How to Roast Beets
Follow these steps for How to Roast Beets, for the perfect, lightly caramelized, tender beet flavor. Serve as a side dish, on a salad, or appetizer platter.
One of our favorite ways to eat late-garden beets is to roast them. In our southern Oregon home, we grew quite a few beets, and our kids learned to eat them like candy!
I have many culinary memories associated with beets. Often, I ate them from a can or pickled in jars with Thanksgiving dinner, or with my family’s Fleischkuekle:). Or try our Prosciutto Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese recipe. Delish!
How to Roast Beets
Today, my favorite (and easiest) way to cook them is whole, in the oven. This recipe is so simple and requires just three ingredients, foil, and some time.
Ingredients for beets roasted in the oven
- Fresh garden beets
- Olive oil
- Salt (we use Diamond Kosher Salt)
Grab a large pice of foil!
Do you have to peel beets before roasting?
No need to peel before or after baking. Scrub the beets with the skin on, as it’s perfectly edible.
How do you roast beets?
The trick to pan-roasted beets is to roast them long and slow. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Scrub, rinse and pat dry the beets. Remove just the very tops and the bottom root. Place on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the beets tightly. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and season with salt. Toss the beets to coat, then tightly fold up the foil so there are no holes.
- Place on a small sheet tray and transfer to the oven. Bake, depending on the size of the beets (obviously, larger beets = more time).
- To test if the beets are done, remove from the foil and pierce with a pairing knife—if the knife glides through easily, they’re done.
The final step is to let them cool and peel the skin off using just your fingers! (No peelers or knifes involved.)
How do you serve roasted beets?
Serve them warm by themselves, chilled on a salad of romaine lettuce, apples, goat cheese, and hazelnuts, or sliced and drizzled with olive oil, minced rosemary, and feta cheese. The possibilities are endless:
- With arugula and other bold greens, including collard greens
- On a Fall Cobb Salad Board
- Optional to add salt and pepper
- With carrots or other root veggies
- Delicious with goat cheese, orange or lemon zest, and balsamic vinegar
- Pairs well with fennel
- Fresh herbs, including dill, basil, chives, mint, parsley, cilantro, tarragon and thyme
- Honey and maple syrup
- Nuts and seeds, including pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and walnuts
- Delish with sauteed shallots
You can also serve them as a component within your meal, or on top of a hearty salad.
Tips and substitutions:
- To check if the beets are done, make sure they can be easily pierced with a fork or knife.
- If boiling, when tender, drain beets in a colander or remove from water with a slotted spoon.
- Store the beets in a container with a lid in the fridge!
- Delicious eaten cold on salads, or reheat for a side dish for dinner. Serve lukewarm on a fall or winter appetizer platter!
These roasted beets are for everyone! If you already love potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and rutabagas, then you’ll love these beets.
The sweetness in a recipe is just … delicious! Enjoy!
Recipes with roasted beets you may want to try:
My favorite Red Cabbage Beet Slaw with Cranberries salad
Bean Tostadas with Strawberry Beet Salsa
Roasted Beet and Yam Salad with Balsamic Glaze and Blood Orange
Brussels Sprouts Salad with Roasted Beets
Get the Recipe:
How to Roast Beets
Ingredients
- 2 large beets, or 4 small
- 1-1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
- Salt to season, about ¾ tsp Diamond Kosher Salt
Equipment
- Large piece of foil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scrub, rinse and pat dry the beets. Remove just the very tops and the bottom root. Place on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the beets tightly. Cover in 1-1 ½ Tbsp of olive oil and season with salt. Toss the beets to coat, then tightly fold up the foil so there are no holes. Place on a small sheet tray and transfer to the oven. Bake for 60-90 minutes depending on the size of the beets (obviously, larger beets = more time). To test if the beets are done, remove from the foil and pierce with a pairing knife—if the knife glides through easily, they’re done.
- The final step is to let them cool and peel the skin off using just your fingers! (No peelers or knifes involved.)
- Serve them warm by themselves, chilled on a salad of romaine lettuce, apples, goat cheese, and hazelnuts, or sliced and drizzled with olive oil, minced rosemary, and feta cheese.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Thanks for the recipe.