With all those spring greens around it’s about time I share with you the recipe of simple vegan green Borsch (Borscht).
Green Borsch is also known as Ukrainian sorrel soup. Apart from sorrel you can use any spring greens that you can forage or buy at your local farmers market. Our Holy Trinity is sorrel, stinging nettle and orach.
This soup basically consists of greens and water so you have to add some substance to it like potatoes and protein. Traditionally it is served with hardboiled egg halves. I’m not gonna go through the trouble of making vegan hardboiled egg, cause there is no point. My vegan green Borsch tastes absolutely flawless with chopped up deep-fried tofu.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and carrot until onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
Now add potato, bay leaf and vegetable stock into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.
Rinse the greens and let them dry on a kitchen towel. Then chop them roughly.
After 20 minutes or when potatoes are done and easily fall apart, add chopped greens and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Switch off the heat, cover and let your green Borsch rest for about 10 minutes. It is even better on a second day.
Serve with chopped fresh dill, dollop of vegan sour cream, slice of rye bread and some kind of egg replacement or your choice of plant-based protein like deep-fried tofu or firm silken tofu.
P.S. Here’s the recipe of classic vegan Ukrainian Borsch.
PrintVegan Green Borsch (Ukrainian Sorrel Soup)
Light and refreshing vegan Borsch loaded with variety of spring greens.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Ukrainian, Slavic
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 C light vegetable stock or water
- 2 C sorrel
- 1 C stinging nettle
- 1 C green orach
- salt and black pepper to taste
- oil for cooking
To serve with:
- slices of rye bread
- vegan sour cream
- fresh dill
- deep-fried tofu or firm silken tofu
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and carrot until onion is soft and translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
- Now add potato, bay leaf and vegetable stock into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the greens and let them dry on a kitchen towel. Then chop them roughly.
- After 20 minutes or when potatoes are done and easily fall apart, add chopped greens and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Switch off the heat, cover and let your green Borsch rest for about 10 minutes. It is even better on a second day.
- Serve with chopped fresh dill, dollop of vegan sour cream, slice of rye bread and some kind of egg replacement or your choice of plant-based protein like deep-fried tofu or firm silken tofu.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 173
- Sugar: 7.7g
- Sodium: 237mg
- Fat: 4.4g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 30.5g
- Fiber: 12.5g
- Protein: 8.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: sorrel, nettle, orach, potatoes, tofu, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, Ukrainian, Slavic
Very good. Thank you for simple and tasty recipe.
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Thank you for your feedback, Trina!
That’s an amazing recipe for ‘schyovi’ sorrel borscht. I couldn’t find a recipe for red (beet) borscht on your site. That’s definitely Ukrainian. I grew up in Canada and have heard of only one or two Ukrainians who emigrated to Canada after World War II who were vegetarians. There are many vegans in Canada today. Personally I haven’t eaten meat or fish for years. I still use a few eggs and butter rarely and no milk/cheese. We can easily get all the ingredients on your site because we are a multicultural country, but I have never seen fresh nettle or orach here. I looked up orach and spinach seems to be a good substitute. Personally I love beet greens (tops). You mentioned it’s hard to find soy milk or other ingredients, but I’m surprised at the variety of ingredients you use. My mother left Ukraine before World War II with her parents to live in Brazil and they surprisingly went back in the late 1950s and left again in 1966. She said the ingredients such as black beans, red lentils, soy didn’t exist there, There was always ‘salo’ (pork fat) and potatoes. She always said there was almost nothing to eat there. Are you still in Ukraine in this difficult situation? I can definitely donate to help out. Feel free to write to me. All the best!
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Hi John!
I have the recipe for the red borscht, I just misspelled it 🙂 Here it is https://www.slavicvegan.com/2018/12/16/vegan-borsch/.
The situation here is better than it was when I started this blog. If one has a big supermarket in their town, they can find many vegan alternatives. Also, I order lots of products online. But since the war started, fewer vegan products have been available.
If you wish to donate, try the Paypal button. But I’m not sure if it actually works 🙂
Thank you for your support!
Anastasia