Beets substitute

Substitutes for Beets with ratios

1. 2Red cabbage

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by weight, shredded

   The best answer whenever the beet was there for colour, sharpness and crunch rather than for sweetness.

   What changes

   Best for

   pickling, slaws and salads, borscht colour, Nordic pickled beet dishes, dyeing a dish pink

   Bleeds a strong purple-red that goes bright fuchsia the moment it meets vinegar, so a jar of pickles or a slaw ends up looking remarkably like the real thing. The flavour is peppery and cabbagey rather than sweet and earthy, so add a teaspoon of sugar per pound to bring it closer. It stays crunchy where cooked beets go silky, which is an advantage in a slaw and a drawback in a puree.

2. 3Turnips or rutabaga (swede)

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by weight, plus ½ tsp sugar per pound

   The closest match for the dense, slightly waxy texture of a cooked beet, and a familiar substitution in Nordic and British root cookery.

   What changes

   Best for

   stews and braises, hashes, roasting, mashing, gratins

   Almost indistinguishable from beet in the mouth once cooked: same firm, moist density that holds its shape through a long simmer. The flavour is the problem, since both are mustardy and slightly bitter instead of sweet, which is why a little sugar or honey genuinely helps. Rutabaga is the sweeter and better of the two. Neither contributes colour, so a stew will look brown rather than ruby.

3. 4Sweet potato

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by weight

   A good stand-in for sweetness plus density, particularly when the beets were going to be roasted in wedges or blended into a soup.

   What changes

   Best for

   roasting, soups and purees, grain bowls, beet-and-goat-cheese style salads

   Delivers more sweetness than a beet and a similar sense of substance, but it collapses to a soft, floury mash rather than staying firm and slippery, and it turns the dish orange. Because it holds much more starch and much less water, roast it at the same temperature but check ten minutes early and use a slightly hotter oven if you want browned edges. Excellent under feta or goat cheese, where the sweet-and-salty contrast is what you were really after.

4. 5Jarred or canned beets instead of fresh

   Different texture

   Use the same amount by drained weight

   Already cooked, often already pickled, and genuinely the right call for a lot of dishes rather than a compromise.

   What changes

   Best for

   pickled beet salads, smorgasbord and open sandwiches, beet and herring salads, quick soups, dips and hummus

   The flavour is milder and the texture softer than roasted fresh beets, and pickled jars bring their own vinegar and sugar, so taste before you add either. Skip the hour of roasting entirely: drain, pat dry and use. For a Nordic pickled beet plate or a Danish rodbeder side, this is what most home kitchens in Scandinavia actually use.

5. 6Celeriac with red cabbage juice or pomegranate juice for colour

   Different taste

   Use the same amount celeriac by weight, plus 2 tbsp juice per pound

   The least-bad option when a dish depends on both dense earthy root and a red colour, and no beets exist anywhere.

   What changes

   Best for

   purees and soups, roasted root medleys, gratins, plated dishes where colour matters

   Be honest with yourself here: this is a compromise, not a match. Celeriac brings a genuine earthy, savoury root flavour, closer in spirit to beet than a carrot is, but it is celery-scented and nutty rather than sweet, and it is ivory white. Simmering shredded red cabbage in a splash of water for five minutes gives you a strong purple liquid that will tint a puree convincingly. Add a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of red wine vinegar to finish the illusion.