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! For a bright surprise of hot-pink color, blend in some non-dairy yogurt or ricotta.
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.