Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish! 

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. #moroccanbeets #roastedbeets You are a unique being. You have a unique talent and a unique way of expressing it. There is something that you can do better than anyone else in the whole world–and for every unique talent and unique expression of that talent, there are also unique needs. When these needs are matched with the creative expression of your talent, that is the spark that creates abundance. Expressing your talents to fulfill needs, creates unlimited abundance. ~ Deepak Chopra

 

Beets get a festive Moroccan twist in this easy, healthy vegan recipe. Moroccan Roasted Beets with pomegranate, toasted pistachios with a balsamic glaze, served warm, makes for a hearty side dish, and save the leftovers and toss with greens for a lovely winter salad during the week.

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased
 
What is so startling about beets are their color.  Perhaps it is because it is so unexpected. Like gemstones, their rough exteriors do a good job of disguising what lies within. I  am reminded of something I once read.  Our purpose in this life, is simply to let what is inside of us, come out.

It can feel so vulnerable though. Scary. Exposing who we really are, requires a good amount of courage. Our fear of the criticism and judgment of others too often wins this internal battle. And our fears that we are not “good enough” often stop us in dead our tracks.

But when we hide who we are, we all lose.
There is something valuable about each one of us, something amazing and beautiful, that this world needs.
Be brave.
Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased
Beets are beautiful, aren’t they? Each one is different. Like a fingerprint, their lines and patterns are so unique. Their colors, ranging from golden yellows to reds, to deep purples are rich and intense.
I am often baffled and filled with such gratefulness when nature provides us not only with nourishment but with color and symmetry and beauty.

How to make Moroccan Roasted Beets

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased

Step One: Roast the Beets

To peel or not to peel? When roasting beets there is much debate over whether or not to peel them, and when. Some people roast beets whole, letting them cool and slipping off their skins. To me, this seems to defeat the purpose. All the yummy flavor of the olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper, gets tossed with the peel.

Out of laziness, I suppose, and the hopeful idea that the skins are really nutritious, I leave the skins on. Just make sure to give them a good scrubbing. If skins are not your thing, peel them first with a vegetable peeler.

 

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased
Toss with olive oil, balsamic, cumin seeds and fennel seeds,  salt and pepper. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and roast in the middle of the oven until fork tender.
***If you cut your beets thicker than a 3/4 inch thick, I suggest covering with foil first (20-30 minutes) so they steam and soften a bit, then continue roasting uncovered, so they don’t burn.

Why Roast Beets?

Roasting beets, just like roasting most anything, does something extraordinary. It intensifies the flavor.
The dry heat of a hot oven concentrates the flavor of what you are roasting, and creates a nice caramelization.
Beets naturally have a high sugar content and when roasted, their sweetness becomes even more concentrated.

Step Two: Prep the pomegranates

Then there are the pomegranates. Talk about color and symmetry and beauty. Could anything be more lovely?  Read how to cut a pomegranate. Or see the video below.
Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased

 How to cut a Pomegranate | 2 min video!

how to cut a pomegranate

Pomegranates add a surprising brightness to the dish, and really play up the beets’ color. They also add great texture!

Step three:

Make a quick balsamic glaze.
Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased

 

Step four

When the beets are tender, toss them with the glaze, pomegranate seeds, pistachio, and a little orange zest. Sprinkle with mint if you like.

Serve immediately and save the leftovers for salad the next day – this is good chilled too!

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased

Other Beet Recipes you may like:

Beet & Quinoa Bliss Bowl

Grilled Beets with Pesto

Spaghetti and Beetballs! (Vegan Meatballs)

Delicious Beet Salad Recipe with Feta & Pistachios

Poke Beets!

Farro Salad with Beets and their Tops

Simple Borscht Recipe (Instant Pot or Stove Top!)

Cheers friends,
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Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish. #moroccanbeets #veganside #roastedbeets #cleaneating #plantbased

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate and Pistachio

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home Blog
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: Side, vegan side dish, vegetables
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: Moroccan
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Moroccan Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Seeds, toasted pistachios and a balsamic glaze. A simple, healthy vegan side dish.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 pounds beets – scrubbed and cut into wedges no more than 3/4 inch thick ( see note). If you prefer not to eat the peels, peel with a vegetable peeler before cutting.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

Reduced Balsamic

Garnish:

  • 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1/4 cup crushed roasted pistachios
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest, optional
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mint or cilantro

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425F
  2. Roast Beets: Toss beets with olive oil, balsamic,  cumin seeds, fennel seeds, salt, pepper in a bowl and coat well.Place on parchment-lined baking sheet place on the middle rack, and roast until fork tender, checking and stirring every 15 minutes, about 40-45 minutes.
  3. Make Balsamic Glaze: Place balsamic and maple syrup in small pot on medium-low heat, and reduce 20 minutes or until you have about 3 tablespoons.
  4. When beets are done, place in a serving dish and toss with balsamic glaze, pomegranate seeds and pistachios.
  5. Garnish with orange zest and mint.

Notes

If you’d like to cut your beets bigger than 3/4 inch thick, cover with foil ( so they steam and soften a bit) the first 20-30 minutes, then remove foil, continue baking until tender.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2/3 cup
  • Calories: 198
  • Sugar: 16.5 g
  • Sodium: 355.7 mg
  • Fat: 5.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23.4 g
  • Fiber: 5.8 g
  • Protein: 3.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Comments

  1. Made this to bring to a Moroccan dinner party and everyone loved it! Made it exactly as written with the optional orange zest and used mint. Delicious!!






    1. Hey Meta -the Moroccan Salmon or Moroccan Chicken would be nice here. Just type it in the search bar at the top of the blog. 🙂

  2. Hi,
    I followed this recipe exactly and the beets burned to a crisp. In retrospect, beets with balsamic for 45 minutes in a hot oven is never going to work.

    1. It says check every 15 minutes. Temperature’s not going to work the same for everybody’s oven. Experience will teach you that. Nearly everything I’ve made off of this woman’s website has been top-down delicious. So good. Thank you, Sylvia! I am so grateful for these delicious meals.

  3. I made this tonight in my insta pot. It was my first night using it and I was looking for a side dish for my Moraccan pork roast.
    I live in a small Midwest city and the grocery store I stopped at on my way home from work only had two ingredients on the list that I needed. Beets and Fennel seed, no cumin seed or pomegranates. I looked for pomegranate juice. None of that either. I had a long day at work so I skipped a few ingredients.
    I peeled three Med to large beets and cut them into larger cubes, i doused them with two Tablespoons of olive oil, one chunky sliced red onion one tsp of Fennel seeds and a couple of good shakes of ground cumin. I set the insta pot Pressure cooker for 15 min( it should have been 30). At the end of the 15 min I set it for 10 more and the beets were fairly firm and delicious. We were just too hungry to cook ‘em any longer and they were delicious. I tasted them when they came out of the pot and they were so good that I gave up on the maple syrup and all the other ingredients. Just a great simple taste. Thanks for the inspiration!

  4. These Moroccan roasted beets are delicious and Pomegranate makes it more delightful. I can’t wait to try them and making the Beet Salad. Really enjoy the step by step pics….makes me confident of what it should look like! Thanks!!

  5. This recipe looks good, but I do not see the fennel or cumin used in the actual recipe instructions. I do see the note above the recipe about tossing some in while roasting the beets. Are they only optional toss-ins when roasting the beets or is something missing from the recipe? Thanks!

    1. Sorry, I fixed the recipe- it really needed it, so thanks!!! Somehow it got messed up, appreciate you letting me know!

  6. Just wondering what a good main dish would be to go along with the beets. Im thinking pork chops? What would be something quick and easy? And what about a starch?

  7. I found your blog looking for fabulous beet recipes for a Valentine’s Day round up on beets. I used your picture inside the post linking back to you. I hope that’s okay. I subscribed. Very happy to find you. I think we have a similar food view.

  8. Made this yesterday and it was delicious. I didn’t have any pistachios and forgot the zest and it was still great. Had it over mixed greens with a little extra glaze as “dressing.” My new go-to salad.

  9. This is delcious! I didn’t have any pistachios and forgot the zest but still loved it. Had it over mixed greens and a little extra glaze served as dressing. My new go-to salad.

  10. Love this recipe. I made it today, and it was delicious. Here is my blog post about the beets I made, with you cited as my inspirationhttp://angiecooksinportland.blogspot.com/2013/06/beautiful-balsamic-beets.html

  11. Thank You for the recipe.It was delicious :)http://miszmasz-marghe.blogspot.com/2013/03/saatka-buraczana-z-granatem-i-mieta.html

  12. Normally I dont like beets, but your pictures make my mouth water for them. 🙂 Ill have to try roasting them since I havent had them that way.

  13. We love roasted beets! We have them almost every week or so, but never tried them with pomegranate. We will definitely try your recipe. It looks amazingly delicious 🙂

    1. Hi Sylvia,We made the recipe last night and it turned out great! Next time we will reserve some time to take photos of it 🙂

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