Did you know you can eat beet greens? Yeah, those greens on top of beets. I had no idea. Apparently, you can also eat carrot tops. I haven’t tried that yet but the beet greens are delicious. The taste is similar to spinach; I actually like the beet greens better, as it’s a little bit sweeter.
These baby beet greens look like miniature swiss chard, which is a close relative, belonging to the same family. The stems are so tender, you can eat the whole thing. They’re also highly nutritious, rich in calcium, iron, magnesium and vitamins A, B6, C, E and K.
Sautéed Baby Beet Greens
Serves 2 as part of a meal
6 ounces baby beet greens
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Wash the beet greens in several changes of water. Drain and set aside.
Heat a wok or sauté pan to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the garlic and sauté for several seconds. Add the beet greens and season with salt. Sauté the greens until wilted and tender. Plate and serve.
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I love beet greens too. They’re like a bonus attached to beets. I always break them off the beets as soon as I get home from the store and eat them within a day or two.
Never tried carrot tops though…
Carrot tops are sort of like parsley.
My bunny loves beet and carrot tops, but I never thought of eating them myself. Next trip to the store I am going to get extra to try this recipe. Yum!
As I understand it, chard is essentially a beet plant that has been bred for its leaves rather than its root.
I love beet greens they are sweet tasting.
Happy New Years!
Beet greens I knew about, and I kind of knew about carrot tops but haven’t ever tried them. But did you know about turnip greens? I like to cut the turnips into matchsticks and wok them in oil. Add the greens when the turnips are almost cooked, and it’s delish. Great photos of the greens!
What cute baby beet greens! Perfect alternative to collards for the new year!
I love BEETS like chocolates, I don’t know why but I just love sprouts and anything young!
i didn’t know you can eat carrot tops, but i love beetroot greens, we ate more greens off our beetroot crop than we did actual beets! when they got a bit old i whizzed them up in a saag or spinach curry, so good, with a hint of that pretty purple colour
I’m Polish and we use beet tops to make a traditional soup: ‘zupa z botwinki’. It’s very much like borscht, except it’s made with young beets and the chopped tops are the star of the dish. I just found your blog through Vegan Dad and I love it!
Cook as directed but just before serving add 1 teaspoon of sour cream and stir. This creates a light pink sauce and it’s sort of like creamed spinach but better. Heavenly!
Kelly – Thanks for the tip! It sounds yummy and a super easy way to make a sauce. :-)