Easy Baked Beets (Herb Roasted Beets)
If you’ve got a bunch of beets and need a great, simple recipe, these vegan baked beets are perfect. They’re soft and sweet in the middle and crisp on the outside. Flavored with salt, pepper, and herbs, they’re also incredibly easy and versatile. Sometimes I’ll serve them drizzled with a beet green pesto, or served over pasta. The other day I added them to an amazing breakfast burrito, along with a tempeh “bacon” and some Just Egg. I’ve also made them with some plans to incorporate them into a meal, and ended up having to change plans after noticing I had spent the last hour picking one beet after another until I was left with so few beets remaining that they wouldn’t work for whatever I had planned.
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Why Beets are the Best
I absolutely love beets. They’re sweet, earthy, versatile, and vibrant. You can cook them all sorts of ways, or eat them raw. They’re great for salads, stews, soups, stir-fry, juiced, pickled, steamed, roasted, and even work well in sweet dishes, particularly when mixed with chocolate. The most familiar beet is a deep purple that stains just about everything it can touch, but they also come in pink, white, yellow, and striped varieties. In the United States, we most often eat the beautiful bulbous roots, but the stems and greens on beets are edible as well. Nutritionally, beets are low in calories, and fairly high in sugar and fiber. Among the nutrients in beets are folate, manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. It’s also got plenty of antioxidants and other micronutrients. Eating plenty of beets has been linked to lower blood pressure, reduced inflammation, fighting heart disease, and increased exercise capacity. If you are prone to kidney stones, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor before eating a lot of beets, as they may contribute to developing them. A quick warning to those who have not eaten a lot of beets before- try to remember not to be shocked if your toilet ends up turning bright red or pink the next day- it’s totally harmless, just the beets!
Looking for Beet Recipes? Try one of these!
- 50+ Vegan Beet Recipes, for Every Occasion
- Chocolate Beet Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free)
- Avocado, Persimmon and Beet Tartare
- Golden Beet & Kohlrabi Recipe: Root Vegetable Latkes
- Wood Sorrel, Jicama, and Beet Slaw
- Easy Minestrone Soup with Beets
- Bouquet of Roses Beet & Radish Salad Pizza
- Vegan Meatballs (Beetballs) & Seitan and Beet Meatballs
How to Make Easy Baked Beets
To start with, these are easy baked beets for a reason- they’re easy! To start with, put that peeler back in the drawer. Beet skins are very much edible- in fact, a large percentage of the nutrients in a beet are actually in that thin layer of skin- and peeling them is just an extra step. So skip it, and just give them a bit of a scrub. Next chop your beets into small cubes. Again, no need to be fussy. Smaller cubes will cook faster, but slightly larger cubes are totally fine as well. Next toss your beets in some oil, salt, pepper, and a spice mix. The spices are totally optional, but they’re lovely- I usually go for some Herbs de Provence, although lately I’ve been using Mural of Flavor from Penzeys Spices. Other great options are Italian seasoning, or just a few pinches of your favorite spices like rosemary, thyme, parsley, and more. Toss it all together in a mixing bowl, or you can do it directly on the sheet pan if you’re lazy like me. Roast them in the oven for about 25 minutes, take them out and flip them over or mix them around. Return them to the oven, and let them bake for another 15-25 minutes, until soft in the middle and a little crispy on the outside. And that’s it! Serve as a great side for any meal, or sprinkle in a pasta dish, serve with grains, or use as a healthier substitute for roasted potatoes.
Easy Baked Beets (Herb Roasted Beets)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh beets
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. herb blend (such as herbs de province, murals of flavor, Italian seasoning, fine herbs, or similar)
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Wash your beets- you can peel them if you like but as long as you give them a good wash it isn’t necessary. Chop the beets into small pieces, about ½ inch cubes.
- On a roasting pan or in a bowl, combine the beets, oil, herbs, salt and pepper so all the beets are coated in oil and herbs. Spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and stir/flip the beets. Cook for another 15-25 minutes, until soft.
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