We love beets, they are extremely healthy and just so good. We like to grow Cylindra, a very sweet Heirloom beet that grows in a long cylindrical shape. Very nice for slicing. Sometimes they get really big, too.
Beets store well for a couple months if stored in a cool dark place. A great way to preserve beets though is by freezing them. The reason for that is simple: to prepare beets is messy and they take about an hour to cook, so I like to cook up a whole pot and be done for a few more meals (how convenient!). It works very well with cooking up a lot whenever we want them for supper and freezing the rest.
1. Cooking the beets
Beets (no matter what variety) have to be cooked, or baked whole with the skin on. That prevents them from bleeding out. As soon as you can put a fork in, they are done. It will take about an hour. I like to cook beets in a pot with about an inch of water at the bottom, so that the beets are steamed, not boiled in water. It preserves the taste better. But beets can also be cooked in water, as you would cook potatoes.
2. Peel the beets after cooking
Peal the hot beets under running water, the skin will come right off. Or let the beets cool off and then peel them, again, the skin will simply come off.
3. Slice the beets
Slice the beets and spread them on a baking sheet and freeze. When frozen, transfer them into a freezer bag. That way you can easily take portions out as needed. You can also shred or cut in pieces the beets however you prefer. I find that slices work great for me, and I can always cut them for the recipe after towing them if I need to.
In the winter I just reheat them and we have delicious beets, just like fresh. We enjoy them with homemade sour cream. Yum yum. They are also great for soups and borscht.
You prefer canning? Canning isn’t as complicated as it sounds. This DVD will show you just how fun and easy preserving your foods can be!
Here is our favorite Pickled beet recipe, and here a how to for pressure canning beets.
What about the beet greens, can they be frozen too? They sure can! See how to freeze greens here.
We invite you to subscribe to Northern Homestead and follow us on Facebook or Pinterest for more great recipes.
That makes me want a Beet right now :/ LOL We used to can them growing up, but I think freezing them would be less work!
That is one of the reasons I like freezing so much, less work!
Can I freeze beets that I have pickled myself?
Sorry, I have never done that to know if you can. Not sure why you would want to, pickled beets store great for a long time.
I think you should do a post called “How to LIKE Beets” HA! I once took a huge bite of beets thinking they were cranberry sauce. Boy, was I surprised! Great freezing idea, though!
That is easy! Just come over and have some home grown beats and you will LIKE them! If the only beats you ever had are store bought ones, I am not surprised you do not like them – I don’t either.
Try cooking your beets in OJ. Drain the beet juice and warm beets in a small amount of Orange juice. It calms the “beety” flavor and was a great way to get my children to like them. There is no measurement just use enough juice to keep them from burning.
That is interesting, thank you for sharing!
I never liked beets until I tried them with apples and ginger. I roast the beets, peel, and chop them and combine them with chopped apples, powdered ginger, a couple turns of freshly ground black pepper, a splash of olive oil, and a dash of balsamic vinegar. From there, I add whatever sounds good at the moment: toasted pecans or walnuts, goat or feta cheese, honey, maple syrup…go wild! It’ll change your mind about beets.
Thanks for this post. I love beets, did not know they could be frozen.
Thank you SO much for posting this – we have been given a lot of beets through our CSA and we didn’t know what to do with them – lol! My husband peeled one into a salad raw & I was thinking that probably isn’t the way to go 🙂 ~Renee
You can eat beats raw, if you slice them thinly or grate. I prefer them cooked though, and they do make great salads too.
I have never grow beets. I got seeds this year but didn’t get my root bed ready in time for them! Maybe next year!
I never thought about freezing beets. I always thought they would be one of those that would get mushy after being frozen. Thank you for letting me know that! I love them, but my family doesn’t. So freezing them would be perfect for me.
My mom always dices and freezes them. They taste very close to fresh, in my opinion. Just read that they are PACKED with nutrients. I always assumed they were, just by their rich color.
My friend suggested peeling the beets with a potato peeler, slicing and then microwave with just a very small amount of added water until reasonably well done. Much faster than boil and peel and they should still freeze the same.
Possible, however we do not use and even have a microwave. I do steam them without water though (well just a bit on the bottom of the pot so they do not burn). Peeling after they are done is a no-brainer.
Thanks for the instructions. We were just given a large bag of long, slender beets, I’d never seen any before so I assume we have the Cylindra. Anyway, we have too many beets to use without some sort of storage and freezing is always my first choice. Especially helpful is your suggestion to freeze the slices individually. I also wanted to mention that we love fresh beets grated on top of a salad. Most people would probably prefer the milder tasting beets but I love them all. The sweetness really comes out this way.
Beets grated on top of a salad sounds really yummy. I have to try that. Thank you for sharing.
This is awesome! How do you warm them up?
You know – to be honest – I never thought to freeze beets before! This is a great idea! Usually I just store beets or can or pickle them, but now I just might try freezing them. Thanks for the great information!
can you grate and freeze raw beets??
Yes you can, just like carrots, however it will be messy red. I prefer to cook them first so the beet juice stays inside the beet.
Thanks for the directions on how to freeze delicious nutritious beets. One of my favorite ways to eat beets is adding them to hummus……makes the hummus beautiful and delicious.
Deidre
Great idea, thank you for sharing!
First time here. My wife and I like beets cooked in olive oil with a little salt and pepper on the grille using a cast iron skillet. They will Carmelize a little and become like a sweet candy. I was wondering if you think they would freeze well this way?
You can freeze all cooked beats, just don’t expect them to be the same after defreezing. Still they should be yummy.
Can beets be canned after being frozen?
You can, for canning beats you need a pressure canner or you can pickle them.
Why do beets always have to be cooked? Is it only when freezing them or always? I have been using raw beets in slaw and in smoothies.
You can use raw beets, and you can even freeze raw beets if you chop them. They would be good for smoothies. In this post however, I show how to freeze cooked beats that are sliced. If you freeze sliced beets you should at least blanch them, but that would bleed them out to much. So cooking first is better. Hope this makes sense.