How To Cook Raw Beets

Beets have a unique sweet, earthy flavor, and if you’ve come this far, you undoubtedly agree. If you find yourself with a lot of beets on your hand and don’t know what to do with them, you’ve come to the right place. Beets are really simple to prepare and always bursting with flavor.

A lot of people may not agree, but beets can taste really great. This will, however, depend on whether or not you cook them well. This article will provide you with all you need to know about cooking beets and always getting great results.

Raw Beets Nutrition Facts

Tips for Cooking Raw Beets

The following tips are necessary to get you through the process of cooking beets, as well as to ensure that you get desirable results:

How to prepare beets for cooking – Because beets are a root vegetable that grows underground, you’ll want to clean them well before you cook them. Trim the tops of the stems and leaves (beet greens can be cooked if you please).

While some people peel beets before cooking, it’s a bit of a pain and, truthfully, is not an essential procedure. Once cooked, the skins easily peel away. If you’re using large beets, chop them in halves or quarters to speed up the cooking process.

Wear your gloves – Your fabric may get stained by beet skins and juice while handling the beets, so use paper towels or a kitchen towel that you don’t mind getting dirty! Also, make sure to put on gloves if you have them.

Cooking Raw Beets

Raw beets can be cooked in a variety of manners; some choice methods include roasting, steaming, or grilling. The trick is to try out different beet-cooking ways until you find your most preferred method.

You may use beets in a variety of ways once they’ve been cooked. Cooked beets can be added to salads, made into hummus, or blended into smoothies. You can dice them for slaw, quarter them for a grain bowl, or mash them for a dip or spread. Their thick, chewy texture works well in a wide range of recipes.

Peel the cooked beets and keep them in an airtight glass container for two to three days if you aren’t going to use them straight away.

Microwaving Whole Raw Beets

Using a microwave is one of the quickest methods of preparing raw beets that still helps the beets retain a lot of their earthy taste. This beet-cooking method works well with small to medium beets. Large beets may become rubbery on the outside before becoming soft enough to eat inside.

• Clean the beets and place them in a microwave-safe dish. Fill the dish with enough water to cover the bottom. Wrap the dish in plastic wrap.
• Microwave on High for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating once, until fork-tender.
• Allow for a 5-minute rest period. Trim the stems and remove the skin after removing the taproot.

Roasting Whole Raw Beets

Roasted beets typically have a sweet taste and hints of mineral flavors. Roasting whole huge beets take well over an hour, so this is a terrific weekend choice if you have some time to kill. If you need roasted beets in a hurry, choose smaller bulbs.

• To eliminate the excess moisture, dry clean the beets with a towel.
• The taproots of the raw beets should be removed. 2 to 3 medium beets, a little olive oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Toss the beets to coat.
• Wrap all beets in foil and lay them on a baking sheet lined with foil.
• Roast until the beets become fork-tender, at an ideal temperature of 400°F for 30 to 45 minutes if using medium-sized beets, or 40 to 60 minutes for bigger beets.

 

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Boiling Raw Beets

Boiling beets results in them being delicate and possessing a milder flavor. Boiling beets also extract a lot of color from the root vegetables, absorbed by the heated water. This is alright if you need added flavor, but keep in mind that the beet color will change slightly during the cooking process.

• Remove the rest of the stem and taproot from the cleaned beets. Fill a big saucepan halfway with water and add the beets.
• Boil the beets, then set the heat to a low level and continue cooking until the beets are soft and tender, about 25 to 35 minutes for medium and 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets.
• Remove the skins from the cooked beets and place them in ice-cold water.

Cooking Time for Raw Beets

The time it takes to cook raw beets depends solely on the method you choose to employ and the size of beets you’re planning to cook. These timing guidelines will give you the best results:

Cooking procedure	Cooking time
Boiling beets	25 to 35 minutes for medium-sized beets 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets
Roasting beets at 400 F	30 to 45 minutes for medium-sized beets 40 to 60 minutes for large beets
Microwaving beets on high	12 to 15 minutes, plus a 5-minute resting period

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