Have you ever said,

“I just can’t find a way to love beets”?

Over the past fifteen+ years, I have heard so many people say this.

For some reason an innocent dark, staining root vegetable strikes fear in otherwise adventuresome veggie lovers. But, why?

Maybe because you haven’t found an easy go-to delicious way to prepare them…

Or all you’ve had before is canned beets.  Not beets that look like this:

Reality is, I didn’t grow up eating beets myself.

Not really because I didn’t like them.

But, being the picky me I used to be, I would have said I didn’t like them anyway. (Anyone else guilty of this??)

As an adult I’ve come to understand that it was probably because they just weren’t on the table almost ever. Never got a chance to get to know beets until…

I joined my first CSA in 2004! And alas, I wasn’t in love with them at first sight.

But I decided to not be picky anymore. I wanted to eat them because they were there. In my fridge, ready, wanting me to use them. Healthy, local, available, fresh, beautiful… but tasty?

I didn’t want to let the farmer’s hard work go to waste. So I tried. And I tried. And I even threw some out at the beginning.

Over the years, I’ve come up with my go-to ways of preparing beets. I’ll share them with you here.  My absolute favorite is pictured below:

Beet Salad!

Master at least ONE of these preparation methods below first.

Then try these 3 simple recipes that got me loving beets and eating them on a routine basis! My daughters love them, too!

Three basic beet preparation methods:

• Method 1:  Boiling (quickest and easiest, but not quite as tasty)

1. Take beets of roughly the same size in diameter and put them in a pot.
2. Cover with water.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer until you can stick a knife through them easily.  Drain.
5. Wait until your beets are cool enough to slip off the skins.

• Method 2:  Roasting (absolute best option if you have the time)

1. Take beets of roughly the same size in diameter and put them on a sheet of tin foil.
2. Close them up in the foil (and put on baking sheet to catch juices just in case).
3. Roast at 375-400 degrees.
4. They’re done when you can stick a knife through them easily.  Remove from oven and uncover from foil.
5. Wait until your beets are cool enough to slip off the skins.

• Method 3:  Roasting peeled cubes (best compromise for flavor and speed)

1. Peel beets and cut them into equal size cubes.  I like 3/4 inch cubes.
2. Lay them out single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Drizzle with cooking oil of choice and toss with salt, pepper, and optional dried herb like rosemary or thyme.
4. Roast at 400 degrees until desired tenderness, about 45 minutes to one hour.  Toss about half way through cooking time for even cooking and prevention of over browning.

• How to store your cooked beets
  Yes, you can cook them ahead of time!  Simply put your cooked beets into a lidded container in the fridge until you are ready to tackle one of my favorite options below.

Three Easy Recipes That Will Have You Loving Beets

1. Basic Cold (or Warm) Beet Salad

1. Chop your cooked beets into bite size pieces and put into bowl.
2. Add vinaigrette dressing and salt and pepper.
3. Optional: Add any of your favorite things like: goat cheese, feta cheese, bacon, chopped nuts, minced onions, chives, green onions, herbs, hearty greens like spinach, kale, radicchio, winter lettuce, Swiss chard, etc.

2. Basic Beet Hash

1. Chill your beets and chop them into bite size pieces.
2. Sauté sliced onions until translucent.
3. Add beets and sauté until slightly browning and warmed through.
4. Add salt and pepper and other spices as desired.
5. Optional: add leftover roast beef, top with fried egg, add bacon, or add other leftover cooked veggies.

3. Basic Beet Soup

1. Chop your cooked beets into bite size pieces.
2. Mince garlic as desired (or get fancy and roast it).
3. Combine with chicken broth and puree.
4. Add more chicken broth until you have desired consistency.
5. Add salt and pepper and other spices as desired (dill, thyme, cayenne, etc.)
6. Serve hot or cold.
7. Top with sour cream or yogurt (and optional horseradish!).

Bonus!  Check out our recipe page for beets for our other over two dozen favorite beet recipes!

Amazingly, people really do come up to us often and say, “I don’t like beets, but I like your beets.”

Let me know if you try this and overcome your beet hesitation or even just share your favorite recipe for beets below!  I love to hear from you!