Cooking with Beets

Fresh beets offer great color, flavor, and texture, but preparing them can be intimidating. Use our beets guide for helpful prep tips and put this spring and fall vegetable to good use in a variety of yummy recipes.

First up is Winter Salad with Roasted Beets and Citrus Reduction Dressing. Don’t say you don’t like beets until you’ve tried them roasted. A tip for avoiding a horror scene in the kitchen: Use thin latex gloves to rub the skins off roasted beets hot from the oven so hands don’t get stained. This salad combines the glorious colors of red and golden beets with a tangy citrus dressing. The earthiness of the beets is a good contrast to the bright and bitter greens, too.

Filling half the plate with plants isn't as hard as you think. We make it easier with salty, crispy bacon—one piece is all it takes to elevate this bountiful bowl of fruits and vegetables.

White balsamic vinegar is slightly sweet; cider vinegar is tangier. Either will be delicious here. Canned salmon is an inexpensive, sustainable seafood option. Sub canned albacore tuna or 2 cooked salmon fillets.

Use your best olive oil to indulge both your veggies and your palate.

Here's a foolproof way to enjoy the earth's ruby gem. Tossed in lemon juice and sprinkled with dill, beets make a healthy, vibrant hummus topper.

Starting to slump? Snap out of it with this craveable combo of invigorating jalapeño, refreshing pineapple, and sweet beets, which naturally increase blood flow to the brain.

This composed two-toned beet salad is a showstopping way to highlight the vegetable's natural beauty. We recommended dressing the red beets separately from the golden beets to preserve each one's rich jewel coloring (red beets aren't shy about spreading their natural beauty around).

We put a new twist on this hearty beet soup, using every part of the signature ingredient. Leafy beet greens take the place of borscht's traditional cabbage. You not only use the whole beet (less waste) but also get the most nutrition for your buck, as beet greens have nearly twice the fiber of other greens.

If you roast beets for another recipe, make one or two extra to save a step in this slider recipe the next night. A seemingly unusual mix of flavors comes together well in a neat presentation that will wow your burger-loving guests.

Using both the greens and the root of the beet is especially smart and nutritious. In this case, it also makes for beautiful presentation. Bull’s Blood is a favorite variety, grown sometimes as an ornamental in fall containers, though it’s entirely edible; Detroit Dark Red is one we’ve grown (to love) in the Cooking Light garden.

Pair these sophisticated but earthy delights with a fresh spinach salad and a scrumptious tart for a complete vegetarian meal.

This soup is tart, just sweet enough, and hearty, though not a protein powerhouse. If you want to pump up the protein, increase the walnuts or serve with a salad of greens, nuts, and goat cheese.

Sophisticated, delicious, and worthy of a special occasion–make this tall, flaky pie the centerpiece for a family gathering.

Golden beets adorn this pizza that's layered with arugula, crumbled goat cheese, and shaved Parmesan and prosciutto. Pre-made pizza dough provides a jump-start to this recipe–look for it at your local market.

This hearty grain salad featuring blood orange sections, beets, kumquats, and avocado is brimming with rich colors, textures, and nutrients from the vitamin- and protein-packed ingredients.

Just six ingredients go into this easy sweet-and-sour pickled beets side dish. Use a mix of red and golden beets, if you like.

A creamy jalapeño dressing livens up earthy roasted beets. Seed the pepper for less heat.

Well worth the wait, these pickled beets have an intense flavor and super sweet aroma.

What a sweet addition to a summer veggie plate! Any kind of beets will work; we used golden ones for their lovely color. Although we love the softer flavor of white balsamic vinegar, you can also make this using 2 1/2 cups water mixed with 2 1/2 cups cider vinegar.

Pickled onions, feta, and capers add bright briny pop to an earthy beet and broccoli salad. Steam the broccoli while you are cooling and peeling the beets. Look for beets that are about 2 inches in diameter to match our steaming cook time. Don’t toss the broccoli stalks. They steam up even more tender and juicy than the florets.

Baby beets—both red and gold—are tossed in a creamy citrus dressing for a downright delicious dinner.

Together, hard-boiled eggs and walnuts give you the energy boost you need throughout the day. When you pair those two with pungent blue cheese and nutrient-dense kale and beets, you have one delicious, powerhouse salad.

Serve this colorful, healthier alternative to scalloped potatoes. The sweetness of the beets complements the cool flavor of fresh mint.

Toasted amaranth adds a nutty flavor that's truly delicious; sesame seeds make a good substitute.

Chock-full of naturally delicious ingredients like sweet, tender beets, crisp zucchini, chewy-tender farro, and crunchy almonds, this salad will quickly become your new go-to lunch this season. You can make it up to two days ahead; just leave out the watercress until shortly before serving.

Layering the elements of this flavor-bomb salad guarantees even distribution in every bite and makes for a lovely platter.

A favorite among the staff, this vibrant dip is perfect for parties. 

This CL-perfected stovetop technique makes smoking food easier than ever (though the salad is still tasty if you choose not to smoke the grains), and smoke is such a fun flavor to apply to unexpected ingredients like barley. A sweet vinaigrette, earthy beets, and the intense citrus twang of grapefruit balance the robust smoky hit of the grains for a memorable salad. To make sure you're getting the whole-grain version of barley, look for hulled, and skip past pearled.

If carrots can go into cake, there's no reason beets can't make their way into ice cream. It's a stunning dessert—absurdly delicious with a gorgeous magenta huge.

If blood oranges aren't available, substitute 3 large navel oranges to retain the same fresh flavor in this spring salad.

If using multiple colors of beets, roast the red ones separately to keep their color from bleeding into the others.

This is a fresh, bright, zero-effort side, thanks to precooked beets and precut fresh citrus. It makes a fine accompaniment to grilled salmon, pork, or chicken.

You can use red or golden beets. Try one of our variations: Beet and Blood Orange Salad; Beets with Couscous, Mint, and Almond; or Beets with Toasted Spices.

Using both the greens and the root of the beet is especially smart and nutritious. In this case, it also makes for beautiful presentation. Bull’s Blood is a favorite variety, grown sometimes as an ornamental in fall containers, though it’s entirely edible; Detroit Dark Red is one we’ve grown (to love) in the Cooking Light garden.

Incorporating potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, apples, and beets, these "kitchen sink" latkes have got it all. Get the latkes going first, and while they cook, puree the sauce.

If you're keeping kosher, you can have dairy before meat is served, so have this salad first, before the chicken soup or capon. You can roast the beets up to two days in advance. For a lovely touch, garnish with edible flowers.

Beets are ready when they can be pierced with a fork without too much resistance. If they're not quite tender enough, put them back under pressure for a minute or two. Prep the dressing while the beets cook.

For some, beets have a bad rap. But this salad will change your mind. Sweet, roasted beets combined with peppery arugula and salty cheese may just leave you a beet fanatic.

Flatiron steaks are cuts from the top blade with the shoulder tendon removed. We encourage cooking with local grass-fed beef, but grain-fed beef will also work in this dish.

Add black-eyed peas to your table with this colorful salad that combines them with beets, feta cheese, and toasted pecans. To save time, substitute 3 cups of canned black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained, for the dried peas. You could also use canned beets instead of fresh.