Cheesy Beetroot Gratin with pre-cooked beetroots in a rich and creamy bechamel sauce, a last-minute side dish for your Thanksgiving or Christmas roast. It's really easy to make in under 40 minutes, and it can be made ahead to save time for the big day. A colourful, holiday side dish that pairs wonderfully well with any roast of your choice.
I absolutely love beetroots, they have such a unique, earthy, nutty, sweet flavour that makes them the perfect accompaniment to any kind of roast, be it turkey, pork, chicken, beef or lamb.
It's one of those underrated veggies that are easily-available, affordable and plentiful at this time of the year, and can be cooked in various ways. My roasted beetroot wedges are exquisitely delicious on their own or added to a seasonal salad.
But I must admit, beetroots do take a bit of time to cook, and when you are stretched from pillar to post during the busiest time of the year, you don't want to wait around for ages for one dish, when there is so much more to go in the oven.
Using pre-cooked beetroot is a life-saver here, the ones l used came vacuum-packed, so you can buy way in advance to use them during the festive season. They are perfectly tender and ready to use.
The only thing you need to make it the bechamel sauce, which is ready in no time, and takes a few simple ingredients to make, with cheese being the star ingredient. Slice the beets, smoother with cheesy sauce, bake, and in 30 minutes or so you have your dish ready!
Jump to:
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- cooked beetroots - I used Tesco's vaccum packed cooked beetroots, and they worked wonderfully well
- milk - I used full-fat milk, but semi-skimmed would do. I wouldn't go for the skimmed one, as we need the sauce to be creamy and rich
- butter - salted butter is my go-to in cooking and baking
- flour - just everyday flour to thicken the sauce
- cheese - my favourite is strong cheddar cheese, it's sharp and perfect for a cheesy sauce, but do add any other hard cheese of your choice
- mustard - for a sharp kick, I used yellow mustard, but dijon is a classic with bechamel sauce
- black pepper - be generous with it, it adds a bit of heat that works wonders here
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- start by making the bechamel sauce: melt the butter, add the flour and whisk well
- leave it to cook for 30 seconds, then pour in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce starts to thicken
- add the grated cheese, mustard and ground black pepper, and whisk to get a thick sauce
- spread a quarter of the sauce over an ovenproof dish ( mine is 27 x 22 x 5 cm or 10.5 x 8.5 x 2 inches)
- arrange the sliced beetroots, then pour over the remaining sauce in an even layer
- bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes until bubbling hot and golden
Expert tips
Pat dry the cooked beetroots with kitchen paper to remove some moisture, or the sauce might end up too watery. Slice the beets thinly and evenly for an uniform gratin.
You could use raw beetroots for this dish too, but that will take a lot longer in the oven, at least 50 minutes. The thinner the slices, the better, as that will speed up the cooking time.
I would also go for cream instead of bechamel sauce if you use uncooked beets for better results and would cover the dish with kitchen foil for most of the baking time to prevent quick browning.
If you’ve liked this recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM , YOUTUBE, TIK TOK , FLIPBOARD and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Cheesy Beetroot Gratin
Ingredients
- 10 pre-cooked small beetroots (2 x cooked beetroot packets from Tesco)
- 375 ml full-fat milk ( 1 ½ cups)
- 100 g grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
- 30 g butter ( 2 tbsp)
- 1 ½ tablespoon plain flour
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard (or dijon mustard)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).
- Pat the beetroots dry using kitchen paper and slice them thinly and evenly.
- To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk well to get a paste.
- Cook the paste for 30 seconds, then add the milk and continue to mix until the sauce start to thicken.
- Add the cheese, mustard and ground black pepper, and whisk again to get a smooth sauce.
- Spread a quarter of the sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish ( mine is 27 x 22 x 5 cm or 10.5 x 8.5 x 2 inches).
- Arrange the sliced beets in slightly overlapping rows, then top with the remaining sauce.
- Bake for 25 minutes until bubbling hot and golden.
Video
Notes
- Pat dry the cooked beetroots with kitchen paper to remove some moisture to avoid a watery sauce
- You could use raw beetroots for this dish too, but that will take a lot longer in the oven, at least 50 minutes. The thinner the slices, the better, as that will speed up the cooking time.
- I would also go for cream instead of bechamel sauce if you use uncooked beets for better results and would cover the dish with kitchen foil for most of the baking time to prevent quick browning.
Leave a Reply