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Barszcz — Polish Beetroot Soup

Name: Barszcz — Polish Beetroot Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: polish
Ingredients: 1 kg raw beetroot (roasted in foil until tender); 1.5 litres vegetable or meat stock; 1 medium onion (halved and charred); 1 small carrot (roughly chopped); 3 cloves garlic; 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons lemon juice

A brilliant crimson, intensely flavoured beetroot consommé with a clean, sweet-sour taste — Poland's Christmas Eve soup, served with mushroom dumplings.

Prep

20 min

Cook

90 min

Servings

Difficulty

Easy

★★★★★

4.8(1,654 ratings)

#barszcz#polish#beetroot soup#christmas#clear soup#eastern european

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About This Recipe

Polish barszcz is one of the most visually stunning soups in the world: a jewel-clear, deeply crimson beetroot broth with an intense, sweet-earthy flavour balanced by wine vinegar and a touch of sugar. Unlike Ukrainian borscht (which is thick with vegetables), Polish barszcz czerwony is a clear consommé — strained until perfectly transparent — served on Christmas Eve as the first course of the Wigilia supper alongside small mushroom-filled dumplings called uszka ('little ears'). The beetroot is never boiled but oven-roasted for maximum flavour before the soup is made. The result is a soup of extraordinary elegance — simple to describe, revelatory to eat.

Ingredients

Serves 6

1 kgraw beetroot(roasted in foil until tender)
1.5 litresvegetable or meat stock
1 mediumonion(halved and charred)
1 smallcarrot(roughly chopped)
3 clovesgarlic
3 tablespoonsred wine vinegar
1 tablespoonsugar
1 teaspoonsalt
3 tablespoonslemon juice

Instructions

1
Roast the beetroot
Wrap whole beetroot tightly in foil. Roast at 200°C for 60–75 minutes until completely tender. Cool, peel and grate or slice.
2
Make the broth
Bring stock to a simmer with charred onion, carrot and garlic for 20 minutes. Add grated roasted beetroot. Simmer very gently for 15 minutes — do not boil hard, which dulls the colour.
Never boil barszcz vigorously — it destroys the brilliant red colour, which turns muddy brown.
3
Season and strain
Add vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Taste — it should be noticeably sweet-sour. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin until the broth is completely clear and brilliantly red.
4
Serve
Serve in cups or deep bowls, very hot, with small mushroom uszka dumplings floating in it.

Pro Tips

→
Roasting rather than boiling the beetroot gives far more flavour and a deeper colour.
→
The sweet-sour balance is the soul of barszcz — adjust vinegar and sugar to your taste.
→
If the colour looks dull, add a few tablespoons of freshly grated raw beetroot to the hot strained broth.
→
Taste and adjust salt at the very end — flavors concentrate as liquids reduce, and a final pinch of flaky salt sharpens the whole dish.

Variations

•
Barszcz z uszkami: with small mushroom-filled dumplings (the Christmas Eve version).
•
Cold barszcz with kefir (chłodnik) is a summer version served cold.
•
Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.
•
Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 4 days — the colour may darken. Reheat gently.

History & Origin

Beetroot soup appears in Polish and broader Slavic cuisine from at least the Middle Ages, when beetroot was one of the most important cultivated vegetables in the region. The Christmas Eve (Wigilia) version of barszcz has been eaten in Poland for centuries as part of the traditional meatless supper. Polish barszcz is deliberately clear and refined to distinguish it from Ukrainian borscht, which is considered a more rustic, vegetable-laden preparation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my barszcz turn brown?

Boiling the soup vigorously destroys the betalain pigments in beetroot that give it its red colour. Simmer gently and add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to preserve the colour.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes — most of the components can be prepared up to a day in advance and refrigerated separately. Reheat gently and assemble just before serving so textures stay distinct.

What can I substitute if I don't have all the ingredients?

Stay close to the role each ingredient plays: swap aromatics for similar ones (shallot for onion, lime for lemon), and keep the fat-acid-salt balance intact. Spice blends can usually be approximated with what's in the cupboard.

How do I know it's authentic?

Authenticity sits on a spectrum — what matters more is honoring the technique and balance of flavors. If the dish tastes harmonious and respects how cooks in its home region would build it, you're on solid ground.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (280g / 9.9 oz) · 6 servings total

Calories80kcal

Protein3g

Carbohydrates16g

Fat0g

Fiber2g

Protein3g

Carbs16g

Fat0g

Time Summary

Prep time20 min

Cook time90 min

Total time110 min

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About This Recipe

Instructions

Roast the beetroot

Wrap whole beetroot tightly in foil. Roast at 200°C for 60–75 minutes until completely tender. Cool, peel and grate or slice.

Make the broth

Bring stock to a simmer with charred onion, carrot and garlic for 20 minutes. Add grated roasted beetroot. Simmer very gently for 15 minutes — do not boil hard, which dulls the colour.

Never boil barszcz vigorously — it destroys the brilliant red colour, which turns muddy brown.

Season and strain

Add vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Taste — it should be noticeably sweet-sour. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin until the broth is completely clear and brilliantly red.

Serve

Serve in cups or deep bowls, very hot, with small mushroom uszka dumplings floating in it.

Pro Tips

→

Roasting rather than boiling the beetroot gives far more flavour and a deeper colour.

→

The sweet-sour balance is the soul of barszcz — adjust vinegar and sugar to your taste.

→

If the colour looks dull, add a few tablespoons of freshly grated raw beetroot to the hot strained broth.

→

Taste and adjust salt at the very end — flavors concentrate as liquids reduce, and a final pinch of flaky salt sharpens the whole dish.

Variations

•

Barszcz z uszkami: with small mushroom-filled dumplings (the Christmas Eve version).

•

Cold barszcz with kefir (chłodnik) is a summer version served cold.

•

Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

•

Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.