Cooking Perfect Beet Greens Recipe

Please do not throw away those fresh beet greens when cooking fresh beets.  The greens and the stems are edible, and make a great substitute for any greens such as spinach, swiss chard, and bok choy.  Cook them and enjoy a delicious and nutritious dish just like your grandparents grew up with.  This is a very simple and definitely delicious recipe that will help you make the most of your fresh beets greens.  In fact, my husband says it is the only way to cook and eat them!

Beet greens contain a large amount of vitamins A and K, plus anti-oxidants Beta Carotene and Lutein, plus these greens can also be substituted in any recipe that calls for spinach.

More delicious Beet Recipes.

Beet Greens in a tan bowl on wooden butcher board

Cooking Perfect Beet Greens Recipe:
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cooking Perfect Beet Greens Recipe
Ingredients
  • Beet Greens (cut off the heavy stems and discard)
  • Butter
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. Wash the fresh beet green in a sink filled with cold water.  Place cleaned and wet beet greens in a colander to let some of the water drain off.  NOTE: You want the leaves to be wet.

    Washed Beet Greens
  2. Place washed beet greens in a large pot.  There is no need to add additional water as the rinsed leaves will provide adequate moisture.  

  3. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the greens look wilted, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Beet greens cook quickly, so take care not to overcook them.

    Beet greens in cooking pot
  4. Beet greens will cook down quite a lot (just like fresh spinach leaves).

    Cooked Beet Greens
  5. When cooked, remove cooked beet greens to your serving bowl.  Season with some butter, salt, and pepper to your liking.

  6. Enjoy!

  7. Photo of my husband, Don Stradley, eating cooked beet greens.  
    Yes, we are University of Oregon football fans!  My son was on the football team during his college days.

Categories:

Beets   

Comments and Reviews

8 Responses to “Cooking Perfect Beet Greens Recipe”

  1. Gabriela

    Thanks so much for this delicious recipe! I adore to eat beet greens in salads, and I was wondering if it was possible to cook it. Now I have my answer. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Leslie

    thank you so much for your recipes using beets. We have grown beets in our garden for the first time and it’s been fun eating the leaves as the beets grew. We live in the Arizona desert, planted the beets in late February when we also planted spinach. I was picking spinach one day and decided to look up eating beet greens. We’ve had a great time eating the small beet leaves as the beets grew. I was surprised yesterday to realize I have beets ready to pull.

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thank you much for the great Beet Recipe. I’ve been seeking a good one.

      Reply
  3. Lori

    We grew up eating beet greens (my parents grew up during the great depression) out of our garden and we always put salt, pepper, butter and a sprinkle of vinegar on them. Today I use red wine vinegar on my greens and broccoli as it isn’t as harsh as apple cider vinegar. I just picked my beets to make pickled beets and I can’t wait for the nostalgia of cooking the greens.

    Reply
  4. bobbi jo bateman

    Beet greens are my favorite!! Im from slc utah and i grew up on them . my mother would put a bit of apple cider vingar along with butter,salt & pepper.

    Reply
  5. Patricia E Brooks

    The recipe for Cooking Perfect Beet Greens was amazing! Never expected them to taste that good. Adding a little Coconut Aminos added a little flavor. Thank you.

    Reply
  6. Jack Voelker

    I steam the stems along with the leaves… just chop everything into about 5″ sections, and include the little beets. I generally get two messes of greens in thinning the beets, and another mess or two when I harvest the actual big beets. Grandma and mother always chopped up a slice of bacon and cooked it on top of the greens. That, and a dash of vinegar (pick one – white wine, red wine, apple cider, whatever you reach for first), cook ’em on down, enjoy!

    Reply
  7. Angie

    Thanks! Just what we were looking for. FYI: My husband’s name is Don too!

    Reply

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