Kvass substitute

Best substitute

Kefir or buttermilk with sparkling water

2 parts kefir to 1 part sparkling water, used 1:1, plus salt

Best for okroshka

Different taste

For okroshka this is not really a compromise: half of Russia makes the soup with kefir rather than kvass. The soup comes out creamier, whiter and milder, with the fermented sourness intact but none of the malty bread depth. Salt it properly or it tastes like a milkshake.

Other kvass substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Sauerkraut brine or unsweetened beet juice with lemon
Different taste
Use ¼ cup for every litre of soup, in place of beet kvass
This is the swap for beet kvass, the salty sour souring liquid used in borscht rather than the bread drink.
What changes
Sauerkraut brine is cabbagey and sharp where beet kvass is earthy and sweeter, but the souring job is identical and it is already fermented. Beet juice plus a tablespoon of lemon juice per quarter cup gets the colour and earthiness instead.
Best for
borscht, beet soups, sour cabbage dishes, braises
Both are salty as well as sour, so taste the soup before adding salt. Add near the end of cooking; long boiling drives off the bright sourness you are adding it for.
3Non-alcoholic malt drink plus lemon juice
Close match
1 cup malt drink plus 1 tbsp lemon juice, used 1:1
Malta and similar dark malt beverages have almost exactly kvass's toasted grain sweetness, and the lemon juice supplies the sourness they lack.
What changes
The result is closer than any other bought drink, though sweeter and without the yeasty fizz of a fresh ferment.
Best for
drinking cold, cold soups, braising liquid for meat, rye bread doughs
Closest shop-bought answer if a Caribbean, Latin American or Eastern European aisle is available. Taste as you add lemon: brands range from mildly sweet to almost syrupy.
4Homemade bread kvass
Close match
Use the same amount
Toast 200g of dark rye bread until the edges are properly brown, pour over 1.5 litres of boiling water, let it cool to lukewarm, stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar and a quarter teaspoon of instant yeast, cover loosely and leave at room temperature for one to two days.
What changes
Strain and chill. This is actual kvass and nothing else tastes like it.
Best for
drinking, okroshka and botvinya, borscht, any recipe where the kvass flavour is the point
The only route to the real flavour. Toast the bread hard, since the colour and the malty aroma come from that browning rather than from the bread itself. Sweeten to taste after straining.
5Flat dark rye or wheat beer cut with water
Different taste
3 parts beer to 1 part water, used 1:1, plus a pinch of sugar
Correct malt and yeast aroma, wrong bitterness: beer is hopped and kvass is not, so a soup made with it has a faint bitter finish kvass never has.
What changes
A pinch of sugar per cup pulls it back. It is also properly alcoholic where kvass is barely so.
Best for
braises and meat dishes, rye breads, cold soups for adults, borscht
Choose a dark, low-hop, malty beer such as a dunkel or a mild, never an IPA. Let it go flat and stir it well. Not appropriate if you are cooking for children or anyone avoiding alcohol.
6Rye toast infusion with lemon and molasses, no ferment
Different taste
Use the same amount
Pour boiling water over hard-toasted dark rye, steep an hour, strain, then add a teaspoon of molasses and a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup.
What changes
It has the colour, the malt and the acidity, and none of the yeasty fermented depth, so it reads a little flat and one-note next to real kvass.
Best for
same-day cooking, braising liquid, cold soups at a pinch, bread doughs
The honest least-bad option when you need kvass today. Better in a cooked dish than in a glass, where the missing ferment is obvious.

What is Kvass?

Kvass is Kvass, also written kvas or kwas chlebowy, is a barely alcoholic Eastern European drink made by fermenting stale dark rye bread with water, sugar and yeast, giving a sour, faintly sweet, malty liquid that is drunk cold and also used as the base of cold soups.

Cooking tips

Identify which kvass the recipe wants, because the two products barely resemble each other. Bread kvass is a dark, malty, faintly sweet drink and is what a cold soup or a glass on the table means. Beet kvass is a salty, earthy, deep red souring liquid used to sharpen borscht. Substituting one for the other will not work.
Kvass is only around half a percent to one percent alcohol, so swapping in beer is a genuine change rather than a technicality. If you are cooking for children, anyone pregnant or anyone avoiding alcohol, use the kefir, malt drink or rye infusion routes instead.
Salt is essential in okroshka. Kvass is savoury and slightly salty, so if you swap in kefir you must season the soup properly or it tastes like a sweet dairy drink with vegetables in it. Salt, then taste, then add a little more.
If you ferment your own, cover the jar with a cloth or a loose lid at room temperature and refrigerate once it tastes right, usually after one to two days. Do not seal it tightly in glass, because the carbon dioxide has nowhere to go.
Beet kvass is salty as well as sour, so taste your borscht before adding salt when you have used it or a brine substitute. Under-tasting at this stage is how borscht ends up needing to be diluted.
Fermenting and pickling recipes rely on their acid and salt levels for safety, so follow a tested recipe as written rather than adjusting the proportions to taste, and check the National Center for Home Food Preservation for current guidance before preserving anything.

Frequently asked questions

What can I use instead of kvass in okroshka?

Kefir cut with sparkling water, two parts kefir to one part water, plus a good pinch of salt, used in the same quantity as the kvass. This is not a fudge: kefir okroshka is a completely standard version of the soup. It comes out paler, creamier and milder, without the malty bread note, but the cold fermented sourness that makes the dish work is fully there.

Is beet kvass the same as bread kvass?

No. Bread kvass is fermented from toasted rye bread and is dark, malty and lightly sweet, drunk cold or used in cold soups. Beet kvass is fermented from beets and salt and is deep red, earthy, salty and sour, used mainly to sharpen borscht. A recipe that pours kvass into a glass means the bread one; a borscht recipe asking for kvass almost always means the beet one.

Can I just leave the kvass out?

In borscht, no, because it is providing the sourness that stops the soup tasting like sweet beet water. Replace it with sauerkraut brine, a splash of vinegar or lemon juice at the end. In okroshka you also cannot leave it out, since it is the liquid the soup is made of, and kefir thinned with water is the direct replacement.

How long does homemade kvass take?

One to two days at room temperature after you steep the toasted rye in boiling water and add sugar and yeast. It is ready when it tastes pleasantly sour and slightly fizzy rather than sweet. Strain it, chill it, and drink it within about a week, keeping it refrigerated and the container only loosely closed.

Does kvass contain alcohol?

A small amount, typically under one percent, because the fermentation is short and yeast-led. Commercial kvass in many countries is sold as a soft drink for that reason. A homemade batch left to ferment longer will be stronger, and any beer-based substitute is far stronger again, which matters if you are serving children.

Related substitutes

More beverages substitutes

Kvass substitute

Other kvass substitutes

2Sauerkraut brine or unsweetened beet juice with lemon

3Non-alcoholic malt drink plus lemon juice

4Homemade bread kvass

5Flat dark rye or wheat beer cut with water

6Rye toast infusion with lemon and molasses, no ferment