How To Roast Beets

Learn how easy it is to roast beets in the oven. The flavor of the beets becomes more concentrated and sweeter as they roast.

Beets are beautiful and unique vegetables. They have a really great firm texture and taste sweet and earthy. As a Belarusian, beets were used quite often in our family. In the Slavic countries, beets were one of the hardy vegetables that could be grown in the short summers and then stored really well for those long winters.

Beets can be eaten raw, and they taste phenomenal, not only sweet and juicy, but so crunchy too. However, most recipes require the beets to be cooked. You can boil them in some water until they are tender, or cook them in the Instant Pot, of course, but nothing beats the roasting method, in my opinion. As the beets roast in the dry heat of the oven, the sugars caramelize and the flavor of the beets becomes so much more intense and rich.

Once the beets are roasted, they can be used in so many delicious recipes. Borsch is so hearty and satisfying during the cold months and Cold Beet Soup is refreshing in the summer. We also love beets in salads, such as a Kale Salad With Roasted Beets or, my personal favorite, Russian Beet Salad, Vinegret.

Ingredients

  • beets The most common beets in the grocery stores are red beets, but you can sometimes find golden beets too. You can use both interchangeably.
  • oil (I use olive oil or avocado oil)
  • salt
  • Parchment paper
    • You will also need parchment bags. I like these parchment bags by Paper Chef because they are so convenient and easy to use. (Not sponsored or affiliated with this company in any way, just sharing what I like to use.)
    • You can also use regular parchment paper, place the beets inside, fold it up like an envelope and staple shut.
    • Aluminum foil is another option. Just wrap the beets in foil. If you use regular foil, use a double layer. If you use heavy duty foil, one layer will be enough.

How To Roast Beets

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. First, scrub the beets and cut off the tops and the roots.
    • Save the beet greens to use in other recipes. I add beet greens to Borsch and they really add great flavor to the soup.
    • Beets will stain your hands, especially if you handle them for a longer time. Use gloves to keep your hands from turning bright pink for a few days.
  3. Then, drizzle the beets with oil and sprinkle with salt on all sides.
  4. Place the beets in parchment bags and staple closed.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes to an hour.
    • The roasting time will vary a lot, depending on the size of the beets. Smaller beets will be cooked through in about 30 minutes, while larger beets will take a full hour, sometimes even longer.
    • An easy way to check if beets are done is to use a paring knife or a long wooden skewer. Pierce the beets right through the parchment bag and when it easily goes through the beet and you can feel that they are tender, the beets are done.
  6. Peel, serve and store. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them and use in recipes or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
How to roast beets in the oven tutorial

How to Peel Beets 

Peeling beets is really easy. This is why you don’t have to peel them before roasting.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel and just peel off the skin. The paper towel grips the skin and it slides right off.

How To Peel Roasted Beets using a paper towel.

Serve Beets

One of my favorite ways to enjoy beets is to simply drizzle them with olive oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. SO delicious!

You can also grate the beets on a box grater or pulse in a food processor and mix with mayo, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic powder (or freshly minced garlic, if you like a more intense garlic flavor.)

Roasted beets with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley.

Beet Recipes

Roasted beets that were cooked in the oven.
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How To Roast Beets

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This is such an easy recipe of how to roast beets in the oven. The flavor of the beets becomes more concentrated and sweeter as they roast.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 30-60 min
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Category: Miscellaneous

Ingredients

  • Beets
  • oil (avocado oil or olive oil)
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the beets and cut off the tops and the roots.
  2. Drizzle the beets with oil and sprinkle with salt, so the beets are covered in oil  and salt on all sides. Place the beets into parchment bags and staple shut. 
  3. Place the beets on a roasting sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30-60 minutes. The beets are done when they can easily be pierced with a paring knife or a wooden skewer. 
  4. Peeling beets is really easy too. When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel, get a grip on the beet and and just peel off the skin. It slides right off.
  5. Store the roasted beets in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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8 Comments

  • Valentin Goncharenko Jr

    Great post Olga! Phenomenal photos as always! Love the bright colors:) fantastic work:)

  • Yuliya

    I’ve roasted beets before but I just layed them out in a baking dish and did it that way. I have a very good recipe for a canned salad with beets that my family all loves. I can’t wait for summer when the vegetables are cheaper and ill make a lot of it again. This sounds like a good way to do it.

  • Natasha

    Great post Olga! Can I roast beets and freeze them and use it later on for borsch? Have you done that?

  • Nina

    HI, Olga,

    I just wanna tell you THANKS for your great tips.
    I roast 12 beets last week by wrapping in foil and bake them on my muffin pan. It was convenient! I roast them on the bottom shelf of my oven during baking other staff.

    I really, really like them. I made COLD BEET HOLODNIK from your blog
    https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/soups/cold-beet-holodnik/
    and rest of them we 🙂 NOT (almost all of them I ate by myself), took with me to work and ate with salad, bread or just separate.
    THEY WERE SOOO GOOD.
    HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING ROASTED BEETS INSTEAD BOILING THEM IN THE WATER !!!

    I give you FIVE STARS FOR THIS TIPS !!!

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