Such a delicious Green Borscht with Spinach. Classic Ukrainian recipe your whole family will enjoy. Ready to be served in 30 minutes. Also try Ukrainian Red Beet Borscht, Cauliflower Borscht and Crockpot Borsch.
Spinach Borscht
It's not like I planned to post two Borscht recipes in a row.
But let me tell you, my husband is obsessed with Green Borscht.
And since my parents are now living with us and my mom helps me with cooking, she happened to make this classic Ukrainian soup for lunch, which I couldn't help but make photos for.
I hope you don't mind, because it's a really great recipe which every Ukrainian homemaker has in frequent rotation.
When I was growing up we had fresh vegetables on the table only in summer. And I'm not talking about potatoes or carrots. We had plenty of those all year round.
Such veggies as tomatoes, cucumbers or sorrel or herbs were almost impossible to find in winter.
And even when we were lucky to find those, they tasted like grass.
That's why this soup is also called Ukrainian summer borscht. It's made with seasonal ingredients that back in the days were available only in summer.
Of course, now in the US you can find fresh spinach, green onions and dill at any time of the year.
So please, do yourself a favor, prepare this soup this summer and I'm sure it will soon become a favorite in your house even during cold winter months.
Traditionally, Green Borscht is cooked with Sorrel. It's a tart salad vegetable that is fairly easy to get in Ukraine. Many people also grow it at home.
Thanks to Sorrel, soup has a specific, slightly sour taste which usually disappears when sour cream is added.
But this sour-ish taste is what makes Green Borscht so delicious. Once you take the first sip, you just won't get enough of it.
Although, we Ukrainians always treat Green Borscht as a classic Ukrainian recipe, other Eastern European countries have their own variations of this delicious soup.
Despite that once cooking with Sorrel has been popular in North America, nowadays it is rarely used, hence it's difficult to find it in regular grocery stores.
How to make Green Borscht without sorrel?
Simple solution to this problem is to use spinach in combination with lemon or lime juice.
I've been substituting with spinach for years and no one could tell a difference. It's yummy, nutritious and so easy to make.
Just like Holodnik, which is Belarusian cold Borscht, Ukrainian Green Borscht tastes especially great during summer months. It's packed with greens, easy on digestion and refreshingly delicious.
That being said, there's nothing wrong with making this soup in fall or winter. It's delicious at any time of the year.
In the recipe you can use vegetable or meat broth. And if you make your own meat broth, go ahead and add cooked shredded meat into each bowl for even more satisfying and complete meal.
How to make Green Borscht with Spinach?
- Bring 64 oz of chicken broth to a boil and add potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes.
- At the same time, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and on a medium heat. Add minced onion and carrot and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Stir in sautéed onion, carrot, cubed zucchini and spinach to a pot with potatoes and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to a taste.
- Add lemon juice, cubed hard-boiled eggs and parsley. Remove from the heat and serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.
Do I have to use Dutch Oven?
In this recipe you can use any type of soup pot.
I personally love making soups and stews in my Dutch Oven. It evenly distributes and retains heat, durable, super versatile and great for any type of recipes.
Can I make this Borscht Low Carb or Keto-friendly?
If you're following Low Carb or Ketogenic diet, simply replace potatoes with cauliflower, cut into small florets.
How do you hard-boil eggs so that they peel easily?
My favorite way to cook the eggs is to bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add eggs. Then I cook the eggs on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
Now all you have to do is drain water and immediately fill the pot with a cold water. Once eggs are cooled off, you should be able to easily peel them and chop.
Can I freeze Green Borscht?
Yes, you can certainly freeze it. Green Borscht will freeze up to 3 months. There are few things to keep in mind though:
- dairy doesn't generally freeze well, so I recommend holding back on adding sour cream. You can always do so once you defrost the soup
- hard-boiled egg whites become tough and rubbery when frozen. So if you plan to freeze this soup, make sure to do this without adding eggs and sour cream.
For freezing I recommend using these double zipper Freezer Bags. They are made with 100% polyethylene and are BPA-free.
To defrost Green Borscht, remove it from the freezer bag and add it into a pot. Bring a soup to a gentle simmer and add hard-boiled eggs and sour cream.
How do you serve Borscht?
Just like any Ukrainian or Russian Borscht, this Green Borscht is usually served with a generous dollop of sour cream and a slice of yeast bread (see my Savory Pumpkin Bread).
In addition, you can boil a few more eggs, peel them, slice in half and place into each bowl.
Need more yummy soups for summer? Try my favorite recipes.
If you want to learn more, please check out my Green Borscht web story.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
Recipe
Ukrainian Green Borscht
Ingredients
- 64 oz chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion minced
- 1 medium carrot grated on a large grater
- 3 large potatoes cubed
- 4 cups spinach chopped
- 1 zucchini cubed
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 egg hard-boiled and cubed (See the notes)
- ½ c parsley or dill chopped
- salt, pepper to taste
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven bring chicken broth to a boil and add potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and on a medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- In a pot with potatoes, add sautéed onion, carrot, zucchini and spinach and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to a taste.
- Add lemon juice, cubed eggs and parsley.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Christine says
Instead of spinach I be always made spring borscht with young green beet tops off the garden, including the long stems and even though the soup isn’t yellow still tastes so good and I boil pork rib bones for the broth scumming off the fat first of course. Easier to do that day after it gets cold.
Iryna says
I love the idea of using green beet tops in Green Borscht.
Gregor says
Sorrel, spinach and beet greens are extremely high-oxalate and your future older self wont thank you as oxalic acid is poisonous and leads to joint pain, and gallbladder sludge. Nettles are fine.
J Chase says
We have welcomed four Ukrainian guests into our home since May 2022 and they introduced us to green borscht. It is nutritious and low calorie (I use less oil). We have been using your recipe with spinach and we all love it - thanks to them and to you.
Iryna says
J, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm so happy you and your Ukrainian guests are enjoying this delicious soup:)
L says
I searched comments while trying to decide between parsley and dill, they’re quite different. Which is preferred?
Iryna says
Parsley is used most often however dill is also a good choice. You can also use both of these herbs;)
G Fuller says
made this recipe and was pleasantly surprised! It was soooo good! loved it!
Iryna says
Thank you for sharing and a 5-star rating! I'm so happy you liked this recipe!:)
ML O’Boyle says
Fabulous! Took it for lunch all week! Fabulous! I quartered the eggs, added a pad of kerrygold butter and sour cream. So good!
Iryna says
ML, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Cynthia Leleko says
My husband is Ukrainian by birth. He will be so surprised when I make this for him. Thank you for sharing!
Iryna says
Thank you for your comment Cynthia! I hope you'll give this soup a try! It's really delicious:)
Debbie says
I have bought a jar of chopped sorrel. How much should I use of this in the soup? What should the sorrel replace?
Mila Johnson says
sorrel is authentic herb for this soup. It should be in place of spinach. Depending on the size of pot 1-2 cups. I would avoid lemon with it though. This recipe is a good version for USA, since sorrel is hard to find.
Gloria Kelley says
This looks delicious and I plan on making it this weekend however I am shocked at the over 1400 mg of sodium. Am I to assume that you were using canned chicken broth? I only use my own homemade broth so I know the sodium contact will be much lower. Am I right?
Iryna says
Hi Gloria! The nutritional information is an estimate. Since it's calculated by the 3-rd party recipe nutrition app, I have no way of knowing what kind of broth they use in their calculation. I've run the recipe through the app once again and the sodium content decreased a little bit although it's still high. You're probably right regarding the assumption that they base their calculation off a store-bought chicken broth which is high in sodium indeed.
Karen says
Made this tonight for dinner. Delicious!
Iryna says
Karen, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm glad you liked this recipe!
Kerri says
This was one of the best soups I’ve ever made. My entire family devoured it. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Iryna says
Kerri, thank you so much for your content and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Terri says
The whole family loved it! It is definitely a comfort food type of soup and low in calories. Win win.
Iryna says
Terri, thank you so much for your comment a 5-star rating! I'm happy you loved this recipe!
L Luciuk says
While I prefer this version of Ukrainian borscht with sorrel I can only get some out of (my neighbour's) garden in the early summer, so spinach is my go-to-substitute for the rest of the year and it works well. Ukrainian cuisine is remarkable and much more sophisticated than what my parents used to prepare, as yummy as that was (indeed Kyiv and Lviv are both remarkably impressive cities featuring not only unique Ukrainian dishes but world cuisines of many kinds - especially, these days, Georgian dishes). Ukraine's a great European country to visit (pity about the boors next door).
Iryna says
Thank you so much for your comment and a 5 star rating! I agree with you, Green Borscht with sorrel is the best. But as you mentioned, it's not as easy to find it unless you grow sorrel yourself. And it's true, Ukrainian food is really delicious, what I call a hearty comfort food.
melody says
could you use collard greens?
Lil says
Skipped the egg addition, but otherwise made exactly as called for, with homemade chicken stock. Delicious! Going to be a repeat Cecile for me. Thanks for sharing.
Iryna says
Lil, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Ruth says
Followed recipe as posted, it was a hit with the family will be making again. Thank you
Iryna says
Ruth, thank you so much for your comment! I'm happy you and your family enjoyed this soup!
Jessica says
Very delicious recipe. Loved it.
Iryna says
Jessica, thank you for sharing and your 5-star rating! I'm happy you liked this soup!