• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Vikalinka logo

WHOLESOME RECIPES YOU CAN TRUST

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Starter
    • Bread
    • Side dishes
    • Asian recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Drinks
    • Videos
  • Breakfast
    • Eggs
    • Pancakes, Muffins and More
    • Grains
    • Hot breakfast
  • Lunch
    • Salad
    • Soup
    • Sandwiches and more
  • Dinner
    • Chicken
      • Chicken breasts
      • Chicken thighs and drumsticks
      • Whole chicken
    • Beef
    • Pasta
    • Casseroles
    • Slow Cooker and Instant Pot
    • Pork
    • Fish and Seafood
    • Quick and Easy
    • Stew
  • Dessert
    • Cake
    • Pies
    • Cookies
    • Pastry
  • Collections
    • Asian Recipe Collection
    • Russian Recipe Collection
    • Italian Recipe Collection
    • Christmas Recipe Collection
    • Thanksgiving Recipe Collection
    • Easter Recipe Collection
  • About
    • Travel
    • Privacy policy
    • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Collections
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • About
×

Home » Recipes » Lunch » Soup

February 23, 2021

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup (Shchi)

Published February 23, 2021 | Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Jump to Recipe

This restorative beef and cabbage soup aka Russian Shchi will give you the energy you need in the dead of winter! 

For another delicious beef soup take a look at my Beef Barley Soup  or browse through my soup category for a huge variety of soups.  

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup

This beef and cabbage soup combines the healthy and the comforting in one delicious and a very pretty bowl!

Russian Cabbage Soup

Russian Shchi is a close cousin to the Ukrainian borscht and just as iconic in its country of origin. They have a very similar ingredient list apart from the beets. 

As you can guess by the name white cabbage is always the main ingredient. Most recipes will include onion, carrots, potatoes, which are simmered in a beef based stock until tender but still have a bite to them. Some cooks add a touch of tomato paste, so their soups will look more yellow in colour. 

I used savoy cabbage instead of the white cabbage in my version as they are pretty interchangeable. Sometimes fermented cabbage aka sauerkraut is used in the winter. That recipe variation is called Sour Shchi. 

Most people enjoy their shchi with a dollop of sour cream, which they add to an individual bowl. Never to the whole pot. 

Growing up in a soup loving home I always thought soup was the easiest and simplest thing to make in the kitchen. No wonder soups are an absolute staple in Russia. They are always very thick and hearty and packed with vegetables. 

The tradition states that a spoon should be able to stand in your soup pot to determine how successful it is! Joking aside, a proper Russian soup is meant to be thick and nourishing. 

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup

The recipe for this beef and cabbage soup comes from my mother. Just the smell alone takes me back to my childhood.

I’ve been getting a lot of requests to give tips on how to impart more flavour to soup.  It makes sense, no one wants to end up with something watery and bland. I think I can help!!

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup

Recipe Tips

1. Flavourful Broth

In my humble opinion the success of any soup rests in the stock or broth, whatever you want to call it.

My mother always started all her soups by making a rich, meat-based broth in a pressure cooker and I do exactly that. I use my Instant Pot for the stock. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can easily do it on a stove top but it will take triple the time. Pressure cooker is great when you are short on time!

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup

2. Mirepoix, soffritto or zazharka

Another flavour trick that I always use is sauteing carrots and onions in a little bit of butter . Then I add them to the soup at the very end. Italians call it “soffritto“, the French call it “mirepoix” and my mum and many other Russian mums call it “zazharka“.

Feel free to add celery as well but it is not very Russian and I am not a huge fan, so I don’t. If you add your onions and carrots raw to the broth, they will only taste so good. But sauteing them in butter adds a whole lot of flavour.

3. Fresh Herbs 

And lastly, adding fresh herbs like flat leaf parsley and dill once a soup is cooked take it to another level of delicious. The level at which even children eat soup!! 

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup

Broth Based Soup Recipes:

  • Russian Frikadeller Soup (Meatball Soup)
  • Chicken and Dumpling Soup
  • Italian Wedding Soup
  • Summer Sorrel Soup (Green Borscht)

This recipe was originally published in 01/2018. Updated and republished in 02/2021. 

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup

Restorative Beef and Cabbage Soup (Shchi)

Julia Frey of Vikalinka
Traditional Russian beef and cabbage soup known as Shchi.
5 from 9 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Course Main
Cuisine Russian
Servings 8
Calories 219 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the broth

  • 1 onion cut in half
  • 1 carrot cut in 3-4 pieces
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3-4 whole peppercorns
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 litres/8 cups water
  • 1 lb stewing beef

For the beef and cabbage soup

  • 2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
  • ⅓ (2 cups) small savoy or white cabbage sliced/ approximately 2 cups
  • 2 carrots shredded
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp of each chopped parsley and dill
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • sour cream for serving

Instructions
 

  • If using a pressure cooker, combine all the ingredients for the broth and cook for 30 minutes in manual mode. Increase the time to 1 ½ hours if using a stove top method.
  • At the end of the cooking time remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the broth through a fine sieve for a clear broth. Discard the vegetables and spices.
  • In a soup pot combine the broth, beef and potatoes and bring to a boil.
  • Meanwhile saute the shredded carrots and onions with butter over low heat until tender and the onions translucent, approximately for 10 minutes.
  • After the soup boils, add the cabbage and the sauteed carrots and onions, cook for 5 minutes longer and turn it off. (It's very important not to overcook the vegetables!)
  • Add chopped fresh parsley and dill and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.

Nutrition

Calories: 219kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 11gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 371mgPotassium: 540mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3888IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg
Keyword cabbage soup, shchi
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Soup

  • Potato and Sausage Chowder
  • Pelmeni Dumpling Soup
  • Lentil and Bacon Soup
  • Chicken Meatball Soup with Tortellini
911 shares
  • 1

About Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.
read more..

Related Posts

  • potato and sausage chowder in a soup bow with a spoon in it

    Potato and Sausage Chowder

  • bottle of eggnog with two glasses

    Homemade Eggnog

  • Top down of the overnight breakfast casserole with a spoon

    Overnight Breakfast Casserole with Sausage, Chorizo and Eggs

Primary Sidebar

Julia from Vikalinka

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.

More about me →


  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Popular

  • Best Beef Stroganoff (VIDEO)
  • Best Chicken Marsala (Classic Recipe Made Easy)
  • Chicken with Garlic Mushroom Sauce (VIDEO)
  • Pasta Cream Sauce (VIDEO)

Footer

As Featured On…

as featured on

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Vikalinka