Simple Boiled Beets

By Alysha Melnyk

Beets can be prepared a number of different ways, including steaming, roasting, and boiling (featured in this recipe). You can also enjoy beets raw by peeling off the hard outer skin and grating into salad. Boiling beets is one of my favorite preparation methods, since it’s a bit quicker than roasting and still gets the beets nice and tender. Boiling beets can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 30 minutes (depending on the size of the beet/preferred cooked texture – I like mine a little firmer so typically cook for around 20 to 25 minutes). It’s easy to place these on the stove top and boil while you’re preparing other parts of a meal. 

Boiling Beets

1. Fill a pot about 3/4 full with water and place beets inside.
2. Bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook beets for about 20 minutes to 30 minutes. I would test a smaller and larger beet for tenderness at the 20 minute mark by either removing and cutting or piercing with a fork. 
3. Cook beets until desired texture is reached. I typically cook all of mine (larger and smaller) for about 20-25 minutes since I like the beets to be a bit firm and not too soft. 
4. Prepare an ice bath with a 50:50 water/ice mixture in a bowl. Place beets inside and let rest 5 minutes.
5. Use your fingers or a peeler to gently remove beet skin/any undesired areas. 
6. Slice or cut beets and enjoy! I recommend only slicing the beets you intend to enjoy right away – store others whole in the refrigerator and enjoy within a few days. 

*Tip: I paired my beets with endive, lettuce, radish, balsamic reduction, salt, and pepper for a quick salad. 

*Tip: You can also sauté the beet greens removed and enjoy. 

Alysha Melnyk is the Founder and Content Creator of The Kitchenologist©, a food blog dedicated to healthy eating and kitchen experiments. Alysha combined her background in biology with her passion for making food delicious, eye-catching, and accessible. When she’s not cooking in the kitchen or dreaming up a recipe, Alysha works full time as an Implementation Specialist at ECRI, an international medical nonprofit located in suburban Philadelphia that is dedicated to improving patient safety worldwide. Alysha finds her many career passions revolve around the power of knowledge and that equipping people with the right tools and resources will help them make better informed decisions.