Sweet, earthy, and vibrant in color, beets pack a powerful punch when it comes to flavor and health benefits. Raw or cooked, in soup or salad, grilled or otherwise, this cardiovascular-friendly vegetable has so many possibilities for the palate and the body. Here are 7 reasons to love this earthy flavorful root veggie even more!

1. Beets Are Available Year Round

Beets are available year-round, but the best time to buy them is June through October when they are most tender. If homegrown, beets can be stored over the winter in several different ways. A crisper in the refrigerator will keep beets just as firm as when they were first lifted from the ground for several months. And don’t rule out canning your beets; they can be transformed into wonderful dishes. Plus, they are very inexpensive and store for years!

2. They Come In Many Varieties and Colors

Varieties include red, golden, and Chioggia, which have a red and white bulls-eye pattern when sliced. Let’s not forget the greens that grow up tall from the beetroot. These are similar to spinach and can be prepared in a similar way. When harvested young, beet greens make a wonderful addition to salads, plus they can also be stored over the winter by blanching and freezing them. They are a wonderful addition to soups, burritos, and stir-fries.

3. They’re Packed With Nutrition

Beets are incredibly nutritious. They are high in folate. A healthy diet with enough folate may reduce a woman’s risk of having a child with certain birth defects of the brain or spinal cord. Beetroots are also full of the phytonutrient betalain, which together with the folate works as an anti-inflammatory, and lowers your risk of heart disease. The pigments that cause varieties of beets to be red, betacyanins, are potent cancer fighters, especially against colon cancer.

A Note About Beets – Don’t Panic!

Don’t panic if you see red after a visit to the restroom after eating this colorful root veggie. The technical term for the presence of these red pigments in urine or stool is beeturia. Around 10 to 14 percent of the population experiences this!

4. You Can Eat The Greens

Beet greens are even more nutritious than bulbs. They are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, iron, and potassium. Vitamin A is important for vision, growth and development, skin health, immune function, and reproduction. Vitamin C is important in immune response, wound healing, and allergic reactions, and also helps with iron absorption.

They can be eaten raw or cooked—they’re delicious either way!

5. Beets Are Easy to Store

Storage Tips:

  • Separate beet greens from the roots, leaving 1-2 inches of stem still attached to the bulb.Store roots and greens separately.Beet greens can be wrapped in a damp paper or cloth towel and stored in a refrigerator drawer.The roots can be left uncovered in a refrigerator drawer or kept in a paper bag.Beetroots will keep for several weeks (but beet greens are best used right away).Both beet greens and roots can be blanched and frozen for up to 1 year. The roots can be left chopped or pureed and added to soups, salads, pesto, red velvet cake, smoothies, or hummus.If storing beetroots from your garden or a CSA for the winter, check out this link for storage preparation.

6. Beets Can Be Eaten Raw Or Cooked

  • Wash beet greens in plenty of water and cook as you would any tender greens such as spinach. Saute in olive oil with a little garlic for a healthy side dish.Wash and gently scrub beet roots to remove dirt. Early in the summer the very young beets can be eaten with the skin on, but the matured beets will need to be peeled. Peel before or after cooking (the skin comes off much easier after cooking).Beet roots can be eaten raw as well as cooked. Try grating them raw and adding to salads (good with grated raw carrots) or using as a topping on tacos, burritos, or tostadas.Beets are good combined with other root vegetables such as onions, carrots, potatoes, or celery root. They can be roasted, steamed, grilled, boiled, and baked.Good seasonings include olive oil, vinegar, lemon, mustard, cilantro, curry, yogurt, and/or sour cream.Cooked beets (in any form) can be pureed and used to make wonderful spreads and warming winter beverages.

7. They Taste Delicious In Many Recipes

Here are a few recipes for enjoying this versatile root veggie!

Simple Roasted Beets

Beet Hummus

Harvard Beets

Beet Apple and Raisin Salad

Red Velvet Smoothie

Sauteed Beet Greens

Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Denise Dill is a co-op livin’, garden diggin’, homegrown cookin’ fool who creates soups of song out of local ingredients. She’s currently working as a baker and soup maker while she completes culinary school. In the past, she worked as an urban gardener and community cooking educator. She has also toured the country as a folk musician, opening for such acts as Pamela Means and Hamell on Trial.

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