Maple and Balsamic Glazed Beets

Maple and Balsamic Glazed Beets are delicious at any time of the year.

Earthy, rich, Funky, Sweet, and tastes like dirt are all ways to describe one of my favorite vegetables. There seem to be 2 camps of thoughts when it comes to this red root vegetable. One either really loves them or hates them. I am definitely in the adore them category. I absolutely love the deep dark flavor of beets. I have been known to eat an entire jar of Trader Joe’s beets in one sitting with no problem. I like them roasted, boiled, steamed, and yes, I absolutely love them pickled!

When writing my post about the Aussie Burger a couple of weeks back, I was having a hard time finding good pickled beets to use. I finally found some, but I had forgotten I have this fantastic Maple and Balsamic Glazed Beets recipe that I used to make and hadn’t in a few years. I, of course, I had to make some of these beauties. These Maple and balsamic Glazed Beets are not really pickled, but they do have some tanginess from the balsamic vinegar. They would be perfect for a side dish or on a salad. I have been known to serve them with some goat cheese and toasted walnuts. But I love just eating a big bowl of them anytime.

I have a fond memory of discovering pickled beets from this wonderful lady I became friends with when I was in college in Montana. During the summers, I got to live in a tiny trailer behind this elderly couple who lived in Belgrade, Montana. (Just a stone’s throw from Bozeman MT, where Montana State is.) They were the aunt and uncle of my last girlfriend, and we adored each other, possibly more than they liked their niece…lol. They let me live there rent-free as long as I helped them in their fields. They grew vegetables for their seed company. And ate the extras, Marie would can and pickle for days each summer and I would sometimes help her in the kitchen too. Marie would make these pickled beets with onions full of syrupy pickled goodness, even the pickling juice was delicious. I still wish I could have a jar of those wonder beets from her. Although Ken and Marie are unfortunately long gone. You can find remnants Of Ken Fisher’s developments in seeds such as this corn seed in seeds companies still today. Up until a few years ago one of their relatives still ran a catalog of his seeds. But as I am writing this, I could only find references to it, but no actual website.

These Maple and Balsamic Glazed beets are my favorite way to cook this incredible vegetable. Full of Iron and not many calories, they are fabulous diet food. Unless, of course, you want to add goat cheese and walnuts and have a decadent, not low-calorie salad!

5 from 1 vote

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Maple and Balsamic Glazed Beets

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 30 mins

Total Time

1 hr 40 mins

 

Beets glazed with Maple syrup, Balsamic Vinegar and a hint of Thyme. Perfect for anytime or for ontop of a salad.

Course: picnic, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Balsamic Vinegar, beets, Maple syrup

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of beets stems cut off, no need to peel
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
• Sprigs of fresh thyme for garnish optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Wash and scrub each beet.
3. Wrap each beet individually in foil.
4. Place the wrapped beets onto a baking tray and roast for 50 to 60 minutes. Test the beets after 50 minutes to see if a fork will pierce into the beet.
5. Let the beets cool to room temperature for ease of handling.
6. When the beets are cool, slip off the skins, the skins should easily come off the roasted beets. You may want to wear gloves if you don't want your hands to be red.
7. The beets can then be stored in the fridge at this point if you want. Or continue right to glazing them.

When you are ready to cook the beets.

1. Cut the roasted beets into wedges or slices.
2. Heat a large skillet to medium heat.
3. To the hot skillet, add the olive oil, maple syrup, and the vinegar.
4. Let the mixture come to a boil and reduce by half. Be careful not to over reduce as the mixture will actually caramelize and become too thick to mix in the beets.
5. Add the salt, pepper, and the thyme and let cook for a minute, stirring constantly.
6. Add the beets and stir to combine.
7. Let the beets simmer in the glaze until the glaze has thickened again (the beets will give off some of their moisture. You want the glaze to be syrupy. Somewhere in the 5-10 minute range.
8. Serve with Thyme sprigs if you want to be fancy.

9. These Beets can be served hot or chilled. They are great with some fresh goat cheese and taosted walnuts or on a salad. Or just with a fork!

Recipe Notes

Note: you can most certainly boil beets in a large pot of water instead of roasting them. It actually takes about ½ the time to boil beets, and they will be delicious that way too. I prefer to roast them as the flavor intensifies just a bit in the roasting process.