Roasted beets are one of my absolute favorite foods, though I prefer golden (yellow) beets to red beets, and I’ve not seen any of the other varieties locally.

They’re also one of the easiest foods to make. And yes, beets can be eaten raw, but I prefer the texture of them cooked.

If you want to make roasted beets, all you’ll need is a bunch of beets (they usually come 3 beet roots to a bunch), an oven safe bowl, some foil, and a knife.

Clean the beets well. They don’t need to be scrubbed since the skin will be coming off of them after they’re cooked, but you do want to get most of the dirt off.

Next, take the knife and cut the beet stems about an inch above the beetroot (the bulb part). Leave the dangly bit of the root attached, and try not to damage the skin. Even the golden beets have juice that can stain, it’s just not as bright as the juice from red beets.

Place a layer of foil in the bowl, and place the beets on top of the foil, so that they’re nestled in the bowl (or pan, or what have you). Cover with more foil, and press the foil down tightly around the edges.

Place the covered bowl into the oven, and bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 45 minutes to an hour for small to average sized beets. You may need longer for very large  beets, or for roasting larger quanities.

Often, you can tell when the roasted beets are thoroughly cooked just by smell. When the oven starts giving off the aroma of beets, they’re nearly done. I also add a bit of water to the bowl if the beets are particularly large, to keep them from burning during the extended cooking time.

Once the roasted beets are finished and cooled enough to touch, simply pinch off the long root stem, and the stems at the top. Gently squeeze the beet to break open the skin, and peel it off. I recommend rinsing the beets once peeled, since some of the dirt from the outside may remain.

You can slice beets any which way, and top with anything you wish (oil, butter, herbs, salt & pepper), but I like them best just plain and a little warm.

For an extra nutritional punch, baby beets can be used since they don’t need to be peeled before being eaten, and beet greens are wonderful in salads, sauteed, or my favorite- used in home made fried rice! For more information on the health benefits of beets, please see my other posts.