Sauteed Beetroot Leaves Without Oil

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This beetroot leaves recipe features tender beet leaves and stems sautéed without oil in garlic and soy sauce. Great as a side dish.

sauteed beetroot leaves on a white plate — Don't throw out the beet leaves, it's a disservice to this amazing veggie and yourself!

What Can You Do With Beet Leaves

Beet leaves, also known as beet greens, are the leafy part of beets and they are versatile! Easily used in various ways.

Here are a few ideas for what you can do with beet leaves:

Salad greens: Beet leaves can be used as a fresh and nutritious addition to salads. You can chop them up and mix them with other salad greens like lettuce or arugula.
Sautéed or stir-fried: Beet leaves can be sautéed or stir-fried with or without olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and other herbs or spices. Similar to achieving oil free vegan fried rice.. This cooking method helps to soften the leaves and bring out their flavors. Just like this beetroot leaves recipe.
Soups and stews: Add beet leaves to soups or stews for added nutrients and a vibrant green or deep red color . They can be added near the end of the cooking process to preserve their texture.
Wraps or rolls: Beet leaves can be used as a substitute for tortillas or wraps.

four fresh beetroots with leaves laid down on a white background

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Less wastage, stop discarding high nutritional value food
Oil free, low fat, nut free, gluten free and vegan
Easy to cook, it’s chop and drop into a pan
Great as a side

Ingredients You’ll Need

The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.

Beetroot leaves are also known as beet tops, beet leaves or beet greens and are normally sold attached to the beetroot bulb (check out this vegan walnut beetroot salad to use the bulbs, or this amazing vegan red borscht).

Both the leaves and stems are edible. Choose leaves that aren’t wilted when purchasing, normally found at your local fruit market or farmers market.

Cut beetroot stems into 4cm (1 1⁄2 in) lengths and chop up the leaves into 1cm (⅓ in) widths.

Soy sauce is not made equally, some have more salt than others, be sure to factor this in when cooking. If you are gluten-free, check the label. Soy sauce can be swapped with tamari sauce.

Fresh garlic can be either sliced or crushed.

Water is needed to help wilt the leaves and steams, the beetroot leaves will soak up all the water that is used when sautéed without oil. Otherwise, feel free to use a spoonful of olive oil.

Chili only a tiny amount is needed. You can use your preferred chili, either dry or fresh, I used dried birds eye chili.

How To Sauté Beetroot Leaves

Cook the beetroot stems first as they take longer to cook than the beet greens. Heat up a non-stick pan on high until very hot and then turn heat to medium. Add beetroot stems and stir continuously until they have wilted. About 4 minutes.

Add garlic and 1 tablespoon of water and continuously stir until the garlic has softened.

Add beetroot leaves, soy sauce, chili and rapid stir, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time until all leaves have wilted. Serve immediately.

sauteed beetroot stems without oil in a black pan — Beetroot stems after a few minutes of sauteing without oil.

Pro Tips

Cleaning each beetroot leaf thoroughly is important. As they are attached to a ground root vegetable, there is normally quite a bit of dirt.

It is easy to loosen the dirt by soaking the leaves first and then using your hands to rub the leaves and stems.

Cooking without oil can be a little tricky, it is imperative to use a non-stick pan and it is best to use spoonfuls of water at a time. This will help the beetroot leaves not dry up so quick. Continuous rapid stirring is also needed to ensure nothing burns.

FAQ

What do beet greens taste like?

Beet greens taste sweet, earthy and a tad bitter, just like an actual beetroot. They can be enjoyed raw or cooked. When beet greens are cooked, the bitterness is cooked out

Other Leafy Greens Recipes

You might enjoy these silverbeet rolls or these black eyed peas with greens.

Or here’s a list of Swiss chard gluten free vegan recipes.

Another low-fat recipe is my big flavored vegan brussel sprouts, they are so good.

While this is not a leafy green recipe, oil free eggplant cutlets are another low-fat side dish.

Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.

Recipe

Sauteed Beetroot Leaves (No Oil)

Tender beetroot leaves which have been sautéed without oil in garlic and soy sauce. Great as a side dish or part of a buddha bowl.

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Course: side

Cuisine: Any

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Fat, Vegan

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

Servings: servings

Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

275 grams Beetroot leaves
1-2 cloves Garlic
½-1 tablespoon Soy sauce gluten free
4-5 tablespoons Water
¼-½ Birds eye chilli

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Heat up a non stick pan on high until very hot and then turn heat to medium. Add beetroot stems and stir continuously until they have wilted. About 4 minutes.
275 grams Beetroot leaves
Add garlic and 1 tablespoon of water and continuously stir until the garlic has softened.
1-2 cloves Garlic, 4-5 tablespoons Water
Add beetroot leaves, soy sauce, chilli and rapid stir, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time until all leaves have wilted. Serve warm.
275 grams Beetroot leaves, 4-5 tablespoons Water, ¼-½ Birds eye chilli, ½-1 tablespoon Soy sauce

Notes

Cleaning each beetroot leaf thoroughly is important. As they are attached to a ground root vegetable, there is normally quite a bit of dirt. It is easy to loosen the dirt by soaking the leaves first and then using your hands to rub the leaves and stems.

Sauteing the stems before the leaves is important as the stems take longer to cook.

Soy sauce, water, garlic and chili amounts can be adjusted to suit your taste.

If you prefer, use olive oil rather than water to saute.

Equipment

non stick fry pan

Nutrition

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

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Sautéed Beetroot Leaves (Without Oil)