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This delicious and refreshing cold soup (also known as Holodnik) is packed with nutritious vegetables, like beets, cucumbers, green onions, and dill. It will be a great lunch meal on a hot Summer day!
If you love soups but don’t want to make them on hot Summer days, you might like this recipe for Cold Beet Soup that’s packed with nutritious vegetables. Because we refrigerate it until fully chilled, it will be a perfect refreshing meal during warm weather!
While it looks like a Russian Borscht Soup, it is quite different. There is no meat or cabbage in this recipe, but only beets, eggs, cucumbers, green onions, and dill.
Why this recipe works
This recipe is quite different from traditional soups. It’s based on a beet “broth” mixed with kefir and packed with eggs, grated beets, crunchy cucumbers, and greens. That provides a good combination of creaminess and crunchy textures.
The most important step here is to fully chill it before serving. I like to refrigerate it overnight, giving enough time to bind all the flavors together.
How to make it
To start, wash and peel the beets. Put them in a large pot and pour 14 cups of water.
Bring it to boil and cook for about 40-50 minutes, or until the beets are cooked through (Photos 1-2).
While it’s cooking, you can boil the eggs (check my recipe for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs).
When done, take the beets out of the liquid and set aside to cool off. Let the liquid cool off for about an hour.
When the liquid is cooled off, add a cup of kefir and stir (Photo 3).
Grate the beets and add them to the pot. Also add diced cucumbers, eggs, green onion, and dill (Photos 4-8).
Season everything with salt and stir.
Cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours or overnight.
Tips for best results
- Use red beets to get a classic red color for this recipe. Also, golden beets have quite a different taste.
- Always refrigerate Holodnik before serving. It doesn’t taste as good when it’s warm.
Frequently asked questions
If you can’t find kefir in your local food store, you can use buttermilk. Although, it won’t taste like an authentic Holodnik.
Yes, I like to peel them with a vegetable peeler before boiling. This way you will make sure to remove any dirt from the skin, so you won’t have it in the soup.
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Cold Beet Soup
Ingredients
- 3 medium red beets or 4 small beets
- 14 cups water
- 1 cup kefir
- 4 small cucumbers finely diced
- 6 large eggs diced
- 3 bunches green onions chopped
- 1 bunch dill chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash and peel the beets. Put them in a large pot and pour 14 cups of water. Bring it to boil and cook for about 40-50 minutes, or until the beets are cooked through.
- While it's cooking, you can boil the eggs (check my recipe for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs).
- When done, take the beets out of the liquid and set aside to cool off. Let the liquid cool off for about an hour.
- When the liquid is cooled off, add a cup of kefir and stir.
- Grate the beets and add them to the pot. Also add diced cucumbers, eggs, green onion, and dill.
- Season everything with salt and stir.
- Cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours or overnight.
Notes
- Use red beets to get a classic red color for this recipe. Also, golden beets have quite a different taste.
- Always refrigerate Holodnik before serving. It doesn’t taste as good when it’s warm.
Nutrition
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