A smooth and creamy vegan beet soup that's equally delicious served hot or chilled. And this 1-pot, 6-ingredient recipe couldn't get much easier!
This healthy beet soup recipe is dairy free, gluten free, oil free, naturally low calorie, vegan and vegetarian, and so simple to make. (Much like my Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup, White Bean and Kale Soup, Vegan Spinach Soup with Ginger Broth and Easy Vegan Gnocchi Soup.)
This recipe was originally published July, 2018. It has been updated for photos and content.
Its got a lovely purplish-red color that makes you want to dive right in. Dollop on some plant-based yogurt or dairy free ricotta for an even prettier--and slightly less beet forward--soup.
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What I love this beet soup
This ultra velvety beet soup (thanks to the Vitamix blender) packs so much amazing flavor and nutrition--with so few ingredients--its one of my all-time favorite things to eat. It's creamy, tangy and just the slightest bit earthy. A good thing for people who think beets taste like dirt. 🙂
A versatile soup that's either warming or cooling depending on how you serve it, it's satisfying as a light dinner or first course. And with its eye-popping color, it's a perfect dish for entertaining.
Beetroot soup (a.k.a. borscht), can be a healthy meal that's high in nutrition and low in calories when you make it vegan. In fact, this recipe is a great option for resetting your plant-based diet or weight loss. (Hey, we all get off track at times.)
Ingredients
- Beets - look for small or medium beets, with firm, deep-colored flesh and stems/greens still attached if possible.
- Shallots
- Celery
- Sherry vinegar - the higher quality, the better; preferably a reserva.
- Fresh dill - this soup just won't be the same without very fresh herbs.
- Low sodium vegetable broth
- Optional: plant-based yogurt or ricotta
Step-by-step instructions
Follow these photos and instructions to help make it great, every time. Please also see the full recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Step 1. Sauté diced shallots and celery in a large pot.
Step 2. Add diced beets, sherry vinegar, broth, water and salt, and simmer until the beets are soft.
Step 3. Ladle the soup into a high speed blender, and add the dill.
Step 4. Blend until smooth and creamy. (For a richer, bright pink soup, add plant-based yogurt or ricotta. See recipe notes for safely blending hot soup.)
Pro tips
- Use fresh dill. It makes all the difference in the final result. You should be able to smell the fresh, grassiness of the herb. Also, don't skimp on the shallots.
- It's not necessary to peel the beets. It's no secret, the downside of cooking with beets is that they stain easily and generally make a mess. To keep things cleaner and quick, scrub your beets thoroughly and chop with the skins on.
- Blend hot soup with caution! For the love of God, please be careful blending hot soup! If you want to avoid a dangerous and extraordinarily messy explosion of purple all over your kitchen, I implore you to read the recipe notes for instructions on how to let steam escape when blending hot ingredients, if you're not already familiar with this.
- Try to find small or medium beets. They're more tender with a nicer flavor. (Unfortunately, the day I cooked and photographed this recipe, I could only find very large beets! Fortunately this recipe is very forgiving, so the soup was still delicious. It just took a bit more time to cook.)
- Simmer until the beets are quite tender. Patience is a virtue--and required here for the best result, as beets take more time to cook than most other vegetables. So even though they get blended at the end, you should still be able to easily cut them with a fork.
- Wear an apron or old/dark colored clothes. Beets can stain, and blending this soup can get a little messy.
Substitutions and variations
This is a very adaptable soup recipe, so it's easy to customize it based on your taste and what you have on hand.
Substitutions
- Beets. You could use pre-cooked or frozen, but don't used pickled jarred beets in this recipe. I haven't tried golden beets in this recipe, so can't recommend them at this time.
- Shallots. Sub about 2 tablespoons of dried shallots, or use yellow onion or leeks.
- Sherry vinegar. You could sub red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, but they're less sweet, so add a teaspoon or so of maple syrup or date paste. A splash of red wine might also work, though I haven't tried it.
- Dill. You could swap dried for the fresh, or use another herb of your choice. I've used mint as a variation, which is lovely, or you might try tarragon, fennel or parsley.
Variations
- Beet soup with potatoes, carrots or apples. For a less 'beet forward' soup, you could swap out half the beets with another root vegetable like potatoes or carrots, or even swap ¼ of the beets with apples.
- Rich and creamy, bright pink beet soup. For a decadent, eye-popping hot pink soup, stir in liberal amounts of yogurt or ricotta until you achieve the desired color. (You can add these ingredients right into the blender, or stir them into individual servings.)
- Beet soup with coconut milk. You can use a can of lite coconut milk by swapping out an equal amount of vegetable broth during. (In other words, if the can of coconut milk is 13 ounces, use 13 ounces less broth.)
- Beet soup with ginger. Add a couple of teaspoons of ginger for a nice hint of spice. This would be especially nice with the carrot or apple variation, above.
FAQs
No! The shallots and sherry vinegar give it a tangy flavor, and the dill adds notes of freshness. It has a very balanced flavor profile that will convert all but the biggest beet haters.
Beets have a number of health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and performance enhancing properties. This colorful, nutritionally dense vegetable improves blood flow and helps keep blood pressure and LDL cholesterol low.
This soup recipe includes the beet greens, too, which are chock full of nutrition themselves. And it skips the animal products, uses low sodium broth, to make it even healthier.
This soup is equally delicious hot or cold, so it's a great recipe to eat all year long. I like to serve it with fresh herbs and dollop of something creamy on top, along with some crusty bread on the side.
This recipe can be served as a light supper, lunch or starter.
Yes, place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to several months.
Store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Stir leftovers before serving if it separates.
Happy, whole food plant-based cooking, y'all!
-Elizabeth xo
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More whole food, plant-based soup & stew recipes
📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Beet Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beets trimmed and scrubbed but unpeeled, 1-inch diced (about 2 bunches of smaller beets or 1 bunch of very large beets. See notes.)
- 4 ribs of celery ½ inch diced, about 2 cups
- 2 large shallots ½ inch diced, about 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup fresh dill sprigs thick stems removed. Reserve some sprigs for garnish, if desired. See notes.
- Pink Himalayan salt, to taste
Optional:
- 2 cups plain, unsweetened plant-based yogurt or 1 cup almond ricotta + 1 cup unsweetened plant milk. See notes.
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of water in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced shallots and celery with a pinch of salt and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add water a little at a time if things begin to stick.
- Add the beets, vinegar, broth, water and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until the beets are fork tender. See notes.
- Ladle half of the soup into a high speed blender. Add the dill, and process until smooth and velvety. Start on low speed, and gradually increase speed to high so that the soup is very smooth. Stop and allow steam to escape every 5-10 seconds if the soup is very hot, so the soup doesn't explode--see notes.
- Empty the blender contents into a large bowl then repeat this step with the second half of the soup. Add the rest of the soup to a bowl, and stir to combine. Note: if you're making chilled soup, let the soup cool first for easier blending.
For hot soup
- If the soup has cooled after blending, wipe out any bits of food in the pot, return the soup to the pot, and heat a few minutes until hot.
For chilled soup
- Transfer to an airtight container, and chill in the refrigerator at least 6 hours or overnight.
To serve
- Dollop some vegan yogurt or almond ricotta on top and garnish with reserved dill sprigs.
For a light, bright pink soup option
- The soup will be delicious as is, but if you prefer a creamier texture and a lovely pop of hot-pink color, add 2 cups of yogurt (or 1 cup almond ricotta + 1 cup plain, unsweetened plant milk) to the soup while it's still in the blender and process for another few seconds.
Notes
- Don't peel the beets unless you really want to. It's not necessary in this recipe, and less messy. Just be sure to scrub them thoroughly and trim off any 'hairs.'
- Small or medium beets are more tender with a nicer flavor. If you can only find large beets, you may need to simmer a little longer for the beets to get tender.
- Fresh dill really makes a big difference in this recipe. You should be able to smell the fresh grassiness of the herb.
- Simmer until the beets are quite tender. Beets take more time to cook than most other vegetables. So even though they get blended at the end, you should still be able to easily cut them with a fork.
- Be very careful blending hot soup! Make sure to leave the blender lid open just a crack--not enough to let the soup escape, but so that some steam can escape. Also, stop the blender frequently, lift the lid off completely, and allow steam to escape. Hot soup can basically explode in the blender (blow the top off from the steam's pressure) and you don't want beet soup all over your kitchen.
- Nutritional information below is shown without the optional non-dairy yogurt or ricotta.
Sandy
This recipe sounds delicious. I really like the fact that one does not need to peel the beets, which is so messy. I'll be making it soon.
Elizabeth Shah
Thanks Sandy! That's right, as long as they're well scrubbed and trimmed, no peeling necessary. I can't guarantee no mess with this recipe, tho. :))))