Roasted Beet Soup with Yogurt and Dill Recipe
This is a creamy soup made from roasted beets, carrots and parsley root, inspired by borscht but without sour rye starter or roux. It has a deep, sweet-earthy flavor, a smooth texture and an intense ruby color, brightened by tangy yogurt and fresh dill. Roasting the vegetables and tempering the yogurt give a restaurant-quality result with simple home cooking.
This is a more modern, lighter take on creamy borscht, popular in Polish bistros and cafés. It combines familiar winter vegetables with a yogurt finish more associated with Mediterranean cuisine.
This cream soup combines the color and aroma of borscht with the silky texture of a puréed soup that takes toppings very well. Thanks to roasting the vegetables, it tastes rich even without cream, and the yogurt with dill shifts it into a lighter, almost spring-like mood.
Why this version works
- Roasting the beets and root vegetables concentrates their flavor instead of diluting it.
- Tempering the yogurt separately minimizes the risk of curdling and lumps.
- Adding the dill at the end preserves its intense, fresh aroma.
- Controlling the thickness after blending lets you adjust the soup to your own preference.
Chef's tips
Roast beets of similar size – if one is clearly larger, cut it in half, otherwise it will stay hard in the center when the smaller ones are already soft., After blending, run a spoon along the bottom of the pot: if you feel lumps or fibers, blend a bit longer until the surface is completely smooth., If the flavor seems bland after adding the yogurt, first add a bit more acid and only then, if needed, salt – it’s easy to oversalt this soup.
How to serve
Serve in deep bowls with a dollop of thick yogurt, dill and crunchy croutons or toasted sunflower seeds., It works great as a first course before roast chicken or a grain casserole, and in a thermos it’s perfect for a winter walk – just skip the decorative yogurt on top in that case.
Watch out for
- Before blending, make sure you’ve removed all foil and paper from the tray.
- Stock that is too thin will give a watery cream – it’s better to add less liquid and thin it after blending if needed.
- With very sour yogurt, add the lemon juice in small amounts, tasting after each addition.
Substitutions
- You can use coconut milk instead of yogurt for a dairy-free version with a different character.
- Any good vegetable stock cube can replace homemade stock if needed – just watch the salt level.
- Instead of parsley root, you can use parsnip; the soup will be slightly sweeter.
Ingredients
- beets - 600 g
- carrot - 1 piece
- parsley root - 1 piece
- onion - 1 piece
- garlic - 2 clove
- vegetable or chicken stock - 1 l
- yogurt thick natural - 200 g
- oil rapeseed - 2 tablespoon
- fresh dill - 3 tablespoon
- lemon juice or apple cider vinegar - 1 tablespoon
- salt
- pepper ground black
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Line a baking tray with baking paper with higher edges to catch the vegetable juices – you’ll need them for the soup after roasting.
- Scrub the beets well, dry them and wrap each one separately in aluminum foil. Place on the tray and roast for 45–60 minutes, until a fork slides into the center without resistance and the beets are clearly soft.
- Meanwhile, peel the carrot, parsley root, onion and garlic. Cut the carrot and parsley root into thick slices, the onion into quarters, and leave the garlic in cloves – their edges can brown slightly.
- Spread the carrot, parsley root, onion and garlic on the lined tray. Drizzle with oil, lightly salt, toss with your hands and spread in a single layer. Put into the oven for the last 25–30 minutes of the beets’ roasting time, until the vegetables soften and lightly brown at the edges.
- Remove the roasted beets, unwrap them and set aside for a few minutes until they are no longer too hot to handle. Peel – the skin should come off like from new potatoes – and cut into smaller pieces; trim off any hard ends.
- Transfer the beets and the remaining vegetables from the tray to a large pot, along with all the juices and browned bits from the paper. Pour in stock so that the vegetables are covered by about 1–2 cm; the liquid should just barely rise above the vegetables.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, until the stock turns a very intense deep pink and the vegetables are completely soft when pierced with a spoon.
- Remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth, moving the blender along the bottom until you no longer feel any lumps. If the soup is like a purée and doesn’t run off the spoon, add a little water or stock.
- Transfer a few tablespoons of the hot soup to a small bowl, add the yogurt and mix thoroughly into a uniform pink mixture. Pour it back into the pot, stir and heat over the lowest heat just until lightly steaming – the surface should not bubble.
- Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice or vinegar until the flavor is pronounced and slightly tangy. Add most of the chopped dill, stir and serve immediately with an extra dollop of yogurt and the remaining dill on top.
Storage
Store the soup in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat over low heat, not allowing it to boil so the yogurt doesn’t curdle. For freezing, set aside a portion without yogurt and dill; after defrosting, add them fresh, as herbs and dairy lose color and freshness.
I usually roast the beets “on the side” when something else is already in the oven, and the next day I blend part of them into this soup in 15 minutes. It’s my go-to dinner after a long autumn walk, when I crave something very warm but not heavy.
