Beets. Do you love them or hate them? Have you ever tried them before?
My mom has a thing for vegetables. In fact funny story. When my parents got married my mom asked my dad “what his favorite vegetable was” and he said he didn’t know because he didn’t eat vegetables!!! She just couldn’t believe it so she took it as her personal mission to first, get him to eat vegetables, and second to find to out what his favorite is. Needless to say my mom converted him to a vegetable lover. When I was growing up my mom loved to garden so we would always be outside picking things off the plants or vines to bring in and use for dinner that night –so we in turn had just about any and every vegetable under the sun.
There was always one weekend a year where my mom and dad would dedicate to canning all day. They would can tomatoes, peppers, green beans, and beets. Then they would store all those mason jars in our basem*nt for easy access. My brother and I loved it because we would just go straight for the beets every time!
We big puffy heart beets! They are filled with antioxidants and other good nutrients, are sweet, and absolutely delicious!
I ate them alot when I was growing up but then stopped around college. They weren’t exactly the easiest thing to get in college, if you know what I’m saying. (its ramen town when you’re in college) Well, a couple of years ago I went to a Salad bar restaurant in our area and they had BEETS! So of course I got them .. and was brought back to my first love…. mmmmm.
Now Cason adores them too, he could probably eat an entire meal of just beets. The kid cracks me up, “more beets mommy!”
So of course I needed to learn how to make them at home, buying already prepared beets (that are not in a can) can be a little pricey. Which meant it was time to call momma, the ever trusted source in cooking and figure out how to make my own!
You can cook beets two ways, you can boil them or you can roast them. I have done both and prefer to boil them because the skin is SOOOOO much easier to remove. It literally just squeezes off, and believe me, after my share of red hands the ease of skin removal is an important factor when deciding how to cook them. 🙂
Depending on your beet size, you boil them for 20-30 minutes put them in an ice bath immediately and remove the skin right away. Slice them up and store them in an air tight container for eating later.
I serve them as a side, eat them as a snack, put them in smoothies, or on top of salads.
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Author:Krista
Prep Time:5 mins
Cook Time:30 mins
Total Time:35 mins
Yield:4 cups of diced beets 1x
Category:How To
Method:Stovetop
Cuisine:American
Print Recipe
Description
An easy recipe for how to cook beets on the stovetop! Full of nutrients & antioxidants, beets are great forsmoothies, side dishes, salads & snacking!
Ingredients
Scale
6 beets, skin on (I used 3 red and 3 golden)
Instructions
Prepare a large bowl with water and ice.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add beets to pot. (if using red and golden beets, be sure to put them in separate pots or the red will dye the golden beets)
Boil for 20-30 minutes depending on size of beets. (test one of them – you should be able to easily remove the skin if you can’t them let it cook longer)
Remove beets from boiling water and place in an ice bath.
Remove skin from beets using your hands, rinse, and slice/dice beets.
Store in an air tight container.
Filed Under:
Gluten-Free
How To
Kid Friendly
Paleo
Vegetarian
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO SNAP A PIC AND HASHTAG IT#JOYFULHEALTHYEATS. I LOVE SEEING WHAT YOU MAKE!
Steaming beets is a healthful cooking method because they retain most of their vitamins and minerals—they're not boiled out in water—and stay incredibly vibrant. Plus, steaming small beets or beet quarters is quick and easy for weeknights.
Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.
Roasting beets deepens their natural sugars while tempering bitterness. Bake whole, wrapped beets at 400°F for 60-75 minutes until easily pierced by a fork. Allow to cool before peeling and juicing. Incorporating roasted beets creates a smoother, mellower, almost nutty-flavored blended juice.
Delicious. Roasted with goat cheese. – The classic, all-time favorite preparation. Roast beets until they are tender and juicy, then eat them with some spicy greens and piquant goat cheese.
Boiling beets is a good alternative to steaming beets, if you don't own a steamer basket. Depending on the size of the beets, it will take around 40 minutes to boil whole beets on the stove. Trim the stems and greens off of the beets, then scrub the beets clean and place them in a large pot.
Add prepped beets, bring water to a boil over high, and cover. Cook, until beets are tender when pierced with a fork, 30 to 45 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Rub off skins with paper towels to peel; discard skin.
Tip: When you're finished, you can either drain the deep-red cooking liquid or save it and use it as the base for a flavorful soup or vegetable broth. Water infused with beet juice can even be used as an all-natural dye.
You can even enjoy them raw, either sliced thinly or grated. Choose beets that feel heavy for their size with fresh, unwilted green leafy tops still attached, if possible. Because dietary nitrates are water-soluble, it's best to avoid boiling beets if you'd like to maximize their nitrate content.
Directions. Place the beets in a large saucepan and add water to cover and the lemon juice or vinegar. This will help to keep the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Steaming beets is a healthful cooking method because the beets retain most of their vitamins and minerals-they're not boiled out in water-and stay incredibly vibrant. Plus, steaming small beets or beet quarters is quick and easy for weeknights.
The beets will not spoil if left at cool room temperature for a few days, but they do best when refrigerated for up to 10 days. If they turn soft, discard them.
How to Boil Beets. Trim the stems and greens off of the beets, then scrub the beets clean and place them in a large pot. Add 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar to the pot with 1 teaspoon salt, then fill the pot with water, enough to cover the beets.
Microwaving or steaming beets are both healthy cooking methods that retain beets' nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Unlike boiling, these methods use minimal water and preserve the natural flavor and nutritional value of beets.
Cure your vegetables as you would a piece of meat for a couple of days. This can be achieved by rubbing the vegetable or mushroom with salt at a concentration of 1.75% of the vegetable's weight, wrapping it tightly in plastic or vacuum sealing it, and letting it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days.
You can even enjoy them raw, either sliced thinly or grated. Choose beets that feel heavy for their size with fresh, unwilted green leafy tops still attached, if possible. Because dietary nitrates are water-soluble, it's best to avoid boiling beets if you'd like to maximize their nitrate content.
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