Transform a can of beetroot into an elegant side dish with just 2 ingredients and 5 minutes. Or if you really want to up the stakes, make this with fresh beetroot! Balsamic Glazed Beetroot is a wintery classic to serve with hearty mains like roasts or casseroles.
I spent my childhood picking beetroot out of hamburgers. I spent my teenage years simply stubbornly refusing to eat even the smallest piece of beetroot in any form, no matter how hard my mother tried to hide them. Then in my twenties, I tried beetroot for the first time….and well, well, well, what do you know, it turns out that I actually LIKE it. More than like, I really like it. So much that I can eat it plain, whether they be fresh ones just boiled or roasted or even straight out of the can.
I also had the same revelation with avocado, couscous and blue cheese, amongst other things that kids typically refuse to eat then grow to love!
“Toss these glazed beetroots with leafy greens and you’ll have an instant, self-dressing salad.”
This dish is a classic example of how you can make amazing food without spending a lot and with just a few ingredients. All you need is 1 can of baby beetroots, 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar (it doesn’t need to be an expensive one) and 3 tbsp brown sugar. A sprinkle of thyme leaves is a great finishing touch if you have it – thyme and beetroot go together like tomato and basil.
“The flavour of this is so intense that you can serve it with a grilled piece of meat seasoned with just salt and pepper. The glaze doubles as a sauce too.“
Using canned beetroot is cost effective, convenient and it’s really delicious. But you can take this from really delicious to amaaaazing by making this with fresh beetroot. Either baby beetroots or large ones cut into bite size pieces, and they can either be boiled or roasted. So I’ve included directions to make this with both canned and fresh beetroots.
This lasts well in the fridge for a week. After that I find the glaze gets a bit thinner. I serve it on the side of beef or lamb grilled with very simple flavours, sometimes even with just salt and pepper. The glaze is thick and sweet and has the intense flavour of balsamic vinegar so it doubles as a sauce for the meat as well.
It is also great in salads, as you can imagine. You don’t even need a dressing, just toss the glazed beetroot with some leafy greens and you have an instant, self dressing salad.
Hope you give it a try! It really is amazing what a splash of balsamic and sugar can do to transform a can of beetroot!
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Balsamic Glazed Beetroot
Ingredients
- 450 g / 15 oz can (drained) baby beetroot (beets) OR fresh baby beetroot (about 10)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (any quality is fine)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp thyme leaves (optional)
Instructions
To Cook Fresh Beetroot
- To cook fresh beetroot, bring a pot of water to boil, then place beetroot in the water and cook for 10 minutes until tender.
- Drain beetroot, allow to cool to handle and peel off the skin (either with a teaspoon or vegetable peeler).
Glaze
- Combine balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small frying pan or saucepan over medium high heat.
- Bring to simmer and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes until thickened and syrupy.
- Remove from heat.
Assemble
- Cut larger beetroots into bite size pieces, either into halves or quarters.
- Toss into balsamic glaze and sprinkle in thyme leaves, if using.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
You just made my day thank you Nagi! I have just bought a small pizza oven in the hope of reproducing my favourite pizzas from a local place. My absolute favourite one is called beetroot lovers, and is made with roast chicken & sweet potato, as well as red onion AND beetroot with a balsamic glaze!😃 This recipe will help me turn what would have been a quite nice homemade pizza, into a spectacular one! Thank you very much for such a delicious and timely recipe.
Beets in hamburgers? This begs an explanation!
Hi Valerie, if you’re after a traditional Australian hamburger (as opposed to one from a fast food chain), it usually comes with lettuce, tomato, beetroot (beets that come pre-sliced in a can), and then the beef patty goes on top of that along with fried onions and your choice of sauce. A fried egg is a common addition to the burger too (that’s my favourite way of eating it), and some people make it a tropical burger by adding a slice of pineapple! Hope I haven’t shocked you with this information.😂
Burgers have to include beets. Add bacon, cheese & pineapple and it’s the Queensland burger, absolutely delicious.
I always find myself coming back to this website for its brilliant recipes! This is a simple, yet extremely tasty way of serving up beetroot.
Hiya Nagi and “The Doze” ~ I have lately been wanting to add more beets to my diet for the sake of my heart and liver. I understand that an OZ burger isn’t complete without at least one slice of the ruby beauty! Would you entertain delving into the realm of beets so that I won’t always be met with a cold slab of blah-beet-out-of-the-can when retrieving the container from my fridge? Ha, if you do, I bet this is one time Dozer won’t be drooling around your work station! (You are truly my fave ‘bloggerette’)!! Hope you don’t mind my non-PC designation. If you do, I could send you a seed packet for the golden beet variety and even the Chioggia (candy-striped) as an apology. Can’t believe Oz doesn’ t have them!
Ah great idea! Sounds like Australia is really lacking in beetroot variety!
Yum! I love beets! Thanks 🙂
ME TOO!!!
Beets are great. Sugar not so much.
There’s plenty of sweetness in beets without adding sugar, and beets marinated in balsamic are really good – and even better with olive oil and balsamic.
Thanks so much for sharing that information Nick!!
THANK you for this recipe as I was JUST talking to my daughter about how much I like beets, and she said she did not, BUT she would if she had them prepared correctly- I think. I love to roast veggies anytime of year and could eat them EVERY day but I just read in Cook’s Illustrated HOW and WHY you need to remove as much liquid from the veg before roasting, it was interesting. Could you put up a mixed roasted veg on your blog on the way you would roast vegs in the oven? Maybe, carrots, onions, garlic (at least show people how to roast garlic ;)!), beets, oh any kind will do! I tell my daughter and D I L that they need to have three meals down pat, with ingredients on hand , that they can make (something fast and easy)in case they have unexpected company, and I think roasted veg on the side OR this recipe would be one. KEEP cooking and I will keep cooking what YOU cook! From Portland, Lisa. P.S. I will make beets this way and see if Taylor likes beets?!
Hi Lisa – happy to put up a roasted vegetables post! That would be a classic to share leading up to Christmas! I’ll dedicate the post to you, if you don’t mind being mentioned by name? 🙂 Otherwise I can do it without mentioning you by name! 🙂
I didn’t like beets either when I was a kid – they were just way to earthy tasting for me. However, as an adult they’re definitely one of my favorite veggies! These look like little jewels! I love that this recipe is so simple yet very elegant.
Nagi, I have tried beet root once and hated it . I remember years ago going on 3 day diet with beet root but quickly give up because I could not bring myself to eat it. Maybe I might try this… give beet root one more chance, especially paired with thyme. I love thyme!
This is a good one to give beetroot one last go!! I hope you like it 🙂
I am also a huge fan of beetroot! I never really buy the canned kind but maybe I should just have a go at it. I tend to buy the golden ones, actually, because they don’t bleed everywhere when I cut them up. But getting rid of all that prep would probably get me to eat more of them so, thanks for the great idea! I am proud to say both my husband and son like beetroot too, so that’s a plus! It’s always good to get a reminder to eat more vegetables, anyway. 🙂
I’m so jealous! We don’t get golden beetroot much in Australia 🙁
This looks amazing! I just bought a huge bag of beetroots, so this recipe is perfect for me! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Nagi,
These look delicious!! Love how glossy and appetizing they look. I agree, thyme and beetroot make a delicious pair! Also, I wanted to say thank you for all the Blogger Resources you have on the site, including the side by side ads. I tried your method but unfortunately it did’t line up next to each other on my theme, but I managed to use another older method that I learnt. Same effect, and I think it looks more interesting to have 2 different ads next to each other. Will try the backfill waterfall ad thing next. Thanks again Nagi. Best wishes! 😀
wow very easy recipe, my husband loves beetroot so much, thanks for sharing Nagi 🙂