The humble beetroot. Sure. Initially you might not see the appeal. But there is something pretty special about colorful and aromatic sous vide beetroot on a plate. Whether you are mixing it through a salad, popping in on a cheese plate or serving it alongside scallops, pork belly or duck, you can rely on sous vide cooking to create the perfect beetroot texture and taste every single time.
Photo credit: Unsplash
Sous vide cooking involves putting your meal ingredients in a vacuum sealed or ziploc bag, placing it into a water bath and letting it cook at a low temperature over a long period of time. This technique ensures the perfect “doneness” of your ingredients.
Related reading: if you are new to sous vide cooking, head to our sous vide FAQ to learn more.
Why sous vide beetroot?
Here are 3 compelling reasons to cook your beetroot sous vide:
- The flavor is trapped in which makes them completely delicious
- Sous vide cooks them to perfection
- The beets look brilliant on your plate!
New to cooking beetroot?
We realize that many of you may not have cooked with beetroot before. It couldn’t be easier. And yes, it will taste a whole lot better than canned beetroot. And yes, you can avoid staining your hands and kitchen countertop when you take a little care.
The good news is that there is no perfect meal partner for beetroot. Experiment a little. Afterall that is what sous vide cooking is all about. We promise that beets are easy to sous vide no matter what you are planning to add them to after your cook. So pick up a couple of beets from your local supermarket, farmers market or back yard vege patch (a shout out to the vege growers amongst us!) and get sous vide cooking.
Preparing your beets for sous vide cooking
Whilst recipes vary slightly here are the basis steps to get your beets ready for your water bath:
Photo credit: Unsplash
- Put on some kitchen gloves and cover your counter top with wax paper to protect the surface from stains
- Peel your beets and then halve them (peeling gives them a sweeter flavor)
- Pop your beets in a vacuum sealed bag or ziploc bag
- Cook them in your water bath
- Eat ’em
It’s that simple.
Want to pack an added punch to your sous vide beets? Consider adding a pinch of salt, a dash of oil, some dried rosemary or a little pickling liquid to your food pouch before putting the bag in your water bath.
Related reading: Having trouble with your food pouch floating? Not problem. Here are some easy solutions.
Top sous vide beetroot recipes
There are tons and tons of sous vide beet recipes to draw inspiration from. Here are just a couple to get the tastebuds flowing (we’ve added some more in our Further Reading, Resources and Recipes section at the end of this article).
Sous Vide Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese Salad
Serves 6 (as a side)
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 1 to 2 hours
Photo credit: Harvey Norman | Recipe by Andrew Young
Ingredients
1 bunch beetroot, trimmed
1/4 cup blanched almonds
2 tablespoons skinless hazelnuts
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sumac
100g goat’s cheese, crumbled
Fresh mint leaves, torn, to serve
Dressing
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Method
1 Wearing disposable gloves, peel beetroot and cut into wedges. Place beetroot in sous vide pouch and vacuum seal. Cook in sous vide machine following manufacturers instructions for 1 to 2 hours.
2 Heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook almonds and hazelnuts for 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted. Transfer to a chopping board. Roughly chop.
3 Heat oil in same pan. Return nuts to pan with garlic and cumin. Toss over heat for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl. Add sumac. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Set aside to cool.
4 Make Dressing: Whisk oil and vinegar together until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
5 Remove beetroot from pouch and transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle with goat’s cheese and almond mixture. Drizzle with dressing. Serve topped with mint leaves.
For those of you feeling particularly adventurous, here is a gorgeous beetroot recipe by Mattias Roock (via the Fusion Chef website):
Photo credit: Fusion Chef website | Recipe by Mattias Roock
Preparation of your sous vide beetroot
Wash beetroot well and trim the roots slightly. Place the beetroot, vinegar, sugar, sea salt and some white pepper in a vacuum bag and cook sous vide at 90 °C about 60 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Remove the beetroot from the bag and save the cooking water.
Beetroot marinade
Mix the cooking water with olive oil and season with salt and fresh pepper. Halve each beetroot and marinade with mixed berries.
Serve: Place one half of a burrata in the middle of the plate, arrange the marinaded beetroot and berries and garnish with the fine herbs and cress.To finish, dribble olive oil on the burrata and add sea salt and fresh pepper.
Sous Vide Beets on Socials
Sure sous vide beets don’t have quite the following as say sous vide steak BUT sous viders are generally a sharing bunch. So if someone has created a tasty sous vide beets dish, they are sure to share it on their social platforms of choice!
Photo credit: Unsplash
Here are the best hashtags to use to see some lip smacking sous vide beets action on social media channels:
- Use hashtags like #beetroot on Instagram for plenty of recipes you can adapt. Simply use sous vide beetroot in the dish rather than cooking it using other cooking techniques such as baking. It will look better, smell better and taste better – just saying
- Click here to see a popular sous vide beetroot thread on reddit (Yep the sous vide community loves hanging out on reddit too!)
- Pinterest is another great online space to find delicious sous vide beetroot recipes. Of course you can’t go past our Sous Vide Hub Pinterest account but we won’t be offended if you also use the hashtag #beetrootrecipes on Pinterest to find other recipes you can adjust to use sous vide beetroot too
Further Reading, Recipes and Resources
How to cook beetroot sous vide from Great British Chefs
Beautiful Aromatic Beets for any occasion from ChefSteps
Sous Vide Balsamic Beets – Recipe by Emily Farris and Jeff Akin on the Anova Culinary website
Beets sous vide – Recipe by Olive Oil and Lemons website
Diver Scallops with Red and Golden Baby Beets – Recipe on Williams Sonoma website