Boil whole beetroot for about 25–60 minutes, depending mainly on size, until a knife slides in easily.

Quick Scoop

  • Small beets (about 4 cm): 20–30 minutes simmering in gently boiling water.
  • Medium beets (about 6 cm): 30–45 minutes.
  • Large beets (9 cm+): 45–60 minutes or a bit more.
  • They’re done when they are fork - or knife-tender all the way to the center.

Simple step-by-step

  1. Trim the leaves, leaving about 1–2 cm of stalk, and scrub the beets clean (don’t peel yet, or they’ll bleed color into the water).
  1. Put them in a pot, cover with water by 2–3 cm, and optionally add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to help keep the color.
  1. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25–60 minutes depending on size. Start checking small beets around 20 minutes.
  1. When tender, drain, let cool a bit, then rub off the skins under cool running water.

Think of it like cooking potatoes in their jackets: smaller ones are quick, big old whoppers need patience, but the “poke test” with a knife never lies.

Extra notes

  • Very fresh young beetroot cook faster; older, woody beetroot can sit closer to the top of the time range.
  • If you cut beets into chunks, they can be done in roughly 15–30 minutes, but you lose more color and juice.
  • In a pressure cooker/Instant Pot, whole beets usually need about 10–25 minutes on high pressure (small to large), plus natural release time.

TL;DR: Cover whole beets with water, simmer 25–60 minutes by size, and stop when they’re fork-tender all the way through.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.