This Easy Roasted Beets recipe is a slam dunk every time! These beets are excellent in this Farro Salad or go great with a roasted vegetable medley. Roasting these beets in a salt bed makes them sweet, palatable, and addictive by extracting their natural sweetness.
I first learned how to roast beets while working “behind the line” at Lupa in NYC. Now, I absolutely love beets. I make a large batch and then add the roasted beets to all my weekly salads and grain bowls. If you love beets, you have to try this homemade hummus with roasted beets as a topping, plus this pearl couscous loaded with veggies just like this egg fried rice that’s also vegetarian and healthy!
How to Prepare Beets for Roasting?
These beets are so easy to prepare! All you need are three ingredients, and you are good to go! Wash the beets, cover them in a salt bed, roast them, then peel and splash them with red wine vinegar. It’s that easy!
Ingredients for This Easy Roasted Beet Recipe
Here’s what you’ll need to make this roasted beet recipe:
Beets: You can use any color beet for this recipe: red beets, yellow beets, rainbow beets, etc. You should ensure all your beets are roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate. Also, when you peel and slice the beets, I don’t recommend mixing red and yellow beets with the vinegar, for example. The red will bleed into the yellow. So, when making a mixed beet batch, I always store the different colors in separate containers with the vinegar in my fridge. Also note that when you slice the beets, the color will bleed onto whatever cutting board you use.
Water: The water is used to wet the beets so the salt will stick. You don’t need to thoroughly wash the beets; you will take off their skin after roasting.
Kosher Salt: I love using a courser salt for this recipe. The salt sticks to the beets and works as a chemical agent, penetrating the beet and cooking it from the inside out. As a result, the salt will extract water content and bring out the beets’ natural sweetness.
Red Wine Vinegar: The acidity from the vinegar also helps penetrate the cooked beets to bring out their natural sweetness. Trust me, try one beet cut and stored without the vinegar and taste the difference.
Find the full recipe with ingredients and directions below.
How to Roast Beets: Step-by-Step Guide
Preheat the oven to 400-425°F.
Cut off beet greens if you purchased whole beets and save them for another use.
Wash the beets: Rinse them under running water; you need them wet and not scrubbed (you will be peeling off the skin after roasting).
Prep the salt bed: Line a baking sheet with a thin, even layer of kosher salt. Place the still-wet beets on top of the salt bed.
Sprinkle the tops of the beets with more salt.
Roast: Bake for 35-55 minutes. Test doneness with a knife-when you insert a knife into the beets, you should have little to no resistance.
Peel the beets: Let the beets cool slightly, and while they’re still warm, use a paring knife to remove the skins (gloves optional to avoid staining).
Continue to peel all the beets, place them on a clean cutting board, and discard the salt bed and skins.
Cut: Cut the peeled beets in half.
Continue to Cut: Cut the halved beets into quarters and then eighths.
Add Vinegar: Place the cut beets into a large bowl and toss with vinegar.
Enjoy these healthy beets as a side dish, add them to salads, or use them in your meal prep!
Expert Tips for the Best Roasted Beets
Roast Similar-Sized Beets: It’s better to roast beets roughly the same size. That way, the cooking process will take the same amount of time. If you have beets of varying sizes, check them periodically during the roasting process and take out any more petite, fully cooked beets while larger ones are roasted. You want to insert a paring knife into the beet, and when you have little to no resistance, the beet is fully cooked.
Fresh Beets Cooked Faster: Fesh beets cook quicker than store-bought grocery store beets.
Peel Beets While Sill Warm: You don’t have to peel or worry too much about washing them with this method because when the beet is fully cooked and warm, the skin peels right off. This skin comes off much easier when the beets are warm.
Don’t Put Peeled Beets Back Into the Salt Bed: After you peel the beets, make sure you put them on a clean surface or container and not back in the salt bed. Ultimately, you will discard the salt bed and the beet skins after all the beets have been cooked and peeled.
Beets Will Temporarily Stain: When peeling beets, they can temporarily stain both your cutting board and hands. Wearing gloves is an option, and a trick to get stains out of a cutting board is to sprinkle it with fresh salt and rub it over the sink with a half lemon.
Vinegar Will Sweeten the Beets: Soaking the cooked and cut beets in vinegar will help bring out the root vegetable’s natural sweetness. I like to use red wine vinegar, but any vinegar will work! You can use apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar and add a few aromatics like rosemary, thyme, and lemon or orange peels.
FAQs
This recipe uses salt instead of foil to cook the beets. The foil helps steam the beets in the oven, but salt in this recipe penetrates the beets’ natural compounds and helps to cook them from the inside out.
If you steam the beets in foil pouches, I would cover them in oil, salt, and pepper and tightly wrap each beet in foil. Then, place the foil Wrapped beets on a prepared baking sheet and roast them inside the oven to cook for 30-40 minutes. You could put the salt-covered beets and foil-wrapped Roasted Beets recipe in an air fryer instead of an oven for a faster cooking time.
Beets are full of vitamins and antioxidants. They are high in nutrients and low in calories. They are said to improve digestive health, fight inflammation, support brain health, and improve athletic performance.
This depends on how large your beets are and how fresh they are. But typically, they roast in the oven for 20-55 minutes at this temperature. Some people prefer to peel the beets with a vegetable peeler before they roast, but I find this step unnecessary as the skin is so easy to peel off the oven-roasted beets.
Yes, beet greens are edible and are packed with exceptional nutritional information! I love them sautéed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a hint of lemon juice.
What To Serve With This Recipe
These easy roasted beets are excellent as a healthy addition to most meals! Check out my favorite ways below to incorporate them into my weekly meals, dinner, and lunch rotation.
Add to A Salad: These roasted beets can be added to any simple salad to add more substance and flavor.
Make A Mezze Platter: I love making a large platter or spread with these roasted beets and homemade hummus, which is creamy and delicious, along with Tirokafteri (the roasted pepper and feta dip that has a slight bite), and Tzatziki which is cool and refreshing. I even like to adding warm roasted vegetables, roasted peppers, or roasted tomatoes to add more color and diversity.
Top or Mix Into A Grain, Rice, Or Pasta Bowl: These roasted beets are perfect to add color and taste to a hearty bowl of healthy farro, simple steamed rice, or nutty pearl couscous that is so addictive! These bowls come to the next level if you drizzle a flavorful sauce or dressing on top like this tahini dressing, avocado dressing, or dill sauce, which are all deliciously creamy. Or, you can try this Basil Vinaigrette that’s bursting with flavor.
Serve With Protein: These beets pair perfectly with a simple protein like a soft-boiled egg or pan seared salmon or this medium-rare duck breast recipe that’s heavenly and luxurious.
Storage Instructions
The beauty of these roasted beets is that they are a fantastic easy meal prep and are super healthy to have in your fridge to add to any meal or dish! They can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. The flavors marinate and deepen with time.
Refrigerator: You can store it in an airtight container for seven days in your refrigerator.
I don’t recommend freezing these beets; they will change the consistency and become water-logged.
More Easy Vegetable Recipes to Try
- Baby Bok Choy
- Swiss Chard Recipe
- Carrot Chips
- Miso Eggplant
Easy Roasted Beets Recipe
Equipment
- Sheet Tray
- Colander
- Measuring Cup Set
- Paring Knife
Ingredients
- 8 red beets (any color beet will work), greens removed
- 1 cup Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a baking sheet with 3/4 of the cup of salt in one even layer.
- Place the beets in a colander and wash them under running water. Then, place them in a single layer on the salt bed. Sprinkle the remaining salt on top of the wet beets.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 35-55 minutes (the roasting time will depend on your oven and the size of your beets). Cook until the beets are tender, and when you insert a knife into the beets, you have little to no resistance. Also, fresh beets tend to cook quicker than store-bought grocery store beets. You can take the tray out and test small beets for around 35 minutes. If there is still resistance, place the sheet tray back in the oven and continue roasting for another ten minutes.
- Once the beets are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly for 10-15 minutes at room temperature.
- While the beets are still warm, use a paring knife and carefully peel off their skins. Make sure that the peeled beets do not land back into the salt bed! You want to peel the beets and place them on a clean cutting board. Discard the salt bed. The beets hold a large amount of pigment and will slightly stain your cutting board and hands. You can also wear gloves for this process.
- Depending on their size, cut the beets into quarters or eighths. Then, place the chopped beets in an airtight container. Repeat this process with all the beets.
- Add the red wine vinegar to the chopped beets and Toss to coat the beets with the vinegar, or mix with a spoon or shake the container with the lid on over the sink.
- You can keep these beets in your refrigerator for up to a week! The beauty of this recipe is that the flavor develops the more the beets sit in the vinegar as you create pickled beets.
