If you're wondering how to roast beets, look no further: This recipe is incredibly easy, yields flavorful and tender beets and comes together with just a few simple ingredients.
Scrub beets clean and wash well. Slice off tops and bottoms, then cut beets in half.
Place beets in large roasting pan and toss with olive oil, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Roast in the hot oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Carefully remove pan from oven and cover with aluminium foil (careful, the pan is hot! Use oven gloves!).
Return pan to oven and roast for another 30-45 minutes, until beets are fork-tender.
Remove pan from oven and allow beets to cool for a few minutes (leave them covered or skins will not come off as easily). Using rubber gloves or paper towels, rub skins off of the beets.
Either serve warm or chilled (see tips).
Notes
Ingredient notes
Beets: I prefer firm, medium-sized beets to roast. Large ones take absolutely forever in the oven, so I stick to ones about the size of a medium orange/ones I can comfortably hold in one hand.
Thyme: I go for dried thyme here because I don’t always keep fresh on hand. Feel free to use a few sprigs of fresh thyme in place of the dried. You can also use a different herb you enjoy – oregano or even a seasoning blend like Italian herbs or Herbes de Provence are delicious.
Oil: I prefer olive oil in this recipe, but canola oil or another neutral vegetable oil will work just as well.
Recipe tips
Make sure to pick evenly sized beets for even roasting.
I prefer peeling the beets once they are cooked, because the cooked juices don’t stain as much as the raw juices. Hands are relatively easy to clean after handling the cooked beets vs handling the raw beets, too. Feel free to peel them before cooking if that’s what you prefer. The roasting time will stay about the same.
Beets need a lot of seasoning to make sure they’re not bland. I generously salt them before roasting, but they usually need to have salt added to be served, too. A splash of balsamic vinegar or some butter, salt and pepper are very delicious on hot beets, and for cold salads I always marinade them in balsamic/olive oil/parsley/salt/pepper to chill. Otherwise you’ll be disappointed at how bland they are.
Store leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.