If you’re not eating beets then I feel sorry for you. These guys top the list as my favorite vegetable and all the more so when we’re growing them ourselves. They taste like sweet, nutty dirt to me and around here, that’s a compliment.
They’re also crazy good for you. I’ve heard recommendations that we should eat them every day, if we can. So I try to work them into our meals as often as I can and with the least amount of fuss in this crazy time of our life.
For those who don’t share a passion for the blood-red roots like I do, there are dishes like this. It incorporates plenty of beets and has the flavor of pizza or pasta. Using tomatoes with beets is not uncommon as it jibes with their hue and sweet flavor and so they marry well again in this dish. Serve this warming, simple soup up for the beet lovers as well as those less aware and see if they don’t both love it.
Italian Sausage and Three Root Soup
The Players
- 1.5 lb spicy sausage of choice (where to buy nitrate-free sausage from grass-fed animals)
- 3 Tablespoons lard, tallow, or coconut oil (if using lean sausage) (where to buy pastured lard & tallow)
- 3 large beets, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 medium russet potatoes, diced
- 1 quart marinara or pizza sauce (how to make homemade slow-cooker tomato sauce)
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1.5 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning blend
- salt to taste
- Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)
The How-To
- Place a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the sausage. Brown and crumble, using a wooden spoon, until cooked through. Add the lard, tallow, or coconut oil if the sausage was lean. Stir in the beets, carrots, and potatoes and cover with the marinara sauce and chicken broth. Add Italian seasonings and salt and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until all root vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as needed. Serve piping hot with Parmesan cheese, if desired, and a salad.
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yum happens
Yuuuum!