Mashed Beets is a great replacement for Mashed Potatoes at the dinner table with all the buttery-ness of Mashed potatoes and the rich flavor of Beets!
Total Cooking Time: Approx. One hour
My love for beets continues on strong as I look for new and fun recipes to cook. And I thought, since beets are a root vegetable like potatoes, why not make a mashed beet? Beets provide such a rich and delicious flavor but tend to be denser than potatoes leading to a course texture for the final dish. But the mash has melt in the mouth like qualities and is absolutely delightful with its rich flavor and buttery goodness.
Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
Ingredients
The ingredients needed for mashed beets is very simple. All it takes is beets, butter, and a potato. I did add some lemon, salt and milk but those ingredients are all optional to add another layer of flavor to the final mashed beets.
Process
Most of this process is hands off as the beets need to time to cook. The best way to cook the beets is to boil them off. I did this over a medium heat for about 45 minutes. The beet being nice, and tender really helps with the process and makes it easy to mash them later. A potato and lemon were also thrown into the pot. The potato helps bring a creaminess to the mashed beets and the lemon adds more flavor and help the beets retain they vibrant color. I chopped up the lemon and squeezed out the juice into the water for boiling to help the ingredients really marinate in the flavor.
Once the beets are tender, they are removed from the water, peeled, and chopped into pieces. You’ll want to take the skin off because it has too rough a texture to be eaten. The peeling should be done after boiling because it’s much easier to take the peel off the softer surface. Chopping the beets into pieces just makes the next step much easier. The potato and beets should then be thrown into a food processor.
wIt’s blending time! The food processor will then take care of the rest using the puree function. One the beets have been reduced to a decent mash, the butter and salt should be added in. Then blend more. Blend forever. Or until it’s a nice consistency. For a smoother (or thinner) consistency, slowly add the milk about 1 teaspoon at a time. Then it’s ready to be served!
Lessons
Peeling a Hot Circle
If you’re smart, you’ll wait for the beets to cool before peeling them. If you’re me, then you figure out silly ways to peel them while they are piping hot. What I would recommend is chopping the beet into quarters. Each slice can then be held up on a fork which gives you good access to peeling the edges. But waiting for them to cool is probably an easier option
Mashed Beets
Ingredients
- 3 Medium to Large Beets
- 1 Russet Potatoes
- 3 Tsp Butter
- 1 Lemon Optional
- 2 Tsp Milk Optional
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
- Prep beets by cutting off ends and stems.
- Put potato and beets into a pot of cold water. Cut lemon in half and squeeze in juice and toss lemon into the pot of water.
- Boil for 45 minutes or until tender.
- Remove from water and allow beets and potato to cool.
- Peel beets and potato – cut all into smaller cube.
- Place beets and potato into a food processor. Add butter and salt.
- Blend until a smooth consistency is reached. Add milk as desired for a thinner, smoother consistency.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Squash
- Sweet Potatoes