Honey-Roasted Beets

5.0

(8)

6 Reviews

Earthy beets turn sweet and tender when they're roasted in this healthy beets recipe. Preheating your baking sheet speeds up the roasting time and gives the outside of the beets a quick and flavorful sear. Honey and lemon juice add sweet and tangy notes.

Carolyn Casner

Updated on March 26, 2024

Reviewed by Dietitian

Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Tested by

EatingWell Test Kitchen

Active Time:

10 mins

Additional Time:

25 mins

Total Time:

35 mins

Servings:

Yield:

6 servings

Nutrition Profile:

Nut-Free Dairy-Free Low-Sodium Soy-Free Vegetarian Egg-Free Gluten-Free

Jump to Nutrition Facts

The Best Way to Cook Beets

Raw or cooked, beets are a sweet and earthy addition to any dish. While we love beets in any form, roasted beets are particularly yummy. The hot oven softens the beets while searing the outer layer, which intensifies their flavor. We finish off our roasted beets with a sweet and tangy lemon-honey glaze that brings all their complex flavors into perfect balance. Here's our favorite way to cook beets:

Prep Your Beets

Beets should be peeled before roasting. If you're using red beets, keep in mind that their color will stick to anything they touch. Wooden utensils and cutting boards will be the hardest to clean (although the color will come out eventually), so stick to plastic cutting boards and metal utensils if you want to skip the extra scrubbing. You can wear gloves to keep their pink hue off your hands, or opt for yellow or chioggia beets which also work well here. Make sure your beets are all cut into the same size pieces so they cook evenly.

Preheat Your Pan

We preheat the oven with the baking sheet inside. Heating up the baking sheet jump-starts the cooking process and creates a sear on the beets that adds both flavor and texture. Make sure the beets are added in a single layer so they can roast evenly. It's easy to forget that the pan is already hot when returning it to the oven, so be sure to keep a pair of oven mitts at the ready.

overhead view of chopped red and yellow beets on a sheet pan — Preethi Venkatram

Flavor Your Beets

The beets already have salt, pepper and oil, but to really jazz them up, we add a lemon-honey glaze. Sugar burns easily in a hot oven so to give the beets a nice sweet coating that doesn't burn, we add the glaze at the end of the cooking time. There's no need to take the beets off the baking sheet to add the glaze. Drizzle your glaze onto the beets right on the baking sheet, stir to coat, then spread them out again before returning them to the oven for five more minutes to finish cooking. After that, your beets are ready to go! You can enjoy them just like this or sprinkle on some chopped fresh herbs or crumbled goat cheese to suit your taste.

Additional reporting by Hilary Meyer

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
2 pounds medium beets, peeled, halved and cut into small wedges
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Preheat to 425°F.
Stir oil, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add beets and toss well to coat. Transfer the beets to the hot baking sheet and roast until almost tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey and lemon juice, tossing to coat. Continue roasting until tender, about 5 minutes more.

Preethi Venkatram

Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, July 2020; updated December 2022

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

129	Calories
5g	Fat
21g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Serving Size 1/2 cup
Calories 129
% Daily Value *
Total Carbohydrate 21g	7%
Dietary Fiber 4g	15%
Total Sugars 16g
Added Sugars 6g	12%
Protein 3g	5%
Total Fat 5g	6%
Saturated Fat 0g	2%
Vitamin A 51IU	1%
Vitamin C 9mg	10%
Folate 166mcg	42%
Sodium 215mg	9%
Calcium 25mg	2%
Iron 1mg	7%
Magnesium 35mg	8%
Potassium 502mg	11%

Nutrition information is calculated by a registered dietitian using an ingredient database but should be considered an estimate.

* Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.