How To Roast Beets

Once you learn how easy it is to roast beets at home, you’ll never want canned beets again! Fresh oven roasted beets are a delicious and nutritious choice for salads and more.

When I come across beautiful fresh beets at the farmers’ market or produce section of my grocery store, it’s difficult for me to resist them. Especially the golden yellow variety. Once roasted, they’re like little rays of sunshine on your plate! When used with red beets, they create some really beautiful color contrast in salads.

If you tried canned beets when you were young and decided right then and there you were not a fan, I hope you’ll give them another try. When roasted, fresh beets have a sweet, earthy flavor that is so much better than the canned variety.

In addition to being delicious, beets are packed with fiber, antioxidants, and essential vitamins and nutrients like potassium, folate, and Vitamin C. They are seriously a powerhouse of nutrition.

My first experience with beets was in the old-style, restaurant salads back in the ’70s (the olden days). I’m talking iceburg lettuce, lots of thousand island dressing and topped off with a couple of sliced beets. There may have been a shred of carrot and a garbanzo bean, if you were really lucky. And yet, my 12 year old palette was in love.

Times have changed and so have our salads. Fresh roasted beet salads have become a common item on restaurant menus and they’re a far cry from those salads of the past.

Ingredient Notes

• Beets: Fresh beets can be found throughout the year but are most abundant in late summer through fall and into early winter. Unwilted, fresh looking leaves are a good indicator of freshness. I’ve had great luck finding fresh beets in the organic produce section at our local Safeway. But, my favorite place to buy them is one of the many local farmers’ markets we have here in Oregon. See more information below on the different varieties of beets.
• Oil: You’ll need a little extra virgin olive oil.
• Salt: I recommend using a fine grain sea salt.

Beets are a root vegetable composed of the beet greens (the tops) and the beet root (the round bulb at the bottom). Even though it’s the colorful root end that we roast, beet greens can be consumed and they are exceptionally rich in nutrients. The best way to prepare beet greens is to sauté them in olive oil with a little garlic, or braise them in a skillet with a little broth until tender.

Prepping Fresh Beets for Roasting

1. Slice off the beet greens as close as possible to the root.
2. Rinse the beets with cool water to remove any debris or dirt.

It’s a messy deal to peel raw beets and completely unnecessary at this point. Once roasted, the peels will be easy to remove.

How to Roast Beets

1. Trim the ends of the beets and cut them in half or if they are large, quarter them so they will roast more quickly and evenly.
2. Place the beets on a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil on a baking sheet. To prevent the beets from scorching in the hot oven, drizzle them with a little olive oil, then season with a little sea salt.
3. Roast them in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until fork tender. The total time can vary depending on the size of your beets.

1. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and allow the beets to rest.
2. When they’re cool enough to handle, use paper towels to easily remove and discard the peels. If any pieces are difficult to remove, you can get them with a vegetable peeler.

Tips for Roasting Beets

Clean Prep: Beet juice is great at staining both wood cutting boards and your hands. To protect your cutting board, line it with parchment paper before slicing the raw beets. You can wear disposable gloves to protect your hands, if you’d like (but I never do!).

Separate Colors: Be sure to roast red and gold beets in separate foil packets so the colors won’t transfer.

Foil: Regular foil may tear and cause a mess if beet juice leaks out. Instead, use heavy duty foil or wrap them in a double layer of regular foil to be safe.

Peel After Roasting: Roasting beets with the skin on helps them retain moisture and flavor. You can remove the skin easily after roasting by just rubbing them with a paper towel.

Storing Roasted Beets

• Refrigerate: Place the cooled beets in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days.
• Freeze: For longer storage, you can freeze roasted beets for up to 3 months. Slice or chop them, lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and transfer the baking sheet to the freezer. Once the beets are frozen solid, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and they won’t clump and stick together. When ready to use, just thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.

Serving Suggestions

Many restaurants have beet salads on the menu that contain only a small amount of arugula or sometimes no greens at all. They are typically served with crumbled goat cheese, feta cheese, or blue cheese. My Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette or Apple Cider Vinaigrette would dress this salad perfectly. Finish your beet salad with chopped walnuts or my Easy Glazed Nuts for a little additional sweetness.

For me, one of the great joys of life is a fresh roasted beet salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. This is one of my favorite dishes to serve for any holiday. So pretty and festive!

I almost always inlcude roasted beets when I do a salad bar at home (one of my favorite easy dinner ideas!).

They can also be added to grain bowls, will add a nutritious boost to smoothies, and can be thinly sliced and added to sandwiches and wraps. For a simple side dish, serve them warm or cold. Just drizzle them with a little additional olive oil, sprinkle with fresh herbs like thyme or dill, and season with a little salt and pepper, to taste.

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This post was originally published on March 29, 2014. It has been udpatd with new text and images.