If you’ve been following my Insta Stories this year, you might’ve seen that one of my smaller goals for 2017 is to use reusable produce bags. It’s something I’ve tried in the past but never stuck with, so when I told Eric about the goal he wasn’t sure that I would actually do it. Especially since I’ve had a pretty bad case of new-mama brain lately. “This is going to last a week!” he chuckled. But here I am 6 weeks into 2017 and it’s going great…mainly because proving him wrong is one of my greatest joys in life.
These are the bags I purchased on Amazon. I love that there are various sizes, and so far they’re holding up well! Adriana has also claimed one and likes it when I add a few light groceries into her “grocery bag” while she sits in the cart. Just remind me not to put a clementine in there again; she thinks it’s pretty funny when she bites through the skin.
You may suspect we’re living off of soup these days due to how many soup recipes I’ve shared over the past few months, and you might be right! Soup has been our go-to solution during the hectic postpartum season because I can make a big batch and the leftovers only get better as the days go by.
My aunt recently had us over for lunch, and she made this incredible borscht-inspired soup that I immediately knew I had to try to make at home. I couldn’t believe how few ingredients she used for a soup that blew us all away. Her secret? A jar of marinara sauce forms the soup’s base. My jaw dropped! I recreated the soup at home the very next day, and my jaw dropped again when Adriana ate 3 bowls of it in a row. She was covered in beet stains by the end, but it was worth it because I never thought she’d eat this kind of soup. Heck, I never thought I would enjoy beets in soup either, but it’s our new obsession. So if you’re worried about a beet and cabbage soup being a bit too earthy-tasting, I encourage you to give this one a try. It’s surprisingly sweet, and really satisfying. I’m also convinced the healthy ingredients helped me fight off a cold that was going through our household, too. It’s bursting with Vitamin C, iron, and B vitamins, making it a great immune-booster this time of the year!
Hunky Heartbeet Cabbage Soup
Yield
9 cups (2.1 litres)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
You won’t believe the gorgeous colours in this incredibly healthy, borscht-inspired soup, from the prep stage (gorgeous shades of plum and violet) to the final end result (a bold crimson red). It's the perfect soup to celebrate Valentine's Day (or really, to brighten up any chilly winter day). This soup takes an hour and a half to cook thanks to the raw beets, so be sure to give yourself enough time; the bonus is that you can cover it and walk away as it simmers. To avoid a longer cook time, chopping the beets very small (think pea- or almond-size) is key. A big thank-you to my Aunt Elizabeth for inspiring this soup.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) coconut oil
- 2 cups (280 g) diced red onion (about 1 medium/large)
- 5 cups (540 g) diced red cabbage (about 1/2 medium)
- 4 cups (500 g) peeled and diced raw beets (about 2 large/3 medium)*
- 5 cups (1.25 L) marinara sauce**
- 3 cups (750 mL) water
- Fine sea salt or Herbamare, to taste
- Cashew Sour Cream, for serving (optional)
- Fresh dill, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Add the coconut oil into a large pot. Over medium heat, sauté the onion for about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Add the diced cabbage and beets. Stir again. Continue sautéeing for another few minutes.
- Add all of the marinara sauce and the water. Stir to combine. Simmer the soup, covered, over low to medium heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until the beets are fork-tender. Your cook time may vary depending on how fresh your beets are and how small you chopped them. (If it’s your first time cooking the soup, you may want to check on it a few times and stir to to make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pot.)
- Taste and season with salt to taste. Ladle into a bowl and serve with a spoonful or swirl of Cashew Sour Cream and chopped dill if desired, but it's great all on its own, too.
- This soup will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week. It freezes beautifully, too: Simply cool the soup and place it into a freezer-safe container, leaving an inch of space at the top for expansion. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Tip:
* To prevent staining your hands, wear disposable gloves while peeling and dicing the beets.
** If you can find it, I highly recommend using White Linen Collection Marinara Sauce from Costco in this recipe. I use 1 full bottle, which works out perfectly to about 5 cups. It’s my favourite store-bought marinara sauce (I have no affiliation with them, by the way, just passing along my personal recommendation!). My Fail-Proof Marinara Sauce from Oh She Glows Every Day is also lovely in this soup!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Blessings in a Backpack update:
If you remember, we committed to donating the January revenue from our paid Get Glowing app bundle (for both Android and iOS) to Blessings in a Backpack Canada. I’m thrilled to let you know that we raised enough money to feed 19 children, providing them with a backpack of food to take home every Friday, for an entire school year! A BIG thank-you to everyone who downloaded the bundle of recipes. We couldn’t have done this without you!
Just made this tonight….soooo goood!!!
Will make again and again!
I used Paul Newman’s marinara sauce as I had no time to hit Costco. I have also bought the white linen brand sauce and it is great.
Hey Nadia,
I’m so happy you love it as much as I do! It’s one of my biggest recipe “surprises” to date (I really didn’t think I would like it!)
It makes a big batch for just two of us. But I took it to work for lunch every day and did NOT get tired of it – in fact, I came to CRAVE it every day and was sorry by Friday when it was all gone! Unique flavor. Didn’t do the sour cream option. Just a good bread to go with it. Thank you!
Hey Denise, Oh I’m so happy you love it as much as we do!
Made it, loved it, used the leftovers smothered over noodles with feta cheese and it was just as good! And incase you were thinking you could shave cooking time by brunoise-ing the beets, they’ll still take over an hour. Worth it!
Hey Brenna, I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much. Thanks for your review!
Made this for dinner tonight – it was great!! I didn’t want to attempt to peel and chop rock hard raw beets so I roasted them in the oven before making the soup so the skins would slide off easily (since I discovered this method, I don’t want to deal with beets any other way). Then I followed the soup recipe and added the roasted, chopped beets at the very end. It was delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Tara. And yes, sometimes roasting and peeling beets is the way to go!
I love borscht and really enjoy the flavours of this soup. I added a couple bay leaves and some caraway seeds to give it more of the borscht flavour.
Hey Amy, So happy to hear you enjoyed it. Good call on adding bay and caraway!
I’ve made this soup four times in the past year and it has been my absolute favourite comfort food in the last few months! It’s also great to make in batch and eat over the course of a week and I enjoy topping it off with a little yoghurt and pumpkin seeds. I have even converted my beets hating mother into eating this!
Hey Lia, Whohoo! That’s so great to hear. We adore it too…it’s one of my fave ways to enjoy beets actually!
Love this soup! Made it few times last year. Just one thought- beets don’t need an hour of cooking, really may be 10-15 min because of the small pieces. I am making this soup right now once again! Thanks for the delish recipe.
I just made this in under 30 minutes with my pressure cooker (Instant Pot)….about 30 minutes in total!! Fabulous with dill!
That’s so wonderful to hear that it worked in the instapot!! Thanks for your review Shelagh!
I made this with a 28 oz can of pureed tomatoes in place of the marinara sauce, added in a bit of basil and oregano as part of the onions base to make up for it, and it turned out delicious. Thanks!!
This is delicious! I seriously did not expect it to be this good. Super hearty and satisfying, and the cashew sour cream on top of a bowl adds perfect richness to the soup. I had always wanted to try borscht but thought it looks intimidating. Your take on it is so easy and low maintenance! Will be making this again. Thank you!
hey Monique, I’m so glad it was a hit…I can’t get enough! And so healthy too. :)
Delicious. Made this soup last night and only used fresh tomatoes as no marinara sauce on hand. It turned out so good and will certainly make it again.
Hi Joanne, I’m so glad fresh tomatoes worked too. It’s the perfect time of year for throwing them in soup! I’ll have to try it soon.
I just pulled the beets from my garden and was looking for something to make. I cooked the beets in my instapot to make the peeling easy, and added the beet greens to not waste them- really good.
Fingers crossed that my 3 1/2 year old daughter will like this as well!
I love that you cooked the beets in the IP…great idea! I can’t wait to try that.
This was so good! I had a couple of GIANT beets from a friend’s garden and some red cabbage to get rid of… so this soup came to mind!
I added a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar towards the end of cooking– beet soup (borscht) always was vinegary when my grandma made it so I wanted to have that flavour!
The marinara hack is such genius! I will make this again and again, thanks Angela, you never disappoint!
Hey Allison, I love that you tweaked the soup based on your grandma’s recipe! So glad it was a hit :)
This was yummy but I added in soy sauce and vinegar to add a little bit more depth. And that just hit the spot. I love how this recipe is so easy, superhealthy and so cheap to make! Only set back, you really need to find quality beetroot else the flavour won’t be there.
I love your tweaks Monique :) I’ll definitely have to try that!
LOVED IT!! But holy cow did it take a long time to cook. Instant pot version PULEASE!
haha you read my mind because this soup is on my IP conversion list!! ;)
Is it possible to use canned beets with this and just cook it for less time?
Hey Amy, That’s a great question and I’m sorry I haven’t tried it out before so I’m not sure! I’m not sure how it would impact the texture and flavour…would take some experimentation probably! If you try anything I would love to hear how it goes.
So easy and so delicious!
Thanks so much! :)
I cannot get over this soup. I make it almost monthly (and freeze what I don’t eat-though that has only happened once haha). It has become my new favorite soup, and whenever I’m feeling sick, this is the one thing I can always eat! So, so, so delicious!
After sautéing onions and adding cabbage and beets realized the pot we were using was going to be too small and decided to cook the soup in the instant pot and it worked soooo well! Cooked on high pressure for 10 minutes then let sit for 5 before opening and it worked perfectly ;)
I still come back to this site and find the BEST beet soup whenever I crave it. Thanks for sharing this!