Beetroot is a versatile veggie that can be used in various recipes and dishes. It’s a good idea to buy beets when they’re in season, to ensure they’re fresh and flavoursome when you come to enjoy them.
But what’s the best way to preserve beets after you have cooked them? Can you freeze cooked beetroot?
Cooked beetroot can be frozen for up to 3 months. You will need to flash freeze cooked beetroot before bagging it up, so the beets don’t stick together. While freezing cooked beetroot isn’t as good as freezing raw beetroot, it’s still a viable option.
Do Does Cooked Beetroot freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Cooked Beetroot? No
How to Freeze Cooked Beetroot
If you find yourself with a surplus of cooked beets and you don’t know what to do with them, you can freeze them to ensure they don’t spoil.
While we would always recommend freezing beetroot raw, you can still freeze them after they’ve been cooked, providing you follow the steps that we introduce below:
- Cool
You will need to leave your cooked beetroot out at room temperature for an hour or so until they have cooled completely. If you put warm beets in the freezer, they will go mushy. - Slice
While you can freeze whole beets, we’d recommend slicing them up before freezing them, as it provides you with much better control when it comes to defrosting what you need. - Flash Freeze
Line a baking tray with parchment or tin foil and place your beetroot on top. Spread the sliced beetroot out as much you can so it isn’t overlapping or touching, and place the tray in the freezer for several hours. - Bag Up
Once your cooked beetroot is frozen solid, remove the tray from the freezer and empty the beets into suitably sized freezer-safe bags. - Label and Freeze
Make a note of today’s date and the use-by date on the front of the bag, and place your beetroot in the freezer. Remember, you can freeze cooked beetroot for around three months.
3 Tips for Freezing Cooked Beetroot
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing cooked beetroot to have the best results:
Freeze Uncooked Beetroot for Better Results
Although it’s perfectly safe to freeze cooked beetroot, it’s much better to freeze it before cooking. This is because its taste and texture will degrade in the freezer once it has been cooked and frozen. So, if you know you have more beetroot than you need, set it aside and freeze it before cooking.
Blanch Instead of Cooking
As you’re preparing your beetroot for the freezer, we’d recommend blanching it instead of cooking it. This ensures you can lock all of the flavours and nutrients into the beetroot before dropping it in the freezer, and you can freeze it for up to a year when you prepare it in this way.
Only Freeze Once
You should only freeze cooked beetroot once. This is because the freezing process draws moisture out of the beetroot, which will cause it to lose some texture and flavour.
If you’re looking for another way of preserving your beetroot, consider pickling it in vinegar and storing it in a jar in your fridge.
How Long Can You Freeze Cooked Beetroot?
You can freeze cooked beetroot for around three months. If you leave cooked beetroot in the freezer for any longer than this, it will start to deteriorate in taste and texture.
So, if you think you might like to freeze beetroot for any longer than this, we would advise you to leave it uncooked, as you can freeze raw beetroot for up to twelve months.
The key is to be prepared when it comes to preparing your beetroot, as it helps to leave some uncooked beets aside that can be frozen separately.
You Can Freeze Cooked Beetroot for up to 3 Months
How Do You Defrost Cooked Beetroot?
The best way to defrost cooked beetroot is to transfer it to the fridge. While this will take several hours, it’s the best way to thaw beetroot. Alternatively, you can thaw beetroot by leaving it out at room temperature.
In some instances, you don’t need to defrost cooked beetroot at all. If you’re adding it to a smoothie or juice, for instance, you can add it straight from frozen to save yourself some time.
Can You Refreeze Cooked Beetroot?
No, you should only freeze cooked beetroot once. The more times you freeze cooked beetroot, the more likely it is to spoil in terms of taste and texture. The same is true for uncooked beetroot, and you should only ever freeze it once, too.
Consider bagging up your cooked beetroot in smaller portion sizes to make it easier to defrost only what you need at any given time, to save yourself from having to refreeze it in the first place.
Does Cooked Beetroot Freeze Well?
Cooked beetroot doesn’t freeze as well as uncooked beetroot, but you can still freeze it all the same.
The taste and the texture of cooked beetroot degrades more quickly than beetroot that has only been blanched, so bear this in mind before preparing your beets.
