Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (2024)

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Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots are an easy and healthy side dish. This simple recipe highlights the flavors of the vegetables with a touch of added sweetness.

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (1)

Beets and Carrots

Honey roasted beets and carrots perhaps ranks as one of the prettiest side dishes ever. The deep fuschia of beets. That intense orange of cooked carrots.

Together, they each make the other even more beautiful. But, they even more lovely when you consider how healthy they are. So full of vitamins and minerals, but still wonderfully tasty.

With a touch of honey, you arrive at a side dish that makes everything else it is served with even more lovely and delicious.

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (2)

Roasting beets and carrots with honey

When you prepare honey roasted beets and carrots, make sure not to add the honey until just before finishing the roasting. If you add the honey too soon, it gets lost. All you need is a few minutes in the oven at the end. The honey butter mixture will glaze the beets and carrots nicely.

Best of all, you get that nice hint of honey. (Honey that is overcooked tends to have a bitter flavor).

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (3)

What kind of carrots to use with beets

Nowadays, you can find so many types of carrots in the typical grocery store. White, yellow, orange, even purple carrots are all available. I recommend the large orange carrots for a couple reasons.

First, the big orange carrots are easiest to find. Next, the larger the carrot, the easier it is to cut into the right size to cook evenly with the beets. You luck out in this case, because being both root veggies, carrots and beets have a reasonably close cooking time.

You just want to make sure that they are all cut to a reasonably similar size for an even cooking time.

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (4)
Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (5)

Can I use Baby Carrots?

If you only have a package of baby carrots handy, then those work too. You might have to cut a few in half but it just depends how small or large they are relative to your chopped beets.

With the other color carrots, you don’t get the same color “pop”. White and yellow carrots simply turn the color of the beets. Purple carrots might as well be beets too.

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The best beets for roasting

Beets also come in a variety of colors as well. In fact, there are white, yellow, and orange beets too. So if you want to flip things up a bit, I guess you could always have purple carrots with orange beets. But, the most common of course are the dark purple beets.

The different colors of beets don’t taste all that different, so you are always assured of a great dish with the regular old purple varieties. These also go by fancy names like Merlin, Moulin Rouge, and Ruby Queen.

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (7)
Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (8)

Leftover roast beets and carrots

There are a few great things about leftover roast carrots and beets. They keep really well for one thing. Carrots and beets both are very resistant to molding so they keep a bit longer. In the fridge, you can easily store them for up to a week in a sealed container.

Freezing is even an option, but keep in mind that freezing can change the texture a bit. They can keep in the freezer for about a month. Just warm them in the oven or microwave to serve.

One of my favorite things to do with leftover roasted carrots and beets though is to add a touch of balsamic or apple cider vinegar and use them cold in salads. Add some honey goat cheese for a real flavor explosion!

They are a great way to make a salad that is even more nutritious as well as filling.

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (9)

What fresh herbs can I use?

These Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots are good all on their own, but fresh herbs sprinkled on top really put them over the top.

Whether you grown fresh herbs in your garden or you have some extra on hand, you can use a variety of herbs in this recipe. I used fresh thyme, but rosemary and dill would also compliment the flavors wonderfully as well.

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (10)

More dishes with beets and carrots

If you love these veggies as much as I do, then you try to find ways to work them into more dishes. Sometimes, it might just be a matter of adding that lovely beet color to something like pink deviled eggs.

Or, maybe you want to try something with a bit more heft to make a fully balanced meal, like a southwest root veggie and chicken bowl. A glazed hoisin meatball bowl with roast carrots is also wonderful.

You can use your leftover roasted beets and carrots in either of those by the way. Another great way to harness those sweet and lovely leftovers!

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (11)

Print Recipe

4.54 from 177 votes

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots are an easy and healthy side dish. This simple recipe highlights the flavors of the vegetables with a touch of added sweetness.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dishes

Keyword: beets and carrots, honey roasted beets, roasted beets, Roasted Carrots

Calories: 84kcal

Author: The Creative Bite

Ingredients

  • 4 medium beets
  • 4 large carrots
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh herbs thyme, rosemary, dill, etc.

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450°.

  • Wash and peel the carrots nad beets. Chop the vegetables into even 1/2 inch pieces.

  • Add the beets and carrots to a sheet pan and toss with olive oil and salt.

  • Spread the vegetables out on the pan and roast at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until they are tender. The cooking time will vary based on the size of the vegetables.

  • Meanwhile, in a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk in the honey.

  • Remove the beets and carrots from the oven and pour the honey butter mixture over them. Toss until they are well coated.

  • Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve tossed with fresh herbs.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 84kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 253mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g

Honey Roasted Beets & Carrots (2024)

FAQs

Why not peel beets before roasting? ›

No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible, just seems to disappear during the baking process. The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Can carrots and beets be grown together? ›

Beets and carrots are both compact root vegetables that grow happily next to each other. You can even try them in a container if you're short on space.

What can you add to beets to make them taste better? ›

The roasted beets are wonderful on their own, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, or dressed up more with citrus juice, herbs, or balsamic vinegar. Serve them with any weeknight dinner, or add them to a holiday meal. These oven roasted beets keep well for days in the fridge, so they're great for making ahead.

Do roasted beets taste better than boiled beets? ›

Roasting beets gives them a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does.

Why are roasted beets bitter? ›

One of the reasons for this is that beets can absorb a lot of minerals from the soil in which they're grown, giving them an earthy and sometimes sweet or bitter flavor, depending on how they're cooked. Beets are delicious roasted, grilled, microwaved, steamed, boiled or air-fried.

What is the best cooking method for beets? ›

Steaming in the oven rather than baking helps preserve more of the healthy vitamins and minerals in beets. This method also helps beets better retain their beautiful, vibrant color.

What should you not plant next to beets? ›

Beets – Beet greens and scraps are very good for the compost, returning captured manganese and iron to the soil via the composting process. Plant with bush beans, Brassicas, corn, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, and mint. Add cut mint leaves as a mulch for beets. Avoid planting beets near pole beans.

Are beets and carrots higher in sugar than many other vegetables? ›

Beets and carrots are higher in sugar than many other vegetables. - Fairly straightforward. They are also high on the glycemic index, a scale that measures the rate at which a food increases blood sugar levels. - In addition, they also increase blood sugar levels at a high rate – they are high on the g-index.

What not to plant next to carrots? ›

Dill: Dill is not a good companion plant for carrots because it can attract pests like aphids and spider mites. It also has a pungent smell that can attract carrot flies. Celery: Celery can be a bad companion plant for carrots because it can attract the same pests and diseases, including carrot rust fly.

Why do I feel better after eating beets? ›

Beets are naturally high in nitrates, which are turned into nitric oxide in the body. This compound lowers blood pressure by causing the blood vessels to relax and widen.

Why add vinegar to beets? ›

Usually we boil them and toss them in a sweet sour vinaigrette and keep them in the refrigerator to eat all week. The vinegar in the dressing "pickles" the beets, helping them last longer in the fridge.

What is the most delicious way to eat beets? ›

Delicious. Roasted with goat cheese. – The classic, all-time favorite preparation. Roast beets until they are tender and juicy, then eat them with some spicy greens and piquant goat cheese.

Should I boil my beets before I roast them? ›

You can roast beets without boiling, without foil, and without peeling! Simply slice the beets (a sheet of parchment will keep your cutting board clean), roast them with olive oil and seasonings, and then use the beets however you like.

Are oven roasted beets good for you? ›

Roast Them

Roasting is an overall healthy cooking method with minimal vitamin loss, particularly vitamin C. Roasted beets are rich and sweet with slight mineral flavors. Remember to avoid long cooking times and high temperatures, as these can reduce nutrients. Try using smaller bulbs if you want to prepare them faster.

Do you eat the skin on roasted beets? ›

No, contrary to popular belief you do not have to peel your beet skin before roasting it. I am not quite sure where this trend started, but it's not necessary. In fact, whether you roast them, juice or grate them into a salad, there is no need to peel off the skin.

Can you eat roasted beets with the skin on? ›

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.

Is the skin on beets good for you? ›

Most people do peel beets, because the skin is a bit unattractive and can be dirty even after a good scrub. But beet skins are rich in nutrients and perfectly fine to eat too.

Is it better to peel beets hot or cold? ›

Beets peel best once they're cooked and cooled, the skins then soften and slough off easily.

How long to let beets cool before peeling? ›

Just remove the beets from the oven and let them sit for 15-20 minutes, or until they're cool enough to handle.

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