Beet Love: A Step-By-Step Guide to Roasting Beets

Begin by cutting off the top greens and a bit off the bottom tail of the beets. I do this on a cutting board in the sink because the beets grow in soil and are very gritty. Rinse the soil and grit off the beets and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil. Make sure all the ends are sealed. Use more than one sheet of foil and line your baking pan with some foil as well. Beets tend to leak sticky juice when they roast and you don’t want to have to clean that off every surface of your oven.

Place the pan into a 400ºF oven and roast for anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on the size of your beets. To check for doneness, carefully unwrap the foil (watch out for hot steam) and insert the tip of a sharp knife into the largest beet. It should penetrate easily. If done, remove them from the oven, open the foil wrap and leave them to cool enough to be handled.

Once cool, use a paring knife to peel the beets. The peel will come off very easily.

Now you have delicious roasted beets waiting to be sliced and incorporated into any number of preparations. Sometimes, for a quick snack, I slice them, pour some sherry vinegar over them, add some thinly sliced red onions and toss on some crumbled goat or feta cheese. The tang of sharp cheese and the bite of the onion and vinegar go so well with the naturally sweet beets.

For more ideas on how to turn your freshly roasted beets into delicious salads and lunches, see my recipe box for Golden Beet Salad and Roasted Beet Napoleon.