Beet greens are so tender and delicious, you’ll wonder why you ever tossed them out in the first place!
Just a little garlic and lemon juice transforms the stems and leaves into a deliciously tender side dish that’s packed with flavor and nutrition!
An Easy Beet Greens Recipe
- The best use for your garden-fresh beet greens. They’re healthy and packed with flavor.
- This recipe uses both the leaves and stems to turn raw beet greens into a deliciously seasoned sauteed side dish.
- An easy and quick dish, ready in under 15 minutes
- Packed full of nutrients from fresh, natural ingredients
- Perfectly balances tangy lemon, aromatic garlic, and earthy beet greens
- A great way to add a touch of elegance to any meal.
Ingredients in Sautéed Beet Greens
Beet Greens – Choose stems and leaves that are fresh and firm. Cut or tear them into equally sized pieces. You’ll want to separate the stems from the leaves as they will cook at different rates.
Seasonings – Real butter and fresh lemon juice are key to bringing out the best flavor of sauteed beet greens and will offset any bitterness.
Flavor: Garlic adds flavor. Swap the olive oil for a bit of bacon grease to add a smoky flavor to the greens if desired. Add a few red pepper flakes for color and a little heat, or save a little lemon zest as a garnish!
How to Saute Beet Greens
This recipe also works with other greens like radish greens or mustard greens.
- Wash beet greens to remove any grit, dirt, or debris.
- Simmer the stems until fork-tender and drain per the recipe below.
- Add the beet leaves, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the pan. Squeeze lemon juice over the greens and sauté until the leaves are wilted.
- Remove from heat, stir in butter, and season to taste.
Storing Sautéed Beet Greens
Keep leftover sauteed beet greens in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheat in the microwave or add to a veggie soup or a hearty chicken stew. Freeze-cooled beet greens in a zippered bag for up to 4 months, however, once thawed, their texture may change but their flavor will be just as delicious!
More Great Greens
Did you make these Sauteed Beet Greens? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Sauteed Beet Greens
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bundle beet greens
- 1 cup water
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash beet greens and separate stems from leaves. Cut the stems into 1" pieces, and chop the leaves.
- In a nonstick pan, add the stems and 1 cup of water. Cover and simmer for 4-7 minutes or until they're fork-tender. Drain well.
- Add the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the pan, squeezing the lemon over the greens. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until the greens are wilted.
- Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the butter and salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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Had a smoothie for breakfast with beets in it so decided to chop the stalks off of the whole bunch. Just made this recipe for lunch. Sprinkled some pepitas and roasted chickpeas on it along with a splash of hot sauce. Very tasty. Was a tad gritty. Guess I didn’t wash the stalks off well enough. Recipe didn’t specifically state when to add the chopped leaves so I assumed it was after steaming the stalks. I will definitely make this again. Might use veggie broth instead of oil next time to cut down on the calories. Oh and I used vegan butter. Since trying to switch to a whole-food plant-based way of eating I’ve discovered many new things like this that I never had before.
Made these beet greens (minus the stems) last night. They were fabulous. I think this will be on a weekly rotation in our house. Thank you!!!
This recipe was fabulous. I added cooked orzo to make it a main course and I shaved fresh parmigiana on top, so good, thank you !
What constitutes “one bundle”? Is it from one beet? Thanks!
A bundle is approximately 5-6 beets.
Wow! So easy and delicious. The lemon really brightens up the greens. Will never make them any other way.
Easy and delicious. Thank you!
My husband and I tried this recipe and loved it!! Neither of us had ever had beet greens before. Yum!
So glad to hear that you both love beet greens Laura!
This was honestly the first time ever eating and cooking beet greens and it was so easy and delicious! This recipe is a hit for me and would use this again when making it for my family.
So happy to hear that Camilla!
I made this tonight from my garden beets. We pulled ONE beet, and it had all kinds of stems and leaves. Enough for my husband and I to have a nice serving each for dinner. Good recipe!
A good idea and stopped me throwing the leaves away! Thank you
So simple yet so delicious.
This was surprisingly tasty. It was my first experience eating beet greens and honestly; I wasn’t expecting much! The fresh lemon is a great idea b/c it justifies the bitter taste of the greens . I ended up sautéeing them in 1 T butter and 1 T Meyers lemon infused olive oil and I added some cooked lentils for some protein and made a meal of it. if you are reading this and think there is a possibility you would like these, then I would say go for it! If you husband is saying NO Way would I eat that, then he is probably right about that too
Glad you enjoyed them Debbie! Those sound like the perfect additions for a tasty meal.
Absolutely delicious!
I left out out garlic, but instead I picked a fresh lemon off my tree. That more than made up for leaving out the garlic!
Thank you so much for such a great recipe.
Oh my Michelle! That sounds wonderful, glad you enjoyed it!
The Beet stems and greens were great. Thanks for an easy way to use them both!
Just made this. It is perfect.
I am so glad you enjoyed the green beans Linda!
I really liked this beet greens recipe especially with the fresh lemon juice and I have tried quite a few
So glad you enjoyed it Ruth!
This was great but I tweaked it a bit. I omitted the butter and garlic and used ginger and cumin. It came out wonderful!
I am so glad you were able to make this recipe work for your taste preferences!
Very first very attempt using beet greens. Thanks for the details. Didnt have lemon juice so i used white vinegar. Worked out well. Nice flavor. Thanks so much.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
Your picture for the Beet Greens recipe is wonderful except the picture actually shows Swiss Chard! I am sure it is delicious!
It’s definitely beet greens, I picked the beets from my garden and took the photos myself.
these are clearly Detroit red beet greens
I am always looking for more recipes for beet greens as I use beets in smoothies. These sauteed greens look so good, I can’t wait to make them!
Thank you Anna, we love these!!