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Cabbage borscht soup is a very yummy traditional meal. It is not the same as beet borscht. There are several versions and recipes of borscht soup and it seemed every family had its favorite. I love this kind of recipes that can be followed loosely since there is no right or wrong in making borscht.
Cabbage borscht soup is best with homegrown vegetables, fresh from the garden. It is a great harvest to table meal.
Cabbage borscht soup is very rich in vegetable flavor and is a great soup for the whole-food plant-based diet. If you followed our blog for a while, you know that this soup was not always vegan, but since we have learned to enjoy it using just plants, that’s the only way we make it.
Borsht can be made without any protein, but I find that some legumes make borscht even better. Red lentils, or pinto beans, or white beans or whatever beans, chickpeas, etc you prefer.
Lentils can be added dry to the coup since they don’t need more cooking time than a potato. Other legumes need to be precooked or use a can.
Our favorite is home-canned pinto or kidney beans. Since I can the beans myself and know what’s in there, I add the whole pint (500ml) jar to the soup. The liquid from the beans gives the soup a bit of creaminess/graveness that we all love.
Instead of tomato paste, you can also use a big fresh tomato (about 2 cups) from the garden.
Using all vegetables, the soup will vary in color but is always delicious. I think the pictures do no justice to the actual borscht soup.
My favorite way to make borscht soup is in the instant pot. It really just needs 10 minutes on high pressure and turns out yummy. When time is off, it’s best to let it release on its own. If in hurry you can use the 10-minute natural release. Let the cooker go into the “Keep Warm” mode and count 10 minutes. Then press “cancel” and twist the steam release handle on the lid to the “Venting” position.
- 3 medium-size onions diced
- 1-2 diced carrots
- 1 beetroot diced (fresh, from a jar or frozen)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil (Optional)
- about 8 cups homemade vegetable broth and water as needed (all vegetables need to be covered)
- ½ cup dry lentils or 1-pint jar whatever cooked legumes you like.
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 potatoes, diced small to medium size
- 1 pound cabbage, chopped
- 3-4 tbsp tomato paste, or 2 cup fresh tomatoes
- 1 bunch of dill
- Black and hot pepper to taste
- Miso paste, Brags liquid soy seasoning or salt to taste
- Start by washing the lentils if used and soaking them till you prepare all the other veggies
- In a large soup pot (or Instant pot) sauté the onions and carrots until they are translucent.
- Add garlic
- After 1-2 minutes add tomato paste, bay leaf, and vegetable broth
- Now add the lentils, legumes if used, beets, cabbage, and potatoes
- Add water if needed to cover all the veggies.
- Cook for 30 minutes (Instant pot 10 minutes)
- Add the dill and seasoning
It is said that borscht tastes best after the seventh heat up, now that’s an exaggeration. But yes, borscht can be prepared in advance and is great as leftovers. Yummy!
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I’ve never been a fan of cabbage, but I must say, this looks pretty good!
Yes, that is what I meant. It makes it more flavorful, I think. But you can make it anyway you want.
Ahh – my mom used to make this ALL the time growing up… thanks for the recipe 😀 ~Renee
This soup looks yummy for a cold day!
Looks good! Always looking for more ways to use cabbage. There’s only so much roasted or sauteed cabbage we can handle!
This does look yummy! I’m so glad it’s cooling down some and starting to get into soup season! 🙂
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try this one.
You always bring something new and interesting for me to read at Let’s Get Real. Thanks so much for linking up each week. I’ve never made borscht. My family will be impressed with me when I write that on our meal planning calendar. It sounds so glamorous and exciting. LOL! I don’t often have cabbage because I make a meal and then think………..now what do I do with the rest of it? This soup would go along nicely with a few other recipes I can think of so that I don’t have to let the cabbage go to waste. That makes me very happy. I really don’t like wasting good produce.
I don’t like wasting good produce either, soups are just so good for that. Hope your family likes borscht!
I will be keeping this recipe for my meal planning as I always end up with the core of cabbage after I cook some delicious dolmas (cabbage rolls).
Borscht is delicious, and cabbage rolls sound good too. Enjoy!
Sounds absolutely delicious. I love recipes that are the whole meal in one dish. I shared this on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays Blog Hop!
Thank you Marla! Love your Blog hop for Real Food!
uhhh why did this change from a recipe with meat to a vegan one??
Because we changed. We realized that we feel much better without eating meat. Also, we learned that in today’s butchering practice many animals are cut apart before they even die, that’s cruel and absolutely forbidden by the Creator God. If you still want to eat meat and are sure that the meat you have is not cut from a living animal, you can use a pound of stew meat of your choice for this recipe, instead of legumes.
I’m curious, how will the taste differ if I do not add beetroot. I ask because I do not always have this on hand.
Not much, I have made it without many times. Recipes are just guidelines, if you want to add or take away something, go for it. Freestyle cooking is the best way to cook anyways.
Made this at the weekend and it’s delicious. Thanks for the recipe