Sweet flavor with a hint of floral earthy notes, beets have wide range of flavor and texture depend on how they are prepared and cooked. Beets are best paired with bright, sweet, and fresh flavors.
It does not necessarily matter what you eat with beets, as they are pretty sumptuous even when eaten raw. The earthy and sweet taste makes them enjoyable to eat with various dishes.
What to eat with beets? Beets are year-round vegetables that can be prepared through different cooking techniques including baked, boiled, carpaccio, chips, roasted, soup, and steamed.
As a result, beets taste excellent with ingredients such as apples, basil, unsalted butter, caraway seeds, chervil, chives, dill, garlic, horseradish, lemon, mint, dijon mustard, olive oil, pistachios, sour cream, tarragon, walnuts, and yogurt.
Sweet beets paired with mild goat, parmesan, roquefort, or salty cheeses are highly recommended when serving as appetizer or salad.
From pickles to hummus, there are many ways to use beets in recipes. The flavor enhances based on the cooking techniques, and blending with herbs and spices takes it up a notch.
Due to its unique sweetness taste, many are curious about what to eat with beets in savory dishes. Well, beets are versatile and can be served with pretty much anything. Here are some of the ways to enjoy beets.
What goes well with beets?
Beets can be roasted, steamed, or boiled and cut into small pieces for full enjoyment. Serve roasted and pickled beets with goat cheese for another excellent choice.
Some might disagree with beets being sweet and think they have a dirt-like complexity, but that is not entirely true. The taste might change according to the preparation, how they are cooked and growing conditions including soil.
This root vegetables can be paired to taste great with other vegetables, fruits, nuts, cheese, and many more. Here are food pairings to consider with beets:
- Fruits: apples, lemon, lime, orange, pears
- Vegetables: arugula, avocado, beet greens, cabbage, carrots, celery, chicory, endive, fennel, leeks, shiitake mushrooms, niçoise olives, potatoes, radishes, spinach, garlic, scallions, shallots
- Onions: red, white, yellow
- Herbs: basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, lemon balm, thyme, lemon verbena, parsley, rosemary, tarragon
- Spices: coriander, cumin, curry, ginger, nutmeg
- Legumes: green beans
- Dairy: unsalted butter, cream, crème fraîche, milk, sour cream, yogurt
- Seeds: caraway, fennel
- Cheese: blue, cambozola, cheddar, goat, parmesan, roquefort, salty
- Eggs: hard-boiled
- Condiments: honey, horseradish, maple syrup, dijon mustard, brown and white sugar, vinaigrette
- Oil: mustard, canola, peanut, vegetable, walnut, olive
- Vinegar: balsamic, champagne, apple cider, raspberry, red wine, sherry, tarragon, white wine
- Peppers: black, white
- Nuts: pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts
- Stocks: chicken, veal, vegetable
What meat to eat with beets?
When choosing the best meat to eat with beets, prioritize the richer flavors like duck, pork, beef brisket, and ham. Beets also taste exceptional with oily fish such as salmon.
When serving beets with meat, it is best to bake and oven-roast to increase the natural sweetness of the root vegetable by caramelizing the sugar content.
Some of the meat to eat with beets include:
- Pork: Sliced beets with sautéed greens pairs well with sliced pork drizzled with vinaigrette.
- Beef: The flavor of grilled steak and beets mixes together perfectly to bring out an inviting culinary experience.
- Duck: Rich and crispy duck breast pairs wonderfully with beets and grapefruit. Duck and citrus is a classic dish that most people don’t think to serve on a regular basis.
- Ham: Baked ham and braised beets is perfect way to enjoy sweet and salty flavor. Add to a salad or make into breakfast hash with these ingredients for an exciting flavor combo.
- Salmon: Fatty salmon fillet and sweet beets taste great together. Roasting both creates rich flavor and softens the texture. Cook the salmon skin until crispy to give texture to the dish.
What flavor goes well with beets?
By nature, beets have a dense texture and natural sweetness in the starch; hence, they can be crushed whole after steaming and mashed until they are flattened and seared in butter and olive oil, preserving the crispy outer layer and tender inner layer.
Earthy, sweet, and floral, beets have a unique flavor. Whether it is deep red, yellow or even striped, each the of beet tastes different from the others.
Here are flavors combination to serve with beets in your next meal:
- beets + chives + orange + tarragon
- beets + citrus + goat cheese + olive oil + shallots
- beets + creme fraiche + orange + tarragon
- beets + dill + sour cream
- beets + endive + goat cheese + pistachios
- beets + endive + orange + walnuts
- beets + gorgonzola cheese + hazelnuts + vinegar
- beets + honey + tarragon
- beets + mint + yogurt
- beets + olive oil + parmesan cheese + balsamic vinegar
- beets + potatoes + balsamic vinegar
- beets + shallots + vinegar + walnuts
Eat with Beets: Conclusion
Other than nutrition, beets deliver a unique taste and natural sweetness that is very welcoming to the right food combinations. It can be used in day-to-day dishes, but still give a different flavor according to how it is cooked or eaten.
It can be used to make a smoothie or used as a side dish, and it never fails to bring new experiences to a dish. Beets can be eaten raw, marinated, pickled, roasted, steamed braised or used in soup.
Pairing with meat is favorable, and the mixture is worthwhile due to the natural sweetness of beets. The savory flavor of meat complements each other, especially with pork, beef, duck, ham, and salmon.
To balance its unique taste, serve beets with apples, herbs, spices, nuts, and condiments such as horseradish, olive oil, dijon mustard, sour cream, and yogurt.
When it comes to light snacks or appetizer, consider serving cooked beets with goat, parmesan, Roquefort, or any salty cheese with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to satisfy your palette.
This guide is packed with delicious combinations to serve with beets. Next time you want to prepare beets for a menu, these inspirations will be here to get your creativity started.