Whenever I think of beets, I canât help but think of The Office’s Dwight Schrute and his epic beet farm.
As well as Jim Halpertâs impersonation of Dwight and his âBears. Beets. Battlestar Galacticaâ line.
Had to reminisce about that for a second đ
Now, let’s get to the beets!
Over the past few months, Iâve had several friends ask me how to roast beets.
To be honest, I had never had much success with it in the past, but I was determined to figure it out.
Beets are one of those foods that, if we havenât tried them before, can be a bit intimidating to prepare.
I hope to take that intimidation factor down a notch today and show you how easy it is to cook beets.
One of my goals when I cook and teach about food is to share how certain foods nourish our body, so I have to share some of the reasons beets are so good for us!
- They contain a nutrient called betaine that fights inflammation (inflamed body = sick, overweight body), improves our heart health, and protects our cells and internal organs.
- Like any deep-colored fruits and veggies, beets have anti-cancer properties, and some research has shown that beetroot extract reduced tumor formation in animal models.
- They help our bodies detoxify (clean out!), helping to purify our blood and our liver, which is crucial to keeping weight off, feeling our best, and staying healthy.
- They’re loaded with vitamin C, fill-you-up fiber, and minerals that are good for our bones, liver, kidneys, and healthy nerve and muscle function.
Now that we know how good for us these little crimson gems are, let’s talk about how to cook and peel them!
How to Roast & Peel Beets
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F.
Step 2: Cut the tops (beet greens) and bottom âtailâ off the beets, so they will sit upright in a pan. Save the beet greens. You can sautee them on the stove just like you would any other greens like kale or Swiss chard (more on how to do that in a future post!).
Step 3: Place the beets in a covered baking dish as shown below. Cover the dish with an oven-proof lid. I used a Corningware dish and a glass lid.
Step 4: Bake for 50-90 minutes, depending on how big the beets are. I used relatively small beets and they took almost an hour. You can check them for doneness by piercing them with a fork â they will be âfork tenderâ when theyâre done.
Step 5: Let them cool.
Step 6: Take a paper towel and rub/pull the skin off of the beets as shown in the pictures below. This minimizes stains on your fingers.
The aftermath of another culinary adventure!
Step 7: Once the beets are peeled, you can do whatever you want with them. They have an “earthy” and slightly sweet flavor. Nothing else really tastes like a beet, so you’ll just have to try it yourself to see how you like it!
I sliced them up and put them on a salad.
You could also eat them by themselves, throw in a few in a smoothie (they will make it VERY red!) or toss them in a vinaigrette. They pair well with balsamic vinaigrette as well as herbs like rosemary.
Here’s a recipe for a beet, pear and almond salad you can try đ
Simple salad of sliced beets, chopped pecans, and field greens