The stems and leaves from beets are totally edible and extremely delicious. Learn how to cook beet greens here.
Beets are probably my favorite vegetable. I showed you how I love to cook them the other day (roasted whole and unpeeled so that they’re not messy to prepare, but delicious to eat). What I actually love even more than the beets though, are the beet greens.
Here’s A Video Showing How To Cook These Delicious Beet Greens:
What Are Beet Greens?
Beet greens are the scarlet stems and the green leaves attached to them. They are completely edible and have a flavor like Swiss chard (and many other dark greens) but sweeter. They are also super nutrient-rich, which is always a plus.
Where To Get Beet Greens
If you grow your own beets, you can harvest some of the leaves and stems as the beets are growing underground. When the stems and leaves emerge and the leaves are still small (2 inch long leaves) you can trim them and eat them raw in salads. They’re delicate and soft and work perfectly for this. Try adding them to a salad that contains beets for a double beet-flavored punch. The colors are really pretty too. Once they start to get larger (4+ inches long), you can cut half of them from each plant and then cook them as described below.
When you buy beets from the grocery store or farmer’s market, they usually come in a bunch of 3-5 beets with the stems and leaves attached. If the leaves are bruised and brown or yellow in spots, they are not ideal for eating. If they are nice and green and healthy-looking, they are ideal to cook and eat, no matter their size.
How To Cook Beet Greens
Step #1
Trim the beet greens from the beets. I leave a good inch of stem attached to the beets because that’s best for roasting beets (it stops the beets from bleeding red as much if you don’t actually cut into their flesh, as I explain here).
Step #2
Cut the stems and leaves into 2-inch pieces. Then put the pieces into a colander and rinse them really well. Often there is a lot of sandy, grainy dirt on the stems and leaves and you want to get rid of that.
Step #3
Put about an inch of water into a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Step #4
Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir it in.
Step #5
Add your stems and leaves to the saucepan.
Step #6
Bring it back to a boil over high heat and then stir and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 3-5 minutes until a stem is very soft when pierced with a fork.
Step #7
Drain the beets. Be sure to use a clean colander. You don’t want the dirt from before to end up on your cooked greens.
Note that at this point, you can use the beets in a variety of other recipes.
Step #8
If you’re not using the greens in another recipe but are eating them as is, return the beet greens and stems to the saucepan or a serving dish and add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Stir and taste. Add salt if desired.
Step #9
Serve!
If you love cooking greens, you’ll also love these delicious greens recipes:
- Perfectly Cooked Swiss Chard – so similar to beet greens, but cooked slightly differently
- Southern Turnip Greens – learn how to cook turnip greens so they’re tender but not overcooked
- Classic Collard Greens – cooked in the Instant Pot so that they’re nice and quick
- Sausage and Greens Pasta – greens used in a main course recipe, and not only on their own as a side
Enjoy! – Christine
How to Cook Beet Greens
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
The tops from beets, the stems and the leaves which are together known as beet greens, are sweet and delicious when prepared very simply by simmering them for a short time and then stirring them with butter and salt.
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make these greens, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of beets (3–5 beets) with stems and greens attached
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ Tbsp. unsalted butter
Instructions
- Trim the beet greens from the beets. Leave a good inch of stem attached to the beets because that’s best for roasting beets (it stops the beets from bleeding red as much if you don’t actually cut into their flesh). Set beets aside for another use.
- Cut the stems and leaves into 2 inch pieces. Put the pieces into a colander and rinse them really well. Often there is a lot of sandy, grainy dirt on the stems and leaves and you want to get rid of that.
- Put about an inch of water into a medium sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
- Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir it in.
- Add your stems and leaves to the sauce pan.
- Bring back to a boil over high heat and then stir and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 3-5 minutes until a stem is very soft when pierced with a fork.
- Drain the beet greens. Be sure to use a clean colander. You don’t want the dirt from before to end up on your cooked greens.
- Return the beet greens and stems to the sauce pan or a serving dish and add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Stir and taste. Add salt if desired.
This post originally appeared in December 2017 and was revised and republished in August 2021.
Steve says
Thanks so much for your insight. Now I can do something else with this wonderful vegetable.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Steve. Enjoy!
Terrie says
I was curious why the sodium levels are so high? Is it what we add or do the leaves and beets themselves have high content? Thanks again
Christine Pittman says
There is some sodium naturally, Terrie, but most of what you see in the nutrition information is from the salt added to the cooking water.
Terrie says
The recipes sounds very tasty. I can’t wait to try some. However these are all cooked recipes. Can you put into the juicer with other veggies or need they be cooked? Thank you
Christine Pittman says
We don’t have any juicing recipes on the site, but I’m sure you could find delicious juicing combinations for both beets and beet greens.
Beatrix says
mmm…. so very happy to see this! I somehow thought they might be good for me . I making some right now! Excellent information THANK YOU!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Beatrix!
Richard Spencer says
I cook beet greens as I would asparagus – with butter, fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Slightly under-cooked is best, for some crispness. Delicious!
Christine Pittman says
That sounds wonderful, Richard! Thank you for sharing with us.
Lynne says
Beet greens are also great wrapped in tin foil with lots of butter, salt and pepper.
Sometimes I add mushrooms or bacon and cook on barbeque.
Delicious!
Christine Pittman says
Sounds wonderful, Lynne! Thanks for letting us know!
Annie Johnson says
I’m in the middle of trying out your method for cooking beet greens. I love all your informative comments.
When I click on “Here’s a nice recipe for beet greens sautéed with garlic” there appears in front of your page a pop up to Join NYT Cooking. It doesn’t go away when I click outside it, and there’s no option within the popup to opt out of getting New York Times recipes and a recipe box, which I don’t want.
This may be outside of your control, yet I hope there’s a way that I can find the recipe somehow.
Thanks!
Annie
LN says
I just want you to know that I would love to see more of your site and share it but it is so full of ads going off that I can’t even read one page. just typing this thiscomment was frustrating.
Lemmuel Odjay says
Tried it and it tasted and felt great. Now I can use them for recipes such as yours, instead of throwing them away as I’d done for years. Thank you
Christine Pittman says
That’s wonderful, Lemmuel! Enjoy!
Rebekah Kalinowski says
I’ve never tried beet greens but I do enjoy spinach and collards!
Christine Pittman says
Something new to try then, Rebekah! Enjoy!
Jennifer Phillips says
I have never had this before, will have to check it out
Christine Pittman says
Please do, Jennifer! Enjoy!
Calvin says
Packed with nutrients, nice cooking method.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Calvin!
Angelica says
I’ve always felt bad tossing my beet greens but I haven’t known what to do with them. Going to give this a try with the beets I’m batch cooking this weekend!
Christine Pittman says
Wonderful, Angelica!
Deborah Waddell says
Great recipe.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Deborah!
Sig says
I love beet greens. I dress them as a salad with fresh lemon juice and olive oil. No need to cook them unless they are fibrous and woody.
Christine Pittman says
That sounds nice, Sig!
Jennifer says
I grew up having beet greens a lot. The recipe is similar to what my mother would do. But we would top it with butter, salt and pepper and a drizzle of cider vinegar. Sometimes there was a mix of beet greens with spinach or Swiss chard, always just steamed.
Thanks for sharing your beet recipes
Christine Pittman says
I love the cider vinegar idea, Jennifer. Thanks so much!
Vernita says
I’m gonna try beet greens for the first time, found great recipe on this site, thanks yall. Gonna pickle the beets themselves.
Christine Pittman says
Vernita, I hope you liked them. They truly are one of my favorite things!
Trish says
My favorite beet recipe now is especially good cold in hot weather. Chill an unopened can of beets in the refrigerator. Run the entire contents, including liquid, through a blender. Add orange juice to taste, about a half cup. Warm if desired or serve at room temperature.
Christine Pittman says
That sounds delicious, Trish! I’m going to have to give it a try.
Trish says
We had beet greens often when I was a child. The best still had tiny beets attached, were lightly steamed, and swimming in butter. I have not found the young beets and greens locally, even at farmers’ markets.
Christine Pittman says
No, I can’t find the young ones either. What a treat, and it sounds like a great memory for you as well :-)
Andreya says
I love Beet in sweet dishes. It looks pretty tasty. I’ll try this for sure. Thanks for sharing the post