How to Boil Beets

Want a recipe for boiled beets? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to stovetop cook beets until perfectly tender.

Would you like to cook turnips? We’re big fans of this nutritious pink root vegetable here too! We like to eat it in everything from salad to hummus to soup. There are many ways to cook beets: you can fry them or, if you have an Instant Pot, you can pressure cook them. And finally: you can cook them! Cooking beets is quick and easy: it’s our favorite way to cook when we’re in a hurry. Read on for our tutorial!

How to cook beets: a tutorial

Boiling beets is a quick and easy method! How long to cook beets Depending on the size, it takes between 20 and 40 minutes. Compared to roasting beets for about 1 hour, this is a huge time saver! Roasting beets accentuates their sweet flavor a bit more, so this is our favorite method. But if you’re in a hurry, boiling beets is the way to go!

We recommend making a large batch and then storing it in the fridge for a week. Whole cooked beets will keep in an airtight container for about 3 to 5 days. (Oh, and make sure to make beet hummus! You’ll thank us later.) Now you’re ready to go?

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Use the largest pot you have. You can salt the water liberally: add about 1 tablespoon or more as you would for pasta.

Step 2: Wash the beets and cut the leaves.

wash beets. Next, trim off all but about 1 inch of the beet greens. Leaving it on the stick will help prevent too much red juice from “bleeding” as the beets cook. However, there will always be leaks in the water! (You can store beet greens: Here’s the best beet greens recipe! And here’s how to store beets if you’re not going to use them all.)

Step 3: Boil beetroot until soft, depending on size, for 20 to 40 minutes.

Cook until tender when pierced with a knife, 20-40 minutes. Smaller turnips will take about 20 minutes, medium turnips about 30 minutes, and large turnips about 40 minutes or more.

Step 4: Rinse with cold water and scrub the skin.

When you’re done cooking the beets, peel them! Leave the beets to cool for a few minutes. Then put them under cold water and rub the skins with your fingers. Warning: This process is a bit messy! Be careful not to splash too much and wipe off the beet juice stains right away! The beetroot juice will eventually wash off your hands.

You’re done! You can serve boiled beets immediately. Or store them in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-5 days to use in recipes throughout the week (keep whole to stay fresh).

Ways to use boiled beets

Once you’ve finished cooking the beets, you can use them in so many different ways! Here are some of our favorite beetroot recipes:

1. Salad. Our favorite is this Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing, featuring leafy greens, a tangy dressing, and crunchy pistachios. Or try our beet and apple salad with honey mustard vinaigrette.
2. With goat cheese. Try the beets with goat cheese: cut them into rounds and garnish with goat cheese, chives and a little olive oil. Yummy!
3. Like hummus. Beets cooked to a bright pink color with creamy beet hummus.
4. In a veggie burger. Try these Smoked Black Bean Beetroot Burgers.
5. In the brownies. I haven’t tried them, but how fun are these sneaky beetroot brownies?

Of course, you probably have your own favorite ways to use this healthy root vegetable! Tell us in the comments below.

Tell us: why are you cooking beets today? (I was just wondering.)

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free and vegan.