How to cook beet greens? Yes, you can eat the greens from the beet. Have you ever bought fresh beets and wondered what to do with the leafy greens? I have! (I usually felt guilty throwing them away)

Beet greens are actually very delicious. Soft and buttery. It’s like a combination of kale and butter lettuce if I had to describe them. Recently, I picked up some fresh beets from my favorite farmers market, Pete’s Produce Farm!

Two recipes with one ingredient! BEETS!

My favorite way to cook beets is too roast in the oven. Wash and peel the skin from the beats and chop them into small chunks. Wrap in foil and bake in the oven. When you wrap the beets in foil they sort of steam and become tender. They’re super delicious served warm or chilled.

Now what do you with the stems? Chop the green leaves, remove the stem, and sauté in a pan with a little water and stir. You can also squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the greens. Takes about 5 mines too saute. Add as a side dish or mix into a veggie bowl.

Why eat beets?

Beets are a root vegetable that can be consumed completely, from the root to the leaves. They are delicious, low in calories but high in nutrition whether they are eaten raw, steamed, or roasted. Beets are packed with a lot of nutrients like fiber and antioxidants. Beets may help with high blood pressure, your skin, inflammation, and help to keep you regular because they contain a lot of fiber. Learn more about the health benefits of beets click here.

You can add beets to salad, on a veggie burger, veggie bowl, or use as a snack.

Can you eat the beets green leafy stems?

YES!!! They are loaded with vitamins and very nutritious. They are high in calcium, magnesium and iron. There’s no fat or cholesterol. For more info on health benefits of beet greens click here. 

Beet greens make a great substitute for spinach, swiss chard, or kale. They can be used just as you would use any of these greens for creating sauces, an addition to soups, and eaten raw.

It’s like getting 2 ingredients for the price of one. The beets and the greens! No waste and full of taste!

How to store beet leaves?

Remove the beet leaves from the beets. Wash and dry the beet leaves. You want to shake off any excess water and wrap in a paper towel. Stor the leaves in a ziplock bag or sealed food storage container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 3-4 Beets with the greens
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup water

Directions for roasting the Beets:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and remove the stems and the greens of the beets. Put the beets leaves aside too sauté later.

Peel the skin off if the beets. Slice the beets into cubes or small chunks.

Take all the chopped beets and wrap in foil, creating a ball with the foil while the beets are inside. Place the beets in the foil on a baking pan. Bake in the oven fro 30 minutes or until fork tender.

How to cook Beet Greens?

Wash the beet greens and stems. Roughly chop the stems and and the greens. Add to a saute pan on medium heat with a little water and sauté. Let saute for about 3-5 minutes. The beet greens cook quickly. Once the greens have softened, add in 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice and stir. Ready to serve.

With both roasted beets and the sautéed beet greens you can serve as aside dish or mix into a veggie bowl. I like to serve with rice.