Made with nutritious beets, cabbage and root vegetables, my Ukrainian borscht soup recipe (also known as borsh, borsht, or борщ) is perfect as a dinner meal or hot lunch. Serve with a dollop with sour cream, dairy-free alternative or without. This is gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, and Whole30-friendly.

What Is Borscht?

If I had to name one dish that best represents Ukrainian cuisine it would have to be borscht.

It’s a hearty, hot soup made with beetroot, which gives it a gorgeous burgundy red colour and sweetness. This tasty soup can be made any time of the year but it’s particularly good in autumn and winter when all of the ingredients are in peak season. 

Borscht is also eaten in many other parts of eastern Europe and there are many cultural variations.

What Are The Main Borscht Ingredients?

In its whole form, borscht is a vegetable soup as it features cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes and beets. But, if you had to pick the key ingredient for borscht, it’s beets. Don’t have beetroot? Can’t make borscht! They are what gives borscht its beautiful colour and sweet flavour.

Depending on location, borscht recipes include a variety of other vegetables, spices and condiments served at the table. My recipe is based on the flavours and textures I remember from my childhood when I ate borscht a couple of times a week. I talk about a few borscht variations below.

Love beets? Check out more recipes using this nutritious veggie here.

Borscht Soup Nutrition

This Ukrainian borscht recipe is vegetarian and vegan-friendly so I am only using vegetables and veggie stock. Many traditional recipes also used beef stock or broth and some tender braised beef pieces and bones. As you can imagine, even the simple vegetarian borscht version is super nutritious with lots of vitamins and fibre.

As a veggie soup, this version is lacking in Vitamins D and B12. Add mushrooms or/and red meat for vitamin D; B12 can be added with red meat or other meat or you can serve some nutritional yeast as a sprinkle on top. These are just small nutritional boosts, of course, and won’t fill in the gap completely. 

For extra protein, you can add whatever fits your diet: meat or chicken, beans or legumes etc.

If you can tolerate a little dairy, a dollop of sour cream on top is very traditional (and tasty) but you can easily go without or even try a little coconut cream or coconut yoghurt instead. You can find all my vegetarian recipes here.

How To Make Borscht Soup

Borscht is easily made on the stove but can also be cooked in a crockpot slow cooker or the Instant Pot. 

Start by preparing all of the vegetables as this is what makes the most effort. You can use a food processor to help you grate and chop all of the veggies. I like to start cooking simultaneously as the veggies don’t all go in at the same time. 

Prepare onions, garlic, beets, celery and carrots first and cabbage and potatoes last. The idea is to saute all the veggies first, then add the seasoning, spices, tomato paste and vinegar (essential as borscht needs some acidity) and stock. Once all ingredients are in, bring everything to a boil and then simmer gently for half an hour until potatoes are soft.

Important: take the soup off the heat and then add the fresh dill, cover with a lid and let it sit for 10 minutes to set.

Note, the soup’s flavours will develop even further the next day so make sure to leave some leftovers.

Can I Use Pickled Beets ?

Actually, yes! Some traditional Ukrainian recipes call for pickled beets rather than fresh (also because you couldn’t always get fresh vegetables). If you’re using pickled beets, make sure to omit the vinegar as they will add the tang that is essential in this soup. I like using raw beets as they are more nutritious in my opinion.

Can I Freeze Borscht?

Yes, this soup is great for freezing and should last for up to 3 months. As it’s vegetarian and vegan borscht, it will also keep well in the fridge (for up to 5-6 days). Reheat well before serving.

Borscht Variations

Ah! There are hundreds of variations of this delicious beet soup. Every household has its family recipe that gets passed down through generations. Some differences are based on location and you will find some differences in Russian borscht, Polish borscht and the Ukrainian classic. Here are some famous versions:

Ukrainian borscht is often made with green peppers and white beans. Adding peppers and/or beans to borscht is quite common and makes for a heartier meal. Many people will also add beef or cook the stock with meat bones. Mushrooms are also often added to the Ukrainian borscht. While the Russian borscht is usually beets, cabbage and potatoes (and some carrots).

Pureed borscht is another way you can serve this gorgeous soup. Simply add all ingredients to a blender and whiz it all up. This version can also be served cold in summer. 

Polish borscht (barszcz) is made with beets, carrots, garlic and onion but might not have cabbage and potatoes. Again, this will vary from family to family.

More Ukrainian Recipes

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Adapted from a classic South Eastern recipe, this chicken and prawn laksa soup delivers beautiful Thai flavours and all the nutrients. The aromatic coconut curry broth is served with low-carb zucchini and carrot noodles and healthy protein. This recipe is paleo, gluten-free, and keto-friendly (can be modified for a Whole30 version).

What Is Laksa?

If you had to pick your ‘last meal’, what would it be? For me, Laksa would have to be in the top five. If you haven’t heard of or tried Laksa before, it’s a coconut-based curry soup from Malaysia, which fuses Malay, Thai and Chinese flavours and ingredients.

Very common and popular in Australia, the dish features a handful of noodles, tofu puffs, bean sprouts, crispy vegetables and a selection of meats or seafood served in the most glorious, fragrant, spicy coconut soup.

I seriously want to sing Hallelujah when I sip a good Laksa broth. I love its rich flavours and the warmth you get from all the spices and the chilli. And although many would argue of what the authentic Laksa should taste like, the truth is that it comes in many varieties and even the most typical Laksa Lemak can be cooked in many different ways. For example, although it’s a Malay dish, I often order it in Thai restaurants.

The best part is that Laksa is easily adapted to be a paleo, low-carb and gluten-free dish. Swap the noodles and tofu for extra veggies, add some protein and et voilà – you have a delicious meal with the desired ratio of proteins, carbs and fats.

Sure, it’s much easier to go and get a bowl of Laksa in Chinatown or from your local Thai take away shop, but there is something super cool about making it from scratch. And you know what? It’s actually very easy if you give yourself enough time and you can get the right ingredients.

Tips For Making Thai Laksa At Home

The foundation of any Laksa soup is a Laksa curry paste, which I make from scratch and you can find the recipe here. You can also use a store-bought Laksa paste or a mixture of red and green curry pastes, as that’s the closest to Laksa flavours.

My Laksa paste is not as spicy as some of the imported varieties, so 5 tablespoons of serious red curry paste might blow your head off. Start with 2-3 tablespoons if you’re not sure and always have a little taste of the paste itself. If you can’t find all the ingredients, you can use mild curry powder, some fresh garlic and ginger, and whatever other ingredients from the laksa paste that you can find.

To use the laksa paste in a curry stew,  simply add coconut milk or cream with just a little bit of stock for a rich, thick gravy.

Other Laksa Ingredients You Need

I used a little bit of palm sugar to balance out the salty and sour flavours, it’s the most authentic sweetener. By all means, leave the sugar out if you want, or replace it with honey or coconut sugar, and it will still taste pretty damn good. You can check out this coconut palm sugar.

I used full-fat coconut oil from a can (look for 55-70% coconut content) and I put one of the cans in the fridge to thicken, and that’s where I scooped out the coconut cream from. The other can is simply shaken, and that’s your coconut milk.

You will need a large pot or a saucepan to fit all of the soup, plus meat and veggies. I used chicken and prawns in this recipe, but you can easily replace those with beef, scallops and fish.

I used salt-reduced chicken stock as I like to control how much and what type of salt I add to the dish. Pre-packaged stocks have so much sodium and it is often disguised by sugar and other things, so I would rather use more fish sauce for both saltiness and flavour. 

Finally, Chinese broccoli can be replaced with collard greens or Swiss chard. You can use a vegetable spiralizer to prepare carrot and zucchini noodles, which would work fabulously in this soup.

I hope the whole process doesn’t intimidate you too much. It really is a lot of fun to make your own Laksa and you should get your family and friends involved in the kitchen.

More Healthy Thai recipes:

Chicken Larb Salad With Red Cabbage
Spicy Pumpkin Coconut Soup
Coconut Yoghurt Chicken
Paleo Satay Sauce
Roasted Lemongrass Short Ribs

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This healing and nutritious thirty-clove roasted garlic soup is full of anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and gut-loving properties. It’s a great soup for colds and flu or if you need to give your gut a little care. This recipe is paleo, gluten-free and vegan-friendly.

Thirty-Clove Garlic Soup

When I first received Lee Holme’s book Heal Your Gut, this was the first recipe I bookmarked. I love garlic for both its health benefits and the flavour, and I was intrigued by a recipe that used so much of it.

To my surprise, the garlic flavour in the soup wasn’t overpowering at all. I think mainly because the cloves are roasted first, which mellows out the garlic and makes it sweet and nutty. All I can say is this soup is freaking delicious!

Garlic and onion are the main ingredients in the soup, and although I think it’s lovely on its own, you can turn it into a more substantial meal by adding chopped-up carrots or pumpkin, broccoli, some chicken or strips or fish.

Make a large batch and use as a base for stews and vegetable braises too. It’s also AIP friendly, simply omit any chilli and if you’re following strict AIP, omit cumin too; use coconut oil instead of butter.

Here is what Lee says about this soup in her book Heal You Gut, “Garlic is one of the most powerful medicinal foods. Its anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, antibiotic and antiviral properties make it an incredibly important ingredient in the defence against digestive assaults of all varieties. Load on garlic’s goodness with this bold and flavourful soup.”

I’ve bookmarked a few other recipes to cook and I’ve been reading through all the insightful gut health info in the book. I was familiar with Lee’s eBook version of Heal Your Gut and her online program but it’s really nice to have the book in printed form. It’s full of great tips and knowledge, a multi-phase gut healing program, meal plans and gorgeous recipes. Check it out when you get a chance.

Notes For Making Roasted Garlic Soup

Below is the original recipe from the book, which I followed pretty closely except that I made a smaller batch. I used 2 bulbs of garlic instead of 3 and less stock, apple cider vinegar etc, but kept the cumin and turmeric in the same amounts because I love those spices.

I roasted the garlic for 30-35 mins as I think my oven is a little hotter and it looked like it would burn, I recommend keeping an eye on that part as burnt garlic goes a bit bitter and you want soft, golden brown, sweet garlic. I also cooked my soup for about 15 minutes, instead of 30, simply because I was short on time. It turned out great anyways.

I will definitely make this garlic soup again. It did feel very comforting and healing when I was eating it – garlic, turmeric, coconut milk – all the good stuff!

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This super nourishing soup of turkey meatballs and kale braised in lemony garlic broth is full of flavour and makes for a great comfort dish that is still very healthy. You get the benefits of antioxidant-packed kale, chicken broth and protein-rich turkey or chicken meat, plus all those beautiful notes of citrus and garlic. I made this dish for my Paleo reset program and it’s become a crowd-favourite, so I am sharing it on the blog as well.  It’s paleo, gluten-free, Whole30 and keto-friendly. 

I love making this soup when I feel like something nourishing and warm. It’s great for when you’re feeling under the weather or coming down with a cold as it’s full of nutrients, Vitamin C and healing broth. In my true style, I made sure it’s also packed with flavour and in this case you get lots of umami, citrus and garlic.

How To Make Braised Turkey Meatballs & Kale Soup

There are two parts to making this lovely turkey meatball soup dish.

First, you make the meatballs and you can use ground turkey, chicken or pork. Fish can also be ground up into mince and will work well in this recipe. The meatballs are partially pan-fried before you add them to the soup. 

The soup base is very easy to make and I used a few spices, citrus and garlic to give it a lot of flavour. The addition of fish sauce gives the broth saltiness and that lovely umami flavour but you can always use a little extra salt instead. 

I used kale but any leafy greens with work. You might like to add some collard greens or Chinese greens like bok choy or broccoli, Swiss chard etc. To be honest, you can add as many different veggies as you like. Add starchy roots earlier so they can cook and leafy, fibrous ones towards the end. I often use kale in soups, like this chicken tortilla one.

Dietary Modifications

This soup has a few starchy vegetables, so if you’re following a low-carb or keto diet, replace the carrots and potatoes with zucchini and/or broccoli. You might want to keep some carrots. You can also use a little less leek. White potatoes can be swapped for sweet potatoes or parsnips. 

Make-Ahead Tips

You can make the meatballs ahead of time. You can pan-fry them or keep them raw in the fridge for 2-3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before using as per recipe instructions. I also love keeping some homemade chicken broth in the freezer or fridge but you can also use store-bought broth. 

Pre-chopping the kale and leeks and peeling garlic will also save you some time. You can store those in an airtight container in or Ziploc bags in the fridge for 2-3 days before using. Use the potatoes when needed, though. 

More make-ahead friendly recipes here. 

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