We love these highly-rated recipes that highlight a vegetable that we think is very underrated. Pairing deliciously earthy beets with naturally sweet or savory ingredients like maple, goat cheese and chickpeas makes for satisfying dishes you’ll come back to again and again. Recipes like our Melting Beets with Maple & Turmeric and Chickpea, Beet & Feta Salad with Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette are delicious, healthy ways to shine a spotlight on fresh beets.
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Melting Beets with Maple & Turmeric
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Isabelle Easter, Prop Stylist: Keoshia McGhee.
Golden beets take on a melt-in-your-mouth texture in this elegant side dish, infused with the warmth of turmeric and the natural sweetness of maple syrup. A final swirl of butter turns the pan juices into a glossy sauce that clings to each slice, while fresh tarragon adds a subtle lift. The result is a colorful dish that feels just as at home on a holiday table as it does alongside a weeknight roast.
Beet & White Bean Sandwiches
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
These beet and white bean sandwiches have a vibrant, creamy filling. Pickling the beets in rice vinegar and thyme leads to a tangy, herb-infused flavor. Making your own pickled beets also eliminates any added sugars that might be in a store-bought version. Combining the beets and beans with alfalfa sprouts, red onion and your favorite bread, these sandwiches are a satisfying plant-based lunch.
Roasted Beets with Mustard Vinaigrette
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Clarie Spollen
Packed with flavor, roasted beets with mustard vinaigrette is a delicious side dish that brings out the natural sweetness of beets with a tangy, zesty kick. For a more substantial meal, add grilled or roasted chicken, or turn it into a vibrant salad and serve it over a bed of peppery arugula.
Melting Beets with Feta & Pistachios
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jasmine Smith, Prop Stylist: Abbie Armstrong
Roasting beets and then adding liquid boosts flavor on the outside and creates a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Crumbled feta cheese and pistachios top these sweet and savory beets for a delicious and easy side dish. Red, golden or Chioggia beets will work well here. No matter which you choose, the orange juice and zest will make them pop.
Chickpea, Beet & Feta Salad with Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Addelyn Evans
This chickpea, beet & feta salad is a vibrant blend of flavors and textures, marrying the earthy sweetness of beets with the creamy richness of feta cheese, all tied together with a zesty lemon-garlic dressing. If you have the time, you can roast or steam your own beets or, to keep prep fast and simple, opt for precooked beets found in the produce section of well-stocked grocery stores.
Simple No-Cook Grated Beet & Carrot Salad
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Tucker Vines
This vibrant beet and carrot salad combines shredded carrots and beets with a sweet-tangy dressing. Serve it solo, toss it with greens, or use it as a sandwich or wrap filler. For best results, grate fresh carrots and beets using a box grater’s large holes or a food processor’s shredding disk. Wear gloves when grating beets to prevent staining your hands.
Anti-Inflammatory Cherry, Beet & Kale Smoothie
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
Kale, cherries and beets team up in this powerful anti-inflammatory smoothie. All three of these fruits and veggies contain unique anti-inflammatory compounds that may help stave off diseases associated with chronic inflammation, including cancer, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. Using packaged steamed beets is a great shortcut here. If you have cooked beets on hand, use those! The cherries help sweeten the smoothie and add a fruity flavor. If you opt for tart cherries, you can balance the tanginess with a small drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
Roasted Golden Beets
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek
Golden beets are sweet and earthy just like red beets, but prepping them is a little less messy thanks to their mellower golden color. Roasting beets enhances their sweetness, but we give their flavor a boost with just a touch of honey. This golden beet side dish works well with roasted chicken or pork. You can easily jazz them up by topping them with crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese and a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs.
Anti-Inflammatory Beet & Avocado Wrap
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Packed with fiber and monounsaturated fats, avocados are one of the best foods to eat to fight inflammation. Combined with raw beets, which contain their own inflammation-fighting phytochemicals, you’ll get a lunch that packs a healthy punch. The tahini-lemon mixture adds brightness and a nutty flavor to the wrap. To julienne beets, cut them into thin rounds, then slice the rounds into matchsticks. Or to save time, simply grate the beets on the largest holes of a box grater.
Balsamic-Rosemary Melting Beets
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless.
These Balsamic-Rosemary Melting Beets are an elegant way to showcase the delicious flavor of roasted beets. Roasting brings out their earthy depth, while a mixture of broth, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and honey adds brightness and complexity. Fresh rosemary infuses the dish with aromatic warmth, and a final swirl of cold butter creates a silky finish.
Pickled Beet, Arugula & Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich
Jacob Fox
This pickled beet, arugula and goat cheese sandwich is peppery with creamy notes from the goat cheese and sweet and tangy undertones from the pickled beets. Chopped walnuts add nuttiness and crunch to this easy sandwich.
Melting Beets with Goat Cheese
Roasting the beets with broth makes them crispy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. Crumbled goat cheese tops these melt-in-your-mouth beets for an easy side dish.
Crispy Smashed Beets with Feta
We take a classic pairing—beets and feta—and make it even tastier by roasting the beets before smashing them to create crispy edges.
Beet, Mandarin & Farro Salad
Chef Jose “JoJo” Ruiz serves up sustainable seafood in “coastal cuisine”—featuring Mediterranean flavors like the combo of citrus, feta and parsley here—at his San Diego restaurants Lionfish and Serēa. Multicolored beets make this farro salad a pretty addition to any table, but if you’re short on time, store-bought cooked beets (found in the refrigerated produce section) are just as delicious here.
Brown Sugar-Glazed Beets
Try a sweet glaze on beets or other root vegetables to help balance their earthy flavor. This easy recipe will work with steamed carrots, turnips or rutabaga too.
