An easy, beautiful beet tart, this is made with roasted beets and a puff pastry base. Use multicoloured beets for a rainbow tart and serve this as a holiday dish or a fancy-looking meal anytime.
For some more cozy autumn dinner ideas, try my Moroccan chickpea vegetable stew, weeknight-friendly simple ginger dal, or lentil and rice vegan meatballs.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Cooked beets: you can either roast your own beets and peel once cooled, or buy them.
- Red onion: any type of sweet onion can be subbed for red.
- Red wine vinegar: if you want something a little sweeter, use balsamic instead.
- Puff pastry: most store-bought puff pastry is vegan. If it doesn't say something like "all butter" on the packaging, it's probably made with another type of fat – but it's good to check the ingredients.
- Greens: arugula and spinach are both great, but you could even use some massaged kale or chard.
- Cheese: use a tofu feta, or sheep feta if you eat dairy.
Step by Step
Step 1: roll out the chilled puff pastry and refrigerate again.
Step 2: heat the pan with some oil and add the sliced onion.
Step 3: cook for about 20 minutes, until softened.
Step 4: add the salt, pepper, thyme, sugar, and vinegar, and stir to combine.
Step 5: arrange the beets over the onion mixture.
Step 6: top with the rolled out pastry.
Step 7: bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
Step 8: carefully flip the tart onto a serving plate and serve with toppings.
Top Tips
- Use precooked beets: if you don't want to take the extra time to roast your own beets for this recipe, buy the precooked ones that come vacuum packed at the grocery store.
- Don't skip the sugar: this adds a nice caramelized element to the tart, a little like a savoury beet tarte tatin.
- Adjust the baking time: it depends on the puff pastry - the other elements are all cooked - and the package will tell you about how long it needs. Err to the side of over-baking to prevent soggy pastry.
How to Store
Storage: after cooking the onion mixture and layering the beets over-top, that can be covered and refrigerated for a day or two before baking. The baked tart can be stored for a day but the pastry will get a bit soggy over time.
Freezing: I don't recommend freezing this tart.
FAQ
Do I need to peel beets?
Generally speaking, there's no need to peel beets. You may want to remove any really knobbly bits, but usually you won't even notice the peel, and it's fine to leave it on.
How do you cook beets?
While you can steam or boil beets, my favourite way to cook them is roasted, with the skin on, in a covered baking dish. Cook until they can be easily pierced with a fork (timing will depend on size) and them peel after they've cooled if you like.
Is it easier to peel beets raw or cooked?
Cooked beets are very easy to peel, and the skin will slip right off. A vegetable peeler makes quick work of peeling raw beets though too.
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Recipe
Upside-Down Beet Tart
Equipment
- Oven-safe frying pan mine is 10 in. (25cm) – cast iron is ideal
Ingredients
- 1 sheet vegan puff pastry about 320 grams or 11 oz.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
- 1 medium red onion cut lengthwise into ¼ inch half moons
- 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 4 medium cooked beets, cut into ¼ inch half moons about 400 grams or 14 oz.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Sprinkle a work surface with a little flour and roll out the puff pastry to be about ½ cm (¼ in.) thick and cut it to the same diameter as your pan. Transfer the pastry back to the fridge.1 sheet vegan puff pastry
- Heat the frying pan over low and add the butter or oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, for about 20 minutes or until soft.3 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter, 1 medium red onion
- Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and thyme and stir to incorporate.1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar, ½ tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- Add the beets and toss to coat, then make an even layer of beets in the pan. If you want to cook the tart later, refrigerate at this step.4 medium cooked beets, cut into ¼ inch half moons
- Top with the rolled out pastry and make sure it's covering all of the beets. Tuck it gently in the edges.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and is a deep golden brown. Different brands of puff pastry may need more or less time, so go by colour.
- Carefully flip the tart onto a serving plate and garnish with some vegan cheese, more pepper, bitter salad and more herbs if desired.
Great recipe. I did a quick blend with a hand blender.