Can you eat borscht while pregnant?
SafeYes, borscht is safe during pregnancy, hot Ukrainian style or chilled for summer. The beets and beef are simmered long enough to kill Listeria, and the sour cream on top is pasteurized in any supermarket tub.
Why
Borscht is a long-simmered soup, and simmering is the most reliable food safety step there is: nothing in the beets, cabbage, or beef survives it. It is also a genuinely useful bowl in pregnancy, since beets are a good source of folate and the cabbage and tomato add vitamin C that helps you absorb iron from the meat, which is the pattern the NHS recommends building meals around. The one ingredient worth a glance is the dairy, because unpasteurized milk, cream, and kefir can carry Listeria: the CDC advises pregnant women to avoid raw milk and anything made from it. Ordinary sour cream, crème fraîche, and kefir sold in shops are pasteurized, so a spoonful stirred in is fine. Farm or homemade raw dairy is the only version to leave out.
Safer alternatives
- Jarred or canned borscht heated to a simmer
- Homemade borscht finished with pasteurized sour cream from the chiller
- Chilled borscht made with pasteurized buttermilk or kefir
- Roasted beet and carrot soup with a swirl of Greek yogurt
Sources
- NHS https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/have-a-healthy-diet/
- CDC https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/prevention/index.html
Every verdict follows our sourcing methodology: official health guidelines only, most cautious position when they differ.
Last reviewed by the pregAI editorial team.
Frequently asked questions
Is cold borscht safe during pregnancy?
Yes. Cold barszcz and chłodnik are made from beets that were cooked before chilling, so the soup itself is fine. Just use pasteurized kefir, buttermilk, or sour cream, and wash any raw radish, cucumber, or dill going in on top.
Can I have sour cream in my borscht?
Yes, as long as it is pasteurized, which every supermarket tub is. The Listeria risk sits with raw milk dairy from a farm or market, not with shop-bought sour cream. Keep it in the fridge and use it within the date on the pot.
Is borscht good for you in pregnancy?
It is one of the better bowls you can have. Beets bring folate, the cabbage and tomato bring vitamin C that helps your body take up iron, and a beef version adds the iron itself. It also counts toward your vegetable portions for the day.
Related foods
All other foods verdicts for pregnancy Browse all foods: can I eat this while pregnant?Get instant verdicts on any food
pregAI scans any dish, product or menu and answers in seconds, grounded in the same official sources.
Get instant verdicts on any foodpregAI is informational only and is not medical advice. Always check with your doctor or midwife about anything specific to your pregnancy.