27 Brilliant Beet Recipes (2024)

The vibrant colors of sweet, earthy beets make for some of the most absolute show-stopping side dishes imaginable. Whether you're using standard red beets, brilliant golden beets, or pink-and-white striped heirloom Chiogga beets, your dish is bound to be beautiful. Here, we've gathered our best beet recipes, from simple pickled beets to chilled borscht, roasted beet salads to a surprising beet cake. We even have recipes for a beet gnocchi and risotto. Choose your favorite and take care not to stain your hands or countertop!

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Beet Aguachile

For this gorgeous beet aguachile (which the chef nicknames "Vampiro" aguachile, for its deep purple-red color and inclusion of black garlic), chef Claudette Zepeda makes a bright, spicy broth out of beet juice. The unique, funky flavor from the black garlic and sweetness from the orange juice help balance the acidity of the lime juice.

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02of 27

Beet and Onion Salad

Sweet beets, crisp onion, and great olive oil and vinegar are all you need to make this simple and crowd-pleasing salad from Spanish winemaker Álvaro Palacios.

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03of 27

Beet Gnocchi with Walnut-Sage Butter

2012 F&W Best New Chef Jenn Louis found these intense beet gnocchi in northwestern Italy. They're sweet and earthy and so delicious, they barely need a sauce. When the beet greens are fresh enough, Louis adds them to the walnut-sage butter.

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04of 27

Borscht with Buttermilk and Grated Cucumber

Packed with fresh summer herbs, this chilled beet soup is bright, earthy, and doesn't require turning on your stove. Grated beets are quickly marinated in a pickle juice brine to mellow their earthiness before they are stirred together with grated cucumber and buttermilk for a crisp, cooling bite.

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05of 27

Beet and Blue Cheese Salad

This simple Eastern European–style salad has been one of chef Nicolaus Balla's favorites ever since he lived in Hungary as a teenager. He marinates sweet roasted beets in a red wine vinaigrette to make them more flavorful before tossing them with scallions, herbs, and crumbled blue cheese.

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06of 27

Roasted Beets and Celery Root with Goat Butter

Goat butter (sold at specialty-food stores; use regular butter if unavailable) is white, smooth, and creamy. Chef Tyler Brown likes using it in this riff on the classic pairing of roasted beets and goat cheese.

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Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios

A drizzle of pistachio oil on top of this roasted beet salad intensifies the nuttiness.

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08of 27

Cider-Vinegar Pickled Beets

These simple beets are wonderful in salads or by themselves, as a wholesome snack.

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09of 27

Beet and Apple Salad

For his salad, chef George Mendes uses fresh horseradish and Gegenbauer cider vinegar, a rare Austrian import. This version calls for jarred horseradish and supermarket apple cider vinegar.

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10of 27

Beet Risotto

Beets give this creamy risotto stunning color and delicate sweetness. We suggest wearing rubber gloves and shredding the beets directly into a stainless steel bowl to avoid staining hands and countertops.

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Spinach Salad with Citrus and Roasted Beets

Curly leaf spinach has great texture and flavor and holds this mustardy dressing well. For additional color, feel free to use a variety of different colored beets. You can also swap blood oranges for the tangerines.

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12of 27

Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Mint

To give this refreshing salad Palestinian flavor, San Fransisco chef and Bi-Rite Market owner Sam Mogannam seasons the dressing with ground sumac, a tangy Middle Eastern spice. While the color of golden beets contrasts nicely with dark red blood orange sections, any beet variety — from standard red ones to the white-and-pink striped Chioggia — will be delicious.

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13of 27

Beet Cake with Bourbon Sauce

Chef Michel Nischan's super moist beet cake is layered with a silky, rich whiskey custard and topped with whipped cream for an unexpected, delicious dessert.

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14of 27

Roasted Beet and Avocado Salad

A surprise ingredient — a puree of the squat Italian cipollini onion — thickens and sweetens the mustard dressing on this wintry salad of earthy roasted red beets and chunks of silky avocado.

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15of 27

Beets with Chicories, Yogurt, and Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette

Roasting beets with the skins intact is a trick chef Nancy Silverton picked up from the restaurant North Abraxas in Tel Aviv, and uses to great effect in this salad. Roasting the beets with the skins on means you get both the bright, colorful flesh and the crinkled papery skin.

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16of 27

Beet and Red Sorrel Salad with Pistachio

Sorrel is a leafy green that gives dishes a tart, almost sour flavor. For this salad, chef Paul Liebrandt likes using red ribbon sorrel — a European variety with bright green leaves and intense red veins — because it's so pretty with the beets and because its tang is so nice with the nutty pistachio sauce.

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17of 27

Little Gem Lettuce with Roasted Beets and Feta Dressing

"Traditional Moroccan dishes can be quite heavy; I'm always looking for ways to make them lighter and brighter," says cooking school teacher Tara Stevens. She tosses her beet salad with lettuce and tangy feta-yogurt dressing, and adds lots of fresh herbs.

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18of 27

Chilled Beet and Green Apple Bisque

Shredding the beets and apples for this deep fuchsia soup cuts down on the cooking time and keeps the sweet-tart flavors fresh.

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19of 27

Roasted Beet, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Warm Honey Salad

Warm beets and tart grapefruit come together in this bright winter salad from Alex Roberts, chef of Alma in Minneapolis.

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20of 27

Za'atar-Spiced Beet Dip with Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts

Beets have a strong presence in the cuisine of almost every ethnic group in Jerusalem, chef Yotam Ottolenghi explains. They color pickling juices on the Arab table and form the basis for a soup of Jewish, Iraqi, and Kurdish origin. Ottolenghi purees them for this luscious spread.

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21of 27

Citrus, Beet, and Arugula Salad with Halloumi Croutons

Resplendent with mixed citrus and jewel-toned roasted beets, this peppery arugula salad gets elevated to holiday status courtesy of crispy halloumi croutons.

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22of 27

Red Wine-Roasted Beets with Tahini Yogurt

Tart sumac, piquant peppercorns, and herbal yet lightly sweet green cardamom combine to season these wine-cooked beets, infusing them with fresh flavor that complements the fruity red wine in the recipe without overpowering it. After roasting, the sweet and tender beets are served atop a whipped, creamy turmeric- and tahini- seasoned yogurt spread and finished with chopped pistachios, lots of herbs, and a dusting of more sumac.

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23of 27

Roasted Beet Salad with Horseradish-Cashew Cream

Using a variety of beets, such as red, golden, or Chioggia (sometimes called candystripe), adds stunning color to this vibrant beet salad recipe from London chef Carine Ottou. The beets are cut into wedges and then roasted with garlic and fresh rosemary, which intensifies their earthy sweetness.

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24of 27

Beet and Horseradish Tartare with Fresh Carrot Sauce

Chef Rocco DiSpirito's vegetarian "tartare" of shredded raw beets develops a slightly spicy depth from the horseradish and Dijon, while creamy carrot "egg yolk" brings bright flavor to beets' natural earthy sweetness.

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Roasted Beets and Charred Green Beans

Top Chef winner Kristen Kish pairs roasted beets and cast-iron-charred haricots verts with vinegar and hearty herbs (oregano and thyme) to make this salad. It's an homage to the jarred pickled beets and green bean salad she ate as a kid.

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Shaved Beet and Carrot Salad With Citrus-Scallion Dressing

This gorgeous, colorful salad takes late-winter produce like thinly shaved beets, carrot ribbons, and rounds of juicy clementine and dresses them up for spring with a citrus-scallion vinaigrette so delicious, recipe creator Leah Koenig says, "I sneak it straight from a spoon."

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Beet-Carrot Slaw with Garlicky Labneh

This sweet, tart, and creamy jewel-toned slaw is filled with freshly shredded beets and carrots and tangy labneh. Make fast work of shredding carrots and beets using a food processor fitted with a grating attachment. Use rainbow carrots for more color, or swap out the red beets for Chioggia and their pink-and-white swirls.

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