Doukhobor Borsch is a really unique and special food from my childhood, so I'm really excited to be able to share this vegan version with you! This borsch is a popular dish served in the Doukhobor communities and cities throughout the Kootenay Region in British Columbia (where I'm originally from) and southern Saskatchewan. The Doukhobors are traditionally vegetarians with an eclectic mix of cultural foods. Many of their dishes are based on Russian and Slavic dishes (like this recipe for borsch) that have been adapted and influenced by the Doukhobors adoption of vegetarianism and exposure to North American food culture. Doukhobor - Wikipedia article
Typically, borsch refers to a bright purple-red beet soup made with cabbage and beef broth which is served cold. Doukhobor borsch is very different from typical borsch, and it is amazing. Unlike most varieties of borsch, Doukhobor borsch is vegetarian, loaded with butter and heavy cream, and always served hot. The beet isn't a main ingredient, it's primarily used for colour and then discarded before the soup is served.
My main objective with this recipe was to veganize it without losing the characteristic flavour and creaminess of vegetarian Doukhobor borsch. Once I began to really look at the recipe I decided to try to simplify it too. Making traditional Doukhobor borsch is a notoriously complicated, labour intensive, multi-pot process. You have to pay extremely close attention to the recipe and the steps because many of the ingredients will be split up 2-3 times, prepared differently, and added at different times. While this type of borsch had always been one of my favourite foods, I'd only made it a handful of times because it always felt like such a big undertaking.
Not only was I able to make this soup healthier and vegan, I also made it a lot easier by halving the recipe, combing a few steps, and reducing the amount of pots required to just 2. This borsch still tastes just as good as the original and only takes a little over an hour to make!
I suggest first trying this soup the traditional Doukhobor way using the exact methods and ingredients I've suggested. The borsch is best served HOT with fresh bakery bread, Earth Balance butter, and crunchy dill pickles. Feel free to add a dollop of high-quality or homemade vegan sour cream to the center of your bowl.
Gluten free, nut free, soy free, no sugar added, low sugar.
Important notes:
Read through the recipe in it's entirety before getting started. Wash, prepare, and measure all of your ingredients before getting started with the cooking.
Chill a can of coconut milk overnight in the fridge. When it's ready to be used turn it upside down, open it, and use only the solid cream from the top. Discard or reserve the liquid for smoothies.
Pay close attention to the ingredient amounts used in each step. Some ingredients, like the 3 cups of cabbage, are split up and used in separate steps (1½ cups are fried in step 3, and the remaining 1½ cups are added to the soup raw, in step 5.)
Make sure to remove any hard center leaves and leaf stems from the cabbage before you begin shredding it. If you don't remove the stems and hard leaves the cabbage tends to take over and give the soup a mealy texture.
Make sure all of the vegetables are cut into small, uniform pieces (unless otherwise specified.)
Use a high quality vegan margarine or Earth Balance and don't substitute with other vegetable oils. The buttery flavour of the Earth Balance is integral to this recipe. To make this recipe soy free, use Soy Free Earth Balance.
What You'll Need
- 2 cups (500ml) diced canned tomatoes, drained (one 28oz. can)
- ½ cup (125ml) white onion, diced
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon (90ml) Earth Balance (or high quality vegan margarine)
- 10 cups (2500ml) water
- 2½-3 tsp (12.5-15ml) salt
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
- 1 small beet, peeled
- ¼ cup (60ml) carrots, chopped
- ¼ cup (60ml) celery, chopped
- 3 cups green cabbage, de-stemmed and shredded
- ¼ cup (60ml) carrots, grated
- ½ cup potatoes, peeled and diced
- ½ cup (125ml) green bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup (125ml) green onion, sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh dill, chopped
- ⅔ cup (160ml) coconut cream (chilled overnight)
Yield: 2 litres | Serves: 4-6
Supplies: measuring cups & spoons, slotted spoon, bowls, potato masher, wooden spoon, chef's knife, paring knife, vegetable peeler, cutting board, large frying pan, and a large pot.
Prepping the Ingredients
Begin by draining the canned tomatoes using a fine mesh sieve. Put the sieve into a bowl and allow the tomatoes to continue draining while you prepare the rest of the vegetables. The more water you can remove from the tomatoes, the less time you'll have to spend simmering them in step 1.
It's important that all of your vegetables are cut into small, uniform pieces. None of your vegetables should be any larger than a chickpea in size (unless otherwise specified.)
Shredding the cabbage: Begin by peeling off any damaged outer leaves. Lay the cabbage with the stem side up and use your chef's knife to halve it through the center of the stem. Lay your cabbage halves with the cut sides facing up and remove the stems by making deep v-cuts around each of the stems. Discard the 2 large stem chunks. Begin peeling apart the outer leaves of the cabbage halves, cutting out and discarding the tough stems from individual leaves. Discard the very tough center leaves. Layer the soft, de-stemmed cabbage leaves into a pile and very finely slice them using your large chef's knife.
Peel the beet and set aside.
Directions
1. In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil over high heat - as soon as your water comes to a boil skip down to step 2. While you wait for the water to heat up you can begin cooking your tomatoes.
Preheat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is preheated, add 1 tbsp of Earth Balance and ¼ cup of diced white onion. Cook for about 30 seconds and add the drained tomatoes. Use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes in the pan thoroughly. Simmer over medium-high heat until all of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture becomes thick. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Rinse out your frying pan and place it back on the heat.
2. After your pot of water has come to a boil, add 2½ teaspoon of salt, the halved potatoes, ¼ cup of chopped carrot, ¼ cup chopped celery, the whole beet, and ½ of the simmered tomato mixture from earlier.
3. In the frying pan used in the 1st step, add ¼ cup of Earth Balance, ¼ cup white onion, ¼ cup grated carrots, ¼ cup green onion, ¼ cup green pepper, and 1½ cups of shredded cabbage. Sauté until the cabbage is tender and translucent but not browned. Set aside in a separate bowl.
4. Check on the boiling potatoes after they've been cooking for 15-20 minutes. When they're tender, remove them from the soup using a slotted spoon. You'll know the potatoes are tender when you can easily slide a fork into the center. Mash the potatoes with 1 tbsp of Earth Balance, ⅓ cup of coconut cream, ¼ cup of green pepper, ¼ cup of green onion, and ⅓ cup of dill. Set aside.
5. Add ½ cup of diced potatoes, 1 ½ cups of raw shredded cabbage, and ⅔ cup of coconut cream to the pot. Bring to a boil. Stir in the mashed potatoes, the remainder or the tomatoes from step 1, and the fried vegetables from step 3. Bring the soup back to a boil and then reduce to medium-low heat to simmer. Remove the whole beet and discard.
6. Gently simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes. If necessary, add a little bit of water to achieve your desired consistency. The bowl of borsch below shows the ideal consistency of the soup - it's best served with bread for dipping so you'll want to make sure there's a good broth to vegetable ratio. Taste and adjust the salt to your preference, feel free to add some fresh cracked pepper or extra dill. This soup is best served the at least a few hours later or the next day.
Serving
To serve, reheat the soup in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it reaches a simmer. If the soup has thickened overnight, you can add a touch more water. Taste it and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Serve hot borsch with fresh bread and vegan butter and cheese, and dill pickles. Add a dollop of vegan sour cream for a creamier bowl.
Storage & Reheating
Store for 5 days in the fridge. Reheat in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Thin with water if needed and make any necessary adjustments to the seasonings.
PrintVegan Doukhobor-Style Borsch Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours
- Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
- Category: Soup, Lunch & Dinner
- Cuisine: Doukhobor, Russian, Canadian
Description
This isn't your typical beet soup borsch! This is a spot-on simplified and veganized version of Doukhobor Borsch, a unique dish common in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. This veganized Doukhobor borsch is a must-try recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500ml) diced canned tomatoes, drained (one 28oz. can)
- ½ cup (125ml) white onion, diced
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon (90ml) Earth Balance (or high quality vegan margarine)
- 10 cups (2500ml) water
- 2½-3 teaspoon (12.5-15ml) salt
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
- 1 small beet, peeled
- ¼ cup (60ml) carrots, chopped
- ¼ cup (60ml) celery, chopped
- 3 cups green cabbage, de-stemmed and shredded
- ¼ cup (60ml) carrots, grated
- ½ cup potatoes, peeled and diced
- ½ cup (125ml) green bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup (125ml) green onion, sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh dill, chopped
- ⅔ cup (160ml) coconut cream (chilled overnight)
Instructions
Prepping the Vegetables:
- Read through the recipe in it's entirety before getting started. Wash, prepare, and measure all of your ingredients before getting started with the cooking.
- Chill a can of coconut milk overnight in the fridge. When it's ready to be used turn it upside down, open it, and use only the solid cream from the top. Discard or reserve the liquid for smoothies.
- Pay close attention to the ingredient amounts used in each step. Some ingredients, like the 3 cups of cabbage, are split up and used in separate steps (1½ cups are fried in step 3, and the remaining 1½ cups are added to the soup raw, in step 5.)
- Make sure to remove any hard center leaves and leaf stems from the cabbage before you begin shredding it. If you don't remove the stems and hard leaves the cabbage tends to take over and give the soup a mealy texture.
- Make sure all of the vegetables are cut into small, uniform pieces (unless otherwise specified.)
- Use a high quality vegan margarine or Earth Balance and don't substitute with other vegetable oils. The buttery flavour of the Earth Balance is integral to this recipe. To make this recipe soy free, use Soy Free Earth Balance.
Making the Soup:
- In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil over high heat - as soon as your water comes to a boil skip down to step 2. While you wait for the water to heat up you can begin cooking your tomatoes. Preheat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is preheated, add 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance and ¼ cup of diced white onion. Cook for about 30 seconds and add the drained tomatoes. Use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes in the pan thoroughly. Simmer over medium-high heat until all of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture becomes thick. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Rinse out your frying pan and place it back on the heat.
- After your pot of water has come to a boil, add 2½ teaspoon of salt, the halved potatoes, ¼ cup of chopped carrot, ¼ cup chopped celery, the whole beet, and ½ of the simmered tomato mixture from earlier.
- In the frying pan used in the 1st step, add ¼ cup of Earth Balance, ¼ cup white onion, ¼ cup grated carrots, ¼ cup green onion, ¼ cup green pepper, and 1½ cups of shredded cabbage. Sauté until the cabbage is tender and translucent but not browned. Set aside in a separate bowl.
- Check on the boiling potatoes after they've been cooking for 15-20 minutes. When they're tender, remove them from the soup using a slotted spoon. You'll know the potatoes are tender when you can easily slide a fork into the center. Mash the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance, ⅓ cup of coconut cream, ¼ cup of green pepper, ¼ cup of green onion, and ⅓ cup of dill. Set aside.
- Add ½ cup of diced potatoes, 1 ½ cups of raw shredded cabbage, and ⅓ cup of coconut cream to the pot. Bring to a boil. Stir in the mashed potatoes, the remainder or the tomatoes from step 1, and the fried vegetables from step 3. Bring the soup back to a boil and then reduce to medium-low heat to simmer. Remove the whole beet and discard.
- Gently simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes. If necessary, add a little bit of water to achieve your desired consistency. Taste and adjust the salt to your preference, feel free to add some fresh cracked pepper or extra dill. This soup is best served the at least a few hours later or the next day.
Serving
- To serve, reheat the soup in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it reaches a simmer. If the soup has thickened overnight, you can add a touch more water. Taste it and adjust the seasonings as needed.
- Serve the hot borsch with fresh bread + vegan butter and cheese, and dill pickles. Add a dollop of vegan sour cream for a creamier bowl.
Ivanna
Good article but please don't even call borsch russian- it's not, they only stealing his, as usual.
★★★★
Beverley Hyson
Love
Borscht
Beverley Hyson
Hello I grew up in Castlegar and having been living in Victoria for years. I had a lot
Of Doukabor friends and ate a lot of borscht. Could someone please send me an easy
recipe? My email address is [email protected]. My name is Beverley Hyson. If anyone
from Castlegar reads this, please say hello. I lived in Robson. Hope to hear from someone please. Thank you. Phone number is 250-370-2468. Thank you.
Canadian Expat
We made this borsch last night. It's delicious and is very close to the borsch of my childhood in the West Kootenays...but with a LOT less work. Thank you, Brittany, for adapting this recipe. Much appreciated! I will still make both, depending on how much time I have but this recipe is excellent. To the person who got a little heated, I own a Doukhobor-published cookbook which itself contains variations on borsch. Times change! I now live on a different continent but I miss BC very much. This recipe brought back wonderful memories of the rich culture of my Doukhobor friends.
M. Aasen
Love that I found a Doukhbour borscht recipe. My mom used to make it every fall & it was always a favorite. There was a little cafe in Kaslo that used to sell her borscht. I would love to try making it in the IP.
Sandra Veregin-Burkett
Hi Brittany, just found this recipe earlier this week and going to give it a try, I am sure this is very close to my mother's borsht, but she added some small steak cubes to the recipe, and I also believe that she added some fennel seed as well. It was my babushka who came to Calgary when my parents were first married for my mother to learn how to cook all the dishes for my dad. Been looking for a recipe for now for eaons since Jon Kalmakoff's recipe site on the doukhobor.org is no longer in use (I'd thought the recipes would always be there, and now they are not.) Btw, Brittany, I am a Veregin from Kamsack, Sask.and oh, one last question: Do you have any other doukhobor recipes? I can only recall Cabbage Rolls, 3 corners(Perogies) and chicken stew with dumplings 🙂
Bill
Questions I wonder about.
What about using fresh tomatoes instead of canned?
Why cook the tomatoes to boil off all the water and then add 10 cups of water? Why not just add less water?
The traditional Doukhobor recipe would be dairy cream instead of coconut, right?
Of course, sriracha doesn't sound traditional, but were there ANY spices in the traditional recipes?
Thanks for the fine recipe! Writing to you from the Slocan Valley, a little bit north of Castlegar.
★★★★★
Nina
Delicious recipe! I grew up in a Doukhobor home. My husband and I are now vegan. We love this recipe. Thank you.
★★★★★
Harlem
Great recipe! I’ve made this a few times now and we all love it! I make it in big batches to freeze. I do tweek it a little bit tho. I double up on the carrots cuz I love em, I fry all the cabbage (my tummy is sensitive to cruciferous vegetables), I use the whole can of coconut milk, and sometimes add a little minced garlic. I sometimes cheat a little bit and use pre-shredded coleslaw mix.
I can eat this wonderful soup for days!
★★★★★
Caneron
Just made this today! I love my garden beets so much I hand blended two cooked beets with the potatoes, cutting out the mashed potatoes step, making it much more red. Delicious recipe, thank you. Kamloops
★★★★★
Lonnie Facchina
I live in Nelson and have always loved the Doukhobor borscht, but we've been eating vegan for the past few years so I haven't been able to enjoy it. This recipe reminds me of the one in the Shoreacres Ladies Cookbook that I always used and it was PERFECT!! Thank you for this recipe, and I have to tell you that I totally missed your warning to read the directions carefully and ended up having to add more cabbage (dumped it all in the one pan) and onions (ditto), and threw in extra coconut cream because there wasn't enough left in the can to save. So, it wasn't exactly your recipe, but I'll be more careful next time!!
★★★★★
Joycelyn
Honestly, if the old Doukhobor grandma who gifted me with her recipe for vegetarian Summer borsch ( there is no T as the T refers to meat Borscht and a different sect of Doukhobors) when living in Nelson British Columbia in the 70s-80s could see how you've destroyed her recipe and history behind her families recipe that they brought from the old country when they immigrated to Canada, she'd turn over in her grave tenfold.
It's all fine and dandy to decide to follow a vegan diet, more power to you, but it is not all find and dandy when you veganize a recipe that's been in existence for centuries, then claim it to be Doukhobor borsch.
Call in anything else you like, cabbage soup or whatever, but do not call it Doukhobor borsch/t as that is a blatant insult to every settlement of vegetarian Doukhobors in Canada and the US who cherish their old world recipes.
★★
Rj
That's awful. To redo a recipe so people who follow vegan because of allergies is welcomed ..you don't have to be a bully.
Joan
Oh Joycelyn, you really need calm down. Brittany clearly stated VEGAN DOUKHOBOR-STYLE BORSCH SOUP. Recipes are modified all the time. Brittany, I loved all the detail you’ve provided such as the specifics about not using the thick stems of the cabbage, etc. I know I’d have tossed them in if you hadn’t pointed that out. Hubby and I are in our mid 60’s and vegan cooking from our garden has become a hobby. We so appreciate all the time you took sharing your recipe. I have some of last fall’s beet harvest I want to make use of. I’ll let you know how mine turns out.
Linda
Great recipe, so many steps... but worth it. Just wanted to let you know 10cups is 2500ml not 5000....
★★★★★
Brittany
Ah yes! Thanks for pointing that out Linda. I'd noticed that before and I thought I had already changed it. I've fixed it now. Thank you!
Kim
For those wanting to cut back on oils even more, I was able to use just 1tbps oil to fry the cabbage, replacing the rest with water. You could also roast your cabbage if you want to be oil free.
For the coconut cream, I used a small soft tofu blitzed with water to make the cream. You could also use potato flakes.
I cant wait to have this! Thank-you for the inspiration!
Brittany
Thanks for your input on how to make the recipe lighter Kim, I hope you enjoyed it 🙂
Debra
Hi Brittany,
I had two small. already-roasted beets in my fridge. I was thinking soup, so I googled vegetarian hot borscht and found your site. I think of myself as reasonably well educated and worldly, yet I've never heard of the Doukhobor people before! Thanks for sharing your culture with me. My grandparents all came to the US from the Ukraine in the early years of the 20th century. Grandma made a wonderful, refreshing cold borscht in the summer, but that's not what I was looking for today.
Anyway.... I digress. I always think it's funny when people alter a recipe that they find on line (which is certainly one's prerogative) and then judge the original posted recipe by the results of their own creation. I guess I'm somewhat guilty of that here, but my plan from the start was to use those beets in the fridge, and so I followed your directions to the letter, with the addition of my beets, diced and tossed in with the diced potatoes and cabbage. This soup was/is amazing and totally worth the labor. We eat eggs and dairy but my daughter, who was visiting, does not, so I was glad to find this vegan version. It was the first course of a bigger menu, so we have tons left over for a few lunches and even more for the freezer. That's a good thing. Comfort food at its finest. We all can't wait for the next bowlful. Thanks for enlightening me!
★★★★★
Shannon
I was a teenager in New Denver and my Mom made the Doukohbor version borscht. I found this recipe online today and had all the ingredients in my fridge. My husband and I had this with fresh sourdough buns. Delicious!! It was a perfect dinner soup as our weather cools off in the Yukon. I’ve shared this link with my friends and family.
★★★★★
Amanda
Pot brewing right now!! hello from East Kootenays I always stop and have a bowl whenever it's available but I had a stack of fresh dill and my heart found this recipe can't wait to try it!!
★★★★
Whitney
I'm so happy and grateful you took the time to figure out a dairy free Doukabor Borscht. I grew up in Trail and was quite familiar with Castlegars borscht. It tastes exactly how I remember. So delicious! Thank-you 🙂
★★★★★
Brittany
Thank you so much for commenting Whitney! Doukhobor borscht is one of my favourite meals. I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe as much as I do! ♥
Abby
I also grew up in Grand Forks! Recently started eating plant based and I have been missing some comfort foods-borsht being one of them. Just finished making a big pot from this recipe, it is SO GOOD!! Thanks for sharing, LOVE IT!
Brittany
Oh that is SO cool! Thanks for commenting Abby! 🙂
Wade Wishloff
My grandma mother was a Doukabor from Castlegar and my late wife from Grand Forks. Both ladies were great cooks, with their Russia Doukabor borscht being one of my favourites. Going to try this recipe, thank you for posting it. 😊
Judy
Beet borscht I never cared for but cabbage borscht is hands down delish. My aunt used to make it and it was always gone. I haven't had cabbage borscht for years I'm going to try make a big pot. 👍
Brittany
Yay! I hope you love it as much as I do!! 😀
Lexy
I'm so excited to find this recipe!! My uncle used to come out from Trail BC each summer to Saskatchewan and we'd always make a big batch of his doukhobor borscht - a very different recipe from my husband's family's Ukrainian borscht.
This is certainly not my uncles recipe - which started with a pound of butter, and finished with a pint of heavy cream - but this is exactly what I'll be making. Thanks so much!
Brittany
Yay!!! I was born in Trail! I grew up eating the butter and heavy cream style borscht, so I really hope you love this recipe as much as I do. I've been making borsht A LOT lately so we will be posting a simpler, updated version very soon, (just so you know!)
Chelsey
Hello. IT says 2/3 cup coconut cream in the ingredients. In the recipe you use 1/3 cup at one point, and then 2/3 cup afterwards. So do I need 1 cup in total Or is it 1/3 cup and 1/3 cup. Thanks! Can't wait to try it!
Brittany
Hi Chelsey, sorry about that! You'll need 2/3 cup total, it should've said to add 1/3 cup, not 2/3 cup, the second time it's added. Sorry! For whatever reason I can't update the recipe to fix it right now.
Cathy Paton
Thanks Brittany. It's simmering on the stove right now. Can't wait to dig in. I tried a vegan borscht before, but it wasn't the authentic Doukhobor style. This is exactly what I was looking for. Greetings from Salmo!
Brittany
Ah, you are SO welcome! I'm so glad to hear from someone from the Kootenays who's making this recipe. We're originally from Castlegar and this recipe really hits the spot when we have a craving for Doukhobor borscht! I hope you love it!
Sara
I grew up spending my summers in Christina Lake B.C. Eating the Dukabor borscht sold at the bakery and have been looking for a recipe for YEARS. I'm So excited to try this!
Brittany
Yesss!! That is so awesome!! You'll love this recipe. I actually just finished a batch today 🙂 I'm going to be posting an even easier version of this recipe this fall!
Les Bourgeoises
Thanks for sharing this post. I grew up eating my Baba's Doukhobor borscht in Eastern Saskatchewan and have so many fond memories of her garden and her mostly vegetarian cooking.
Brittany
That is SO SO cool! I love this recipe so much. Not many people have heard of Doukhobor borscht, so it's really neat to hear from someone who's grown up eating it. Thank you SO much for commenting!
ZZ
Wow that's looks soooo good. Never heard of it but I think I'll give it a try one day. I love soups. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Brittany
Thank you so much. It's definitely a unique soup that's well worth making! Thanks for commenting!
Jessica Chavoya
I grew up in Salmon Arm and had fond memories of this style of borscht at a local eatery with a thick slice of fresh buttered bread (sadly no longer there).
So going to make this tonight!