27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (2024)

The vibrant colors of sweet, earthy beets make for some of the most absolute show-stopping side dishes imaginable. Whether you're using standard red beets, brilliant golden beets, or pink-and-white striped heirloom Chiogga beets, your dish is bound to be beautiful. Here, we've gathered our best beet recipes, from simple pickled beets to chilled borscht, roasted beet salads to a surprising beet cake. We even have recipes for a beet gnocchi and risotto. Choose your favorite and take care not to stain your hands or countertop!

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Beet Aguachile

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (1)

For this gorgeous beet aguachile (which the chef nicknames "Vampiro" aguachile, for its deep purple-red color and inclusion of black garlic), chef Claudette Zepeda makes a bright, spicy broth out of beet juice. The unique, funky flavor from the black garlic and sweetness from the orange juice help balance the acidity of the lime juice.

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02of 27

Beet and Onion Salad

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (2)

Sweet beets, crisp onion, and great olive oil and vinegar are all you need to make this simple and crowd-pleasing salad from Spanish winemaker Álvaro Palacios.

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03of 27

Beet Gnocchi with Walnut-Sage Butter

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (3)

2012 F&W Best New Chef Jenn Louis found these intense beet gnocchi in northwestern Italy. They're sweet and earthy and so delicious, they barely need a sauce. When the beet greens are fresh enough, Louis adds them to the walnut-sage butter.

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04of 27

Borscht with Buttermilk and Grated Cucumber

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (4)

Packed with fresh summer herbs, this chilled beet soup is bright, earthy, and doesn't require turning on your stove. Grated beets are quickly marinated in a pickle juice brine to mellow their earthiness before they are stirred together with grated cucumber and buttermilk for a crisp, cooling bite.

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05of 27

Beet and Blue Cheese Salad

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (5)

This simple Eastern European–style salad has been one of chef Nicolaus Balla's favorites ever since he lived in Hungary as a teenager. He marinates sweet roasted beets in a red wine vinaigrette to make them more flavorful before tossing them with scallions, herbs, and crumbled blue cheese.

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06of 27

Roasted Beets and Celery Root with Goat Butter

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (6)

Goat butter (sold at specialty-food stores; use regular butter if unavailable) is white, smooth, and creamy. Chef Tyler Brown likes using it in this riff on the classic pairing of roasted beets and goat cheese.

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Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios

A drizzle of pistachio oil on top of this roasted beet salad intensifies the nuttiness.

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Cider-Vinegar Pickled Beets

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (8)

These simple beets are wonderful in salads or by themselves, as a wholesome snack.

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09of 27

Beet and Apple Salad

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (9)

For his salad, chef George Mendes uses fresh horseradish and Gegenbauer cider vinegar, a rare Austrian import. This version calls for jarred horseradish and supermarket apple cider vinegar.

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Beet Risotto

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (10)

Beets give this creamy risotto stunning color and delicate sweetness. We suggest wearing rubber gloves and shredding the beets directly into a stainless steel bowl to avoid staining hands and countertops.

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11of 27

Spinach Salad with Citrus and Roasted Beets

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (11)

Curly leaf spinach has great texture and flavor and holds this mustardy dressing well. For additional color, feel free to use a variety of different colored beets. You can also swap blood oranges for the tangerines.

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12of 27

Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Mint

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (12)

To give this refreshing salad Palestinian flavor, San Fransisco chef and Bi-Rite Market owner Sam Mogannam seasons the dressing with ground sumac, a tangy Middle Eastern spice. While the color of golden beets contrasts nicely with dark red blood orange sections, any beet variety — from standard red ones to the white-and-pink striped Chioggia — will be delicious.

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13of 27

Beet Cake with Bourbon Sauce

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (13)

Chef Michel Nischan's super moist beet cake is layered with a silky, rich whiskey custard and topped with whipped cream for an unexpected, delicious dessert.

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14of 27

Roasted Beet and Avocado Salad

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (14)

A surprise ingredient — a puree of the squat Italian cipollini onion — thickens and sweetens the mustard dressing on this wintry salad of earthy roasted red beets and chunks of silky avocado.

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15of 27

Beets with Chicories, Yogurt, and Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (15)

Roasting beets with the skins intact is a trick chef Nancy Silverton picked up from the restaurant North Abraxas in Tel Aviv, and uses to great effect in this salad. Roasting the beets with the skins on means you get both the bright, colorful flesh and the crinkled papery skin.

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16of 27

Beet and Red Sorrel Salad with Pistachio

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (16)

Sorrel is a leafy green that gives dishes a tart, almost sour flavor. For this salad, chef Paul Liebrandt likes using red ribbon sorrel — a European variety with bright green leaves and intense red veins — because it's so pretty with the beets and because its tang is so nice with the nutty pistachio sauce.

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17of 27

Little Gem Lettuce with Roasted Beets and Feta Dressing

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (17)

"Traditional Moroccan dishes can be quite heavy; I'm always looking for ways to make them lighter and brighter," says cooking school teacher Tara Stevens. She tosses her beet salad with lettuce and tangy feta-yogurt dressing, and adds lots of fresh herbs.

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18of 27

Chilled Beet and Green Apple Bisque

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (18)

Shredding the beets and apples for this deep fuchsia soup cuts down on the cooking time and keeps the sweet-tart flavors fresh.

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19of 27

Roasted Beet, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Warm Honey Salad

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (19)

Warm beets and tart grapefruit come together in this bright winter salad from Alex Roberts, chef of Alma in Minneapolis.

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20of 27

Za'atar-Spiced Beet Dip with Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (20)

Beets have a strong presence in the cuisine of almost every ethnic group in Jerusalem, chef Yotam Ottolenghi explains. They color pickling juices on the Arab table and form the basis for a soup of Jewish, Iraqi, and Kurdish origin. Ottolenghi purees them for this luscious spread.

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Citrus, Beet, and Arugula Salad with Halloumi Croutons

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (21)

Resplendent with mixed citrus and jewel-toned roasted beets, this peppery arugula salad gets elevated to holiday status courtesy of crispy halloumi croutons.

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22of 27

Red Wine-Roasted Beets with Tahini Yogurt

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (22)

Tart sumac, piquant peppercorns, and herbal yet lightly sweet green cardamom combine to season these wine-cooked beets, infusing them with fresh flavor that complements the fruity red wine in the recipe without overpowering it. After roasting, the sweet and tender beets are served atop a whipped, creamy turmeric- and tahini- seasoned yogurt spread and finished with chopped pistachios, lots of herbs, and a dusting of more sumac.

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23of 27

Roasted Beet Salad with Horseradish-Cashew Cream

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (23)

Using a variety of beets, such as red, golden, or Chioggia (sometimes called candystripe), adds stunning color to this vibrant beet salad recipe from London chef Carine Ottou. The beets are cut into wedges and then roasted with garlic and fresh rosemary, which intensifies their earthy sweetness.

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Beet and Horseradish Tartare with Fresh Carrot Sauce

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (24)

Chef Rocco DiSpirito's vegetarian "tartare" of shredded raw beets develops a slightly spicy depth from the horseradish and Dijon, while creamy carrot "egg yolk" brings bright flavor to beets' natural earthy sweetness.

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Roasted Beets and Charred Green Beans

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (25)

Top Chef winner Kristen Kish pairs roasted beets and cast-iron-charred haricots verts with vinegar and hearty herbs (oregano and thyme) to make this salad. It's an homage to the jarred pickled beets and green bean salad she ate as a kid.

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Shaved Beet and Carrot Salad With Citrus-Scallion Dressing

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (26)

This gorgeous, colorful salad takes late-winter produce like thinly shaved beets, carrot ribbons, and rounds of juicy clementine and dresses them up for spring with a citrus-scallion vinaigrette so delicious, recipe creator Leah Koenig says, "I sneak it straight from a spoon."

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27of 27

Beet-Carrot Slaw with Garlicky Labneh

27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (27)

This sweet, tart, and creamy jewel-toned slaw is filled with freshly shredded beets and carrots and tangy labneh. Make fast work of shredding carrots and beets using a food processor fitted with a grating attachment. Use rainbow carrots for more color, or swap out the red beets for Chioggia and their pink-and-white swirls.

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27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the tastiest way to eat beets? ›

You can use cooked beets in salads, to make hummus or to blend into smoothies. They can be diced for slaw, quartered for a grain bowl or mashed to make a dip or spread. Their thick and chewy texture is even great in a galette or quesadilla.

Is it OK to eat beets everyday? ›

Can you eat beets everyday? It's always best to follow a varied diet. Eating a small amount of beetroot every day is unlikely to do any harm, but a high intake could lead to low blood pressure, red or black urine and feces, and digestive problems for anyone with a sensitivity to the nutrients.

Should you peel a beet before using? ›

Most people do peel beets, because the skin is a bit unattractive and can be dirty even after a good scrub. But beet skins are rich in nutrients and perfectly fine to eat too.

What can I do with too many beets? ›

Roast beets, purée them with eggs and flour and make ravioli filled with goat cheese, doused with brown butter. Or make a traditional pasta dough and a ravioli filling of boiled and puréed beets and potatoes, then serve with melted butter and poppy seeds.

Is it better to boil or roast beets? ›

My favorite way to cook beets is to roast them, which gives a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does. Another advantage is that they don't bleed as much, especially if they're roasted whole. Incidentally, to get beet stains off your hands, wet them, rub them with coarse salt, then wash with soap.

Are beets better steamed or roasted? ›

While roasting yields flavorful results, steaming beets makes their skin easier to peel off and makes them tender and more pleasant to eat.

When should you not eat beets? ›

Anyone who has low blood pressure or is currently taking blood pressure medication should speak with a healthcare professional before adding beets or beetroot juice to their diet. Beets contain high levels of oxalates, which can cause kidney stones in people with a high risk of this condition.

Do beets clean the gut? ›

How Beets Cleanse Your Colon. Beets are rich in antioxidants and high in fiber that can help pull toxins into the colon where they can be evacuated. Because fiber isn't digested by your body like other food components, such as fats, proteins or carbohydrates, it feeds friendly gut bacteria.

Is 3 beets a day too much? ›

The oxalates found in beets can increase your uric acid level, meaning that too many beets can lead to gout. To avoid this, stick to no more than a single half-cup serving of beets per day.

Do beets need to be refrigerated? ›

The beets will not spoil if left at cool room temperature for a few days, but they do best when refrigerated for up to 10 days. If they turn soft, discard them.

What is the healthiest way to cook beets? ›

Roast Them

Roasting is an overall healthy cooking method with minimal vitamin loss, particularly vitamin C. Roasted beets are rich and sweet with slight mineral flavors. Remember to avoid long cooking times and high temperatures, as these can reduce nutrients. Try using smaller bulbs if you want to prepare them faster.

Can dogs eat beets? ›

Yes! Beets are safe for your dog to eat in moderation and are a healthy source of vitamin C, fiber, folate, manganese, and potassium. These vitamins and minerals are good for your dog's digestion and immune system as well as a healthy skin and coat. While it's rare, some dogs can be allergic.

How many times a week should you eat beets? ›

Moreover, beets are low in calories with zero cholesterol and a small amount of fat. However, the root is high in sugar and carbohydrates, so while you can consume the greens on top of the root in unlimited quantities, you should only have the root a few times a week. Beets are best from early spring to late fall.

What pairs with beets? ›

Some foods that mix well with beets include goat cheese, arugula, walnuts, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. Other complementary ingredients include orange, dill, horseradish, and sour cream. Beets also pair well with meats such as chicken, fish, and pork.

Are beets anti inflammatory? ›

Luckily, beets have a number of anti-inflammatory benefits, thanks to their high content of betalains. You can maximize getting all this goodness by consuming beets in juice form. Trust us, it's tastier than you think. Studies have shown that beet juice reduces inflammation across your whole body.

How do you make beets taste like meat? ›

Cure your vegetables as you would a piece of meat for a couple of days. This can be achieved by rubbing the vegetable or mushroom with salt at a concentration of 1.75% of the vegetable's weight, wrapping it tightly in plastic or vacuum sealing it, and letting it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Is it better to drink beet juice or eat beets? ›

Both eating beets and drinking beet juice will give you anti-inflammatory betalains and other phytonutrients. If you're looking to enhance athletic performance, drink up. Juicing beets delivers a concentrated dose of nitrates, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. However, you lose the fiber when you juice the beets.

Do fresh beets taste better than canned? ›

Beets retain their flavor even when canned, but fresh beets (cooked or raw) have an even sweeter taste and crisp texture.

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