Perfect Roasted Beets
Learn how to roast beets with this simple recipe! No foil here. For best flavor, slice the beets and roast them on a pan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 2, 2024
These roasted beets are for everyone! If you already love beetroots, I think you’ll be a big fan of this foil-free, no-peeling-required roasted beet recipe. If you don’t enjoy beets (yet), this roasting method just might change your mind.
These roasted beets feature lightly caramelized, tender-but-not-quite-crisp exteriors and deep, condensed flavor. I don’t love beets in all applications, but these? I have to stop myself from devouring the whole pan before dinner.
With this method, simply scrub the beets well before baking. 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.
For beets, since we don’t want crispy outsides (tender is nicer), we’ll roast at 375 degrees. Easy!
Watch How to Roast Beets
How to Serve Roasted Beets
Enjoy these roasted beets as a simple side dish, or gussy them up as I did in the first photo (I used fresh dill, chives, goat cheese and a thick balsamic vinegar).
You can also serve them as a component within your meal, or on top of a hearty salad. You’ll find some suggestions below to help you improvise.
Flavors that pair well with roasted beets:
- Arugula and other bold greens, including collard greens
- Avocado
- Balsamic vinegar, as well as red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar
- Black pepper
- Carrots
- Creamy cheese and dairy, including feta, goat cheese, blue cheese, ricotta, crème fraîche, sour cream and plain yogurt
- Fennel
- Fresh herbs, including dill, basil, chives, mint, parsley, cilantro, tarragon and thyme
- Honey and maple syrup
- Lemon and orange
- Lentils (here’s how to cook them)
- Nuts and seeds, including pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pepitas and sunflower seeds
- Onions, especially green, red and shallots
More Irresistible Beet Recipes
- Colorful Beet Salad with Carrot, Quinoa & Spinach
- Gaby’s Roasted Beets and Labneh
- Simple Beet, Arugula and Feta Salad with Hilary’s Balsamic Thyme Dressing
Craving more roasted veggies?
Roasting vegetables is a simple art. Here are quite a few delicious options:
- Roasted Asparagus
- Roasted Broccoli (Plus Four Variations)
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Carrots (Three Ways)
- Roasted Cauliflower (Four Ways)
- Roasted Green Beans
- Roasted Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Please let me know how your beets turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Perfect Roasted Beets
Learn how to roast beets with this simple recipe! No foil here. For best flavor, slice the beets and roast them on a pan, as you would other vegetables. Recipe yields 4 side servings and fits perfectly on a half-sheet pan.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds beets (about 3 large or 5 small-to-medium)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Scrub the beets well with a vegetable brush under running water (no need to peel them at any point).
- Using a sharp chef’s knife, slice off the base of each beet to create a flat surface, and slice off the skinny pointy ends as well. Place each beet with its flat side against the cutting board and slice the beets in half, then slice the beets into wedges of even thickness, about ½ to ¾-inch thick on the widest edge.
- Place the beet wedges on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the beets with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt. Toss until the beets are evenly coated, then arrange them in a single layer across the pan.
- Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway, until you’re able to pierce through the beets with a fork with light pressure. Season with additional salt, to taste, if desired, and serve.
Notes
Yield notes: If you’re roasting less than 1 ½ pounds of beets at a time, your beets will have more room around them and may finish roasting a bit sooner. If you want to double the recipe, I’d suggest using two baking sheets in the lower and upper thirds of the oven, swapping the pan positions after tossing.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Thank You for your amazing recipes We enjoyed it
Are the beets cooked and served with the skins on? I usually take the easy way out and cook them in the pressure cooker. It’s quick and skins peel off in a flash. But my favorite way to eat beets is usually pickled. They hold well in the fridge that which is especially helpful since hubby refuses to even try a beet.
Hi Judy! No need to peel the beets when they are prepared in this manner. I just scrub them well with a vegetable brush before baking and don’t notice the skin at all. Your pickled beets sound wonderful!
I just received your cookbook and love it! The vegetarian chili is 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Your photography is gorgeous!!!
Thank you so much, Patti! I hope you find many new favorite recipes in the book. :)
My dad use to eat this when I was a little girl. He would always have a jar of beets in the refrigerator. I never liked the taste of them, but I would be willing to give them a try again. Why, because yours looks amazing. Thanks for sharing
Hi Ivory! I think these beets just might turn you into a beet fan. :)
I like to roast my beets whole, then cube for pickled beets etc….
Is it better to roast them at 375 as well? I’ve also tried steaming them in my instant pot – and they turn out pretty good~
Hi Pam! I haven’t tried roasting beets whole. If you’re pleased with how your whole roasted beets turn out, I don’t know that dropping the temperature is necessary (it will take longer). If you try it, I’d love to hear how they compare!
Kate, you had me at roasted. I never appreciated beets until I lived in England (beetroot). It’s a superfood. Roasted beets are wonderful! Have you ever had a pickled beet and cheese sandwich? (Great UK recipe). Thanks for all you do, Kate.
Charles, thank you for your note! No, I’ve never had a pickled beet and cheese sandwich, but that sounds FANTASTIC! I will look for a recipe for that so I can try it. :)
Sliced pickled beetroot is a staple of the UK pantry. It goes with pretty much anything that is essentially fatty (so cheese, pork, corned beef) but works extremely well with oily fish, so salmon, tuna and lake trout.
Thanks for this recipe. Boiling beets is a Brit staple so doing something different will make a change
Beets are so underappreciated. Love this roasting technique! Usually I steam-bake my beets and sometimes they turn out a bit mushy; I really like your approach here. Thank you!
Thank you, Kristen! Please report back on how you like these. They are my favorite!
I will definitely try this method next time I make the Best Veggie Burger from the Northstar cafe, Columbus OH (recipe you can find on The Kitchn website – have you ever heard about this AMAZING burger?!). It sounds way shorter than the whole-piece-roasting method: sometimes the beets I get at the farmers market weigh over 1 kg/2lbs!
Thanks, Kate!
Hi Nathalie! Yep, this method would definitely be faster. Hope it works great for the burgers. I haven’t tried that recipe, but I fairly recently tried and failed to create my own beet veggie burger, so I’ll have to try that one for insight! Thank you for sharing!
Do we peel the beets? is the skin edible after roasting?
Hi Leslie! No need to peel the beets at any point. I truly can’t tell it’s there after the beets are roasted, and it’s perfectly edible.
Do you eat the skin? No mention of peeling after roasting.
Hi Van! Sorry, I wrote about that within the recipe but will clarify earlier within the post. No need to peel these beets at any point. They are perfectly edible with the peel (you won’t even notice it).
It turned out really well, thank you!
I’m so glad! Thank you, Pia.
Finally! Someone who actually made this! Thanks for the positive feedback, it encourages me to actually try this… and I will post my review as well!
I hope you love them, Bethy!
Excited to try this recipe! Do you keep the peel on while roasting? If so, do you peel it off before serving?
Hi there! I don’t think that peeling the beets is necessary at any point. I just scrub the beets well with a vegetable brush. I don’t even notice the peel when I’m eating the roasted beets!
I love beets, roasting brings out their earthy flavour, but I particularly enjoy them pickled and served with a salad. My mum would preserve them and they’d sit all winter on the shelf, then when summer came around I’d devour them. Beetroot relish is also a favourite. Guess I just love beetroot. Thanks for posting Kate.
Hey Patt! You’re in good company in the comments here. I’ve heard from several people who love pickled beets and I’m looking forward to trying them! Have a great day!
I’m not a fan of aluminum foil either, so I use a small covered enameled cast iron Dutch oven, no oil needed. I clean the beets, leave them whole and can fit 3 good-sized beets in the Dutch oven. Usually takes about an hour at 400 degrees. I read somewhere that it’s important to get some steaming action during the roasting to prevent drying out and to ensure they cook all the way through. When they are done (fork goes through) I can easily peel or leave the skin on. I also throw in a few beet stems into the Dutch oven as an added bonus.
Thank you for sharing!
I am obsessed with beets! Weirdly enough, I even loved them as a child. There is something about that earthy flavor that gets me every time. I really like them pickled and thrown into a smoothie. I don’t think I have ever tried them roasted. This recipe is on my radar!!
Hooray! I’m delighted to hear you loved this recipe, Tristin.
I LOVE beets anyway there is eat them. I always have, even as a child. I grew up on a small farm at my grandma’s house and she would brag how I would eat any vegetables to her friends. One day she cooked up some Dandelion greens and I didn’t even notice. Lol I always put apple cider vinegar on all greens and that covers up most any taste other the the vinegar lol. THANK YOY for the recipe it was delicious. I’ve had beets this way but just couldn’t remember if i needed to.peel them. I didn’t and it was great!
I’m glad you loved this recipe, Donna!
I’ve never made roasted beets before. Do you start with raw beets? Thanks.
Yes, start with raw beets, scrubbed clean under running water.
Wow, this is truly the best method for making beets! I’ve always cooked beets whole and peeled them afterwards— it takes a long time and peeling makes a mess of the kitchen. This was simpler, faster, and the flavor was more concentrated! This recipe was a huge hit in my house. We didn’t even notice the skin on them. Thanks for teaching me a better way, Kate!
I’m happy you think so, Arianna! Thanks for trying it and reporting back it was a hit in your house.
Hello.. I love your recipes and I love beets. Two summers ago, 2019 when we could still vacation with family, an aunt of my husband’s came to our home on the island of Samos in Greece. She did some of the cooking during her stay. Her way of making beets, which I’ve incorporated every time, is to roast, just like the recipe above, and when preparing to serve you add salt, pepper, any vinegar you might have on hand, olive oil, and the magic ingredient a grated clove of garlic. You can of course roast the garlic, to make it sweeter. The garlic has brought this dish to an other level for me. Try it, I think you will like it.
Thank you, Constantina! My goodness, I love Greek cooking and can’t wait to bring my husband to the Greek islands (I went to Amorgos a couple of years ago). Love your suggestion and will definitely try it!
Oh my you’re not kidding this did just take it to another level O M G
Hi Constantina: Do you add these ingredients before you roast the beets or do you mix them in a bowl to dip the roasted beets?
“add salt, pepper, any vinegar you might have on hand, olive oil, and the magic ingredient a grated clove of garlic”
Hi Adriana, I roast them first, then peel them, cut them up, put then in a bowl. Then in another smaller bowl I mix the salt, pepper, vinegar and grated garlic for a couple of seconds and pour over beets. Kali orexi…bon appetit. Enjoy..
Best beets I’ve ever tasted. They are so sweet and I love the texture of the skin!
Thank you so much Kate!!
Hooray! Thanks, Ethna!
I just roasted the beets per directions and they are fantastic. Leaving the skin on made a little crispy edge to each piece. Thanks so much for this easier & quicker recipe. I’ll be adding these to salads and grains.
Fabulous recipe! A revelation for me and my mother who has been peeling beets before cooking for years. And we both agree that they are delicious!
So glad to hear it! Thank you for reporting back, Amy!
I would like to make these as a side dish for a family gathering. Can you make this recipe a day ahead? How would you reheat?
Hi Lisa! These beets are a great make-ahead option, yes. I honestly think they’re very nice at room temperature, or you could store them in a baking dish and gently reheat in the oven the next day. I’d probably bake at 350 just until warmed through, which shouldn’t take very long.
How small are you cutting your beets? Do you like them crunchy? Even at 400 degrees and with the beets diced to about 1/2 inch pieces, we found at 40 minutes they weren’t even close to cooked. Note – This is not a critique of this recipe in particular. It seems like every roasted beet recipe out there underestimates the cooking time and I’m completely baffled.
Hi Chris, I have notes in the recipe on how thick to cut the beets. Time can vary for different ripeness of beets, but I found this method to work the best.
My experience as well. Roasted halved small to medium beets wrapped in foil for 60 minutes @375 and had to roast for another 20 minutes @400 to soften them sufficiently.
Yeah roasting the beats with the skin on do not work for me they were still noticeable and darker and a bit tough it really doesn’t take much longer to peel them I recommend doing that
I’m sorry you didn’t like these with the skins. But yes, feel free to remove them. Thank you for your feedback, Shauna.
Excellent roasted beets recipe. I put the olive oil and salt in bag with the beets shake and put them on the tray. Thank you
You’re welcome, Margaret! Thank you for your review.
I loved reading your post about roasting beets! I found more than I expected for sure! I will check out instagram and facebook!!! Thank you so much. I know they will be delicious. I even had fresh dill and chevre!
Wonderful! Thank you for your review, Joan.
Thankyou, Kate. This recipe is simple and delicious. My first time to grow beets in the garden and wasn’t sure if I would like them. I loved them! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome! Fresh garden beets would be perfect.
I made these roasted beets last night and they were delicious. I’d always thought you had to peel beets, but just like the recipe said, I scrubbed them very well and the peels/outside skin wasn’t the least bit noticeable. I roasted these along with red onion and carrots and I’ll definitely make them this was in the future!
Wonderful to hear, Ellen! Thank you for your review.
I used this recipe as a friend gave me three beautiful bunches of rainbow beets! It was delicious and quick!
That sounds pretty and delicious! Thank you for your review.
Excellent recipe! Drizzled on a touch of white balsamic vinegar when they were done and happy beet day to me! Thanks for sharing this!
You’re welcome, Carolyn!
These roasted beets were the best beets I have ever tasted. I was eating them as soon as they cooled off and put them in a spinach salad with walnuts, blue cheese, blueberries and a Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, I could eat these like candy….they are so tender and so easy to make…..thanks for the recipe.
I love it! Than you for sharing. That sounds like a delicious combination.
This is such a great recipe! I’m currently roasting my second batch. First batch was so delicious that my husband said he could make a meal out of them. I added lemon zest before roasting and lemon juice after as a dressing. Thanks so much for teaching me that I didn’t need to peel the beets!
I love that! They are so delicious. I’m glad you are enjoying this recipe, Megan!
Perfect!!!
I used organic yellow beets and I peeled them. Turned out perfect after 35 minutes. So yummy with some goat cheese sprinkled on top.
That sounds delicious, Kym! Thank you for your review.
Best method for roasting beets I’ve ever found. Thank you! Beets were done faster, with less prep and were perfect. Having the skin on was a nice textural addition that lowered the net carbs. :D
I’m glad you enjoy this method, Jenny! Thank you for your comment.
This is a game changer! I love beets and always peeled them. But this week my CSA sent me 10 smaller beets and the thought of trying to,peel the sent me to google and luckily your recipe popped up. I will never peel again! I’ll be serving with blue cheese crumbles and chicken over a salad…if I don’t eat them all first.
I just found this recipe because I also received many tiny beets in my CSA and was dreading peeling them. Did you leave your small ones whole? I might normally leave really small ones whole, but I have never kept the peel on them.
I did leave them whole. They came out delicious!
Why don’t you provide a link to print the recipe? Very frustrating!
Hi Fred, I’m not sure I understand. What recipe are you looking for? You can always click the jump to recipe button at the top.
No need to waste paper to print the recipe-just screenshot it and you’ll have it at your fingertips!
This sounds delicious and easy, however, can a diabetic eat beets?
Hi Susan, I’m not a registered dietitian so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Great beet recipe. Easy and delicious!
Thank you, Pat! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Never was a beet lover until I had them roasted. Now buying every week to add to my salads.Thanks for this easy delicious recipe, Kate!
Lucky girl
Excellent! I have not been a beet fanning the past. Last beet I ate was 30-40 years ago. However when a dozen beets came in our CSA package I thought I’d give them a try rather than putting them immediately into compost. Well, to my surprise and delight roasting them as you described produce delicious results. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Chris!
This is a terrific recipe. I was given a huge bag of beets from a community garden share, and I made 2 batches using your recipe. It was nice not to have to peel them, although I did have to use the peeler for some super stringy places. What makes your recipe so much better than others I’ve tried is cutting the beets into smaller pieces. Absolutely delicious. Thank you!!
I love that! Community garden shares sound like a great idea. I’m happy you found this recipe to use them!
This recipe is fabulous and delicious. I will make it again and again. It is sensible and not fussy. Couldn’t be easier. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Nancy!
These are the recipes i love, simple and to the point with clarity. Then i can customize from there! Its my first time roasting beets, i usually have them raw, shredded over a salad, but im meal prepping and have a LOT of beets just sitting. And this is the recipe i was looking for. THANK YOU!
I’m glad you loved them, Ashley!
Can roasted beets be frozen?
I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure! Let me know if you do.
This is a great recipe. We like beets and they’re good for your liver. I’ve roasted, simmered and peeled many beets over the years, but no more! I love that with your method the skins stay on but don’t make themselves known. The first time I made these, I cut the beets pretty small and used aluminum foil to line the sheet. They cooked up a little bit crispy and very delicious. Second time, cut the beets bigger (in a hurry) and used parchment. The resulting beets were juicier and also delicious but in a different way. Valuable, adaptable cooking method. Thank you very much. My liver thanks you, too!
I’m glad you enjoy these beets, Catherine!
My company & family loved these beets! Had I known this could be so easy, I’d have been doing this A LOT!! Thanks a million!
You’re welcome, Annie! Thank you for sharing.
thank you for sharing this simple recipe. AND keeping it simple in your post.
You’re welcome, John!
This is the best way to prepare beets!! My husband and I especially like roasted golden beets. So good!
I’m glad you love roasted beets!
Easy and super perfect. I have been roasting my beets at too high a temp. Reducing the heat made them fork tender! No peeling needed, just a scrub with a stiff brush!
I’m glad you love them, Bethy!
Hi Kate,
First of all, I love your website. It is my first go to site when looking for a recipe.
I had beets from my CSA and realized I needed to cook them. This recipe is great. I am not a beet lover like my husband, but I did enjoy them with your recipe. This is definitely 5 stars! Thank you!
I’m glad you came across this one and were able to enjoy them! Thank you for your review, Mary.