There are some things that inherently taste so good, the best way to enjoy them is really with minimal preparation.
Ever since I discovered what fresh beets taste like, I’ve been a huge fan of them. Fresh beets, which you can simply cover with foil and roast in the oven, are healthy, easy to prepare, and taste absolutely delicious.
Who would have thought that peeling them first, and thus caramelizing them in the oven, would glorify this humble root vegetable to new heights?
Of course, red beets are a pain to peel. Your hands turn bloody purple and they stain everything around them like crazy. I think that’s why most people just roast them whole in the oven. It’s makes everything so much cleaner, so much easier. At the end of a long work day, the last thing you want to do is get your hands dirty peeling beets. 
But then there’s the lovely golden beet. The beauty of the golden beets is that you can peel and chop them up before roasting without staining your hands.
Once roasted, they caramelize beautifully and taste even better than whole-roasted beets (which are essentially just steamed in the oven). I first had this at a friend’s house, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I was surprised that I had a harder time finding websites that talked about this method. Almost everyone just covers them in foil and (essential) steam-bakes them.
Let me tell you – this way tastes so much better.
I wouldn’t recommend it for red beets (for all the reasons I mentioned above), but if you can get your hands on some golden beets . . .
well, you’re golden. 😉
Oven Roasted Golden Beets
2-3 golden beets
2-3 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
Peel and chop into cubes golden beets. Toss with vegetable oil and put in a baking sheet or tray, making sure the beets are in a single layer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 400 degrees F for about 25 minutes, or until beets are soft and have golden brown edges.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
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Yum! Can’t wait to get some beets in our CSA!
This is the very best way to prepare yellow beets. Thank you. In return- have you tried adding chopped parsnip to potatoes prior to boiling ? Boil them together- mash them together. It gives a sweet taste to the mashed potatoes.
those are so gorgeous!! love the rustic look of the unpeeled ones, much better than the red ones 😉
I like beets plain and simple, also sweet potatoes. I like your photos – scrumptious!
Lucky! Are you doing a CSA this summer? I did one last summer but this summer opted not to do one because I missed the Farmers markets too much!
So simple but perfect in every way! I must find some golden beets now!
Beets are SO.GOOD when roasted in the oven this way! It tastes like candy!!!!! I use olive oil and do this exact thing. 🙂
Yeah, it really does taste like candy! I secretly snack on them late at night!!
These look absolutely beautiful. I also love the fact that golden beets don’t bleed all over my hands (and cutting board, and counter, and floor) but I always find the color a little disconcerting. I don’t feel like I’m eating beets! They feel like mangoes or something. :)But these do look wonderful. Great strategy.
I love beets! I don’t even bother with baking (steaming) them. I usually boil them because it’s quicker. I definitely want to try roasting! Thanks!
It’s midnight and my mouth is watering. I fell in love with beets late in life but hesitate to make them at home because of the red hands issue. But… golden beets? Roasted in the oven? Yes, please!
This looks so simple and delicious. I love red beets, but never realized there was another relative in the family. I can’t wait to try this!
I tried roasted golden beets 2 years ago at a vegan restaurant in Santa Monica and fell in love with them! I just picked up a small bunch at the farmers market today and plan to try your recipe right now 🙂
Great post; I was looking for a way or roasting these; thank you!
Rita
Yummy…just roasted golden beets and used with olive oil vs. reg oil and perfect!
This looks so easy and delightful. I really like red beets, but never recognized there was another comparative in the household. I can’t delay to try this!
Just bought some golden beets today at Whole Foods….can’t wait to try them. Just curious….why vegetable oil and not olive oil?
Hi Mgbg,
Olive oil would work fine too! I probably just had canola oil on hand and ended up using that! I’m sure olive oil would work too.
Enjoy!
Jen
I had received some vegetables from a local farmer and I was unsure of what they were. I was doing a chicken tomato stew and decided to cube & saute them with onions, garlic, mushrooms in butter. I noticed the yellow, ringed interior, but was really impressed with their flavor. I was unable to locate them at my local grocer and was very disappointed. Then just today I was watching food network and they were working with golden beets! I am so excited to find some new ways to make my new favorite vegetable. Good job!
Don’t forget to sauté the greens as well….its a whole meal 🙂
Of course! I even have a post on it! http://tinyurbankitchen.com/2009/11/beets-part-ii-beet-greens.html
I love, love golden roasted beets I actually use Macadamia oil because it has a great flavor and can tolerate high temps. I often pair the beets with roasted organic brussel sprouts they go good together
Neat trick! Thanks for sharing!
Just did the beets this way, but added a couple of red potatoes, with skins on, a brown potato with skin on and a red pepper that was beginning to show its age! Rolled beets first in mix of salad and olive oil, put in one end of greased jelly roll pan, then the potatoes in same oil mix, and finally pepper. Bit of Kosher salt/ Roasted 25-30 min. Meanwhile chopped greens, started steaming them with a bit of water. Then ranch style dressing dipped cod, [any white fish would do!], rolled in seasoned bread crumbs – some spicy seafood seasoning, chopped parsley and thyme, but whatever! would work. At 15 minutes on the beets etc, added the cod in a pyrex dish to oven. Made a sugar, balsamic and rice vinegar blend in a bowl with a bit of chopped garlic. Steamed greens were tossed in that – a very pretty plate, with the white fish, the yellow beets, red peppers etc., and a little bowl on the side with the sweet n sour beet greens. My mom always did this last, except for the garlic and I just combine the vinegar/sugar til it tastes good on my finger and that’s it! MDH – of 50+ years said it was wonderful. [His mom was not an adventurous cook! shhh]
Yum, I love roasted beets. I’m going to make these tonight, but with some halved Brussels sprouts and red onion chunks mixed in. I was looking for something to serve with the wild halibut I bought and this sounds perfect 🙂
I just bought these beautiful creatures. Going to roast them with a butternut squash and maybe some sweet potatoes oh and perhaps a parsnip or 2. Roots and gourds! 🙂
I have decided that one of my New Years Resolutions is to only splurge in the produce section at my local grocery store, and golden beets are what caught my eye! I am so excited to have these for dinner tonight!! Thanks!
Awesome recipe – just made these and they are delish!! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!
I do mine this way but add rosemary at the beginning and a splash of balsamic about 5 minutes before I take them out of the oven, D-LISH!
Thanks for this … I just got some golden beets in my biweekly box. Your presentation looks great!
Try the golden beets with a bit of orange juice and Grand Marnier in the mix. Awesome. Also, be on the look-out for candy cane beets – red and cream swirls inside the beet. Very festive and delicious too!
Great recipe! So easy and quick!
These were delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you for recipes and for posting pictures of the finished roasted beets! It gave me the direction I needed to use the golden beets I had bought with a desire to be able to cook more diverse veggies that taste good and are nutritious.
Great!
Thanks so much for posting/blogging about this, Jen! I shall try this approach tomorrow with the golden beets I was given at the farmer’s market today by my brother. Take care and que dios te bendiga!
I must know, what kind of knife are you using? It’s beautiful!
These are Masamoto Tsukiji knives I bought in Japan.
http://tinyurbankitchen.com/masamoto-tsukiji/
I have made these beets several times now and each time when I do them for dinner guests they get rave review. Thanks for such a simple recipe.
You’re welcome!
Yum! Thanks for keeping it so simple!
Very happy with this recipe! My family isn’t as keen on beets as I am, so I can eat ALL THE BEETS with no guilt.
Just love beetroot, and just found golden beetroot. So I’m cutting out the middle man and have ordered seeds and will grow my own.
I love golden beets! They can be hard to find but if you have a Seasons 52 near you they have a golden beet salad. It’s just chunks of beet w/ goat cheese and pistachio nuts and a little balsamic to die for!
So glad to see your simple recipe for roasting golden beets! Not only are they less messy to prepare, as you point out, but they taste way better than red beets, roasted or otherwise! I got onto these at a local restaurant in the Burlington, VT area where I live, and have been hooked ever since 🙂
Thanks for sharing your recipe for golden beets, they look terrific. I love colorful plates! Went looking for recipes after a friend posted a pic of golden beet salad with feta.
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Saw a salad made with golden beets last year and it looked delicious. couldn’t find any. Finally at t he end o the year found a gigantic one but wa too tentativebaout getting it. Just this week I found a bunch and am determined to make them. Your recipe looks wonderful. Will do it tonight. with petite broiled steaks and mini potatoes.
Steam washed beets for 5-10 mins before peeling them by rubbing the skin and hairy roots off. the skin and leaf stalk rubs off very easily. Then you can roast the beetroots
With utmost love and respect to everyone, anybody afraid of Red Beet’s Juice STAINS and BLEEDING in their kitchens are truly spoiled ungrateful LAZY BRATS because the red bleeding beet juice stains are totally harmless usually fade wipe up disappear fairly easily and quickly with plain water without a fuss or second thought and make a great facial rosy rouge for dress-up make-up and Halloween masquerade parties!!!! Red Beets’ juice is a most beautiful color and goes GREAT with whole natural white and-or pink grapefruit juices as well!!!!
After roasting, I put the roasted beets in the refrigerator. Used them in a dinner salad with apple cider vinaigrette and feta cheese. They were a little tricky to peel, next time I will leave the stalks on to peel.
Very good!