Oven Roasted Beets

The best way to get big flavor out of root vegetables? Baked! These whole oven roasted beets are easy and come out perfectly tender and sweet.

Do you love the earthy taste of beets? While they’re not the sexiest of vegetables, this nutritious, hot pink veggie is enjoying somewhat of resurgence in public opinion. If you’re a beet lover, you’re probably thinking: DUH. Yes, that’s beautifully sweet, tender flavor of roasted beets is like none other. And here’s the best way to cook beets: roasted whole. This oven roasted beets recipe takes about an hour, but it brings out the sweetest flavor. You don’t even need salt and pepper, they’re that good! Alex and I were floored at the flavor that comes out of baked beets.

How to make oven roasted beets: a tutorial

It takes about 1 hour to make whole oven roasted beets, but it’s well worth it for the flavor. We recommend roasting up a big batch, and then keeping them in the refrigerator for the week. Roasted whole beets will keep about 3 to 5 days in a sealed container. (Oh and make sure to make some beet hummus! You’ll thank us later.) Now, ready to get started?

Cut the time in half! Make Instant Pot Beets in just 30 minutes.

Step 1: Wash the beets and cut off the greens.

Wash the beets. Then trim off all but about 1 inch of the beet greens. Leaving on the stem while roasting helps keep the beets from “bleeding” out red juice in the oven. (You can save the beet greens: here’s the best recipe for beet greens! And here’s how to store them.)

Step 2: Rub the beets with olive oil and place in an oven safe dish.

Rub the beets lightly with olive oil. Then place the beets in a covered oven-proof dish. If you don’t have this type of dish, you also can wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and place them on the oven grates.

Step 3: Roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours.

Roast the beets for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours, until tender when pierced with a fork. The time depends on the size of the beets and freshness. Check every 10 minutes until they are tender. Every batch might be a little different. Typically we find medium sized beets take about 1 hour, so use that as your rule of thumb.

Step 4: Rinse under cool water and rub off the skins.

Once the beets are roasted, allow them to cool for a few minutes. Then place them under cool water and rub off the skins with your fingers. Watch out: this process is a little messy! Your fingers will get a little stained with beet juice, and so might your kitchen if you’re not careful! It will wash off your hands eventually, but you’ll want to wipe up beet juice counter or sink stains immediately.

You can serve the beets right away. Or, keep them refrigerated in a sealed container for 3 to 5 days (keep them whole to stay the freshest).

Best ways to eat roasted beets

And that’s how to make oven roasted beets! It’s a great weekend project to throw the beets in the oven and let them roast while you catch up on laundry and Netflix. We mentioned the shortcut above: if you have a pressure cooker, you can make Instant Pot beets in 30 minutes. It’s a fantastic method, but the roasting actually elevates the flavor just a little bit. So we like doing it when we have time!

Once you’ve got baked beets, what’s your favorite way to eat them? Here are all our favorite beet recipes:

• Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese All you need is a drizzle of olive oil and creamy goat cheese, and the result? Heavenly.
• Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing Roasted beets, creamy balsamic dressing, tangy goat cheese, pistachios and sliced shallot. Need we say more?
• Creamy Beet Hummus This electric pink hummus is vibrant and tastes just as lovely as it looks.
• Beet & Blue Cheese Salad Here’s a fun way to use your beet greens and beets all at once, in salad form! The blue cheese is the perfect sharp flavor pairing.
• Beet and Apple Salad Here roasted beets and green apples are paired with our honey mustard dressing. Triple yum!

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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