Every year, my Thanksgiving table is filled with so many traditional foods like turkey, duck, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato mash, acorn squash, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies and more! I try to use non-traditional recipes in a traditional way but usually, people just want the basics! Well, I think it’s time we bring something new to the table! Â This year, I’ll be serving roasted beets stuffed with beets and pumpernickel stuffing. The beet cups are an adorable vessel for your stuffing and hey, who doesn’t love individual servings?!? You can double the recipe (or triple it if you are ambitious and having a huge crowed) and you can even make half of the stuffing in a pan, instead of stuffing it right back in to the golden beets. No matter how you eat it, you are going to love the combination of the savory pumpernickel bread and earthy sweet beets.
Stuffing-Stuffed Beet
makes 12 stuffed beetsÂ
6 golden beets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small loaf pumpernickel bread (6 cups chopped)
2 Tbsp unsalted margarine
1 large onion, sliced or chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1/2 tsp dried ground thyme
salt and pepper to taste
The night before I made the stuffing, I diced the pumpernickel bread and placed it on a baking sheet. I left out the bread to dry overnight.
I washed the dirt off of the golden beets, trimmed the tails and placed on a foil line baking sheet. I rubbed the olive oil all over the beets then sprinkled with salt and pepper.
I wrapped the foil around the beets and roasted in the oven at 400 degrees F for 1 hour. You’ll know the beets are ready when they are fork-tender, which means you can poke a fork right through the meat of the beet.
I waited 10 minutes for the beets to cool enough to handle then I rubbed all of the skin off, wearing gloves so my hands wouldn’t stain. Beets have a tendency to stain so be careful! I sliced each beet in half. You can choose to cut length-wise or width-wise based on the size and shape of your beets.
Using a spoon, I scooped out the center of the beets, making sure to keep the bottom and sides in tact. I chopped up the scooped-out beets and set them aside for the stuffing.
Now on to the stuffing! I melted the margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauteed the sliced onions until translucent, around 10 minutes. I added the vegetable stock and brought it to a boil. Once the stock was boiling, I added the sage, thyme, salt and pepper and stirred to combine. I lowered the temperature on the stove and simmered the stock mixture for 5 minutes.
I combined the chopped bread and diced beets in a large bowl. I poured the vegetable stock and onions over the bread mixture and stirred to combine.
I sprinkled the beet cups with salt and pepper then filled with the beet stuffing. I placed the beets in the 400 degree F oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
The beets were ready to eat! You can serve these adorable stuffed beets as an appetizer or a side dish. The golden beets have a sweet earthy flavor that adds wonderful texture to the soft stuffing and the fresh sage and ground thyme make the house smell like Thanksgiving! I’ve seen squash in stuffing but never beets…so it’s time we make this a regular thing!
Kitchen Tested
Save RecipeIngredients
Instructions
