Five of the best beetroot recipes: Rachel Allen cooks up health-boosting soups, slaws, sides and brownies (2024)

Beetroot is not only great when cooked but delicious raw, sliced thinly or grated, like in the beet and carrot slaw recipe below. Every part of beet is edible. The smaller leaves are a delicious addition to a green salad, and the stalks (and leaves too) are great when sliced and cooked in boiling salted water until tender, then drizzled with some olive oil or tossed in butter.

I love the beetroot and sesame combination. It’s so simple, yet very pleasing. Make a big batch of the beetroot and tahini soup, below, and enjoy straight away or freeze it for a day when you need a pep in your step. As well as boiling beetroot, it’s also delicious when roasted, which seems to enhance the natural sweetness, making it a great ingredient in a big substantial salad or as an accompaniment to everything from eggs to roasted meats.

This great beetroot puree recipe below, which has a really flavoursome Middle Eastern vibe, works very well as a starter, a side dish with grilled meats, or indeed as part of a Mezze plate, which I adore.

And like many root vegetables, beetroot is also super in baking and particularly with chocolate. These brownies below get lots of moisture from the pureed beets but also natural sweetness and goodness too. What’s not to love?

Beetroot and tahini soup

Serves 6

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 450g beetroot

• 800ml chicken or vegetable stock

• 75g tahini For the tahini sauce, you will need:

• 50g tahini

• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed or finely grated

• 2 teaspoons toasted and ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 50-75ml water Garnish

• Sesame seeds

​​1 Pour the olive oil into a saucepan sitting over a medium heat and add in the chopped onion, the garlic and the ground cumin. Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid and cook the onions very gently, for 8-10 minutes until tender, stirring from time to time.

​2 Peel the beetroot and cut into approximately 1 cm dice and add into the onions with the stock, and season with salt and pepper. Bring up to the boil and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the beetroot is tender, then blend with the 75g of tahini until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

​3 To make the tahini sauce, place the tahini in a bowl and add in the garlic, the cumin, the olive oil and the lemon juice. Whisk well to blend and add in just enough water to made a thick cream-like drizzling consistency. Season to taste and set aside.

​4 Serve the soup steaming hot and drizzle the tahini sauce over the top, then scatter with some sesame seeds.

Top Tip Creamy beetroot makes a delicious side dish. Just boil it until tender then peel away skins, cut the beets into chunks or slices and boil with a good dollop of cream for two minutes. Season to taste and add a scattering of chopped chives to serve.

Beetroot slaw

Serves 6-8 as a side salad

You will need:

• 100g raw beetroot, peeled and grated

• 100g carrot, peeled and grated

• 100g green leafy cabbage, such as Savoy, cut in quarters lengthways then remove the solid inner core, finely shredded/sliced

• 50g sultanas

• 100g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or coriander

• 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil or extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Place the grated beetroot in a bowl with the grated carrot, the sliced cabbage, the sultanas, the chopped toasted hazelnuts and the chopped parsley or coriander, whichever you’re using.

​2 In a smaller bowl, mix together the hazelnut oil and the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the vegetables in the bowl and toss to dress. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if necessary.

Rachel Recommends Hazelnut oil works really well in a salad with beetroot, like in the recipe above.

Beetroot, pomegranate and sumac puree with pita bread

Serves 6

You will need:

• 500g whole raw beetroot

• 125ml natural yoghurt

• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely grated

• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 1-2 teaspoons sumac

• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper To serve, you will need:

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced at an angle

• 2 tablespoons toasted pistachios

• 75g feta cheese or goat’s cheese

• Some edible flowers — optional

• 6 pita breads

​1 Wash the beetroot and place it, unpeeled, in a saucepan, covered with cold water, then bring up to the boil with the lid on, and cook over a medium heat for approximately 35-45 minutes, until the beetroot is tender in the centre. If the beets are very large, they can take an hour to cook.

​2 Drain the beets once tender, then set aside to cool. Once cool, peel the beetroot with your hands, the skins will come away easily when you rub them, and place in a food processor. Add in the yoghurt, garlic, the pomegranate molasses, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the honey. Add in 1 teaspoon of the sumac and some salt and pepper. Blend well, then taste for seasoning. It might need a little more honey, sumac and salt and pepper.

​3 Once you’re happy with the flavour, tip it into a bowl and cover it until you’re ready to serve.

​4 To serve, spread the beetroot puree out on a serving plate and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and scatter with the spring onions and the pistachios. Crumble the feta or goat’s cheese, whichever you’re using, over the top and decorate with the edible flowers, if using.

​5 Warm the pita breads either in a toaster or on a dry pan and serve with the beetroot.

Roast beetroot with balsamic vinegar

Serves 4-6 as a side

You will need:

• 450g beetroot

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 scant tablespoon chopped thyme leaves

• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas 6.

​2 Cut the beetroot into wedges (6-8 from each beetroot) from top to bottom and place in a bowl. Add in the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and the chopped thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix together.

​3 Tip on to a baking tray and place in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes until tender inside and slightly crisp around the edges, then remove from the oven and serve.

Beetroot and chocolate brownies

Makes 16

You will need:

• 275g beetroot

• 250g dark chocolate, chopped or in drops

• 250g butter

• 300g caster sugar

• 3 eggs

• 75g plain flour

• 50g cocoa powder

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• A pinch of salt

1 Prepare the beetroot by trimming the stalks, if they’re still attached, to about 2cm from the end, then wash under a cold tap. Do not scrub them — simply rub off any dirt with your fingers. You don’t want to damage the skin otherwise the beetroot will ‘bleed’ while cooking, losing flavour.

​2 Place the beetroot in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and continue to simmer for between 30 minutes and 1 hour, depending on the size and age of the beetroot. They are cooked when their skins rub off easily and a knife can easily be inserted into the centre.

​3 When they are cooked, rub off the skins and discard, then cut into chunks. Place in a food processor and whiz for a minute or two to form a smooth puree, then set aside.

​4 Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas 4.

​5 Line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin.

​6 Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and set aside.

​7 Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl for just a few seconds until mixed. Separately cream together the sugar and butter and then gradually add the whisked eggs to the creamed butter mixture, beating all the time.

​8 Beat in the puréed beetroot and melted chocolate, then sift in the remaining ingredients, folding these in until fully combined. Tip the batter into the prepared baking tin, smoothing the top with a palette knife or spatula.

​9 Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the centre of the cake is almost set but still wobbles when you gently shake the tin.

​10 Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely in the tin before carefully removing the cake and cutting into squares to serve. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

​11 These will keep for a few days in an airtight container.