Ginger Roasted Beets

I love roasted beets. I like beets alright in general--pickled beets are amazing--but I'm not head-over-heels for boiled beets. They're all right, but most I've had are kind of bland. Then I happened upon this recipe for roasted beets. We grew beets in our garden last summer and ate these all season long. They are delicious!

Then I learned about golden beets. Hmmmmm...gold? That just sounds too fun to pass up! So I snagged a few and decided to try a different spin on the roasted beets. And BEHOLD: ginger roasted beets were born.

A quick note on the roasting: it does take a while, but the reason they're so good is because it kind of caramelizes the sugars in the beets. Golden beets, I noticed, have a little more mild flavor than red beets and they're not quite as sweet, but they still taste great, and it's a great way to get additional color into your diet!

This makes a small amount: there are only three of us in my family (okay, only two who ate more than one beet--baby does like them she just didn't eat anything tonight) and these were totally gone. So, be sure to amp it up if you need to!

 Ginger Roasted Beets


3 to 4 good-sized golden beets
2 T. oil
2 T. butter
ground ginger
zest of 1 small orange (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a pan with foil and pour in oil.

2. Wash beets and remove stems. (You can use the greens too! Try this recipe.) Cut beets into slices about 1-inch thick. Place beets in foil-lined pan and toss lightly to coat with oil.

3. Roast in oven for 1 hour. After an hour, check on beets--they should be fork-tender. If they aren't, keep roasting them for up to 30 more minutes. (The older the beets, the longer it will take to soften them.) Remove from oven and allow to cool some. (You can actually roast them a few hours in advance like I do, then just warm them up in the sauce.)

4. While cooling, melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add ginger. I just poured it in until the butter thickened slightly into a sauce--it probably came to about 2 tablespoons. Stir vigorously so the butter doesn't burn. If you choose to add the orange zest, now would be the time to do so.

5. Add beets and stir until completely coated and heated through. Enjoy!