Beets are one of the most nutritionally valuable vegetables available and also one of the most avoided, primarily because people are unsure how to prepare them or find the earthy flavour challenging. Both problems are solvable. Beets are genuinely versatile — they can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled, pickled, or juiced — and the earthy flavour that many find off-putting when beets are eaten plain is easily managed with the right pairings and preparation.
This guide covers every practical aspect of eating beets, from buying and storing through to all the meaningful preparation methods, with specific guidance on which method preserves the nitrate content discussed in the what is beet juice article on this site.
Forms of Beets Available
Fresh whole beets: The most nutritionally complete form. Available with or without the greens attached. Require washing and preparation before eating.
Pre-cooked vacuum-packed beets: Found in most supermarkets. Already cooked, peeled, and ready to eat or use. Convenient but may have lower nitrate content than raw due to the cooking process and time since preparation.
Canned beets: Cooked and preserved in liquid (usually water with salt or vinegar). Convenient but often higher in sodium and lower in nitrate than fresh or vacuum-packed varieties. The vinegar-pickled version has a distinct flavour profile.
Pickled beets: A preserved form where cooked beets are stored in a vinegar brine. The pickling process changes the flavour significantly and adds acidity. Lower in nitrate than raw beets due to the cooking and preservation process.
Raw beets: Available whole or sometimes pre-shredded in supermarkets. The highest nitrate content of any form. Require peeling and preparation.
Beetroot powder: As covered in the organic beetroot powder article on this site, dried beetroot powder concentrates the nitrate content and is a shelf-stable alternative to fresh beet juice.
Buying and Storing Fresh Beets
Buying: Look for firm beets without soft spots or significant wrinkling. The skin should be smooth and taut. Smaller beets (golf ball to tennis ball size) tend to be more tender and less woody than very large specimens. If the greens are attached, fresh, perky greens indicate the beet was recently harvested.
Storing: Separate the greens from the root if they are attached, as the greens draw moisture from the root and accelerate deterioration. Store the roots in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or sealed container. They keep well for 2 to 3 weeks under refrigeration. The greens should be used within 2 to 3 days.
How to Prepare Raw Beets
Raw beets are the highest-nitrate form and the basis of fresh beet juice (as covered in the what is beet juice article on this site). They require peeling before eating in most preparations.
Washing: Scrub thoroughly under cold running water with a produce brush. Beets grow underground and carry surface soil and potential pesticide residue.
Peeling: Use a vegetable peeler on raw beets. The skin is edible but has a slightly different texture and flavour from the flesh. For most preparations, peeling produces a cleaner eating experience. Wear kitchen gloves during peeling — beet juice stains hands, cutting boards, and clothing persistently.
The stain management approach:
- Work on a surface that can be wiped clean immediately
- Wear an apron
- Rinse hands and surfaces promptly with cold water (hot water sets the pigment)
- A small amount of lemon juice on the hands removes beet staining
Cutting: Once peeled, beets can be sliced, cubed, grated, or spiralised for different preparations.
Preparation Methods
Raw: The Highest Nitrate Option
Raw beets retain the full nitrate content and are more versatile than many people realise.
Grated raw beet: Peel and grate on the coarse side of a box grater. Grated raw beet has a firm, slightly crunchy texture and an earthy-sweet flavour. Uses:
- Mixed into salads with apple, walnuts, and a simple vinaigrette
- Added to coleslaws
- Mixed into grain bowls
- Combined with carrot and apple in a raw vegetable slaw
Thinly sliced raw beet: Peeled beets sliced paper-thin on a mandoline or with a sharp knife. The thin slices are more tender than thicker cuts and work well in salads dressed with citrus and olive oil.
Raw beet and apple combination: One of the most practical raw beet preparations. Grated raw beet combined with grated apple and a small amount of lemon juice produces a slaw-style preparation where the apple sweetness and acidity balance the earthiness of the beet. This is the simplest way to introduce raw beets into a regular diet.
Juiced: As covered in the what is beet juice article on this site, raw beet juice preserves the full nitrate content and delivers it efficiently. A standard centrifugal or cold-press juicer processes raw beets effectively. Combine with apple, ginger, and lemon to improve palatability.
Roasting: The Most Flavourful Method
Roasting concentrates the natural sugars in beets through caramelisation, significantly reducing the earthy flavour that makes raw beets polarising and producing a sweeter, more complex taste.
How to roast beets:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Scrub the beets but do not peel before roasting
- Wrap each beet individually in aluminium foil (or place unwrapped in a covered roasting dish with a small amount of water)
- Roast for 45 to 60 minutes for medium beets, 60 to 75 minutes for large beets
- The beets are ready when a knife or skewer inserts easily through the centre
- Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes
- The skin slips off easily with light pressure from fingers or a paper towel once cooled
Why wrapping matters: Wrapping in foil or covering the dish traps steam, which cooks the beet through its centre without drying out the exterior. Uncovered roasting produces a drier, sometimes tougher result.
Flavour note: Roasted beets are significantly sweeter and less earthy than raw or boiled beets. Many people who dislike raw beets find roasted beets highly palatable. This is the preparation most worth trying for beet-resistant eaters.
Nitrate consideration: Roasting reduces nitrate content compared to raw beets. If consuming beets primarily for the nitrate performance benefits described in the what is beet juice article, raw or minimally heated preparations are preferable. If eating beets as part of a balanced diet for general nutrition, roasting is an excellent method.
Boiling: The Quickest Cooking Method
Boiling is faster than roasting but produces a softer, less flavourful result and leaches more nitrate and nutrients into the cooking water.
How to boil beets:
- Scrub the beets but leave the skin on and leave 2 to 3 centimetres of stem attached (prevents the colour and nutrients from bleeding into the water)
- Place in a pot and cover with cold water
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes for medium beets (until a knife inserts easily)
- Drain and allow to cool
- Peel under cold running water: the skin slides off easily
The nutrient leaching issue: Boiling beets loses nitrate and betalain pigments into the cooking water. If you boil beets, using the cooking water in soups or sauces recovers some of these nutrients. If you discard the water, a meaningful proportion of the nitrate is lost.
When boiling is appropriate: For preparations where the beet will be dressed and served simply (beet salad, sliced beet as a side), or when speed is a priority over maximum nutritional preservation.
Steaming: A Better Alternative to Boiling
Steaming preserves more nitrate and betalain content than boiling because the beet does not come into direct contact with the water.
How to steam beets:
- Peel and quarter the beets
- Place in a steamer basket over simmering water
- Cover and steam for 25 to 35 minutes until tender
- Cool and use as desired
Recommended over boiling for anyone who prefers a cooked beet but wants to retain more of the nutritional content.
Pickling: A Distinct Flavour Profile
Pickling transforms beets into a tangy, acidic preparation that is quite different from any of the above methods.
Quick pickled beets:
- Cook beets by roasting or boiling, then slice or cube
- Combine equal parts white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) and water with a small amount of sugar and salt in a saucepan
- Bring to a simmer until sugar dissolves
- Pour over sliced beets in a jar and allow to cool
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before eating. Keep for up to 2 weeks
When pickled beets work well: As a condiment or side alongside rich meats, in grain bowls with cheese and greens, or as a tangy element in salads. The acidity makes pickled beets one of the most versatile beet preparations for people who find plain beets too earthy.
Can You Eat Beet Greens?
Yes, and they are worth eating. Beet greens (the leafy tops attached to fresh beets) are nutritionally comparable to Swiss chard, to which beets are closely related. They contain meaningful amounts of:
- Vitamin K (important for bone health and blood clotting)
- Vitamin A (from beta-carotene)
- Vitamin C
- Potassium
- Calcium
How to use beet greens:
- Sauteed in olive oil with garlic: one of the quickest and most flavourful preparations. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until wilted.
- Added raw to salads (younger, smaller leaves are the most tender for raw use)
- Used in place of spinach in any cooked preparation
- Added to smoothies where the flavour will be masked
Beet greens are more bitter than spinach but significantly less bitter than kale, placing them in a middle ground that most people find acceptable when simply cooked.
Can You Eat Beet Skin?
Yes. The skin of beets is edible and contains fibre and nutrients. Whether to eat it is primarily a texture and preparation question rather than a health one. Raw beet skin has a slightly rougher texture and more pronounced earthy flavour than the flesh. Cooked beet skin (particularly roasted) is soft and generally indistinguishable from the flesh in texture.
For raw preparations (grating, slicing), peeling produces a better eating experience. For roasted beets, the skin can be eaten or removed according to preference.
Flavour Pairings That Work
The earthy, slightly sweet flavour of beets pairs well with:
Acidic flavours: Citrus juice, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar all cut through the earthiness. A simple roasted beet salad dressed with good balsamic vinegar and olive oil is one of the most straightforward and delicious preparations.
Sharp and salty flavours: Goat cheese, feta, blue cheese, and sharp cheddar all complement beet’s sweetness. The classic beet and goat cheese combination works because the creaminess and tanginess of the cheese balance the sweet earthiness of the beet.
Nuts: Walnuts and hazelnuts pair particularly well with beets in salads.
Apple and ginger: As covered in the what is beet juice article on this site, this combination is particularly effective for raw beet juice but works equally well in raw grated preparations and roasted beet dishes.
Citrus: Orange and lemon both work well with beets. Orange segments alongside roasted beet and watercress is a classic combination.
Horseradish: The heat of horseradish cuts through the sweetness and earthiness of beets effectively. Common in Eastern European beet preparations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do beets turn everything red or pink?
Beets contain betalain pigments (betacyanins and betaxanthins) that are water-soluble and intensely coloured. These pigments bleed into any liquid they contact, including saliva, cooking water, and other foods in contact with the beet. The colour is harmless but requires management in the kitchen. Using acidic dressings can help stabilise the pigment and reduce bleeding in salad preparations.
How do you reduce the earthy flavour of beets?
The earthy flavour of beets comes primarily from a compound called geosmin, the same compound responsible for the smell of wet earth after rain. Acidity reduces the perception of geosmin significantly: dressing beets with citrus juice or vinegar is the most effective practical strategy for making them more palatable to people who find the earthiness challenging. Roasting concentrates the natural sugars, further reducing the relative prominence of the earthy note.
How much beet should I eat to get the nitrate performance benefits?
As covered in the what is beet juice article on this site, the research-supported nitrate dose for performance benefits is approximately 300 to 600mg of dietary nitrate. This is equivalent to approximately 200 grams of raw beetroot. For most people, consuming beets as part of a daily diet rather than in a single large serving is the most practical approach, supplemented with concentrated beet juice shots before competition or high-intensity training sessions.