Pan Fried Beets with Creamy Mint Sauce (Dairy-Free, 30 Minute Recipe) (2024)

These Pan Fried Beets with Creamy Mint Sauce are elegant and quite delectable. This recipe is easy, flexible, oh-so-satisfying, and totally lacking in dirt taste.

Table of Contents

This is not your average beet recipe

If you’ve tried beets in the past and you were turned off by the dirt undertones, this recipe is going to blow your mind. The pan-fried beets in this recipe develop a beautiful caramelization, creating a delicious semi-sweet chip that contrasts the savory and tangy creamy sauce (that gets a pop of brightness from mint). The flavors in this recipe are crave-worthy — it’s a stunning veggie dish that is perfect to serve alongside a roast or steaks, or you can serve it as a plant-based appetizer.

How to create a dairy-free cream sauce

For this recipe, I used Miyoko’s Dairy Free Cream Cheese for the sauce; I like the plain version. If you can’t find Miyoko’s where you live, then you can use my Dairy Free Cream recipe. I have a cashew base and a cauli base so you can make it nut free too.

If you do well with dairy, you can use regular cream cheese or sour cream if you please. The star of the sauce is really the mint, so whatever base you use, don’t skip the mint!

Why you should eat these Pan Fried Beets with Creamy Mint Sauce

Beets are loaded with vitamins and nutrients, and this easy beet recipe is the best way to enjoy them. Flavor and nutrient density, it’s a beautiful marriage.

Let’s look at the nutritional benefits of beets:

• Fiber — may improve digestion and gut health
• Folate — important for tissue growth and cell function
• Vitamin C — an antioxidant, important for immune health and skin health
• Manganese — an essential trace element, important for hormone health
• Potassium — helps reduce blood pressure, an electrolyte that helps keep you hydrated
• Iron — an essential mineral, important for the transport of oxygen in red blood cells

Beets are also a good source of inorganic nitrates, which have been found to significantly reduce resting blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, improve endothelial function, and reduce arterial stiffness (source).

Tips for pan frying in cast iron

I’m a diehard cast iron fan, and I do everything with my cast iron. The key to getting perfectly caramelized beet slices for this recipe is to follow my cast iron pan frying tips:

1. The oil is ready when you dip a wooden spoon in and it sizzles
2. Make sure each slice has full contact with the surface of the pan (lay flat, not crowded, cook in batches)
3. Add more fat if you don’t see a sizzle — it’s okay, fat is our friend
4. Rotate the pan every few minutes, especially if you notice one side cooks faster
5. Don’t flip until you see a nice brown/sear
6. Always cook on medium, and give it a while to heat up

These tips are a great guideline for any time you fry in cast iron. Don’t be afraid, the end result is worth the learning curve!