Beets: Nutrition Facts & Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to eat beets? ›

Eating beets raw or juicing and roasting them may be more beneficial than boiling them. Beetroots, commonly known as beets, are a vibrant and versatile type of vegetable. They're known for their earthy flavor and aroma. Many people call them a superfood because of their rich nutritional profile.

Stir-Fry Them

While cooking techniques like pan-frying, shallow-frying and deep-frying increase calorie, salt and fat content, stir-frying is a healthier technique. We recommend using a stainless steel wok from Saladmaster to stir-fry beets and other vegetables.

Moreover, beets are low in calories with zero cholesterol and a small amount of fat. However, the root is high in sugar and carbohydrates, so while you can consume the greens on top of the root in unlimited quantities, you should only have the root a few times a week. Beets are best from early spring to late fall.

Packed with nutrition, beets have antioxidants like betalains that fight cell damage and inflammation, potentially offering protection against cancer and heart disease. Health benefits of beets include more stamina during exercise, heart disease and stroke prevention, and lower blood pressure.

You can use cooked beets in salads, to make hummus or to blend into smoothies. They can be diced for slaw, quartered for a grain bowl or mashed to make a dip or spread. Their thick and chewy texture is even great in a galette or quesadilla.

Roasted with goat cheese.

– The classic, all-time favorite preparation. Roast beets until they are tender and juicy, then eat them with some spicy greens and piquant goat cheese. Add some hazelnuts and you're in heaven.

Roasting is going to provide a bit of a charred flavor. Boiling will give you a softer beet, and steaming will be somewhere in the middle. If you're making them as a side dish, all three of the methods below are delicious, so it's really up to you!

You don't have to peel your beets, but I do recommend trimming them: just the tops and (if they have them) long tips at the bottom. You can save the beet greens for sautéing as a side dish, adding to pasta, etc.

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.)

If you're really into beets, including one serving of beets or beet juice a day should be okay, unless you have one of the conditions previously mentioned. One serving is about 1 cup of beetroot or 8 oz. of juice.

Is 3 beets a day too much? ›

The oxalates found in beets can increase your uric acid level, meaning that too many beets can lead to gout. To avoid this, stick to no more than a single half-cup serving of beets per day.

With only a few exceptions, canned beetroot has about the same nutritional value as fresh beetroot. Fresh beetroot has double the phosphorus, potassium and folate, but 1 cup of sliced, canned beetroot has 14 percent of the recommended daily intake of folate and 4 percent of phosphorus and potassium.

“Beets are unique for their cardiovascular and heart health benefits,” says registered dietitian Sarah Thomsen Ferreira, RD. “Due to a combination of compounds found in beets, they are able to enhance blood flow, improve the health of arteries, support lower hom*ocysteine levels and reduce LDL cholesterol.”

Beets also contain antioxidants, compounds in foods that help repair DNA and maintain good cell health, and they have anti-inflammatory properties, reducing the risk for numerous chronic diseases. Because of this, the beet is gaining popularity as a nutritional approach in managing cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Beetroot juice: Beetroot juice is a great way to detox your liver and improve its function. They are high in antioxidants and help to cleanse the blood. They also promote healthy liver function by helping to break down toxins. Try adding some beet juice to your diet for better liver health.

Cooking beets won't give you the same health benefits because heat destroys betalain pigments and hampers nitrates, but it's still good for your health. To preserve the maximum health benefits, grate raw beets into salads or steam/roast beets just long enough to tenderize them.

Both eating beets and drinking beet juice will give you anti-inflammatory betalains and other phytonutrients. If you're looking to enhance athletic performance, drink up. Juicing beets delivers a concentrated dose of nitrates, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. However, you lose the fiber when you juice the beets.

Roast Them

Roasting is an overall healthy cooking method with minimal vitamin loss, particularly vitamin C. Roasted beets are rich and sweet with slight mineral flavors. Remember to avoid long cooking times and high temperatures, as these can reduce nutrients. Try using smaller bulbs if you want to prepare them faster.

Steaming beets is an easy way to cook beets. It's also the healthiest way to cook them, so they maintain the most nutrients possible. You will need a steamer basket or steamer pot for this method. Add 2 inches of water to a large pot on the stove over high heat and bring the water to a boil.