30 Delicious Beet Recipes You'll Go Crazy For (2024)

FAQs

What is the most delicious way to eat beets? ›

Roast beets until they are tender and juicy, then eat them with some spicy greens and piquant goat cheese. Add some hazelnuts and you're in heaven. In a salad. – Beets make a good complement to other salad staples.

No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible, just seems to disappear during the baking process. The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

My favorite way to cook beets is to roast them, which gives a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does. Another advantage is that they don't bleed as much, especially if they're roasted whole. Incidentally, to get beet stains off your hands, wet them, rub them with coarse salt, then wash with soap.

Steaming: Steaming is a great way to cook beets while retaining their nutritional value. To steam beets, first, scrub them clean and trim off the greens and tail. Place them in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water and steam for 30-40 minutes, or until they are tender.

The roasted beets are wonderful on their own, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, or dressed up more with citrus juice, herbs, or balsamic vinegar. Serve them with any weeknight dinner, or add them to a holiday meal. These oven roasted beets keep well for days in the fridge, so they're great for making ahead.

Did you know that there's a scientific reason that these little earth gems make you feel good? Now you do! Beets are a fantastic source of the chemical betaine anhydrous and the amino acid tryptophan, both of which are shown to improve your mood.

You can even enjoy them raw, either sliced thinly or grated. Choose beets that feel heavy for their size with fresh, unwilted green leafy tops still attached, if possible. Because dietary nitrates are water-soluble, it's best to avoid boiling beets if you'd like to maximize their nitrate content.

Fill the pot with water to cover the beets. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer the beets for about 20-50 minutes depending on the size and desired tenderness.

Place the beets in a large saucepan and cover with water. 2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until fork-tender, 25 to 35 minutes for medium beets or 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets.

Place the beets in a large saucepan and add water to cover and the lemon juice or vinegar. This will help to keep the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Place pot under running cold water and let rinse until beets can be handled.

Can you drink the beet juice after boiling beets? ›

Yes, you can. It's completely safe to drink water that has been used to boil beetroots. Why can't I eat them raw? Actually, beets can be eaten raw, especially when grated or made into a salad.

Just because beets grow big does not mean they can't be good to eat, if mine ever grew that big I'd celebrate! One beet can feed your entire family at that size. Try roasting one of them until you can stick a prong into it easily, then remove it and let it cool.

Trim off beet tops, leaving 1 inch of stem and roots to prevent bleeding of color during cooking. Wash thoroughly. Sort for size. Cover similar-sized beets with boiling water and cook until tender (about 25 to 30 minutes).

Boil 20 to 40 minutes until tender when pierced with a knife. Smaller beets take about 20 minutes, medium beets about 30 minutes and large beets about 40 minutes or more. Allow the beets to cool for a few minutes, then place them under cool water and rub off the skins with your fingers.

Beetroots can taste bitter due to compounds like geosmin and saponins. To reduce bitterness when eating them as a vegetable, choose young beetroots, peel and cook them, combine with other flavors, blanch them, or remove the skin before cooking. 2nd method you can boil beetroot to reduce bitterness before cooking.

Cure your vegetables as you would a piece of meat for a couple of days. This can be achieved by rubbing the vegetable or mushroom with salt at a concentration of 1.75% of the vegetable's weight, wrapping it tightly in plastic or vacuum sealing it, and letting it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Beets retain their flavor even when canned, but fresh beets (cooked or raw) have an even sweeter taste and crisp texture.

Selecting Beets

There are two ways to buy fresh beets: in bunches, with the greens still attached, and in bulk, with the greens already trimmed away. And the ones with the greens attached are always preferable.