Whether your beets come from your own garden (they're easy to grow!), from the farmers market or from the grocery store, this harvard beets recipe with fresh beets might end up being a family favorite at your house as it is at mine!
It's super easy to make this harvard beets recipe using canned beets too!
Jump to the recipe (But you really should read the tips first!)
Easy Recipe for Harvard Beets
Every Sunday meal that we ate at my grandma's house when I was a child had harvard beets on the menu. Since my mother never made them, my grandma "spoiled me" by making them every chance she could.
I think my other grandmother was jealous; she tried once to make them for me, but it just wasn't the same. I hope I didn't hurt her feelings.
This tangy dish has been an important part of my holiday dinners ever since, even now that I'm probably the age my grandma was when she made it for me.
Here is my grandma's recipe for harvard beets.
What are harvard beets?
Harvard beets are a sweet and sour dish with a velvety sauce, and they're absolutely delicious!
Even if you're not a fan of beets, you may enjoy the tangy taste of beets in this delectable sauce.
How to make harvard beets using fresh or canned, sliced beets
The ingredient amounts are included below in the recipe.
If you're making this dish with fresh beets, you'll need to cook them first. I have directions on how to cook beets in this post about how to pressure-can them, plus a tip about how to retain beets' deep jewel-like color.
If you're making this recipe using canned, sliced beets, simply drain the juice from the beets, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid, and proceed with the recipe as written below.
Let's begin!
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. I use organic cane sugar.
Then drain the beets (either home-cooked, home-canned or commercially canned from the grocery store). Save 1/4 cup of the liquid from the beets. This is important!
Add the 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid to the vinegar, and add it to the sugar and cornstarch in the saucepan.
If you use water your sauce will be a weird, gummy-looking pink instead of this deep ruby red, so don't do that! Use the liquid from the beets, not water!
Whisk it together, and bring to a boil. (Don't add the beets yet.)
Let this mixture boil for five minutes.
Then add the cooked beets, either sliced or cubed, that you drained earlier.
Stir and let stand for half an hour or more. Just before serving, bring the pot to a boil again, to warm it all up, then add the butter. Stir when the butter has melted.
How delicious is this?!
I know that some people don't like beets, but this is a delicious way to enjoy an easy-to-grow vegetable. It's the perfect combination of sweet and sour, with a velvety smooth sauce that's a delight to the eyes as well as to the tongue.
Should I confess that I finish up any sauce that's left in the bowl after dinner, even though the beets are gone? It's deliciously sweet and sour at the same time.
Harvard Beets Recipe
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup mild vinegar
1/4 cup beet juice (drained from the can of beets, or use the cooking liquid)
1 pint or can of sliced beets or about 12 small beets, cooked and sliced
2 Tbsp butter
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add vinegar and beet juice and whisk until well blended. Boil for five minutes, then add the sliced, cooked beets. Let stand 30 minutes, then bring to a boil again, and add butter just before serving.
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