Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Kholodnik
A vivid magenta Belarusian summer soup: cold beets in kefir with cucumber, dill and egg, served with hot boiled potatoes.
Belarusian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 45 min
~337 cal · 16g protein · 61g carbs · 4g fat · 9g fiber · 23g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kholodnik, from the Belarusian for "cold," is the electric-pink chilled beet soup that carries Belarus through its hot summers. Cooked beets are stirred into kefir or buttermilk with crisp cucumber, spring onion and a shower of fresh dill, then chilled until icy.
Unlike okroshka, its meaty cousin, kholodnik is all vegetables and soured dairy, light and refreshing. It is traditionally served with a hot boiled potato on the side and half a hard-boiled egg in the bowl, the warm potato a deliberate contrast to the cold soup.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 medium beets, boiled, peeled and grated
3 cups kefir or buttermilk
1 cucumber, finely diced
3 spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
4 boiled potatoes, to serve
1 tbsp lemon juice or a little vinegar
to taste sour cream, to serve
to taste salt and sugar
Instructions
1
Stir the grated cooked beets into the kefir or buttermilk in a large bowl.
2
Add the diced cucumber, spring onions and dill, and season with salt, a little sugar and lemon juice to balance.
✎ Chef’s note
A little acid and sugar lift the earthy beet; adjust until it tastes bright and tangy.
3
Chill thoroughly, at least an hour, so the soup is properly cold and the flavours meld.
4
Boil the potatoes and keep them hot.
5
Ladle the cold soup into bowls, add half a hard-boiled egg and a spoon of sour cream to each, and serve with a hot potato on the side.
Belarusian summer tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Minsk. Belarus is regularly ranked first in the world for potato consumption per head, at around 160 kilos a year, and more than three hundred potato dishes have been recorded. Past the potato it is rye bread, gathered mushrooms, salo, salted pork fat, and pots baked slowly in the oven.
🗺️
Belarus. Belarusian food is potato country at its purest, draniki pancakes, hearty stews, and dark rye bread. Mushrooms, pork, and dairy anchor a resourceful, cool-climate Eastern European table.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belarus
DranikiCrisp-edged potato pancakes fried golden and served with a generous spoon of sour cream.
Manna KashaSmooth semolina milk porridge, lump-free and lightly sweet, topped with jam or butter.
MachankaA rich pork and sour-cream gravy for dunking soft potato pancakes, a filling Belarusian country dish.
Browse all Belarus recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Belarus meal
KulagaDessert
DranikiDinner
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Kholodnik?
A vivid magenta Belarusian summer soup: cold beets in kefir with cucumber, dill and egg, served with hot boiled potatoes.
Where does Kholodnik come from?
Kholodnik is a Belarusian dish from Minsk, Belarus.
Can Kholodnik be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kholodnik recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kholodnik safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kholodnik take to make?
About 65 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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