This is my go-to method and simple recipe for oven roasted beets—and there’s no peeling required. Sweet, tender beets will elevate any salad or grain bowl. Sliced, cubed, or marinated, beets are both nutritious and versatile, and oven-roasting makes them ready-to-use.

This is a recipe for anyone who loves beets but is hesitant to cook them.

It used to be that I’d jump at the chance to order beets if I spotted them in a restaurant salad or appetizer, but I didn’t know how to make them at home.

My first few efforts to cook them from scratch had brought limited success, and a lot of this had to do with the tedious task of peeling raw beets. It was a messy, slippery process, which at one point resulted in a nicked knuckle.

This was before I realized that it’s possible to roast beets with the skins on, then to easily slip those skins off after cooking. No peeler required.

As soon as I figured this out, oven roasted beets became one of my staple vegetables to meal prep. Roasted beets end up in so many of my salads and grain bowls, and their usefulness doesn’t stop there. The beets can be blended into smoothies or dips, and they can even be used in baking.

Any of those recipes will begin with this one. It’s the easiest, most efficient method of cooking beets that I’ve tried.

Foil-wrapping = better roasting

The beets in this recipe are wrapped in foil prior oven-roasting. Foil-wrapping creates a neat, tightly secured little package, which locks in moisture as the beets cook.

This has the effect of deepening the beets’ sweetness and also of softening their skins. As the beets reduce a bit in size, the skins become looser and easier to remove.

I drizzle the beets with a very small amount of oil (avocado or olive) before roasting, as I find that it makes removing the skins even easier. For the most part, though, this recipe minimizes the need for added oil.

The resulting beets will be as simple as can be, with no seasoning or frills. After you roast them and slip off the skins (more on that below), you can season the beets to your liking or use them in any recipe that calls for pre-cooked beets.

Pick your beet(s)

Red beets are pictured in this post, but the oven roasted beet recipe will work with other beet varieties as well.

I’ve used this method with golden, red, and chiogga beets, successfully each time. I especially love the intense sweetness of golden beets.

You can roast baby beets or badger flame beets in the same way as other types, but keep in mind that they may require less time in the oven. These are smaller in size than other beets and roast more quickly. I recommend a roasting time of 35-45 minutes for smaller beets.

No peeling required

While it’s possible to peel beets prior to roasting or boiling, those raw beet skins are stubborn and annoying to remove.

These oven-roasted beets are de-skinned after roasting, which by contrast couldn’t be easier.

You’ll trim the beets prior to wrapping and roasting, which means that you’ll be removing their edible greens. Go ahead and save these for soups, stock, or for simple sautéing.

Next comes foil-wrapping and roasting. I like to wrap each beet in its own little foil pocket. I find that skin removal is easier if I do this, rather than wrapping multiple beet bulbs in one piece of foil.

If you don’t have foil at home, you can use parchment paper as a substitute, tightly twisting the paper to create a seal. I find this to be fussier and less efficient than foil-wrapping, but it’s an alternative that works well enough.

Once you transfer the beets to the oven, they’ll need about 40-75 minutes of cooking time: 75 minutes for giant beet bulbs, 40 for small ones.

After roasting, give the beets about 15-20 minutes of resting time before you remove their peels. This will make them cool enough to handle (though they’ll still be hot, so be sure to handle them carefully).

Finally, you’ll slip the skins off under cold, running water.

Can you slip the skins off without the water? Yes, but it will be harder to remove them, and you’ll need to let the beets cool for longer to bring their temperature down.

Once peeled, the beets will be ready to store or to serve. You can store them whole, or you can cube them before transferring them to an airtight container for storage.

Uses for oven roasted beets

The simplest thing that I like to do with a freshly roasted batch is to make my simple, marinated beets. You can eat them on their own or use them in tasty and colorful quinoa beet bowls.

It’s also fine to add roasted beets directly to salad or grain bowls without marinating them beforehand.

Nowadays there are store-bought, ready-to-eat beets that take care of the cooking for you. It’s nice to have this option, but roasting beets at home is a little more budget-friendly than purchasing them pre-made. If you ask me, this recipe makes the homemade option nearly as convenient as store-bought.

Use your roasted beets in any recipe that calls for beets that are already cooked, whether it’s roasted beet hummus, vegan chocolate beet cake, or tahini beet dressing.

Adding beets to any recipe will amount to added fiber, added potassium, added Vitamin C, and—most fun of all—a brilliant pop of added color.

Beets are truly nutrient-dense and delicious, and they deserve to be enjoyed regularly. I hope that this recipe makes you excited to prepare them!

xo