Sous vide beets are great to have on hand for a quick side dish or addition to salads. This recipe works great with either red or golden beets. No oil is needed to prepare this recipe making it a lighter preparation alternative. With a little cayenne and lime juice, these beets are tender and delicious.
Sous vide beets are one of my favorite side dishes and they’re also a perfect way to quickly dress up and add a ton of nutrients to things like salads and smoothies. In general, I think sous vide veggies are underrated! Sous vide is a great way to make sure your veggies are always perfectly cooked. Make sure to try my Sous Vide Asparagus, too.
You’ll always find me using sous vide to make my meal prepping routine easier (I mean, I did write a whole cookbook about it!). My strategy is to sous vide a batch at the beginning of the week, store in the fridge, then add to dishes like Sous Vide Risotto (you can find the recipe in Sous Vide Meal Prep). While you’re at it, sous vide a whole chicken to keep on hand throughout the week, too!
Why Sous Vide is a Great Cooking Method for Beets
Other common methods for cooking beets are boiling, steaming, and roasting – all of which are guessing games. In order to make sure your beets are truly delicious, they should be fork tender but not mushy. When you use one of the traditional methods, it can be difficult to get that timing just right.
Here are some reasons you should sous vide beets:
- It’s okay if the beets aren’t diced perfectly uniformly, they’ll still all have the same perfect, tender texture.
- You don’t have to pay super close attention. Just drop them in the water bath and walk away.
- Easy clean up – when they’re done, just remove them from the bag and toss.
Sous Vide Beets Time and Temperature
Beets are dense, so this temperature is going to be a little high for sous vide cooking. You have some flexibility when it comes to timing, so set ’em and forget ’em.
For sous vide beets, I recommend a time and temperature of 185 degrees F for 1-3 hours.
How to Sous Vide Beets
You’ll need:
- A sharp knife (this is my go-to knife)
- A vegetable peeler (I will only ever use this cheap IKEA peeler)
- A vacuum sealer and vacuum seal bags
- An immersion circulator
- Some kind of container for your water bath. You can just use a stockpot if you want, but I use a clear, dedicated container.
Don’t have a vacuum sealer? No big deal. There are lots of air removal methods.
Sous viding beets is incredibly simple. Chop the stems and root “tail” off the beets. If yours have greens, save them! They’re great in salads – I use them to make the beet salad in the recipe below. Then peel the beets.
Add them to a vacuum seal bag with seasonings. I like to use salt, lime juice, and cayenne pepper. Add the bag to a water bath preheated to 185 degrees F and cook for 1-3 hours. That’s it!
Tips to Keep Sous Vide Bags Submerged
Beets are lightweight and the bag will want to float. There are a few different ways to keep the bag submerged and you may find a combination of methods to be helpful.
- Sous vide balls. These are really common, but I don’t use them.
- Sous vide magnets. I am obsessed with these. I use them almost every time I cook.
- Ceramic plates and bowls. Yep, the dishes in your cupboard! Ceramic dishes can stand up to heat. A small plate is easiest, but a bowl will be heaver if your bag is really trying to float.
How to Make a Sous Vide Beet Salad
To make the salad, I simply repurpose the greens from the tops of beets. Trim them off and remove the stem. Chop into pieces suitable for bites. Rinse clean and dry thoroughly and you’ve got salad greens! I also like to use spinach and arugula for beet salads.
I make a dressing with olive oil, lime juice, salt, and a little cumin. My go-to add ins are pistachios and goat cheese for crunch and creaminess. It’s super simple – feel free to get creative and add in whatever you have on hand!
Want to add a protein to the salad? Here are some of my favs:
Common Questions
- How should I store sous vide beets?
- After the beets have been cooked, remove them from the bag and add to a tupperware container.
- How long will they keep in the fridge?
- You can keep cooked beets in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Can I freeze sous vide beets?
- Absolutely. I recommend cooking them first. Cook, cool the bag on the counter, and then freeze in the vacuum seal bag. Easy, peasy!
Get the Recipe:
Sous Vide Beets (& Limey Beet Salad)
Ingredients
Sous Vide Beets
- 4 large beets, red or golden
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Limey Beet Salad
- 5 cups reserved beet greens, spinach, arugula or combination, chopped and cleaned
- 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup roasted and salted pistachios
- 1/4 cup pickled red onion, optional
Equipment
Instructions
Sous Vide Beets
- Preheat water bath using immersion circulator to 185 degrees F.
- Using a sharp knife, chop off stems and root "tail" from beets. Peel the beets using a vegetable peeler. Dice beets into 1 inch cubes.
- Add beets to a vacuum seal bag. Add lime juice, salt, and cayenne pepper to bag and toss to coat the beets. Vacuum seal and watch carefully: press seal when you see liquid being sucked to top of bag.
- Add the beets to the preheated water bath. Make sure the beets stay submerged using methods described in the blog post. Cook for 1-3 hours.
- Remove the bag from the water bath and let cool on the counter to room temperature, 20-30 minutes.
Limey Beet Salad
- Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cumin, and kosher salt until homogeneous. Toss with the salad greens.
- Top the salad with sous vide beets, goat cheese, pistachios, and pickled red onions if using. Serve.
Notes
- How should I store sous vide beets?
- After the beets have been cooked, remove them from the bag and add to a tupperware container.
- How long will they keep in the fridge?
- You can keep cooked beets in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Can I freeze sous vide beets?
- Absolutely. I recommend cooking them first. Cook, cool the bag on the counter, and then freeze in the vacuum seal bag. Easy, peasy!