Balsamic Oven Roasted Beets Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to peel beets before or after roasting? ›

As much as I adore Beet Salad, I rarely made it at home, because by the time I finished the beets, my hands, cutting board, and counter all were stained with telltale red juices. Then, I picked up a transformative piece of information: you do not need to peel beets when roasting.

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.

Usually we boil them and toss them in a sweet sour vinaigrette and keep them in the refrigerator to eat all week. The vinegar in the dressing "pickles" the beets, helping them last longer in the fridge.

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.

Preheat your oven to 400°F / 200°C. Rub the beets in olive oil, then wrap each beet tightly in foil. Transfer the wrapped beets to the prepared baking sheet and roast until completely tender when pierced with a knife,45 to 60 minutes. Allow to stand at room temperature until cool enough to handle, 15 to 20 minutes.

To do it, wash and dry your beets, then massage them with a bit of olive oil (about a teaspoon per beet) plus herbs like thyme and salt. Wrap each beet individually with foil and roast at 425 degrees until fork-tender, about 30 minutes for a medium-sized beet or 45 minutes to an hour for a large beet.

Beets may help lower blood sugar and insulin

Beets are rich in phytochemicals that have been shown to have a regulating effect on glucose and insulin in humans. A 2014 study investigated the effects of beetroot juice on blood glucose levels after eating.

Beets and beet juice are high in nitrates, substances that turn into nitric oxide inside your body. Your body naturally produces nitric oxide, which is crucial for blood vessel health. Nitric oxide relaxes and widens your arteries, allowing more blood to flow through and significantly lowering blood pressure.

It's true that beets do have more sugars than many other vegetables—about 8 grams in a serving of two small beets. But that's hardly the same as getting 8 grams of sugars from a cookie. "Beets are high in fiber, which traps the sugar and slows its absorption into the bloodstream," Linsenmeyer says.

Pair them with bright, fresh flavors- By adding vinegar, lemon juice, fresh herbs, tangy cheese or yogurt to your dish, you will help balance the flavor. This is why you commonly see roasted beets and goat cheese together.

Why do beets clean you out? ›

Beetroot is great at helping lend a hand to your liver when it becomes overloaded. It helps in the detoxification process because of the betaine it contains, which helps prevent and/or reduce fatty deposits in the liver. On the same note, beetroot helps in whole body detoxification.

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.

No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible, just seems to disappear during the baking process. The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Steaming beets is a healthful cooking method because they retain most of their vitamins and minerals—they're not boiled out in water—and stay incredibly vibrant. Plus, steaming small beets or beet quarters is quick and easy for weeknights.