Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese

WOW. I didn’t think I could be wow'd by beets. But this recipe…you’re in for a treat. Roasted beet rounds are dolloped with creamy, tangy goat cheese, then topped with olive oil and fresh chives. Sounds almost too simple, but it tastes like a symphony. My mom served this plate to me and I almost jumped out of my chair. “Whoa! These taste amazing.” I didn’t think I was that big of a beet fan. She proved me wrong! It’s become one of our favorite beet recipes Here’s all you need to know about making roasted beets with goat cheese.

How to roast beets

Let’s start with the cooking method: roasting! We have three methods for how to cook beets, and roasting takes the longest of the three. So why do it? Slow roasting brings out an earthy, sweet flavor from beets that you can’t get in any other method. (If you don’t have over an hour to roast your beets, we have a shortcut for you below).

Here are the main steps for how to roast beets (or go to the full recipe below):

1. Wash the beets and cut off the greens.

2. Rub the beets with olive oil and place in an oven safe dish. If you don’t have this type of dish, you also can wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and place them on the oven grates.

3. Roast the beets for 45 minutes (small beets) to 1 ½ hours (very large beets), until tender when pierced with a fork. The time depends on the size of the beets and freshness. Typically we find medium sized beets take about 1 hour, so use that as your rule of thumb.

4. Rinse the beets under cool water and rub off the skins with your fingers: they should pop right off! Your fingers will turn a lovely shade of pink, but it will wash off later..

It’s nice to cook beets in big batches, and you can do that with this recipe. Roast a bunch of beets at a time, and then just use 4 beets for the recipe below.

Tips for making roasted beets with goat cheese

Once you’ve got the beets cooked, there’s not much left to this recipe! All you’ve got to do is top it. Here are a few small notes to consider:

• Because this recipe is so simple, ingredient quality is key. The fresher the beets, the better the goat cheese and higher quality the olive oil, the better the recipe. 

• Serve it warm, room temp, or cold. These beets are fantastic after roasting when they’re still a bit warm: this is our favorite way to serve it! But to make it ahead, roast the beets one day and refrigerate them whole. On the day of serving, slice the beets and assemble the salad.

How to serve these roasted beets!

Now, this roasted beets with goat cheese is a stunner of a healthy side dish recipe! Because beets are seasonal in both the spring and fall, there are a lot of vibes of food that work well with them. Here are a few meals that it would pair well:

• Salmon: Beets are a great veggie to go with salmon. 

• Veggie Burger: That perfect vegetarian entrée!

• Pasta: It would go with Mushroom Pasta with Goat Cheese or with spring beets, Orecchiette Pasta with Lemon Asparagus.

• Meatloaf or Meatballs:  Try it with Best Vegetarian Meatloaf or Vegetarian Meatballs & Gravy.

• Entertaining: It would be fantastic as a healthy Thanksgiving side dish or holiday meal.

This roasted beets with goat cheese recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the goat cheese.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.*

2. Wash the beets. Trim off all but about 1 inch of the beet greens (you can save them for later and use them in salads). Leaving on the stem helps keep the beets from “bleeding” out red juice in the oven.

3. Rub the beets lightly with olive oil. Place the beets in a covered oven proof dish. (You also can wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and place them on the oven grates).

4. Roast the beets for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours, depending on the size and freshness, until tender when pierced with a fork. Check every 10 minutes until tender; we’ve found medium sized beets take about 1 hour.

5. Allow them to cool for a few minutes. Then place them under cool water and rub off the skins with your fingers. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate the whole beets until serving and serve them cold.

6. To serve, slice the beets into rounds and arrange them on a plate. Drizzle the top with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 pinch kosher salt. Top with goat cheese dollops and thinly sliced chives.