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Home » Recipe Index » Quick and Easy

Cold Beet Soup Holodnik - Холодник (Свекольник)

Published: Jun 25, 2012 · Modified: Dec 14, 2024 by Olga · This post may contain affiliate links

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Cold Beet Soup Holodnik-1-2 copyWhen I was a little girl, I visited my grandparents very often in Baranovichy, Belarus. Every spring they would plant a large garden. I would help them sort through the packets of seeds and then drop them into the warm, tilled soil. I was so excited to watch as the little green leaves would sprout through the ground, looking for sunshine.

During the summer, the bountiful garden would feed us many delicious meals. As soon as the beets were big enough to pull, we would make Cold Beet Soup, which we called Holodnik in our family. Holodnik literally translates to "cold soup".

It is the perfect dish to enjoy on a hot summer day. Full of refreshing, garden vegetables, crunchy cucumbers, sweet beets, lemon juice and fresh herbs, this is one of the most authentic meals of my heritage. We always served a bowl of potatoes on the side. It is especially perfect with new potatoes, dug up from the same garden. Garnished with caramelized onions and bacon, this is one of my husband's favorite summer meals. You can also garnish the potatoes with melted butter, minced garlic and fresh dill and chives.

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

6-7 cups water

1-2 beets (1 large or 2 medium beets), roasted

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

4 cucumbers, chopped

6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, How to Hard-Boil Eggs Perfectly

fresh herbs, dill, chives, minced

sour cream, for garnishing

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the beets, cut off the tops, drizzle with a little bit of oil, season with salt and completely cover in aluminum foil. Roast for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the beets. How To Roast Beets-1-5
The beets should be soft. I always check for doneness by piercing a wooden skewer through the beets. If the skewer peirces easily through the beets, they are done. Roasting beets intensifies their flavor and sweetness. It also leaves all the vitamins in the beets, unlike cooking them, since a lot of the nutrients will be lost in the water.

Roasted beets are also very easy to peel. When they are cool enough to handle, the skin easily rubs off using paper towels or your hands. You can also use a paring knife. How To Roast Beets-1-7
Grate the beets on a box grater or cut the beets into very thin julienne slices. Combine the beets in the water with lemon juice. Adding lemon juice not only adds a refreshing note to the soup but will also keep the color of the beets a bring, vivid color.  Bring to a boil. Season with salt. Cool down the soup, refrigerate until completely cold. You can make this ahead of time, or, if you're in a hurry, fill the sink with ice and place the pot of soup right in the ice, which will hurry up the cooling.

To see how to hard boil eggs, click here. When ready to serve, cut the eggs in half or chop the hard boiled eggs. 
Chop the cucumbers also. Seed the cucumbers by scooping out the seeds with a spoon, if the seeds are large. Add the eggs, cucumbers and fresh herbs to the soup. We Russians always garnish this soup with sour cream. You can add a spoonful of sour cream to each bowl or add the sour cream to the whole soup. Serve with a bowl of boiled new potatoes.

Cold Beet Soup Holodnik-1-4 copy

Cold Beet Soup Holodnik - Холодник (Свекольник)

Olga Klyuchits
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course Soups
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6-7 cups water
  • 1-2 beets 1 large or 2 medium beets, roasted
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 4 cucumbers chopped
  • 6 hard-boiled eggs chopped
  • fresh herbs dill, chives, minced
  • sour cream for garnishing

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the beets, cut off the tops, drizzle with a little bit of oil, season with salt and completely cover in aluminum foil. Roast for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the beets.
  • The beets should be soft. I always check for doneness by piercing a wooden skewer through the beets. If the skewer pierces easily through the beets, they are done.
  • Roasted beets are also very easy to peel. When they are cool enough to handle, the skin easily rubs off using paper towels or your hands. You can also use a paring knife.
  • Grate the beets on a box grater or cut the beets into very thin julienne slices.
  • Combine the beets in the water with lemon juice. Adding lemon juice not only adds a refreshing note to the soup but will also keep the color of the beets a bring, vivid color. Bring to a boil. Season with salt to taste.
  • Cool down the soup then refrigerate until completely cold. You can make this ahead of time, or, if you're in a hurry, fill the sink with ice and place the pot of soup right in the ice, which will hurry up the cooling process.
  • Meanwhile, hard boil the eggs. When ready to serve, cut the eggs in half or chop the hard boiled eggs.
  • Chop the cucumbers also. Seed the cucumbers by scooping out the seeds with a spoon, if the seeds are large.
  • Add the eggs, cucumbers and fresh herbs to the soup.
  • We Russians also garnish this soup with sour cream. You can add a spoonful of sour cream to each bowl or add the sour cream to the whole soup.
  • Serve with a bowl of boiled new potatoes.

Notes

(Instead of roasting the beets in the oven, you can cook them in a pot covered with water on the stovetop until they are cooked all the way through, cook them in a pressure cooker, slow cooker or use canned beets.)

 

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Comments

  1. Luba Nagornaya says

    July 03, 2014 at 3:13 pm

    Olga, I love this recipe thank you so much for sharing! I didn't realize you've been to Baranovichi, I was born there and lived there for 8 years before moving to the United States. Small world 🙂

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      July 03, 2014 at 7:40 pm

      Small world, for sure! Yes, I loved Baranovichi. I have so many wonderful memories from there.

      Reply
      • Lucy Winicki says

        March 25, 2025 at 6:47 pm

        I was very happy to find your website today. My parents are from Belarus and many of your recipes are for food that our family cooks and eats. But I have to as, since you were born in Belarus why you use the Russian alphabet describing the food instead of the Belarus alphabet?

        Reply
        • Olga says

          March 26, 2025 at 11:28 am

          Thank you so much for your kind words, Lucy! I’m so happy you found my website and that many of the recipes are familiar to you. To answer your question – I don’t actually know the Belarusian language, we've only spoken and written in Russian in my family. Actually, the Russian and Belarusian alphabets are nearly identical, except for the spelling and the language for many words. Some are similar and others are completely different. I wouldn't even know how to describe it in Belarusian, as I don’t speak or read it. I hope that helps clarify things! Thanks again for reaching out, and I’m thrilled to share these recipes with you!

          Reply
          • Lucy says

            March 26, 2025 at 4:15 pm

            Thank you for your response, Olga. I’m looking forward to trying your recipes. I am very sad to hear that you were not given the opportunity to learn the Belarus language. It is very beautiful and we have some wonderful poets.

            Be well

  2. demelzabunny says

    September 04, 2013 at 7:06 pm

    Yeah, I always made this by boiling the beets w/chopped onions. Roasting them looks like a wonderful idea. And we also add chopped scallions to the individual bowls, along with the chopped cucumbers and hard-boiled eggs. And also chopped fresh dill. Making this yourself is just so easy and is so much better than the stuff you can buy in bottles.

    You know, Russians actually call this "kholodni borsh" - cold borsht! To be eaten, of course during hot weather; hot borsht, made with meat and more vegetables, for cold weather.

    Reply
  3. alina says

    June 12, 2013 at 8:16 pm

    we also add rediska, and lots of green onions, I love it with rediska.

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      June 13, 2013 at 3:06 am

      Radishes sound like a great idea. They are so crisp and refreshing.

      Reply
  4. Tallya says

    May 26, 2013 at 2:46 am

    I love how you roasted beets for this... doing this next time I make holodnik! I always make it with sour cream and buttermilk for the liquid, I love it that way! Sometimes add a bit of water as well, and when in a hurry, I use canned beets and add in the liquid from those as well. Your pics of this are gorgeous!

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      May 28, 2013 at 7:41 am

      It certainly is a convenient way to roast beets. I love it.
      Thanks for the compliment; I really appreciate it.

      Reply
  5. Nina says

    May 25, 2013 at 8:50 pm

    It's such a great idea to roast beets because I use to cook by boiling in the water approximately hour. Thanks, Olga.
    Please add this idea to your tips.

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      May 28, 2013 at 7:45 am

      Glad you liked it, Nina!

      Reply
  6. lana says

    April 27, 2013 at 3:53 pm

    do you add buttermilk? i couldnt find it in the recipe.

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      April 29, 2013 at 7:53 am

      Lana,
      I don't add buttermilk. I like to use sour cream. I add a spoonful to the bowl after I serve it. I don't add it to the soup before serving.

      Reply
  7. Liliya says

    August 22, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    I LOVE holodnik! Its a summer staple. It's funny how we love it with potatoes...done exactly the same way!! The only thing we do differently is add Russian bologna (molochnaya kolbasa) and split the lemon juice with vinegar. And, well I prefer mayo :-/ Looks great 🙂

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      August 23, 2012 at 12:58 am

      We Slavic people sure have similar taste buds! My Mom makes Okroshka with Russian bologna and she also eats Borsch with mayo:).

      Reply
  8. Lena says

    June 25, 2012 at 8:16 pm

    Wow, looks beautiful, almost unreal... I will have to try it!

    Reply
  9. Galina says

    June 25, 2012 at 7:27 pm

    This looks Amazing and very good!!! 🙂

    Reply

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