Barszcz

Name: Barszcz
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 2 lb fresh beets, peeled and cut into chunks; 6 cup vegetable broth; 1 small onion, diced; 1 medium carrot, sliced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tsp sugar; 0.5 tsp salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 0.5 cup sour cream (for serving); 2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

A vibrant red Polish beet soup, earthy and slightly sweet with a hint of vinegar. This traditional soup is often served as an elegant starter, sometimes with mushroom-filled dumplings.

60 minEasyServes 665 cal/serving

PolishSoupStovetopVegetarian

Ingredients

2 lb fresh beets, peeled and cut into chunks
6 cup vegetable broth
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
0.5 cup sour cream (for serving)
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

Instructions

1

In a large pot, combine 2 lb peeled and cut into chunks fresh beets, 6 cup vegetable broth, 1 small diced onion, 1 medium sliced carrot, and 2 minced garlic cloves.
2

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the beets are very tender.
3

Using an immersion blender, carefully puree the soup until smooth, or transfer in batches to a regular blender and blend, then return to the pot.
4

Stir in 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 0.5 tsp salt, and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
5

Simmer for 5 more minutes to allow flavors to meld.
6

Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of 0.5 cup sour cream (for serving) and a sprinkle of 2 tsp chopped fresh dill. Serve hot.

Questions

Can I make Barszcz dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 0.5 cup sour cream (for serving). Swap the sour cream for thick coconut yogurt with a squeeze of lemon. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

How long does Barszcz keep?

Refrigerate it up to four days, or freeze it in portions for up to three months. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock to loosen it.

Can I halve or double Barszcz?

Yes. As written it serves 6. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is a plain-text cooking reference of 4,481 recipes, free to read and cook from, with no account and no paywall. In the app, this entry scales itself: half, standard, or double batch, every quantity recomputed inside the step that uses it. No ads, no life stories, no photos of somebody else's dinner.

The entries are curated and public-domain sourced, written to a fixed template and checked against it: tested quantities, one closed vocabulary of methods, and precomputed half and double batches on every line. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser, instantly. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually, and the first 30 days are free.