kids.
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Delicious! I was not able to buy fresh red beets so I used fresh yellow/orange beets. I don’t believe they had as strong of beet flavor as red ones but it was delicious anyway. I did not add potatoes but otherwise followed the recipe. I served it with a dollop of sour cream and a light sprinkle of dill. I also made homemade sour dough bread broiled with butter and minced fresh garlic. I will definitely be making it again!!
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Absolutely delicious! I added 1ts of garlic powder and it?s amazing!
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This was amazing! I added 1/2 cup red wine. It had such a rich delicious flavor. I too added 2 Tbsp montreal steak seasoning and adding the vinegar with the meat. YUMMY!
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Will definately make this again. Loved the earthy flavours of the root vegetables. I did not add any salt but rather added a dash of Montreal steak spice before serving along with a splash of cider vinegar. Followed by the dollop of sour cream and dill for topping. Next time I am going to bake the beets and add them at the end so that they don’t get so washed out looking. Not sure if it will work but I will try and update this site when I do. Thanks very much for the recipe.
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This is the closest I could find to my sister’s recipe. I had a disaster last night with a crockpot roast beef, which turned into soup stock. Making part into beef barley and the rest into borscht. Next time I will try to follow the recipe faithfully; this is difficult for me because years of making soup makes me think I know everything! (2018 note) I like to use store bought stock, then add all of the veg, simmer until they are tender, then add canned beets. Yumm!!!
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I used this recipe for my first time making borscht. I added some diced potatoes and used red wine vinegar instead of white vinegar. I was out of dill so I used fresh parsley instead. Thanks for the recipe Chef John! 🙂
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I usually cook it a little bit different. Boil beef broth in a pot about an hour. While it’s boiling I saut? vegetables on olive oil (medium heat): first – onions for few minutes, then add carrots – few more minutes, then beets – couple more minutes, then tomatoes and 1 tbs tomato paste. Simmer on a low heat for about 15 min more. Then add vinegar and let it sit. When beef broth is done I add cubed potatoes and cabbage. Boil at 10 min more and then put saut?ed vegetables and cook it 10 min more. When you turn it off add some parsley, dill, green onion and garlic, salt, pepper and let it sit 10 min more.
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I did cut up stewing beef and added beef broth delicious
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Perfect and delicious! I oven roasted a lamb shank with the onion, celery and carrots. In a covered Dutch Oven at 325, it was falling off the bone tender in about two hours. We love everything about this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
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Really good just like mom made’tip …use dill pickle juice instead if vinegar,really nice taste
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I used 2 qts of home made beef stock, sliced all the veggies rather than cubing, and added all those into the stock; didn’t use celery because I didn’t have any, used 3 bay leaves, and used the chopped up beet greens in the soup as well- I used 6 beets. I added the apple cider vinegar in as it was cooking because I didn’t read the directions well- I also juiced a half lemon into the soup as well…..So this borscht had no meat, but it only took an hour to fix…..very good- will make again!
2nd review- now eating it cold- it’s fantastic as a cold soup on a hot summer day! 2nd review- did the same as the first review only also added sliced summer squash since we have so much of it growing in the garden-and added celery seed instead of celery since I still don’t have any celery….SO yummy! and I swear it’s helping me lose weight! -
Great recipe. I simplified it to make on week night. Sauteed veggies. Then added beets I roasted a couple night prior and some leftover sauerkraut and ham and 4 cups of beef stock. Simmered for 20 min.
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It was great; the boys loved it
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This is an excellent recipie. I didn’t strain the broth out, if I were to serve it to guests I would, at home it makes for a hearty filling soup. I added more veg than called for, a third of a cup of vinegar and used bear meat instead of beef. Bear is a bit sweeter than beef but the results were great
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Good recipe! The only change I made is to shred the beet and use lamb.
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I used beef stock but everything else was the same. Very delish!
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Really good recipe. I made a few small changes but used this as the basis.
Yum yum. Just like grandma used to make.
Friends said it was the best borscht they ever had. -
I used a good quality beef broth instead of making the broth and altered the ingredient amounts as I didn’t have a lot of beets. I added extra bay leaves and the soup came out very tasty. Thanks.
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Made this for nephew that?s from Ukraine and he loved it. Used canned beets instead of fresh, making it more cost friendly, and it was still very good.
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I modified this a little bit, partially out of convenience, partially out of preference. I browned the beef shank first, then took it out of the stock pot and added some extra oil and fried off the onions, celery, and carrots alongside a tablespoon of tomato paste until everything softened a little bit. Then I returned the beef to the pot and poured in the water and doubled up on the bay leaves. This smelled amazing while simmering. I only let it simmer for around 3 hours instead of 5, and I reserved the beef shank instead of tossing it so I could chop it up and add it back in at the end. I also threw in some diced potatoes in addition to the beets and cabbage. The result was a wonderfully rich, savory, deep red broth, and I happily ate the leftovers for the next 4 days.
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Yes, I will make this again! What a wonderful taste and includes the borscht ingredients I wanted (beef stock, cabbage) and excludes what I didn?t (mushrooms, sausage). I didn?t summer the shank for 4 hours, due to time, but it was tasty after only 2.5. I used a bit of red wine to deglaze the pan after browning the beef and giving the veg a quick fry. I also added the vinegar in the first step. I also added a splash of balsamic vinegar, which I put in almost anything braised. For the beets I actually boiled them for 30 first with skins on. Set them aside while the beef simmered in the beet liquid, and then peeled them. I added them back before serving. Great recipe!
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Good ingredients, great soup. So comforting. Homemade beef stock, can’t go wrong.
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I used this as a guide; didn’t have all the ingredients as called for. Hence the 4 star rating. The result was quite good. Had to scale down a lot (for singles); still got enough for the freezer.
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Added extra veggies to make it heartier! Garnished with low sugar plain yogurt which is healthier than sour cream.
Delicious. -
I could not find the beef they suggested. So, I used 4 small beef ribs and it turned out quite good.
Definitely, need something else, but not sure what.
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I could not find the beef they suggested. So, I used 4 small beef ribs and it turned out quite good.
Definitely, need something else, but not sure what.
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I love this beautiful soup. It is NOT Russian Borscht…who cares? Its Borscht and its wonderful. I make it with ground sirloin to keep it budget friendly. No other changes necessary.
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I made it with a lamb shoulder roast that I had in the freezer & doubled the recipe. Loved it!
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This was very good and hearty. I used stew meat and beef broth for the cooking liquid. Used red cabbage. All of this came together beautifully. I used a seasoned German vinegar. Will make this again.
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I totally loved this recipe! It was so delicious and the best Borscht Soup I have ever tried. Maybe if I use Golden Beets something may come out of it that was solid gold! Awesome recipe!
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Added lentils to this soup instead of cabbage. It is one of my favourite soup recipes.
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Awesome recipe. Used ground beef as that?s what I had on hand. Added more beets and cabbage. Added more salt as others suggested. Turned out great! Definitely making this again!
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while the dish is awesome its not by any means russian. It’s Ukrainian.
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Hearty, delicious on a cold winter day. Low carb and filling. Loved it!
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This recipe is fantastic as is. The only adjustment i made was that i found it impossible to “discard” the broth meat and veggies. They make a very good meal on their own!
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