These slightly healthier Lazy Beet Rolls are straight from my Ukrainian granny’s recipe box and are the best way to use up fresh beet leaves from the garden! They are also gluten free … and insanely delicious!
Our granny was known for a few things, but by far her claim to fame was her beet rolls (Jilly started an Instagram account called @beetrollqueen ages ago – a well-deserved title). Jillian and I shared the bread dough version in the cookbook (bread dough rolled in beet leaves and baked in a casserole dish with cream – so decadent). This was the other version that she made.
What are Beet Rolls?
Traditionally these beet rolls were painstakingly rolled up, using a rice filling, to form many little rolls (similar to dolmades), nestled in a casserole dish and drowned in whipping cream before baking them. Sadly life is a bit too busy for me to be doing all that work, so my mom created a lazy version out of granny’s recipe. They are just as delicious and the best part? You can make them even healthier and cram in so many more beet leaves!
Charles built us some raised garden beds this year, which has made SUCH a difference to my veggie garden! The beet leaves look impeccable! My mom said that granny was looking over our garden this year: the beet leaves look perfect, she would be so proud.
How to use Beet Greens
Most people throw out the beet greens and just use the beet, but our family absolutely worships those greens. It’s a big deal when we can get our hands on some nice beet greens, and growing your own is the best. They are so easy to grow and we don’t use any spray or pesticides of course.
The greens are the leafy tops of the beet plant and can be cooked similar to spinach. Beet greens are loaded with vitamins (ie: vitamins A, C and K), fibre and minerals (potassium and magnesium). Look for greens that are still young and not tough if you can. You can remove leaves from your beet plant without damaging the beet, just don’t take all of those leaves off (leave the smaller ones).
I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for ages. I made a vegan version of these on Jill’s site a couple years ago that doesn’t use bacon and uses cashew cream. Such a delicious version if you’re wanting to “veganize” them. This version uses far less bacon and cream than the original. It’s still a bit of an indulgence, but nowhere near granny’s original recipe.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. It’s such as simple old-fashioned family favourite that instantly takes me back to my childhood. If you want to make these gluten-free make sure to use gluten-free bacon. You can substitute brown rice if you want to kick up the fibre content.
xo
Tori
Lazy Beet Rolls
Lazy Beet Rolls
These lazy beet rolls come together so easy and are so delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 300g bacon (around 6-8 thick slices, cut into 1cm thick pieces)
- 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 10 cups chopped beet greens, stems removed (loosely packed)
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill (very loosely packed)
- 1 cup 18% cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Cook the rice according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
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Heat a large pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot add the bacon and let cook until it starts to become slightly crispy and most of the fat is rendered, around 7-9 minutes. Add the onions to the hot pan and cook 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent.
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Once the onions are cooked add in the beet greens and cook 3-4 minutes until wilted. Add the dill and the cooked rice. Mix to combine, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Once the rice is evenly distributed in the pan drizzle the cream over top. Bake 20-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cream bubbles.
Sounds delicious! Do you think it would be possible to use kale instead of beet leaves? We unfortunately didn’t grow beets this year but have a ton of kale. Thank you!
Hi Katie, I’m sure that would be ok although I haven’t tried it before and would love to hear how it turns out!
They are in the oven right now on a rainy Sunday here in Edmonton, AB. Thank-you Tori and Boomba Granny!
Top shelf! Made it tonight and the entire family devoured it. Will make again for sure!
This is my go to beet leaves recipe every July! Everyone loves it. It’s the third summer I’ve come back to it.
Thank you Lindsey!!
I just made this and it’s in the oven! It tastes great before I even out the cream in. I used a combination of beet greens and Swiss chard and cut the recipe in half. I’m confused about the bacon though. I threw it back in although it wasn’t mentioned again.
Ah sorry for the confusion it just stays in the pan and gets all added with the rice and beet greens I will read through again to make sure it’s clear!
Take care,
Tori
It is so excellent! Thanks for posting the recipe!
Omg !!!! My house smells amazing!!! I added 1 lb ground turkey and ate it as the main soooo delish
Before baking, I added a light sprinkle of grated Parmesan on top as well as paprika.
Dill, beet greens, and bacon…Yum! This was such a lovely side dish. I can’t wait to make it again!
I bet that was delicious! So glad you enjoyed Maida, thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Delicious side dish! So happy to have found a use for beet greens. I did add some chard from my garden and as another poster said, some sprinkles of Parmesan! Yum! Thanks for the delicious recipes Tori!
I made this beet leaves, and they were delicious! Will definitely make them again. Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed them!
This was awesome! Got some beautiful beets at the farmers market today and made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delish! I didn’t have cream so I ended up mixing a bit of sour cream with 2% milk and it worked great!
Hello,
Can this dish be frozen?
Hi Alice, I haven’t tried it before but my experience freezing cooked rice hasn’t been amazing in the past (the texture gets strange). I would love to know if you try! Tori
I finally got enough beet greens out of our garden to try this dish, I baked it early in the morning while the weather was still cool and we ended up eating almost half of it for breakfast! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe ❤️
Hi Tori, made this tonight. We love beet greens. My husband is not a big rice fan. He tried it and totally loved it. He said”thats my kind of rice”. He even had seconds. It’s a keeper recipe for sure. TY ❤
We use spinach instead of beet leaves 🙂 delish!
Family favourite!
Tori,
This was absolutely delicious! Easy to make and the recipe proportions were perfect. I agree you can add lots of beet greens, I’m going to add more next time I make this for my boys. As a Ukrainian girl I can believe this recipe wasn’t one I grew up on. It will now be a regular addition to our families dinner table. Thank you, your grandma would be so proud of you.
Daphne xo
Awe thank you Daphne! So happy you enjoyed this!
Hi! I have learned that beet leaves consists a lot of nitrate and shouldn´t therefore be eaten at all. Do you know, is here different kind of beet plants, e.g. “free from” or “less nitrate kind of beets that are safe to use?
Hi Marylou. It’s a really great question.
Yes they are a natural source of nitrates, which in their natural plant form, may help with vasodilation (blood flow) and lower blood pressure. There isn’t a general health concern associated with eating beet leaves – they are a healthy food! The concern comes with the nitrites that are added to foods, mainly processed meats, that eaten in such a form (with the protein) can form nitrosamines which are the compounds that have shown an association with cancer. I hope this helps – I think it would be a good blog post actually as it is a confusing topic!
Amaaaainnnnggg!! Love, love, love!! Best way to wat rice!!
Really wondering if it is short or long grain rice to use in this recipe. My mother used to make this rich wondrous recipe.. Such warm deliciousness all in one dish.
Hi Carol, you can use either as long as it isn’t too ‘sticky’ – I typically use jasmine rice! Enjoy! xx Tori
I have now tried both long grain and short in this recipe. Seems like the quality of the rice varies and it requires a bit of trial and error. Now I have tried arborio, which is definitely my favourite! And I cannot believe how close it comes to my mom’s!
I feel like I have gone back in time when I make this recipe now. So The beets are coming along just fine in garden so we can enjoy wonderful recipes like this. I also freeze some beet leaves (the neighbors have a bounty of beets and don’t know what to do with the leaves!!!, lucky me!).
Hi Carol that’s so special! I tend to use jasmine but of course you can use whatever you like! Tori
Absolutely amazing! My daughter said it was even better than Cactus club! 👌🏼 Thanks for this awesome recipe that is now a family favourite.
That’s awesome! Thanks Cindy!
This casserole freezes well if the cream is not added until ready to bake. Spray your baking tray with nonstick spray, cover tightly with foil and freeze. Thaw completely, add the cream, bake as usual. Rice gets a little stickier, but no more than when cooked in cabbage rolls or beet leaf rolls.
I enjoyed this recipe! I will make it again. I didn’t have bacon and cream on hand so made some modification:
I sautéed onion and rinsed sushi rice with olive oil and butter in Instant Pot. Then added beet leafs and water mixed with chicken Boullion and I cooked 4 mins on High pressure+ NR for 10mins. When I cooked the rice, I put ukrainian sausage on a trivet, and cooked together so that the sausage drippings could fall on the rice (as I didnt have bacon). The meal came together so fast in Instant Pot. If I had cream, I wouldve added it at the end. and Maybe broil it for a whils in the oven?
Anyway, if anybody wants to use the instant pot i hope this helps.
That’s very helpful thank you Haslin! Thanks for taking the time to write this and to review the recipe I appreciate it. Tori
I seem to remember my grandma cutting the stems into pieces and using that in the casserole as well.
Nice! The stems are delicious! xx Tori
These are positively delicious! I always have an abundance of beets and do make sautéed beet greens but have to say this is a more mouth watering option. This should ensure none of those greens will go to waste. Thanks for this amazing and easy recipe!
Thanks so much Ellen! I am really happy you enjoyed it. xx Tori