On the stovetop, in a multicooker, oven, or microwave — choose the method that suits you best.
How to Prepare Beets
For boiling, beets should be medium-sized (no more than 10 cm in diameter), with thin, dark red skin, without damage or rot. The "Bordeaux" variety is considered one of the best.
Regardless of the cooking method, the beets need to be washed well, cut off the tops (if any), and slightly shorten the tail.
Beets are not peeled before cooking.
If you remove the skin, the juice will leak out. The vegetable will become pale and tasteless.
How long does it take to cook beets?
Cooking beets can take from 8-10 minutes to a full 2 hours, depending on the technique used: stovetop, multicooker, microwave, or oven. The larger the root vegetable, the more time it takes to cook.
You can check for readiness with a fork or knife. If the beet is easily pierced, it is ready and can be cooled after draining the water.
It is best to store boiled root vegetables in the refrigerator, but for no more than two days.
How and how long to cook beets on the stovetop?
Classic method of boiling in water
Cooking time: about 2 hours.
Place the beets in a pot, cover them with cold water so that the vegetables are completely submerged. You should not salt the water, as sodium makes the beets tougher and increases the cooking time, which is already not fast.
Put the pot on medium heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat, cover, and cook for about two hours.
To preserve the rich red color of the beets, you can add a little lemon juice to the water: about ½ teaspoon per liter of water.
2. Quick boiling
Cooking time: 45–60 minutes.
To significantly reduce the cooking time, place the beets directly into boiling water and do not reduce the heat. To increase the cooking temperature, add 2–3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the boiling water.
After the beets have been cooking for about 30–35 minutes, remove them from the stove and hold them under cold water for 15–20 minutes. You can also place them in a bowl of cold water and add ice. If the water heats up, replace it with fresh cold water.
Due to the sharp temperature change, the beets quickly reach readiness and cool down at the same time.
3. Steaming
Cooking time: 40–60 minutes.
Pour some water into a saucepan (about 3–5 cm). Place a steamer rack on top. If you do not have such a rack, you can use a fine-mesh colander, but make sure it does not touch the water.
Place the beets on the rack, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 40–60 minutes on steam.
How to cook beets in a multicooker?
1. Steamed
Cooking time: approximately 40 minutes (may vary depending on the multicooker model).
Wash the beets and place them on a special rack for steaming. Pour a glass of water into the bottom of the multicooker bowl, close the lid and select the "Steam" mode for 40 minutes.
Important: for a successful result, the beets must be fresh and hydrated. If the root vegetable is dried out, first soak it in cold water for several hours to restore moisture. After that, you can start cooking, although in this case it is better to choose the stovetop cooking method.
2. In water
Cooking time: 60–80 minutes (depending on your multicooker).
The process is similar to classic boiling, only without the need to monitor the temperature. Place the clean beets in the multicooker bowl, cover them with water, and select the "Stewing" or "Boiling" mode (sometimes it may be called "Soup") for 60 minutes.
After the time is up, check for readiness: if the beets have not yet reached the desired softness, add 20–30 minutes in the same mode.
3. In foil
Cooking time: about 60 minutes, depending on the specific model.
This method is especially suitable for young and juicy root vegetables. Wash the beets thoroughly, pat them dry with paper towels, and wrap them in foil greased with a small amount of vegetable oil (each root vegetable separately).
Place the beets in the multicooker bowl and turn on the "Baking" mode for about an hour.
How to bake beets in the oven?
This method allows you to preserve the maximum amount of juice in the root vegetables, which makes the beets more juicy and flavorful.
Cooking time: about 20–25 minutes.
For baking, as in the previous method, wrap each root vegetable in foil to retain moisture and bake evenly. Preheat the oven to 190 °C and send the wrapped beets there.
Baking beets in the oven is especially convenient if you need to cook a large quantity at once — for example, for salads like vinaigrette or herring under a fur coat.
Useful tip for salads
To prevent beets from staining other salad ingredients, there is a simple trick: after slicing, lightly sprinkle them with vegetable oil. The oil will create a protective film, and the other products will remain in their color. Then you can safely mix the beets with other components.
How and how long to cook beets in the microwave?
In our family, beets are most often cooked in the microwave — it is the fastest and most convenient way.
Cooking time: from 8 to 20 minutes.
The duration depends on two factors: the size of the root vegetables and the power of your microwave. If the device's power is 1,000 W or more, the beets will be ready in 8–10 minutes. In the case of a less powerful device, the time should be increased by about half.
Before cooking, beets must be thoroughly washed (no need to peel them!) and placed in a glass container. It is better to place large root vegetables along the edges, and the smallest ones in the center. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the bottom of the dish and cover it with a special lid for the microwave or a glass lid.
To speed up the process in less powerful microwaves, you can use another method: place the beets in a plastic bag, add a little water, and tie it up. In this case, a lid is no longer needed.
There is no need to cut or pierce the beets before cooking — they will not explode. It is also not necessary to stop the process to turn the beets over. After cooking, do not cool the beets with cold water — let them cool at room temperature.
The taste of beets cooked in the microwave is practically no different from those cooked on the stovetop.