It is quite easy to switch from your usual diet to a new “meat-free” food system, but giving up your taste preferences can sometimes be very difficult, and sometimes completely impossible. This does not apply to some exotic food with unusual products or combinations of flavors, but to such everyday dishes as, for example, borscht.
There is an opinion that it should be prepared exclusively from meat. But, in addition to the standard recipe with meat filling, there is also an unusual option for those who eat exclusively plant foods - vegetarian borscht. It is also tasty, and does not require complex cooking technology. We invite you to get acquainted with several of the best recipes for the iconic soup, but in an original vegetarian style.
Calorie content of vegetarian borscht
What is the approximate calorie content of borscht for a vegetarian? The number of calories depends directly on the recipe of the dish. You can see a detailed breakdown of the ingredients used in the classic version of the soup in the following table.
As you can see, it is not only tasty, rich in ingredients, but also low in calories. You can eat this borscht, have fun and not be afraid for your figure.
Borscht with prunes
Prepare vegetables: a quarter of a head of cabbage, 1 pc. beets, onions and carrots, 3 pcs. potatoes. You will also need vegetable oil and tomato (2 tbsp each), flour (1 tbsp) and 30 g of prunes.
Heat 1 liter of water, add grated beets, cook until the broth loses its bright color. Add potato cubes. Fry onions and carrots in vegetable oil, add shredded cabbage and chopped prunes (steam them first). Simmer covered until done. Dry the flour in a separate frying pan, add the tomato, stir, diluting with water until you get a sauce. Place the cabbage and tomato sauce in the pan with the potatoes and beets, add another 1 liter of boiling water. Salt, season, boil.
Vegetarian borscht with beans
Borscht, containing vegetables and legumes, has a positive effect on the functioning of the entire body, quickly burns fat and removes bad cholesterol. This vegetarian dish is often recommended for consumption by people suffering from obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease.
We must not forget about the excellent taste, which is absolutely not inferior to classic meat borscht. Prepare it according to the following recipe and see the excellent result. It will require the following components:
- Beans – 200 grams.
- Potatoes – 3 pieces (can be omitted).
- Carrot – 1 piece.
- Sweet pepper – 1 piece.
- Cabbage – 200 grams.
- Beets – 1 piece.
- Onions – 1 piece.
- Tomatoes – 3 pieces (can be replaced with two tablespoons of tomato paste).
- Parsley, spices - to taste.
Cooking:
- Soak the legumes in water at room temperature and leave to steep overnight.
- Peel the carrots and finely chop them.
- Chop the onion.
- Lightly sauté the prepared vegetables in oil for several minutes. Next, add the beets, cut into small cubes, and simmer for about five minutes.
- At the end, add diced bell pepper to the frying.
- Simmer for a couple more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- We transfer the vegetable mass into a deep saucepan, throw in the potatoes cut into arbitrary pieces and pour boiling water and vegetable broth in equal proportions.
- Place on the fire, bring to a boil and add finely shredded cabbage. Cook the borscht over low heat for 15 minutes maximum.
- At the very end, add salt and pepper to taste, add herbs.
- Let it brew a little and serve.
Borscht with beans. Let's learn how to cook a lean but very nutritious first course
Vegetarian borscht with beans is a dish that satisfies hunger well and for a long time. Both adults and children love him. In order to prepare it, you need the following ingredients:
- 250 g beets;
- 75 g beans;
- 120 g cabbage;
- 250 g potatoes;
- 50 g parsley root;
- 60 g each of onion and carrot;
- 50 g tomato paste;
- two sprigs of dill and parsley;
- one bay leaf;
- salt, pepper, sugar to taste;
- 15 g table vinegar (3%);
- 30 g margarine.
The preparation of vegetarian borscht from these products follows the following instructions. Place the beans in a saucepan with water and cook until tender. Cut the beets into cubes and boil in another container. Boil water in a third vessel, put cabbage, potatoes, and parsley root in it. When these vegetables are cooked, add ready-made beets (without broth).
Cook the dish over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add boiled beans, bay leaves, vinegar, salt, sugar, and spices to the vegetables. If there is little liquid in the pan, pour in bean or beet broth. Fry onions and carrots in margarine with added flour. When these vegetables become soft, add tomato paste and simmer for another 10 minutes. Pour the dressing into the pan with the borscht, cook for a few minutes and turn off the heat. Let the dish brew for about half an hour and serve, sprinkled with dill and parsley.
Recipe for vegetarian borscht with mushrooms
Many vegetarians cannot imagine their life without mushrooms. There is an interesting recipe for them with the addition of this delicious product. For preparation you will need the following ingredients:
- Potatoes – 3 pieces.
- Cabbage - 1/3 fork.
- Carrot – 1 piece.
- Onion – 1 piece.
- Beets – 1 piece.
- Bulgarian and bitter pepper - 1 piece each.
- Broccoli - several inflorescences.
- Fresh honey mushrooms – a few pieces.
- Tomato paste – 2 tablespoons.
- Herbs, spices and salt - to taste.
Cooking:
- Boil water in a saucepan. After boiling, add pre-prepared and chopped cabbage, potatoes and carrots at the same time. Cook everything for about 15 minutes.
- Wash the mushrooms, peel and finely chop. Add to the pan. Cook for another ten minutes.
- Chop the onion and grate the beets. Fry everything for 10-12 minutes. Add chopped peppers and tomato paste. Mix everything, add ½ cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour the roast into the pan and stir. Throw in pre-prepared broccoli.
- Turn off the gas and leave it under the closed lid. The borscht should sit for at least half an hour for the whole range of flavors to come together. Serve to the table, garnished with greens.
Bean borscht
Vegetarian dietary borscht most often contains a source of vegetable protein – beans. Take 1 cup of dry grains (liquid amount is 12 cups). You will also need vegetables: 2 tomatoes, 2 beets, half a small head of cabbage, 3 potato tubers, as well as onions, bell peppers, carrots and a stalk of celery (1 piece each). Additional ingredients: oil and vinegar (2 tbsp/2 tsp), seasonings and salt, a couple of cloves of garlic and herbs.
Soak the beans in water for 8 hours. Then drain the liquid, add new water, and cook for 20 minutes. Add potato cubes, cook for 10 minutes, add shredded cabbage and salt. Meanwhile, fry chopped vegetables in vegetable oil - onions, celery stalks, carrots and bell peppers. Grate the boiled beets, crush the garlic, peel the tomatoes and turn into puree. Place everything in the pan with the vegetables and simmer for 5-10 minutes. When the vegetables in the pan reach the desired condition, add the frying and cook for 5 minutes.
Vegetarian borscht with green peas
Want bright colors and new flavors in your vegetarian recipe? Prepare borscht with green peas. A long-familiar and familiar dish will sparkle in a new way and give a lot of pleasure. The new component will add unusual notes that you didn’t even know about. For the soup you need to prepare:
- Green peas - ½ jar.
- Cabbage - 1/3 fork.
- Onions – 1 piece.
- Potatoes – 5 pieces.
- Carrot – 1 piece.
- Beets – 2 pieces.
- Tomato paste – 1 – 2 tablespoons (to taste).
- Garlic – a couple of cloves.
- Spices, bay leaf - to taste.
Cooking:
- We clean all the root vegetables, wash them and cut them into arbitrary pieces. Place into a pan of boiling water. If you want the broth to be richer, do not reduce the heat after boiling.
- Fry the onion in vegetable oil in a frying pan for about 10 minutes. Next, we send the grated beets there. We complete the frying by adding tomato paste and garlic pressed through a garlic press. Fry for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the root vegetables are almost ready, chop the cabbage and add it to the broth. Also, after a minute, throw in the finished frying. Stir and cook further.
- At the end of cooking, add green peas, salt and season with vegetarian borscht. In order for the dish to achieve maximum taste, it is advisable to let it brew for at least an hour.
- Serve to the table, garnished with aromatic herbs.
Borscht is a unique dish that almost every person likes. Give up super-calorie recipes with the addition of unhealthy foods and meat, try the option for vegetarians, which will definitely surprise you with its flavor and rich, rich taste.
Vegetarian borscht in a slow cooker
Such a miracle of technology as a multicooker makes life much easier for housewives. Dishes are prepared much faster in it. And borscht in this case is no exception. Let's learn how to cook it in this unit.
Pour 0.5 large spoons of oil into the bowl, add grated beets (1-2 pieces), tomato paste (1 tbsp), lemon juice (1 tsp) and sugar (0.5 tsp. l.). We cook these products for half an hour in the “Stew” mode. Next, pour water (into a multi-cooker glass) and leave until the signal. Then transfer the workpiece to another bowl.
In a bowl, prepare the dressing: butter (1 tbsp), onion (1 pc.), carrots (1 pc.). In the “Frying” mode, keep it for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped potatoes (3-4 pieces) and cabbage (300 grams) here and cook in the same mode for another 5 minutes. Then pour water or vegetable broth, turn on the “Warming” mode, and after a few minutes - “Soup”. Cook the borscht for half an hour, then pour the beetroot dressing into it. Stir the dish, salt and pepper to taste. After the signal, add garlic and herbs. Keep the borscht in the “Heating” mode for 15 minutes.
Recipes for delicious borscht with meat
Traditional Ukrainian borscht
- First, cook the meat (preferably on the bone), for about an hour and a half. Chop the onion, then chop it. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Boil the beets for about half an hour, peel the skin and cut into strips. Boil the tomatoes a little in boiling water, then remove the skin and cut them into cubes. Shred the cabbage into strips, but not too roughly.
- Fry vegetables in vegetable oil. First of all, add beets to the frying pan, then tomatoes (or tomato paste) and vinegar. Fry the onions and carrots in a second frying pan. Simmer it all for 7-10 minutes.
- Peel and cut the potatoes, then place them in the broth. When everything boils, add salt and pepper to your taste. Add the cabbage to the broth and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.
- Place the stewed beets and tomatoes in a saucepan and cook for another 10 minutes. Next, add the second roasted vegetable. The desired spices, especially bay leaves, will give the dish a bright taste. Squeeze or chop the garlic and add it to the soup, thereby completing the cooking process.
- Remove the dish from the stove, cover and let sit for about half an hour.
Ready! Traditionally, you can serve borscht with garlic crumpets.
Green borscht with nettles and sorrel
In fact, this type of borscht differs only in that instead of beets, we add greens to the rich broth of meat and vegetables. It is important to note that it cooks very quickly, so we add it last, when the borscht is almost ready.
- Greens and sorrel must be processed by rinsing everything thoroughly with water. Therefore, while the borscht is cooking, immerse the sorrel leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. When it is soaked, cut it into strips. To prevent you from burning your hands with nettles, you need to scald it with boiling water. Cool it under cold water and start slicing. Remember that only the top four leaves are taken to prepare nettles!
- After processing, put everything into the pan. We also chop dill and parsley, green onions and add to the borscht. We test for salt and spices. Let the dish simmer for a few more minutes and turn off the heat. There is no need to cook for a long time so that the greens do not lose their color.
Green borscht is ready! Before serving, cut the hard-boiled eggs into cubes or divide them in half, placing them on each plate.
Chicken borscht
Many people do not eat fatty meat, so chicken is an ideal option for them !
This meat adequately replaces any other, without compromising on the quality of taste.
For cooking, it is better to take a whole, medium-sized chicken. It must be cut into pieces and boiled. In fact, the preparation of this option is not much different from the main one, but in addition to the main ingredients that we cook (potatoes, carrots, beets), you can also add parsley root with pre-soaked beans. They go great with this meat.
The cooking principle is the same - cook the broth, fry it and then follow the list of items.
Vegetarian borscht
Vegetarians, vegans, and simply fasting people exclude meat from their diet. Fortunately, there are many options for lean borscht!
Vegetarian borscht with prunes and mushrooms
Boil porcini mushrooms in water until tender. Strain the broth into a separate bowl, cool the mushrooms, then cut into small pieces. Cut the peeled beets into strips, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, chop the onion. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, add vegetables there and fry until lightly browned. When they soften, add tomato paste and simmer everything together. Bring the mushroom broth to a boil again and add finely chopped cabbage to it, continuing to cook until tender. Add vegetable dressing, chopped mushrooms, washed and halved prunes, bay leaf, salt and spices to taste. Boil for a few more minutes, turn off the heat and let it brew a little.
Delicious lean borscht is ready!
In the summer heat, when you don’t want anything hot at all, you can treat yourself to delicious cold borscht!
In this variation of borscht, first of all, boil the beets for about half an hour. After cooking, put it on a plate, pass the uzvar through a sieve and put it in a cold place to cool. Next, cook the vegetables (potatoes, carrots) and cut them into small cubes when ready. We also boil the eggs and peel them. Cut the fresh cucumbers into strips and finely chop the onion.
Place all the ingredients on a plate and sprinkle with herbs, such as onions and dill. Add salt and spices. Add a little lemon juice or vinegar to the beetroot soup. Stir the yushka and pour it into a plate. Add halves of a cut boiled egg and a spoonful of sour cream.
Cold borscht is ready! The low-calorie dish will refresh you during the hot season and will definitely be remembered for its unusual taste.
How to cook “Vegan borscht”
Cover the beans with water the night before. Leave it overnight. Then drain the water and place the beans in a saucepan with 2.5 liters of water. Let it cook for 20 minutes over medium heat.
Then add diced potatoes and shredded cabbage to the broth. Also add peppercorns, bay leaf and salt.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry finely chopped onion in it for 5 minutes. Then add grated carrots and chopped celery to it. Fry vegetables, stirring, 4 minutes. After frying, place it in the pan.
Now put finely chopped tomatoes, grated peeled beets and garlic through a press into the frying pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, 6 minutes.
Transfer vegetables from skillet to soup. Cook it for a couple more minutes.
Season the finished borscht with salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs and vegan sour cream to portions. Bon appetit!