One of my favorite root veggies is the sweet, earthy, colorful beet. I use them in a variety of recipes, from salads to sides to vegetarian entrees. For many years I boiled them, which drains out a lot of the flavor. Then one day, a friend served me her favorite beet salad. The beets were rich and firm, bursting with juicy flavor. “I roast them,” she explained. Brilliant! I’ve been roasting beets ever since.
This is one of the first “how to” recipes that I posted on the blog back in 2010. Throughout the years this tutorial has helped countless people learn how to prepare beets in their own ovens.
Naturally I have refined the process as years go by. I have refreshed this post with new photos, tips and tricks I have learned, as well as a video to show you the steps in action.
I also thought it would be helpful to link to some of my favorite roasted beet recipes. Here are a few delicious ideas:
Beet Tartare with Goat Cheese & Candied Nuts | Tori Avey
Richard Simmons Beet Bowl Salad | Tori Avey
Roasted Beet Salad with Blue Cheese | Recipe Girl
Middle Eastern Roasted Beet & Red Onion Salad | Tori Avey
Green Bean Beet & Pistachio Salad | Tori Avey
Orange & Beet Salad | Simply Recipes
Roasted Beets with Tahini & Pine Nuts | Tori Avey
In addition to being tasty, beets are very nutritious. They contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, birth defects and colon cancer. They are rich in folate, potassium, and fiber too.
In this post I will walk you through how to roast beets with a step-by-step video and photo tutorial. My friend taught me to roast them in the oven, wrapping each beet individually in foil. Over time I have simplified her process by placing the beets in a covered baking dish. I am working to remove aluminum foil from the majority of my recipes, and I learned that a heavy covered casserole or Dutch oven brushed with olive oil works just as well for this type of roasting.
Same tasty results, less hassle and waste. Let me know if you have a chance to try it!
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How to Roast Beets
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beets, any color - you can roast more or less as needed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. If using a covered oven-safe casserole dish or Dutch oven, brush the inner surface of the dish liberally with olive oil. If using a 9x13 baking dish, brush it liberally with olive oil.
- As the oven is heating up, use kitchen shears to trim leaves and upper stems of the beets, leaving about 2 inches of the stems intact at the top of each beet. Do not trim the tails of the beets; if you do, you’ll lose precious juicy flavor that will drizzle out of the trimmed tails during roasting.
- Scrub the beets clean. You want to get the dirt off of them, but you don't want to scrub the skin off-- it will help to hold the juices in while the beets roast.
- Place the beets in the a single layer in the bottom of casserole or baking dish. Cover with lid. If using a 9x13 baking dish, you will need to cover it with foil. I am transitioning out of using foil in my cooking, so I prefer the covered dish.
- Place the covered dish in preheated oven. Roast the beets in the oven for 45 minutes to 2 hours (very large beets may take even longer).
- Use a pair of tongs to flip the beets every 30 minutes to make sure they roast evenly on all sides. Roasting time will depend on the size of your beets; small young beets are more tender and take less time to roast, while larger beets take longer.
- Start checking your beets for doneness at 45 minutes by piercing the largest beet in the bunch with a wooden skewer. If the skewer easily and smoothly glides through the center of the beet, they’re ready. If not, roast another 10 minutes and test again. Continue to test until they are tender.
- After cooking, uncover the beets and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes until you can easily handle them. Cut off the beet stems and tails.Peel the skin from the beets while they are still warm. There are many different ways to peel, all of them are messy. Beets have a lot of pigment, which tends to stain everything it comes into contact with, including your hands. You might want to wear an apron when peeling your beets, to protect your clothes from stray beet juice droplets.
- Some cooks recommend scrubbing the beets gently with a kitchen towel (that they don't mind staining) to remove the skin. Others use plastic gloves to protect the hands. I prefer simply removing the skin with my bare fingers under cold running water; the skin slides off easily this way, and the red beet juice comes off of my hands with a few soap-and-water washes. For stubborn skin stains, apply lemon juice.
- By the end of this process, you will have some beautifully roasted beets! And once they're roasted, there are endless ways to prepare and enjoy them. Search my blog for "beets" and you'll find many tasty recipes for this beautiful ruby-colored roasted root vegetable!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Patty says
I bought pre cut peeled raw beats. Any tips on how to roast them?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Patty, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. You can roast them using the same method described here, though I would check them for doneness after about 30 minutes and go from there.
Gretta says
Worthless recipe. Nowhere does it say what degrees to roast at.
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Gretta, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. The first line of the recipe instructions states ” Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.” It is beneath the list of ingredients and before the first photo of the recipe method.
Lissa says
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Servings: Varies
Kosher Key: Pareve
Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with foil.
See the full post:https://toriavey.com/how-to/how-to-roast-beets/#y5l3VTdR56RjCDOy.99
J Ray says
How rude! Did you read the recipe?
Allie says
You’re so rude. Why don’t you ask your question politely next time? It costs nothing to be a decent human being.
Paul says
My hat is off to Ashley who maintained her politeness and simply provided the information. Good on ya girl.
Rick Lehtinen says
Found a lovely beet crawling up out of the garden, hanging on by its roots. I needed the space (and a nice lunch), so I plucked it, nipped off the tops as you described, and fired up the camp stove we keep on the patio to reduce the need to run the air conditioner (we live in sunny Arizona). Chopped up the tops and a small bunch of chard and sauteed those while I cooked the beet in foil (as you describe) in a small pot with a tight lid. When it poked, I slipped the under running water as Kristie says, and lunch was served. Next time I might try a little oil on the beet first so it does not stick to the foil near where it sat in the pot. Thanks for the ideas!
Cori says
You can cook the tops? Interesting.. we added beets to our garden this year with the plan of pickling them. How do you prepare the tops? As a salad green or do you cook them?
That you,
Cori
Amanda says
Hi cori, yes you can use the tops!!! We make beet leaf rolls out of them if they are big enough and healthy so nonholes in them. They are basically like a cabbage roll but only use rice and dill and of course are smaller. You can make beetnicks which is tiny fresh bread rolls wrapped in a leaf. If you just want to use the leafs you can just boil them up or sautée like you would spinach or Swiss chard or you can eat in a salad but I prefer them cooked. Very flavourful. You could even eat them instead of tossing them or cutting the tops off when roasted. It’s similar to Swiss chard. Can’t tell the difference.
Joy Jones says
Yes, my Grandma loved Cooke beer greens!
Joy Jones says
Should read. ” cooked beet greens” lol
Kirstie says
I use this trick for skinning the beats, and it works great for me. Put each of your hands into a plastic bag (the thin ones from rolls of bags in the produce section). Then squish off the skins under running water. You have good traction with the thin plastic bags, and no mess on your hands. Sploop out the peeled beet, and fold the bag around the mess. Then toss to the chickens!
Kirstie
Debbie says
thanks for the tip….I am about to roast some beets this morning
Shari says
I liked this idea, so I tried using my silicone oven mitts. It worked great, and did not burn my hands! I added raspberry balsamic, a little goat cheese, and some toasted walnuts. Delicious!
Holly says
I love Shari’s idea of the goat cheese, walnuts, and balsamic, thanks!
Fania says
One quick question please (from a first-time beets cook): Can I use an oven-safe dutch-oven pot with lid instead of tin foil? Many thanks.
fkc.
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Fania, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. We haven’t tested it this way, but it will probably work as long as the lid is tight. Let us know how it turns out!
Leah says
Nice and easy recipe and they taste wonderful! Thank you!
Aaron Roland says
I prefer to scrub the beets well before cooking, roast uncovered (takes longer) until they begin to get wrinkled…… Love those crunch tails!
Aaron Roland says
And I leave the skin on. Eat it just like that. This works best with small pretty beets.
Ailsa says
Thanks for that. So the secret is leaving them uncovered and in for longer. About an hour for baby beets?
Linda says
Awesome recipe!! Thanks for sharing!!
Linda – Fort Myers FL
James 2 says
Haven’t tried this recipe yet but have a question about doneness. The recipe says to check the larger beets for doneness. What about the smaller beets, if the skewer passes through them, do you remove them from the oven and leave the larger ones to roast longer?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! If you happen to notice that some of the beets are done more quickly, feel free to take them out of the oven and let the others continue to roast.
Anonymous says
Perfect! Just perfect.
ken says
I tried this with several varieties of beets and turned out really good. I did them in a 400 degree oven foe about 45 or 50 minutes. I let them cool for 20 minutes. My tip is I used a teaspoon to peel them peeling from the top towards the root. Once I had all the beet peeled down towards the root I just cut the root and peel off in one cut. Absolutely no waste and the beet stays in tack. I stored them in a bowl to use later. I tried one and they are delicious. Great recipe and so versatile once cooked. Thank you hope this helps in peeling them.
Julie says
Thats an excellent idea!
trpowdrill says
The only beets I have eaten were the canned bbets served at elementry school. I hated them, and have never had them…I am 54 years old. However, I heard a very long time and good friend of mine talk about roasted beets and how much she loved them. Yesterday I bought 5 small beets and this is the recipe I am going to try. Wish me luck.
LuMarq says
Thanks, Simply thank you. you just made it easier for me.
Ashley says
These turned out perfect! I got about 6 lbs of large beets from the Farmer’s Market and was happy I found a way to cook them without boiling them. And peeled with ease. Thanks!
Wayne & Mona says
All you people sound beet crazy. So are we! two years in a row I canned 100 pounds of beets for my wife Mona. Cut back this year and only did sixty pounds. Some plain and some pickled. Our neighbour grows so many beets and always bring us lots and those are the ones we roast. Going to try your method, sounds good. I also come across a recipe for pickled beets and they said to put in dill weed which I love. Will let you know how that turns out.
We have our beets in the oven right now. Will let you know, betcha it will good.
Thanks
Wayne & Mona (two Old beet-niks)
Nakusp, B.C.
Tina says
Perfect recipe for roasting! When they are done,slice and layer in a roasting pan/cookie sheet then sprinkle with a generous amount of crumbled goat cheese and crumbled pistachio nuts. Broil just long enough to melt cheese. It’s amazing !
Gigi says
since I have goat cheese I’m going to try this. Thanks.
Lynn says
Thank you, sounds delish!
Jenny says
By far the easiest way to cook beets I have ever had. I literally had no mess or staining of my hands. Can’t wait to try my refrig beet pickles!
James says
A tsp or two of balsamic vinegar in with the beets, helps to caramelize …. well, I like it anyway, hehe!
Not Evelyn says
I find it easier to put a few large beets in a loaf pan and cover that with foil.
Elisa says
Most important part is the beet of course but SAVE THE GREENS! Set aside and while your beets are baking, wash the greens well, then sauté them in butter with salt and pepper.
If you have some sour cream and horseradish on hand you can make a really nice “sauce”: 2/3 cup sour cream and 2 to 3 T minced horseradish… and lemon zest if you have… then when the beets are done, place on a plate of the wilted greens and top with the cream mixture… sprinkle some chives (and salt / pepper to taste). YUM.
Jeanne says
Damn that sounds tasty!!!
Jo says
Oh wow that’s an awesome idea! Will definitely try that
Cynthia Jones says
Oh my God!!! That’s sounds sooo. Goood….got to try it..
Becky Lombard says
I’m making that right now!Sounds awesome!