The key to enjoying fibrous, sweet, earthy beets is thorough cooking and plenty of seasoning. All varieties of beets take to several cooking methods and play nice with a range of flavors. Whether you boil, steam, roast, or use your air fryer, the key to perfectly tender beets is knowing how to check for doneness.
Chef Christina is a classically-trained private chef who's worked at award-winning restaurants. She loves sharing recipes and simple techniques to help home cooks and families eat and be well without breaking the bank. Subscribe to free updates here.
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The Story
Regardless of how you enjoy them, beets are a nutrient-dense, loaded-with-fiber vegetable. The intensely-colored roots are action-packed with vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and of course dietary fiber. While the roots are particularly petite and sweet when in peak season during winter, beets grow and are plentiful all year.
And when properly prepared, they bring an earthy, satisfying bite to your plate. Regardless of whether you boil, roast, steam, or air fry them, the key to a nice, tender beet is using a fork or the tip of a knife to check for doneness.
Buying & Storage
When buying beets, look for unblemished roots with perky leaves free from holes. If you plan to cook them whole try to buy beets of a similar size. No need to be exact, if they look the same, they'll cook the same. I recommend buying beets with their greens intact. In more than 15 years of cooking professionally, I've found beets with intact greens to be the most affordable and often the best-looking beets on the shelf.
To store, cut the greens off as soon as you get home leaving about one inch of the stem on the beets. Store beets in a food storage bag and they'll keep for several weeks in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Wrap beet greens in damp paper towels and store them airtight by pressing all the air out of the food storage bag before sealing. Avoid washing or rinsing beets before storage, the excess moisture speeds up rotting.
How to Clean
Since beets grow underneath the soil surface, a gentle scrub can remove any lingering dirt.
- Trim and separate. Cut the greens off the beets if you haven't already, leaving about one inch of the stem on. Pluck any rootlets (tiny sprouts) off of the beets and discard them.
- Clean. Rinse the beet bulbs under a trickle of water, gently rubbing with your fingers to remove any dirt. For beet greens, quickly rinse them to remove any grit from the stems.
- Dry well. Pat the roots and leaves dry with a kitchen towel, especially if you plan to roast the beets and/or sauté the greens.
Cooking Methods
- Boil
- Roast
- Steam
- Air Fry (Convection)
Choosing a cooking method for your beets boils down to your preferences, how much time you have, and your beet goals. But whichever way you choose, I recommend cooking beets whole. The rock-solid roots are much easier to peel and cut once tender.
If you're looking for the healthiest way to cook beets, be aware that boiling leaches nutrients from the roots into the water. And high-heat cooking like roasting or air frying degrades vitamins and minerals. So for the most nutrient-packed beets, steam them.
The bigger the beet, the longer in the heat. And cooking times also depend on the method you choose, elevation, and your particular stove, oven, or steamer. The only way to know if a beet is pleasingly tender is to pierce it with a fork or butter knife. If you meet no resistance, it's ready.
Check every single beet since no one is alike, or just the largest for surety. Ignore advice and recipes that offer hard and fast cooking times as a guarantee of doneness (the timing method is amateur and unreliable).
The tap root is the thin "tail" or root on the bottom of the beet. While you will see advice that recommends leaving this on during cooking to lock in nutrients, beet skin is thin and vitamins will leach out regardless. For easier handling after cooking, remove the tap root and most of the stems prior to cooking.
How to Steam
Truly, steaming vegetables keeps all the flavor and nutrients locked into your food. But I find steaming a little high maintenance since you need to keep an eye on the water level. Be sure to add more water as needed (lest you end up with a scorched pot).
- Bring water to a boil. Bring a couple of inches of water to boil in your largest pot or a pot that fits your steamer basket.
- Prepare the beets. Trim a thin slice away from the top and bottom of the beets to remove the root and stem. Peel away the skin on the beets with a vegetable peeler, and cut them (if you like) into slices, wedges, or quarters. Otherwise, leave them whole and peel and cut them after cooking, which is much easier.
- Steam covered until tender. Place the beets in the steamer basket and cover the pot, if possible. Begin checking the beets for doneness after 30 minutes by inserting a butter knife or fork into the largest one. If you feel resistance, steam for ten more minutes and check again. Add more hot water as necessary to maintain two inches in the bottom of the pot.
- Cool and peel. Remove the tender beets from the basket and let them cool until you can handle them. With the edge of a spoon, scrape away the skin of the beets and cut or slice them to your liking.
To Boil
Boiling beets is the most common, albeit uninteresting way to cook them. It gets the job done and that's about it. You'll find advice that claims if you leave the stem intact the beets won't bleed their pigment into the water. But the betalains (pigments) are water-soluble. And beet skin is fairly thin. So no attempt will completely stop the bleeding. For a bit faster cooking, trim off the stem and tap root before boiling.
- Boil water. Fill a large pot with water and set it over high heat on the stove. Water boils faster if you cover the pot.
- Salt the boiling water and add the beets. Add several pinches of salt to the boiling water. It will dissolve and pass through the beets as they cook.
- Boil for 35 to 50 minutes. No beet is alike, and every stove heats differently. Boil them until there is no resistance when you pierce them with a fork or butter knife. Adjust the heat to maintain a strong boil (but prevent boiling over). Begin checking a beet or two for doneness after 30 minutes. And add more hot water to the pot to maintain a level that submerges every beet.
- Drain and cool. Remove the beets from the boiling water by straining them with a large colander or remove them with tongs. Cool the beets for a few minutes, then pat them dry and peel and cut.
To Roast
The high, dry heat of an oven allows the sugars to caramelize and develop more complex flavors by way of the Maillard Reaction. The fastest, easiest way to roast beets is to wrap them in foil. When cooking beets at home and for my clients, I drizzle a little water into the foil. It's an old-school chef trick for faster cooking as the water provides a little steaming action.
For more caramelized, earthy, complex flavors, peel and cut the beets before roasting. Since raw beets are dense and hard, use a sharp knife and keep the fingers of your non-dominant hand tucked under to prevent cuts.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. The higher the heat, the faster the beets will cook. You can certainly cook them at a lower heat if you like, but I recommend a temperature no lower than 400° F.
- Prepare the beets. Trim a thin slice away from the top and bottom of the beets to remove the root and stem. Peel and cut the beets into slices or wedges, if you like. Otherwise, leave them whole for easier peeling and cutting.
- Oil and roast the beets. Coat the beets in a heat-tolerant oil like avocado or sunflower. And season them generously with plenty of salt. Wrap or spread them out on foil for a less messy pan. You can also roast beets without foil by lining your pan with parchment paper (not wax, as it will smoke, burn, or melt at high temperatures). Or just coat them in plenty of oil and spread them out directly on a pan.
- Check for tenderness. Roast the beets until you can easily pierce them with the tines of a fork or a butter knife. Your utensil should meet no resistance.
Air Frying or Convection
Technically, an air fryer isn't a fryer at all (which would be a weird, inefficient way to cook beets). The appliances are tiny convection ovens, which is a cooking method chefs have used for decades. So if your oven has a convection setting, the same applies. The circulation of the hot air inside the oven encourages browning, caramelization, and speeds up cooking.
Prepare beets for cooking in an air fryer as you would for roasting. Wrapping the beets in foil makes for the quickest, easiest cleanup. An air frying temperature between 350° F to 400° F works well. Average-sized beets will become tender in a 400° F air fryer in 30 to 40 minutes. Beets cut into quarters or smaller will take 15 to 20 minutes to become tender. Always prick multiple beets with a fork or butter knife to be sure they're tender.
Peeling & Storing
- Peeling. The easiest time to peel beets is after they're cooked. I recommend using the edges of a small spoon to scrape the skin away in strips from top to bottom. The pigment will stain your hands, so I recommend either cradling the beets in a paper towel or wearing disposable gloves.
- Storing. Store cooked beets in the refrigerator in an airtight container, or freeze them. Cooked beets take well to freezing. I recommend sealing them in a food storage bag using the water displacement method. Simply dip the bag with cooked beets in a large bowl of water until it is submerged up to the bottom of the zipper. Then holding it in the water, seal it well. The water forces all (or most) of the air out which helps prevent freezer burn.
Chef's Tips
- Peel the beets after you cook them. Unless a recipe names a very specific reason for not doing so, peeling and cutting beets after cooking is much easier and the professional standard. I have cooked thousands of beets in restaurants (and endless ones in culinary school), and not once did we peel them before cooking.
- Avoid undercooking beets. Less than perfectly tender beets can cause digestive distress. And it's truly very hard to overcook them (I know from experience of forgetting mine were in the oven or water). So cook your beets until they give easily to the tines of a fork. When in doubt, cook the beets for ten minutes more.
- Season beets with salt before cooking. If you only season a food after cooking it, you miss your chance at real, complex flavors. Salt encourages reactions among the flavor compounds in food. And the reactions only happen during cooking, not after.
- Protect your cutting surface, skin, and clothing. Raw and cooked beets bleed betalains, or red plant pigments. The pigments will stain any surface they come into contact with, including your hands. When working with beets, I try to line my cutting board with paper towels or parchment paper. And when peeling especially, I often wear food-safe disposable gloves or cradle the beets in paper towels.
Cooking Beet Greens
Cook beet greens how you would any fresh green such as spinach, kale, or chard. Beet greens are more tender than hardier winter greens like collards, so they will cook faster. I recommend slicing the greens into inch-wide pieces and then sautéing them over medium heat in olive or avocado oil. Stirring in a little minced garlic or shallots at the end of cooking adds flavor. And so does a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, melted butter, or a sprinkling of sea salt and a little black pepper.
More Vegetables
- How to Cook Asparagus
- How to Sauté Spinach
- How to Cook Shaved or Shredded Brussels Sprouts
- Creamed Kale, or Greens of Any Kind
- How to Make Crispy Potato Wedges
- Roasted Portobello Mushrooms
- Baked Sweet Potatoes in the Air Fryer
📖 Recipe
How to Cook Beets [4 Ways]
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 to 50 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes (50 inactive)
- Yield: 3 to 4 servings 1x
- Category: Vegetables
- Method: Steaming, Boiling, Roasting, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to cook beets using several methods, and know when they're perfectly tender. See the Notes section for the best ways to clean and store beets.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of fresh beets or 4 to 5 whole beets, leaves trimmed
- salt, kosher recommended
- cooking oil, avocado or olive recommended
Instructions
To Steam
- Prepare your steaming setup. Bring a couple of inches of water to boil in your largest pot or a pot that fits your steamer basket. Make ready a lid or foil to prevent excessive evaporation of the water.
- Wash and trim the beets. Wash the beets gently to remove excess dirt and pluck off any rootlets (tiny sprouts). Trim a thin slice away from the top and bottom of the beets. You can peel and cut or slice the beets before steaming, but it's easier to do so after cooking. Sprinkle a little salt over cut or whole beets before placing them in the steamer basket.
- Steam covered until tender. Place the beets in the steamer basket and cover the pot, if possible. Begin checking the beets for doneness after 30 minutes by inserting a butter knife or fork into the largest one. If you feel resistance, steam for ten more minutes and check again. Add more hot water as necessary to maintain two inches in the bottom of the pot.
- Cool and peel. Remove the tender beets from the basket and let them cool until you can handle them. With the edge of a spoon, scrape away the skin of the beets and cut or slice them to your liking.
To Boil
- Boil water. Fill a large pot with water and set it over high heat on the stove. Water boils faster if you cover the pot.
- Scrub the beets. Wash and/or scrub the beets gently to remove excess dirt and pluck off any rootlets. With the sharpest knife you own, trim a thin piece away from the top and bottom of the beets.
- Salt the boiling water and add the beets. Add several pinches of salt to the boiling water. It will dissolve and pass through the beets as they cook.
- Boil for 35 to 50 minutes. No beet is alike, and every stove heats differently. Boil the beets until there is no resistance when you pierce them with a fork or butter knife. Adjust the heat to maintain a strong boil (but prevent boiling over). You can cover the pot to prevent the water from evaporating. Begin checking the largest beet for doneness after 30 minutes. Add more hot water to the pot to keep the beets fully submerged.
- Drain and cool. Remove the beets from the boiling water by straining them with a large colander or remove them with tongs. Pat the beets dry with a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel. Cool the beets for a few minutes before peeling (they'll be easier to handle). Scrape the skin away with the edge of a small metal spoon. Cut as desired.
To Roast or Air Fry
- Preheat the oven to 425°F or air fryer to 400° F. The higher the heat, the faster the beets will cook.
- Wash and cut the beets. Wash the beets gently to remove excess dirt and any rootlets. Trim a thin slice away from the top and bottom of the beets to remove the root and stem. Leave the beets whole for easier peeling after cooking. Or peel them with a vegetable peeler and cut them into slices or wedges.
- Season and roast until tender. Coat the beets in a heat-tolerant oil like avocado, olive (not exta virgin), or sunflower. Season the beets generously with plenty of salt. For whole-roasted beets, wrap them in foil for less mess. You can also line your pan with parchment paper (not wax, as it will smoke, burn, or melt at high temperatures). Roast or air fry the beets until you can easily pierce them with the tines of a fork or a butter knife.
- Cool and cut. For roasted beets that are easier to peel and cut, let them cool for ten minutes first.
Notes
To clean fresh beets. Cut the greens off the beets when you bring them home, leaving about one inch of the stem on the beets. But only clean the beets right before cooking. To clean, pluck any rootlets (tiny sprouts) and rinse the beet in water, gently rubbing with your fingers to remove any dirt. For beet greens, quickly rinse them under a trickle of water. Pat the roots and leaves dry with a kitchen towel.
To peel cooked beets. The easiest time to peel beets is after they're cooked. I recommend using the edge of a small spoon to scrape the skin away in strips from top to bottom. The pigment will stain your hands and cutting board, so either cradle the beets in a paper towel or wear disposable gloves.
Keywords: how to cook beets, roasted beets, steamed beets, air fryer beets, boiled beets
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