Roasted Beets with Bacon, Garlic, and Chestnuts

Beets are “ridiculous with bacon,” says Clare Carver, co-owner of Big Table Farm winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. There’s lots of garlic in her dish, but it candies and mellows in the bacon fat.

This recipe, and others like it, comes from the article “16 Standout Side Dishes to Complete Your Christmas Dinner.”

10 medium beets (half red and half golden, 3 lbs. total), ends trimmed, peeled

1 pound applewood-smoked slab bacon* (any rind cut off) or thick-cut sliced bacon

Peeled cloves from 3 garlic heads*

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup (4 oz.) peeled roasted chestnuts*, coarsely chopped

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°. Quarter beets lengthwise. Slice half lengthwise and half crosswise into wedges about 3/4 in. thick. Cut slab bacon into 1/2-in. cubes, or sliced bacon into 1 1/2-in. pieces.

Step 2

In a shallow 3- to 3 1/2-qt. baking dish, toss beets, bacon, garlic, oil, and salt.

Step 3

Bake, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until beets are tender when pierced and bacon begins to brown, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours. Stir in chestnuts.

Step 4

*Find slab bacon at well-stocked grocery stores or butcher shops. Soak garlic cloves in cool water 15 minutes to make peeling easier. Find peeled chestnuts at well-stocked grocery stores, or see how to peel them at sunset.com/chestnuts.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories 142Calories from Fat 42

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6.7g11%

Saturated Fat 1.9g10%
Cholesterol 14mg5%
Sodium 412mg18%
Total Carbohydrate 14g5%

Dietary Fiber 2.7g11%
Protein 6.5g13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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Roasted Beets with Bacon, Garlic, and Chestnuts