Air Fryer Beets roast up sweet and tender with caramelized edges and require just a few simple ingredients! Enjoy them as a quick and easy side dish or as a topping for salads and grain bowls.
We love to serve these beets as part of my roasted root vegetable salad, or add them as a side with my air fryer pork medallions along with some quinoa or rice.
Quick Look: Air Fryer Beets
- ⏱ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 👩🏻🍳 Air Frying Time: 22 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 32 minutes
- 🍽 Servings: 8
- ⚡ Calories: 80 per serving
- 🌱 Diet: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free.
- 🔥 Flavor/texture: tender texture with caramelized edges and a sweet, earthy flavor.
- 👌 Difficulty: easy recipe; most time consuming part is peeling and chopping the beets.
- ❤️ Why you'll love: uses basic ingredients; air frying instead of oven roasting saves time and valuable oven space.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Why you'll fall in love with these roasted beets
- Maximum flavor: By peeling and cubing the beets instead of roasting them whole, every single piece gets coated in oil and seasonings.
- Perfectly caramelized: The high heat of the air fryer brings out the natural sweetness of the beets and creates delicious caramelized edges while keeping them fork tender. (This is the same reason why I love air fryer carrots so much)!
- Frees up your oven: Making this side dish in the air fryer saves time and leaves your oven open for the main course or other side dishes. (If oven space is an issue for you, particularly when feeding a crowd, check out all of my air fryer side dish recipes)!
- Beautiful presentation: Classic red beets are paired with vibrant golden beets and unique candy cane beets for a pop of color on your dinner table.
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes
- Red beets - This is the most common variety. They're a deep maroon color and often come in round and long sizes. They're great for roasting and have a sweet taste. (We especially enjoy them in my roasted beet and carrot salad).
- Golden beets - These beets have a golden/bright yellow flesh with an orange skin. They're not quite as sweet as red beets but are just as delicious roasted and work well in soups, like my golden beet soup.
- Candy cane beets (Chioggia beets) - They have a red-ish/pink exterior and are red and white striped on the inside, which resembles a candy cane pattern. Once roasted, some of their striped coloring fades but they have a sweet and earthy flavor.
- Oil - I used olive oil, but extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil work too.
- Salt and pepper - Just enough to add some flavor but you don't want to take away from the natural sweetness of the beets.
How to roast beets in the air fryer
Step 1: Add the peeled and cubed beets to a large bowl.
Step 2: Toss with the oil, salt and pepper.
Step 3: Arrange the beets in the air fryer basket. (They don't need to be in a single layer).
Step 4: Air fry at 400F for 18-22 minutes, or until fork tender. Stop to shake the basket a few times.
Want to save this recipe for later?
Enter your email address and I'll send it straight to your inbox. You'll also receive new recipes from me regularly!
Expert tips
- Size of beet cubes. Make sure your beets are all about 1-inch thick pieces so they cook evenly. If you cut your beets into smaller or bigger pieces, you'll need to adjust the air frying time accordingly.
- Different seasonings. Feel free to change up the seasonings with garlic, spices or dried herbs. Dried oregano pairs well with veggies. We love adding it to these air fryer radishes. You can also add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Variety of beets. While I used three different kinds of beet in this recipe, you can stick to just one kind. The cooking time will be roughly the same for whichever variety of beet you choose.
- Shake basket and don't overfill. It's okay if the beets overlap in the basket, but you don't want to fill it up. You'll also want to shake the basket a few times to rotate the beets around so they roast evenly.
- Wear gloves. I don't normally do this, but since the beets can stain your fingers and nails, you may wish to wear gloves when peeling and chopping them.
Air fryer beets FAQs
You can leave beets unpeeled and roast them whole, but for this recipe, that's not what I recommend. I find it's easier to peel and chop beets before cooking instead of after. Besides, the best part of this recipe is the caramelized edges on the beets, which you wouldn't get if they were air fried whole.
These beets are best enjoyed right out of the air fryer. If you have leftovers, you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can eat them cold (I usually throw some on top of salads) or you can reheat them in the air fryer at 400F for 3-5 minutes.
While some recipes note that you can freeze roasted beets, I think this works best if it's whole beets. I tried freezing these cubed beet, and I didn't care for the texture once they were defrosted and reheated. They were too soft and a little rubbery.
Air frying the beets with oil will help keep them tender and prevent them from drying out. Two tablespoons might seem like a lot, but if you cut back, your beets will end up a bit dry.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is with a simple arugula salad and creamy goat cheese. They also pair nicely with lamb, salmon or chicken, like my air fryer chicken cutlets. You can also blend them with chickpeas or beans and tahini to create a hummus, like my roasted beet hummus recipe!
More recommended air fryer recipes
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Sign up for our newsletter and follow Crumb Top Baking on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook!
If you make this recipe, please leave a review and rating below to let me know what you think. If you have a question, drop that below too!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Beets
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh beets, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (see note #3)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the beets, oil, salt and pepper to a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Place the beets in the air fryer basket and air fry on 400F for 18-22 minutes, or until fork tender. Stop the air fryer a few times to shake the basket and rotate the beets around.
Notes
- Size of beet cubes. Make sure your beets are all about 1-inch thick pieces so they cook evenly. If you cut your beets into smaller or bigger pieces, you'll need to adjust the air frying time accordingly.
- Different seasonings. Feel free to change up the seasonings with garlic, spices or dried herbs.
- Variety of beets. While I used three different kinds of beet in this recipe, you can stick to just one kind. The cooking time will be roughly the same for whichever variety of beet you choose.
- Shake basket and don't overfill. It's okay if the beets overlap in the basket, but you don't want to fill it up. You'll also want to shake the basket a few times to rotate the beets around so they roast evenly.
- Wear gloves. I don't normally do this, but since the beets can stain your fingers and nails, you may wish to wear gloves when peeling and chopping them.
Want to save this recipe for later?
Enter your email address and I'll send it straight to your inbox. You'll also receive new recipes from me regularly!
Nutrition Facts per Serving
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.
Did you make this recipe or have any questions?
I love reading your comments and addressing your questions, so please leave your comments and ratings or questions below!
Rayana says
I added carrots too and red onions. However I think I may have overcrowded my rolling basket as it took twice as much time to get them tender.
Leanne says
Hi Rayana. Yes, sounds like adding the carrots and onions may have overcrowded the basket and that's why the beets required additional time. Hope you enjoyed them!
Leanne G. says
Excellent recipe! Sometimes a simple side dish is perfect with a fancy entree. My beets needed more time - about 30 minutes - even though they were in a single layer and about 1” pieces. We have an oven air fryer so I had room to toss some skinny carrots in for the last 15 minutes.
Also, always nice to see someone who spells Leanne the right way. 😉
Leanne says
Hi Leanne! I'm so glad you liked the recipe and adding carrots is a great idea. Hahah, yes, it's definitely the right way to spell our name!
Kristi says
do you need to put these in a single layer? your picture looks like they are piled up? my air fryer is small and doing in a single layer, it may take me days to get enough to eat! 🙂
Leanne says
Hi Kristi. You don't need to air fry the beets in a single layer. Just make sure to shake the basket a few times while cooking. If your air fryer is really small, the basket will be full so you may need to air fry the beets a little longer or you could air fry them in 2 separate batches.
Corinne says
Loved this easy recipe! Although, my air fryer took longer than stated… more like actual roasting time. Most likely it’s the fryer, not the recipe. Will make this again and again!
Leanne says
Hi Corinne! Thanks so much for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed the beets!
Kim says
Hi Corinne,
Your re review was spot on! The cook time in the air fryer was the same as roasting them - either way they were delicious!!
KCJorj says
I'm trying to learn to like beets and incorporate them into my healthy diet, so I was looking for a recipe that would make them taste better to me and not so much like dirt! Ha. I used whole, peeled, cooked, ready to eat, vacuum-packed, red beets. Thank you for your recipe. I added garlic powder as well. I quarter them and cooked them a little longer. I think that helped me. They were good. Thank you.
Leanne says
You're welcome! Glad you liked them.
Marisa says
I loved how the beets turned out! I will definitely make them again. It’s a lot faster than roasting them in the oven My beets were very small, a bit bigger than a large lemon. I cut them in wedges about 1/2” wide on the wide part of the wedge, and were done in 20 ‘minutes. They were crispy and delicious.
Leanne says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe Marisa! Thanks for letting me know!
Alena Miller says
Very tasty - I added some dried garlic flakes. We used the rotisserie basket. After 20 minutes, I could not yet poke the beets chunks with a fork, so we needed to cook much longer. But it was worth it!
Leanne says
Hi Alena! Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad you liked the beets, and the addition of dried garlic flakes sounds delicious!
Christie says
These air fryer beets are such a great idea! I love finding new ways to eat beets and air frying them sounds like a great idea.
Leanne says
Thanks Christie!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer says
You've done it again with the air fryer, Leanne! They look so good! I really ought to get an air fryer ASAP!
Leanne says
Thanks Michelle! The air fryer has turned into one of my kitchen essentials!
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
I love all of the colors of beets you used, Leanne! I don't know if I've ever seen the striped beets around here, but now I"m desperate to find them. And I can't wait to use the air fryer for these! They look fantastic!
Leanne says
Thanks Katherine! You might be able to find the candy cane beets at your local farmer's market. I've never seen them at the grocery store around here.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
I love all your air fryer recipes, as I'm always looking for new things to try! These look fabulous 🙂
Leanne says
Thanks Jennifer!