The tastiest beets are always roasted beets. And, if you learn how roast them properly, roasting is the least messy way to cook them too. It’s a win-win!
I really love beets but dealing with them can be a messy, staining business. That’s why I came up with this borscht recipe that uses canned beets. It works amazingly well. And while I do love the canned beets in that soup (you can’t even tell they came from a can!) I don’t like canned beets as much on salads or as a side dish. Fresh beets that have been roasted are truly the best beets you can ever taste.
The dilemma: If I want to have beets on a salad or as a side dish, but I don’t want to use canned beets, and I don’t want a big mess, what do I do?
The No-Mess Way To Cook Beets
The reason beets are so messy is that when you peel them, you expose their inner juicy scarlet flesh and those juices bleed everywhere. I wondered what would happen if I tried cooking beets without peeling them first. I tried roasting them with the skins on and, voilà! Success!
With this method, you skip having to peel the beets, and thus, you don’t have a mess.
Why Roasted Beets Taste Best
Roasting beets really is the tastiest way to cook them because it keeps the flavors inside of them. When you boil beets, some of the flavor from the beets goes out into the water. You end up with a less concentrated flavor.
When you instead roast beets, some of the beets’ liquid evaporates from the beets, but the flavor stays in, and it actually gets more concentrated.
So, we now know that roasting beets with their skin on is the least messy way to cook them and also results in the most delicious beets. Here’s how you do it!
What Temperature To Roast Beets At
I roast beets at 450F. However, mine are wrapped in foil, as you’ll see below. The reason for this is because it’s even less messy. Any red color stays in the foil.
Since I’m using foil to wrap up the beets anyhow, I can use the high heat and not worry about the outsides of the beets burning. If you’re not using foil, you’ll want to decrease the heat to 350F. The beets take quite a while to cook through in the oven and without the foil, they will burn at the high temperature.
Note that if you want to roast beets that are wrapped in foil at a lower temperature, for instance, if you have other food cooking at a lower temperature and you want the beets to cook alongside them, you can absolutely do that. Any temperature over 350F will work, it will just take a bit longer.
How Long To Roast Beets
It really depends on their size. Beets range from the size of a golf ball to as big as a softball. Also, the density of beets can vary, with some being harder, and thus taking longer to cook, than others. But don’t worry about this. I have a trick to get you perfectly cooked beets no matter what their size is.
General Cooking Time Guidelines:
- Small beets (golf ball to smaller than a tennis ball): 30-40 minutes
- Medium beets (tennis ball-sized): 45 minutes
- Large beets (softball-sized): 60-75 minutes
Testing For Doneness
As mentioned, beets come in different sizes and densities. The times given above are therefore just an approximation. The best thing to do is to do is to test if your beets are cooked through by sticking a skewer (metal or wooden) right through the beet (if your beets are individually wrapped in foil, you can put the skewer right through the foil as well). If it goes in and all the way through easily, it’s ready.
When I buy bunches of beets at the grocery store, sometimes beets from the same bunch are differently sized. There is often one really big one and two smaller ones. If that’s the case, you’ll want to test each beet for itself and not assume that just because one beet is done, they all are.
Now, if you test the beets and some are ready while others aren’t, this is perfectly fine. Just take the beet that are done out of the oven and put them onto a plate. Leave them wrapped up in foil. They’ll stay warm for quite awhile while the other beets finish cooking.
Beet Recipes
Once you have your delicious roasted beets, you’ll want to know how to use them. My favorite way is to serve them warm tossed with butter and salt. The butter melts with a bit of beet juices to make a light pink sauce. It’s pretty and it’s so good!
Here are some other amazing recipes that use beets:
- Pickled Beets
- Beet Relish
- Roasted Beet Hummus
- Beet and Kale Salad
- Borscht
- Rainbow Salad with Honey Tahini Dressing
Photo Tutorial: How To Roast Beets
Step #1
Preheat oven to 450ºF.
Rinse the beets well. Don’t use a scrub brush or anything though. You don’t want to rupture the skin because that will expose the staining juices and they’ll start making a mess. Just rinse and rub with your fingers.
Step #2
Don’t worry if some dirt clings to near the stems. You’ll be trimming that all off later. For now, trim the stems off but make sure to leave a good inch or two of stem attached to the beet. Why? Because if you actually cut into the beet root you will again expose that staining flesh. Our goal here is to keep the juices enclosed inside of the skin as much as possible.
Step #3
Line a cake pan with aluminum foil. In case any juices do escape, you don’t want them getting on your pans and making a mess. Avoiding mess is the whole point here, after all. Note that if you are only roasting one or two beets and you want to use less foil, you can wrap the beet itself in foil instead of the whole pan. Then put the wrapped beet or beets into a pan before putting them into the oven.
Step #4
Arrange beets in a single layer in the dish. Don’t pack them too snugly. You want air to circulate around them. An 8×8″, 2 quart baking dish is perfect for 4-5 medium-sized beets.
Step #5
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. This keeps the heat in, stops the beets from burning, and helps the beets cook more evenly and more quickly.
Step #6
The tricky part is timing. Beets really vary in size and, I find, in hardness. Some take longer than others. Use a wooden skewer to test if the beets are done. Put the skewer into a beet. If it slides in easily, it’s ready. Unfortunately, here you are puncturing the skin so some of those messy juices will come out, but it won’t be too bad. Trust me. The beets will take between 45 minutes to an hour to cook.
Step #7
Let the beets rest until they’re cool enough to handle. Then use your fingers to rub the skin and peel it off. Keep the beets in or over the dish as you do it. Your hands are going to get a bit messy here but it’ll be ok.
Note that some beet skins are stubborn and you may have to use a paring knife to remove the skin.
Step #8
Trim off both ends of each beet and transfer beets to a plate.
Other Ways To Cook Beets
I am positive that roasting beets is the best way to cook them. However, life always has room for variety, right? If you’d like to cook them another way, my other favorite is Cooking Beets in the Instant Pot.
Finally, if your beets come with really nice, undamaged greens and stems attached, I have to tell you that those are amazing. Beet greens is one of my favorite vegetables. I often buy beets just to get the greens. If you are lucky enough to get nice greens, please don’t throw them away. Instead, cook the beet greens like this. You will be very happy, I promise. Enjoy! -Christine xo
Podcast Episode On Roasting Beets
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make these beets, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintRoasted Beets Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes – 2 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
The tastiest beets are always roasted beets. And, if you learn how roast them properly, roasting is the least messy way to cook them too. It’s a win-win!
Ingredients
- 5 beets
- aluminum foil
- wooden skewers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF. Line an 8×8″ baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Rinse the beets well rubbing lightly with your fingers. Don’t worry if some dirt clings to near the stems. You’ll be trimming that all off later.
- Arrange beets in a single layer in.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 2 hours. Beets are done when a wooden skewer slides in easily.
- Let the beets rest until cool enough to handle. Use your fingers to rub the skin and peel it off. Note that some beet skins are stubborn and you may have to use a paring knife to remove the skin.
- Trim both ends off of each beet. Transfer beets to a plate.
This post originally appeared in November 2017 and was revised and republished in August 2021.
Jan says
First time i roasted beets. My husband loved them. I will be doing them roasted from now on. Thank you.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Jan! So glad you enjoyed.
Rhonda says
What about firing up a grill with wood have a nice hot fire wrap them in foil put in a small pan filled with a little water. And place on the grill with hot embers? Has anyone tried this? I am trying not to use too much gas from our oven. We’re I am it is kind of pricey for the gas.
How would that work does anyone know??
Myron Pulier says
Easy to pull skin off roasted beets using dry paper towels. Juice rinses off easily without staining hands; however, if you add acid (vinegar or lemon) the color strongly attaches to everything.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for the input, Myron!
Tina Webb says
Love beets. When I cook them I keep taking a slice every time I pass by. Just like candy. When I boil them, I peel with the back of a butter knife but with a scrapping motion, not cutting. And I do it over a paper plate with the beet skewed on a fork.
Also I cook the tops just like chard or kale. The stems seem tough but they soften nicely along with the leaves. Delicious. Be sure to wash well to get all the dirt off. Sometimes shoppers tear off and leave the tops in the bin at the market. My grocer lets me have any loose leaves. Yum.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for sharing, Tina! Yum!
Cheryl says
I like beets, but I’ve neve tried them roasted.
Christine Pittman says
Enjoy, Cheryl!
Rebekah Kalinowski says
Beets are underrated! Really like them in my smoothies.
Christine Pittman says
Nice, Rebekah!
Jennifer Phillips says
Have you ever used them to replace the sugar in things like cookies or other recipes? I am wondering how that tastes
Christine Pittman says
I’m not sure how well it would work in cookies, but I have heard of using beets in chocolate cakes and brownies!
Debbie Yoder says
Love beets, have tried roasting them, looks easy!
Christine Pittman says
Enjoy, Debbie!
Tina Woo says
I’ve roasted beets many times but it never occurred to me to line the pan with foil to avoid a mess later. Brilliant move!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Tina!
Debbie Yoder says
I like beets, we had a garden growing up and my Mom would pickle them!
Christine Pittman says
That’s awesome, Debbie!
Calvin says
I like beets, as with anything roasting them makes it so much more flavorful. Thanks for the recipe.
Christine Pittman says
You’re so welcome, Calvin!
Amanda B. says
My husband loves beets….he’d like this recipe!
Christine Pittman says
Enjoy, Amanda!
Deborah Waddell says
Love this recipe. Very easy.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Deborah!
Carol Clevenger says
These look great. I am finally learning to like beets and this is a great way to do it.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Carol!
NRAINHAM says
Great tip to leave beets intact. Much better than another recipe I found on the internet that called for trimming both tops and bottoms.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, enjoy!
Katherine says
Thank you for this recipe. I had to search for 30 minutes to find a simple, straight-forward easy recipe, and you provided it. Looks delicious and will make tonight!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Katherine!
Jilly says
I make these for my baby. He loves loves loves his “beets beef rice and butternut squash.” After the beets are washed and dried, I coat them in olive oil. This allows me to slide the skin right off (no knife needed ever); then slice and Julianne them. I roast fist sized beets for 1 1/2 hours.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for the tip, Jilly!
Kerstin says
I love this method because it’s something I can easily do early in the day and then chill until I need them. It forces me to use the beets because it shortens the shelf life!
Christine Pittman says
Kerstin, I make these like every week and always have them in my fridge. I’m addicted for sure!
Ginny says
Can you freeze baked beets?
Christine Pittman says
Ginny, Yes. Put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them. Then defrost them in the fridge. They change texture a little bit (softer) but are still delicious.
Dr. Cowan's Garden says
I love beets and I can’t wait to try roasting them and making the Beet Salad. I love your photos showing how to make it too. Thanks!!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome!