Ukrainian Red Borscht Soup

Well, I grew up in Ukraine till I was 19, and this recipe has not much to do with the classic.First it is with pork meat- solid, juicy, not some boiled crumbs.No pork? Then chicken.Second-"boil beets they lost color(shape and nutrition value)"-why?It takes 10 minutes to have them cooked with love, preserving color,aroma, taste.Add even some more , finely shredded! recepie.

I lived in Russia for 6 months and this is authentic! Don't overcook it or the rich magenta color will turn brick red. Delicious and so healthy. Even my three year old liked it.

I tried out this recipe but added a few changes. First of all I prepared the sausage seperately and put it aside. For the veggie mix, I used a big bag of already prepared coleslaw mix since it has the cabbage and carrots already incorporated. I also used two cans of baby red beets. I prepared the vegetable mix and the onion and tomato paste mix separately and then mixed those two together. I then pureed the whole thing to give it a thicker and denser texture. I returned it to the pot and then added the sausage, salt and pepper to taste. I left out the sugar. It came out beautifully but I think the use of a whole can of diced tomatoes AND the tomato paste made this soup more tomato-y than red beet-y. In the future, I'll skip the tomato paste. Really good with crusty French bread and the dallop of sour cream.

I made this as an appetizer for Ukrainian Easter, it was really good. I wish it had a deeper beet flavor though. I added some red wine reduction in mine to give it a fuller flavor and to enhance the beets. I also made the soup a day in advance to let the flavors develop. I added some oregano to the recipe as well (I add oregano to everything) and didnt use as much tomatoes or tomato paste. I have seen a lot of borscht recipes that either involve beef or beef broth and I had always thought this was traditional (although i dont really think it is) so I used a little beef broth in replace of some of the water.. i wouldnt use too much though because it can take away from the beets. I plated the borscht in bowls that were set on top of leaves from the beets (which are edible and have a little purple coloring to them so they looked great with the soup). Overall, I would use this recipe again with a few adjustments. ...maybe more beets and less cabbage considering the cabbage doesnt add as much to it.

I must say that I was skeptical, but I absolutely LOVED it! We like our veggies in chunks (it's hard to shred beets without turning the counter pink!), so we diced/chopped all the vegetables, and it came out great. Thanks for this recipe!

I did like this borscht a lot and found it to be very authentic, but it was a little too sweet for me with the amount of sugar called for... I should have paid more attention to the "to taste" part and added it 1/4 tsp. at a time. I also (as a few other reviewers have mentioned) served it with dill instead of parsley. The Borscht I recipe on this site is also very good, but this one seems more true to the ones I have had in Russia or Ukraine.

I am a Peace Corps volunteer living in Ukraine so I know good borsch (borsch is originally Ukrainian, not Russian!), and this recipe is delicious! You should know that every baba (grandma) has her own recipe that her family will learn and believe to be better than all the rest--so personalize this recipe away! If it's authenticity you're looking for, use sunflower oil (not vegetable, and not grapeseed either--it's sunflower or bust around here). Also, I've never seen anyone add sugar to their recipe. A little bit of fresh dill is pretty normal too, as are white beans, if that's your thing. Finally, most Ukrainians agree with user JOCARROL: boil your beet with the skin on for 45 minutes or so to make it soft before you shred it. And remember--it's practically a sin to eat borsch without the sour cream so load it on!

Very good soup. I served it with a homemade crusty bread. I had never tried a Borscht before, so I didn't know what to expect. The tomato base reminds me of a old fashion vegetable soup ... just different vegetables. I didn't have fresh beets on hand so I used a pint jar of canned (that I had put up earlier this summer). I just drained the liquid and added them after the cabbage so they would not cook down to a mush. I also did not have fresh garlic so I substituted garlic power. I have no doubt that fresh garlic would taste better, but sometimes you just have to work with what you have on hand. The instructions call for a "large pot". You should use at least a 6 quart stock pot. I started out with a 4 quart and had to transfer to a larger one. I will definitely make this soup again.

Well, I'm Ukrainian myself and wanted to add some suggestions to the recipe. (since it's Ukrainian dish after all, it's probably different from Russian version). Anyway, we never add any tomato paste or diced tomatoes, or sugar. It's good just with beets, cabbage, potatoes, and meat. Also I usually cook my beets, then shred. Also, for meat - you can use any kind of pork meat, don't have to have pork sausage. Also, add cabbage at the very end (make sure you "soften" it by "scrunching" up cabbage in your hands. I hope it helps.

I didn't add anything, leave anything out, substitute anything or change any of the instructions. Can I still write a review? I also have never had borscht before, so I have not the vaguest idea what it should taste like...but this tastes great! My guest tonight agreed and took some home to "share with her friends", and she took at least 4 large servings, so I think she may really do that! Anyway, Patti, thanks so much for this super recipe!

This dish is simple enough to make (my first soup attempt ever, and it went off without a hitch), and has an awesome old world, authentic kind of taste to it. The sausage addition makes for a hearty soup!

Apple Cider Vinegar is the secret to the perfect borsht seasoning. Try some in your bowl before you add it to the whole batch, the difference is amazing! Otherwise a great recipe!

I made this soup 5 times already and love it, so did my husband and his friend, both born and bred Russians. Please do no omit the garlic, it gives so much flavor, not sure what having been to 23 countries has to do with knowing Ukranian cuisine. My husband loved the garlic, the parsley and also absolutely add dill, lots of it. I add all three right before I turn the heat off, this way the flavors blend well, but the greens don't overcook. I agree with someone who said before, use sunflower oil, my grandmother, mother and MIL still cook with it. I used olive oil but it's not the same. I tried one with sausage - good, one vegetarian - very good, one with beans - didn't think it was great, but wasn't bad either. To save time you can shred the beets in food processor, though I dice them very finely for more kid-appeal. Also, buy the packaged Cole Slaw, saves you time and mess from chopping cabbage. About the tomatoes- I also thought it was too much, so I just halved the amount, so try it this way first and see if you'd like more or less. Serve with smetanka and hearty country bread and enjoy!

I know it may seem a bit unfair to review a recipe after making changes to it, but I think this recipe is very forgiving in that regard. So, I omitted the sausage and oil, and substituted chicken broth for the water. At the end, in place of the sugar, I poured some apple juice and because we had no parsley or dill, I threw in a bit of cider vinegar to give it a tang. With all of that, we thought it was a very good soup. We ate it cold with sour cream the first day and hot later. It may not be authentic the way I made it, but my husband (who is a dedicated beet hater) gave it a 9 and said he would definately eat it again. Oh, I also quartered and boiled the beets, carrots and potatoes in the broth and just mashed them with a potato masher instead of shredding beforehand, only because it was too much trouble to pull out the food processor. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!

This was a pretty good recipe. I hadn't had borscht in a while, but it tasted like I expected it should. My modifications: boiled beets in the water I used like others suggested for about 25 minutes and then sliced instead of shredded, added two beef bullion cubes to this and some pepper. I also added to this about one tbsp of cider vinegar and probably about 2 tsp of lemon juice for a little more acidity. I threw in lots of fresh dill too, about 3 tablespoons or so. I skipped the parsley though, I bought it but forgot to use it. I used 4 beets instead of 3, skipped the tomato paste. I also added about 3/4 cup of shredded beet greens around the same time as the potatoes. Overall I was quite happy with how it turned out. If I make it again I would definitely skip the sausage. I skimmed some of the fat off the top as it was boiling, but it still ended up a little too greasy. The meat didn't really add anything to the flavor anyways, I just saw it as added protein for protein's sake. If you want protein with this just serve with cheeses on the side like I did. I'm sure that's not very traditional, but it turned out to be a great meal. Next time I make it I'll probably throw in extra bullion cubes to compensate for the lack of meat. Whatever you do, serve it with a nice dark rye bread. I baked Russian Black Bread with a recipe from Smitten Kitchen to go with it and it turned out fantastic.

This is a very good recipe, but I miss a few ingredients my mother used in her Borsch. The most important is chopped up beet greens from the beets (this is essential), lots of dill, and a few smoked baby ribs instead of the sausage. Otherwise this recipe is authentic (i.e., same as my mother's).

This was a good recipe, but with one VERY large omission! This will taste absolutely nothing like Ukrainian borscht without the addition of large amounts of fresh dill weed. The dill is the most stand out taste in borscht (as made in UA.)

I never added the sugar and didn't salt or pepper it, and I halved the recipe. I decided to just dump in the whole can of tomato, it didn't seem to matter. It was AMAZING. Simply amazing stuff. I read a lot of recipes and decided to give this a try, since this is my first time making borscht. It was amazing, I'm posting it to FB and bringing in the extra to work to share. FYI, I don't know where they got the idea that all of this could be done in an hour. It takes me almost 2 hours from start to finish (not including the dishes and mess it makes). Still worth every moment.

Honestly, there is no such thing as one authentic recipe...it's like indian curry, or any other national dish - you have regional variations, different recipes from family to family, and it changes seasonally to use what is to hand. It must have beets, and must have dill, is about the only rule. We liked this, as we have liked all borscht recipes, you just have to leave out what you don't like, and adjust the rest to taste.

I've never had borscht before so I decided to try this, and the result? YUM!! This is a forgiving recipe. I am not a fan of sausage so I omitted that... but I think I will try it next time anyway. According to other reviews, I halved the amount of cabbage, and instead of skipping the tomato paste all together I put in half. I don't have parsley so I used dill as was suggested by other reviewers, but I only had dry and it seemed to work just fine. What a hardy soup, and so healthy! For extra nutrients, I didn't even peel the veggies I just scrubbed them and cut off nasty bits... but let me tell you, it definitely doesn't take 15 minutes prep - shredding all the carrots and beets took forever!! Otherwise, this is fantastic and I will definitely be making this a whole lot.

Loved this! Did not add meat. I baked the beets rather than boil them, then peeled them prior to putting in the pot. I added a little veggie broth for flavoring. It is so yummy! Will definitely make this again. Probably will try putting cabbage and carrots in the food processor as hand grating was messy and time consuming.

I am russian, husband is ukranian- i decided to try this for a different recipe for our traditional borscht and we prefer ours- i really do not like the sausage in this recipe

I ate borscht at a Ukrainian restaurant in NYC and loved it! Finally got around to trying it myself. After reading some of the reviews, I opted for vegetarian borscht. I left out the tomato paste entirely and just added a whole can of the diced tomatoes. I used 4 beets, shredded 2 of them and cut 2 of them in thin sticks. I added 1 quart of beef broth instead of water, some red wine and also lemon concentrate at the end because I felt it had to be tangier (I really like marinated baby beets). The dill is really working wonders for this soup, I used lots of it. All in all, an easy recipe to follow and I love how it came out. I think next time I may try to add one jar of the marinated beets and see how that works out.

I have done an amazing, traditional, non-meat borscht before and I found this one lacking in flavour, to be honest. I had to add quite a bit to it: chicken stock, lots of dill, lots of S&P. Wish I could find my old recipe, actuallly! The beet taste was subdued at best. But a nice, very basic "base," in my humble opinion!

I used veal as we don't put sausage into borscht here in Lviv, Ukraine. It was very close to what my Ukrainian friends make. We also put bay leaves into it. Also on this side of Ukraine we don't put garlic into borscht. Thanks for the recipe, I will definately use it again.

Love this recipe. Very hearty and reheats well. I eliminated the sausage (allergic to pork) and sugar. To me, the sugar didn't really add anything. The only other sub was that I used garlic cubes, which i had on hand, versus garlic cloves. I love and fix a lot of Russian/Ukrainian/Eastern European items and this recipe is a keeper.

Wow, really impressive. that was good!

Fantastic! I assumed that the beets would need to be cooked and peeled before I started and did so before reading the recipe. It was way easier to peel this way I think and worked fine when I added them with the potatoes and carrots. I forgot the sugar and I don't think it was needed and I doubled the garlic which I think was awesome! I also didn't shred anything...just chopped. Will surely make this again!

My grandma, who has an aversion towards beets, loved this. I also added lots of dill.

Phenomenal!! This is the best Borscht I've ever eaten and I've been to several Ukrainian restaurants. I highly recommend this one. Use the food processor for ease with shredding.

Superb! I also omitted the meat ingredient. Lots and lots of dill really helps to bring out the borscht flavours, in my opinion. Thanks!

Overall a good recipe. I followed the advice of another reviewer and boiled my beets for ~1hr before dicing, and then saved the water to use in the soup. I accidentally added too much water, beware because it is easy to dilute the flavor. Didn't need sugar at all! And after adding LOTS of dill and letting the soup sit in the fridge overnight, the flavor the next day was even better!

I have made this borscht a couple of times now and have blended my old recipe with it. I add 2 tbsp lemon juice to the recipe which I have doubled to 2 quarts water and 2 quarts chicken stock. I also omit the sausage. I use 8 beets and the same amount of carrots called for. I also garnish with dill instead of parsley.

Just returned from Ukraine and Belarus, where I ate Borscht soup repeatedly, using different local specialties. This recipe is GREAT and AUTHENTIC using the following modifications: fill the soup pot half way with a combination of Chicken Stock and Water; omit the sugar; substitute Red Wine Vinegar (plenty sweet and nice tangy flavor); omit the tomato products (wasn't ever in dishes I was served overseas); replace garlic with lots of fresh dill. Although pork was very common in Ukraine, we omitted the pork. Instead we poured the soup over shredded extra lean brisket, prepared separately. All of our family members loved it! Thanks to the review from "eatmedetroit" for helping me re-create a favorite culinary experience from our vacation!

I had never made borscht before so I followed this recipe almost exactly as written and it was delicious! Definitely involves a lot of chopping, slicing and peeling but it was well worth it and generally a pretty easy recipe. Will definitely make again! For those interested, here are the very minor changes I made: didn't use the sausage or any meat for that matter (still delicious and very filling); added a little more water than it called for, probably close to 1.5 cups by the end; added some salt and pepper while it was simmering before the onions and tomato paste went in; I mashed the vegetables slightly at the end to thicken it/break down some of the vegetables because I prefer a thicker soup overall rather than a thin broth with chunks of vegetable. I think this recipe would probably be just as good without these changes, they were just a matter of personal taste/habit for me.

Delicious. I made mine with freshly roasted beets which makes a huge difference in deepening the beet flavor. Another thing I did, because I was in a hurry when I made the soup, is that I added a jar of Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage. Absolutely delicious. I am Eastern European.

Love this. I was looking for something to do with my beets - I love beet greens, but what to do with the beets...? I tried other recipes and they were ok but no one else ate them. So I tried this, without the meat. I cubed/chopped, rather than shredded since I'm not very good at shredding. I also used chicken stock instead of water and skipped the tomato paste, skipped the sugar, and used stewed tomatoes (2 cans). It was great and was better the next day. I really love when the potatoes fall apart. The soup has great texture. Finally, something to do with the leftovers from my beet greens :) As an aside, I took "cook beets until they lose their color" to mean when the beets color the soup, which for me was about 10 min., when they were also tender.

This is the first time I've ever tried Borscht soup. I made the recipe as is except I didn't use the tomato paste because I read the other reviews. I also chopped a big handful of fresh dill. The soup was delicious!

I don't give many 5-star ratings (and my husband doesn't give ANY), but we both love this. Best recipe I've come across on this site. I just ate three bowls, and my husband is serving himself a fourth bowl right now. Amazing. I followed the recipe as written but used only 1/2 tsp of sugar rather than a full tsp. It seemed just right to me. Some reviewers recommended using fresh dill rather than parsley. I looove dill, so I gave that a try, and it was very good. That said, my husband and I both prefer it with fresh parsley. Parsley accentuates the complex medley of flavors in the soup rather than blurring/masking them. Next time we will try this without the sausage to see whether we like it as much.

i made this vegetarian with less water and pureed 1/2 of the beet/carrot/potato mixture. made a less authentic but delicious thick stew -- my new favorite borscht recipe! used lots of dill and a couple tsp of apple cider vinegar instead of sugar and garlic. no tomatoes because i didn't have any. yuuuuuuum :)

I registered just so I could give this recipe a 5. Hearty and delicious. I use turkey sausage and a dash or two of cider vinegar instead of sugar. This has become a repeat player in my household.

great taste, but had no texture because everything was shredded. Will make again, but will dice all vegetable to give soup texture and visual appeal. Low rating due to texture.

good. Next time I suggest getting out the food processor. It is worth it. I added lots of dill and some chicken broth and chicken buillion.

This is delicious and the fact that it is loaded with nutrition is even better! I like a more chunky soup so I cubed the beets instead of shredding them, but other than that I followed the recipe to a 't'.

I have made this several times now and it is the most delicious and easy borscht I have ever had/made. I highly recommend!

Great recipe. As other sugested - boil the beets first and use the water for the soup. But the most important aspect this recipe is lacking is dill !!! It gives a completely particular taste and it's a must. Finish the soup with smetana or sour cream, and add both fresh choped dill and italian parsley.

My partner, who is Ukrainian, says it is nothing like the one his grandmother made when he was growing up (he thinks, no potatoes...). Having said that, we both enjoyed it immensely It did the trick for me. The dill in place of the parsley is a must. This will be my contribution to my next potluck.

This is beyond good! I have never been a beet lover and only made this out of desperation when I didn't know what else to do with the huge beet crop given to me by a gardener friend. But in the three weeks I've had this recipe, I have made it five times already!! Wow, it is SO delicious, with OR without the sausage! Next year I'm growing my own beets...

This recipe was so easy and delicious! I added a few variations to it- Half of a fresh squeezed lemon for a more tangy broth, as well as 2 tablespoons of oil for a richer broth. I also added celery and a can of corn for extra veggies. :)

Very Good! I followed the recipe except for the following...used 1 qt. beef stock with 1 qt. water and fresh diced tomatoes instead of canned. My 2 year old even gobbled it up!

My Ukrainian mother made a soup like this but I never got her recipe. This is a very good alternative.

I made this at my son's request he loves beets! It came out very good. I took used dill instead of parsley. I didn't use any meat and I kept all my veggies in chunks instead of shredding. I also omitted the sugar and used balsamic vinegar instead. It came out excellent!

I thought this was delish! I ate the left overs for more than a week at work. Just added a dollop o f sour cream and was good to go. Usually I add things or remove things here or there, this one however I did not as I have never tried to make Borscht before. I did use the pork sausage, but my Ukrainian student whom I showed the recipe to said it was very strange for there to be pork sausage. She suggested beef.

This was very good. Next time I would add more beets as it was a little watery. I ended up tossing in a couple of beef bouillon cubes at the last minute to make up for the watery problem. That worked nicely. We really enjoyed the end result.

I like this though I found it a bit bland, BUT I had to sub some of the sausage with hamburger so may have lost some taste. It needed salt! it's my first time making it though and I don't have anything to compare it to. Didn't have sour cream, either. By the way I used frozen cooked beets from the summer, just thawed them and diced them and added after the other veg were cooked. Seemed to work well. I think I would use stock instead of water to try to round out the flavor. It did make a LOT! I have about 3L in the freezer!

Canadian Army Captain. I wanted to surprise the troops with something special for working a weekend. I chose this recipe and it turn out awesome. Of course, I had to triple the recipe, but no one is hungry now. LOL

This could be the most authentic thing in the world, but it stank up my house and nobody wanted to eat it.

Good soup! I have only had Borscht once before trying this recipe so I cannot comment on its' authentic-ness.

We made this without the sausage and it wasn't a very big hit, but I'm not sure our usual recipe is very authentic at all :)

I thought this recipe was outstanding. It canned very well. I have to add more salt for my taste, and fresh chives add another dimension as garnish.

Wonderful! Perhaps next time I will dice some of the beets and puree some. The shredded beet texture was a little strange but the taste made up for it by leaps and bounds! I also added a few beef bouillon cubes to round out the flavor a bit.

I lived in Russia for a couple of years and this is pretty close to authentic. I've never had borscht with sausage though, only ever with beef. I will probably make it with less tomato paste next time, as it was a little too tomato-y for me. Also, try it with a dollop of mayo instead of sour cream. We ate it that way in Russia all the time and it is delicious.

Very good recipe. I used beef short ribs and added some beef broth. I grated the veggies for uniformity. No need for the sugar. I added 1 T vinegar for that very subtle sweet and sour effect. My family loved it served with fresh bread!

What an amazing soup! I made a few changes to it though and think it still came out beautifully. Instead of using pork sausage, I used about 6-8 slices of bacon (chopped) and a half pound of ground beef. This gave it a wonderful smoky flavor and reminded me of my grandmother's recipe. Also, I didn't add any of the tomato paste or canned tomatoes. I felt that the beet flavor would be more distinguished this way. Will absolutely make it again, my husband won't stop talking about it!

This was my first time eating Borscht and it was very good! I got beets from the produce section but think I will used canned, diced beets next time. Maybe it's my location, or maybe they are out of season, but it was $1.30 for 4 small beets. Oh, I diced everything but next time will add the potatoes about the same time as I do the cabbage so they don't overcook and "disappear". Thanks for the recipe, and helping me expand my menu!

A healthy twist? This is a delicious recipe. I used bison sausage and added honey instead of sugar. I also added tons of fresh dill and lemon juice - which was a recommendation from a Ukrainian Babba I know. Yum.

This is a fantastic soup! I had to use canned beets, and I wasn't paying attention and didn't drain the diced tomatoes, but I don't think the soup really suffered any because of it. The dollop of sour cream on top gave it just enough tang to make it even more delicious. Warning though, it took me a LOT longer than 15 minutes prep!

The easiest, most successful borscht I have ever made. I ended up doubling the recipe, and not adding the meat. It was awesome! Will definitely use again!

I can't get enough!

This was awesome! I didn't put in the sausage, or parsley garnish (because I forgot), but it was great, especially with sour cream. It looks really cool because it's extremely red. It seems pretty healthy and alkalizing as long as you don't go hog wild on the sour cream. I'm making it again for sure.

Really great recipe. My husband and daughter took a very large pot of this to their church and served almost 50 people who were all raving about it. They loved that they had brought something unique and they had a blast serving it. We set out each serving with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkling of parsley and some crusty bread alongside. Thanks for sharing!

This is different than the borscht my grandmother from czechoslovakia used to make but just as delicious. I made it without the sausage and added some beef broth in place of the water. It was just delicious.

Really good. I didn't think the beet flavor was very strong, which was a plus for those who I made it for, but if I were going to make it again for myself, I'd add some more beets.

Great googly moogly. Love this recipe. Okay, so I left out the sausage, subbed golden beets (assuming red were preferred), left out the garlic and used a can of tomatoes with chilies in place of plain diced. Definitely not Ukranian by the time I got finished, but I'm sure were I to offer it to someone who spoke Ukranian, they'd be okay with it.

I made this recipe last night, per the instructions, with the following changes: we omitted the sugar (based on some earlier reviews and our penchant for things to be not too sweet), and I think I added more cabbage than called for. I also added a bay leaf, as some other similar recipes suggested. It was quite good! I've never had "authentic" borscht before, so I can't comment on that, but it was a hearty way to use up a good deal of our fall CSA farm share, which consisted of beets, onion, garlic, cabbage (the size of my car) and carrots. We used pork sausage and added the sour cream, garnishing with flat Italian parsley. I first peeled the beets, then grated them (along with the carrots) on a KitchenAid mixer grater attachment. I used large red potatoes, peeled. Otherwise, I believe I would have cubed them, like some earlier reviewers suggested. I will be interested to see how it tastes a day or two after, once the flavors have had a chance to meld together. There was no mention of serving this cold, but with the sausage, I think I wouldn't. My husband and I agreed that it needed a bit more salt, or something. Some recipes I found called for cider vinegar, so maybe a tablespoon or so would perk it up a bit. Overall, this was really good! Next time, I think I'd chop (not shred) the cabbage, and maybe try a splash of good cider vinegar. Thanks for the recipe!

I added lots of dill. Aside from that this is a fantastic recipe. It's good for you, it's cooked in under an hour, freezes and reheats well, and tastes great. Cook it! Eat it! Love it!

I used Veggy Broth instead of the 2 quarts of water. I did not add the 3/4 cup of water. I added some basil and dill at the end and 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar at the end. This is so yummy!! Perfect for the beets in our garden - this is a great recipe for that. I am going to make more of this, to freeze to have later this winter

Tastes great!!! Very good soup for a cold day. I may try adding a little more water or some chicken broth because it came out more like a stew then a soup. Great anyways!

I omitted the meat. This soup is a nutritional powerhouse with a wealth of antioxidants! Don't forget the sour cream!

Really enjoyed this soup - so wonderful with all the yummy fresh veg. I do agree with a previous reviewer, however, who thought it would have been better with more broth as it was quite thick. Despite that though, the soup is delicious and I will make it again for sure.

I didn't find this recipe to stand out much. The flavor is just okay. I added more salt, balsamic vinegar, and thyme to try to add some flavor, and it was good, but probably not something I'll make again... unless I just have to use up some beets.

I'd never tasted borscht before making this. I don't know if it's authentic or not, but it is absolutely delicious! I wish I'd discovered this recipe years ago. I didn't have bulk sausage on hand, so I diced Polish sausage, browned it slightly, and then followed the recipe exactly. I froze the leftovers and they're equally good. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Patti. I'll be making this one again and again.

Awesome! I think I might try adding more beets next time but this was really good!!!!

Super yummy! Baby loved it: blend it up or strain and give the soup juice in a cup with the veggies shreds on his tray. I didn't use meat, but used 1 t beef bullion. No sugar or tomato anything, except a squirt or two of ketchup (which is key). No garlic or garnishings needed either. Served withwarm crusty artisan bread.

This is a great recipe. I have never cooked with beets. I put them in the food processor because it was very difficult to shred them. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Will make again. Thanks.

This was the nicest borscht recipe I've ever used. I omited the can of diced tomatos and used leftover diced up garlic sausage instead of the pork sausage. I also used a couple of cups of chicken broth instead of water. It was so good and flavourful.

This soup has prompted me to write my first review. We have started a yearly "Borschtfest" and this recipe went over very well. I would just use a more flavorful sausage than what I used. Plus, I sliced the beets rather than grated them - gives more substance in the soup.

though this was simple and very tasty. Used tomatoe soup because i had no paste and i added 1 tsp. of vinegar.

This was great, but I did make a few changes. I shredded the potatoes and carrots, and left out the sausage. I also added dill and caraway seeds. Even my cabbage-hating son liked it.

This is a top notch borscht recipe. I made it without the sausage and added 3T of olive oil for the fat. This is reminiscent of what they serve at Veselka on 2nd Ave. in New York.

My Husband family is Ukraine, I have been making Boorsh for years, but lost my recipe-This iss not much like the classic recipt. I made a few changes.1st used pork from a roast-about a cup-cut up in small pieces[pork sausage are to greasy] make sure you cut of the fat. you do NOT need sugar. you need an can of pork N Beans. when cooking the beets should only be added for the last 10 mins, also need dill to taste-Anne

More tomatoey than beety, but still yummy!

Not quite like grama's recipe

This is a very good borsch recipe. I omit the sausage completely, and cut down the amount of garlic. To the poster that commented on borsch always having meat - actually, in Ukraine during Lent there is a Lenten menu available in almost every restaurant with vegetarian meals listed. It's common to not eat meat, at least on Fridays (though many avoid meat the entire 40 days), during Lent there. So, vegetarian borsch is quite common at this time of year. Otherwise, all borsch I came across while living there included beef, not pork sausage.

one thing Ive found as a good extra (although maybe not the healthiest) is instead of sour cream, try a spoonful of miracle whip, if this sounds strange to you, then try it by taking just a cup of the borscht and adding just a drop, stir really good and then see what you think, i thought it would be weird the first time i tried it but my Russian friend made me, and im glad i did :)

I liked this, although a lot of prep, with all the chopping, shredding, etc. Made a big batch of soup. I made changes based on the reviews (such as adding vinegar and dried dill, adding just half a can of tomato paste, boiling then peeling and shredding the beets and adding them to the soup at the end, substituting water from beet boiling plus some vegetable broth for the 2 qt. of water in the soup). My main comment, though, is you HAVE to use the sour cream--I was surprised how much it livened up the soup.

This is great! I have never had borscht before, and I love it. My Ukranian boyfriend says it is "not quite as good as moms"...go figure! He was devouring a bowl as he said it. I used 2 qt of water, and then ended up adding 2 c of water at the end- it was too thick once all of the veggies were in.

I've had borscht only a couple of times and loved it. I actually like beets. But the tomato in this recipe completely overpowers the beets. Won't be making this again. Full disclosure: I'm vegetarian and omitted the sausage.

Good receipe. I live in Ukraine for the last 5 years. Another thing you can try is Chicken instead of sausage and shread your beets, and also, add a carrot shredded as well. Plus, if you take your onion and cut it open and drop into the boiling water for 5 minutes before adding your sausage will add a little extra flavor then remove onion and dice, adding to your tomato paste with shreaded carrot as well.