How to Roast Beets ~ The Easy Way!
Roasting beets softens their earthy flavor and brings out a wonderful sweetness. This way of preparing beets is so simple that you'll probably never go back to steaming, pressure cooking, or roasting in foil. All you need is a baking dish with a lid.
What can you do with roasted beets? The sweet-earthy flavor of beets is tempered by pairing them with acidic and pungent foods like orange, lemon, balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, shallots, and red onions. Adding fresh herbs like savory, thyme, and parsley can brighten the flavors even more.
After the beets have cooked and cooled, you can peel off the skins and cut them up for a marinated beet salad such as the Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette. You can also thinly slice them and top with goat cheese, fresh thyme leaves, freshly ground black pepper, and a lemon-olive oil dressing. Puree a whole roasted beet (remove the skins first) with the wet ingredients for a chocolate cake. Have any more ideas for using cooked beets? Please share in the comments section below!
Basic Roasted Beets
Use as many beets as will fit in your baking dish. Once they are cooked you can store them in your refrigerator for up to a week. Try to incorporate this superfood into your diet a few times a month!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Set out your baking dish. I use a ceramic baking dish with a lid.
- Trim off the ends of your beets. Place them into the baking dish.
- Put the lid on. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours. Very small beets will take the shortest amount of cooking time while large beets can take up to 1 ½ hours. Extra large beets can take up to 2 hours. They will be fork tender when done.
- Let them cool and then slip the skins off. That's it! Wasn't that easy?
Use this recipe in our Meal Planner
About the Author
Ali Segersten
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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They are wonderful! I grow my own. When I roast them, I don't cut the roots off and I leave about an inch of the stems on. They don't "bleed" as much. Just make sure to puncture them before roasting.
Don't forget to steam the greens and eat them, too! I drizzle Braggs liquid aminos and tahini on the greens. mmmm!
Great stuff this! Love your page - will get the cook book! Keep up the great work!
I used my roasted beets with quinoa, toasted pecans,feta cheese and basil or mint is good too! I used a lemon vinaigrette dressing I made to put on it.Olive oil, fresh lemon juice, djion mustard, sea salt,pepper and garlic. It's light and healthy! K.T.
I roast them with a tiny bit of olive oil and wrapped up in tin foil. I slice and save for salads and use in smoothies. They give a beautiful color and tons of vitamins.
Vegetable Bean Dip, roasted beets, carrots, onions, garlic, some sweet potato, a turnip, in the blender with chickpeas and pinto beans. add a couple tbsp of almond butter or tahini, some turmeric, cumin, and cayenne.
Hi! I finally roasted my beets and I made a salad with them that I posted on my blog. Thanks for much for the easy roasting recipe. I've shared it with my readers. http://acraftygourmet.blogspot.com/2012/09/cumin-mint-beet-salad.html
Hi Ali & Tom! Thanks for the tips on beets! By they way,I just got a copy of Whole Life Nutrition and I've already read the entire book. I tried the cinnamon rolls this weekend and my entire family loved them. I made 8 quart jars of the laco-fermented veggies too and my 11-mo old love them! I recently discovered that I'm gluten intolerant so you're site and cookbook have been a blessing. I am stocking up and planning to do the elimination diet soon. Thanks so much!
-- Kristy @ Wine Logic
I roast beets exactly this way, and let me say, the fact that the skins slip right off is the biggest advantage! Saves so much time! If you chop/quarter/season, as other commenters suggest, the skin solution doesn't apply. Like you, I have converted many folks with the sweet, earthy result of roasting beets. I particularly love roasting golden beets. One of my favorite ways to use is in a quinoa kale salad. First chop and massage the fresh kale in lemon juice and a bit of sea salt to soften. After allowing the kale to marinate a bit, add to cooked quinoa, chopped roasted golden beets, and a handful of pumpkin seeds or sun flower seeds. Add more lemon juice, salt and a swig of olive oil. Wonderful, hearty grain salad!
My goodness, why I haven't I heard of this easy technique before? Thank you for sharing; you have the best kitchen tips.
No more purple stained fingers for me!
I think I'm going to try and make some red velvet dairy free ice cream and use beets for color. Or possible red velvet brownies. Yum!
I just like eating roasted beets plain too :)
I've tried all of the common methods for cooking beets, and I still have the best luck with steaming them. When they are fork tender, and cooled off, I peel and slice them, then put in a zip-lock bag in a single layer (as flat as possible, anyway), then freeze for future use. When I'm in the mood for beets as a side dish, I take out what I need, and heat them either on my stove top or in the microwave, with a little sauce for flavoring (such as sweet & sour, or teriyaki-ginger-sesame, or whatever will go with the main dish I'm having).
I love your chocolate beet cake recipe in your first book....best cake ever! And so easy to make. If I don't have fresh beets, I used canned.
Thanks for this method. I'll have to give it a try. I LOVE beets! We usually cut them into wedges along with other root vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips) and roast them with olive oil, salt, and rosemary to make root veggie oven fries. Mmmmm!
Is it possible to freeze roasted beets? I love them and am looking for ways to preserve them without pickling.
Thank you! No more wasted foil!
I peel and quarter them, rub them generously in coconut oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and roast on baking sheet at 375° until starting to brown on corners, and able to be pierced with a fork. So delicious! My four children fight over them! :)
I have been roasting beets for a year now, and my favorite way is to cut the beets up into bite sized pieces and line a baking dish with them. Then drizzle over them olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle some sea salt as well. Then bake until the are slightly crispy. These are wonderful on salads instead of croutons!
I roast beets all the time just on a cookie sheet with olive oil. I use them in all sorts of things, but have never heard of using them in cake. Do you use the puree instead of some of the fats in the cake like you would for a fruit puree?
Nice! I have some in the fridge just waiting for this :)
Beets are so delicious! I just steamed some the other day but it didn't come out the way I wanted it to. Next time I am roasting for sure!
This looks great! I just got a whole bunch of beets in my Full Circle CSA. And was thinking how to utilize them. Do you think a dutch oven is ok or does it need to be a baking dish?