Vegane Okroshka (Cold Russian Soup)

Last year, I was a guest at a wedding where I tried vegan okroshka for the very first time. I had heard of the dish before but had never actually tasted it because traditional okroshka isn't vegan. Still, just the idea of it sounded like something I would absolutely love. And I was right. I didn't just have one bowl. I didn't just have two. I ended up eating four bowls that evening and even got to take home an entire bucket of leftovers the next day. At that point, I knew one thing for sure: I had to make it again. And that's exactly why this recipe is now making its way onto the blog.

How this recipe came to be

First of all, it's worth mentioning that this is the version of okroshka I had at that wedding. At the same time, I wanted to keep the recipe as simple and accessible as possible. Traditionally, the soup is often made with kefir or buttermilk, but neither is particularly easy to find in vegan versions. So instead, I recreated the flavor using ingredients that you can now find in almost any supermarket or discount grocery store.

The second point concerns the „original“ recipe itself. Okroshka isn't part of the cuisine I grew up with, so I don't have a family recipe to draw from. During my research (and even more so while testing the recipe in our office kitchen) it became obvious that this soup exists in countless variations. Not only do different countries, cities, and regions prepare it differently, but I imagine every family has its own version.

For example, our photographer Flora knows a very similar Polish soup called Chłodnik, which is made with beetroot and therefore has the most beautiful vibrant color. Her version doesn't include potatoes, although I also came across plenty of Chłodnik recipes that do.

What I'm trying to say is this: this recipe doesn't claim to be the vegan version of the original okroshka. It's simply the version I fell in love with last year. Even among okroshka recipes alone, I found variations, and across Eastern Europe there are many similar cold soups. If you know a version made with different ingredients, I'd absolutely love to hear about it in the comments—I'd like to try them all someday.

What traditionally goes into okroshka?

Okroshka is considered one of Russia's national dishes. It consists of finely diced vegetables, potatoes, fresh herbs, and a tangy, creamy broth. To me, it tastes like the soup version of boiled potatoes with herb quark and cucumber salad – and honestly, how could that not be delicious?

In addition to vegetables and herbs, okroshka is often made with hard-boiled eggs and cooked meat or sausage. Everything is then topped up with kvass (a fermented rye bread drink) or a mixture of kefir, buttermilk, sour cream, and sometimes sparkling mineral water.

And how do we make it vegan?

Our version is filled with potatoes, cucumber, radishes, spring onions, and plenty of fresh herbs. The creamy base is made from unsweetened vegan yogurt, vegan sour cream, and sparkling water, then seasoned with mustard, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and kala namak. This creates a soup that's lightly tangy, wonderfully creamy, and has a subtle egg-like flavor.

As I mentioned earlier, I decided against making homemade vegan buttermilk or using store-bought vegan kefir because I wanted to keep the recipe as straightforward as possible. You could also add vegan sausage if you like, but I absolutely loved this vegetable-only version. If you're interested in another take on vegan okroshka, I highly recommend Ana Romas' recipe from Russian Raclette.